punkish furball – Hey everybody…I'm so late…
Words to Ponder:
I make a note before you read: some characters might seem out of character, but I think that based on the situation how they act is appropriate. I was sorta thinking about the episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" when I wrote it.
Thank you for reviewing: mia1837, Shiori Mayonaka no Yume, M.D., Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Gloriana the Younger, Haru Inuzuka, XxHisLilLoverGirlxX, tinabug, heyheyCurlyQ, crazyness101, VirusYoukaiChild, Pissed Off Irish Chick, SweetDarkSilence, aislin94, LuLuCrazeD, kakashixangela, Nicole^_^, 4get me not, REVOLUS, Midnightfairie57, Bloodcherry, Frozen Heart Beats, Menchi-kun, K.S.T.M., Katey98y, o0KittyBlue0o, Stebba stud28, Cherry989, Burianna, xinewebar, sweetlittlemiko, Talaiel the Enchanted, Whispering Kage, ChocolateBunnyChan, KagomexSesshomaru123321, InzanityRulz, Sqidly, Aashni, xXiforeveriXx, weewooweewoo, blueyedevil586, sexy midnight miko, .ness, EclipseXGaaraXItachi26, FireNekoDemoness, AzureTwilightDragon, KagomeAngel91, Lalala8121, missymoo11, Balto, Kitteninthemoonlight, and Kagome Sesshomaru Lovers! XD
Chapter 1
Kagome sighed happily as she made her way back to the village after her bath in a fresh pair of pajamas with her towel draped across her shoulders and her soiled clothing folded in her arms. The warm spring waters always had a calming effect on her and that was exactly what she needed right now. The puppet doll was rested atop her folded clothes Kagome held in her arms.
Although Kagome was at ease now, she inwardly dreaded anyone bringing up the wooden doll again. She wasn't completely sure why she was certain becoming so defensive about it and she knew she was being a bit irrational, but she liked the puppet and wanted to keep it for a while longer.
When she entered the hut, Kagome noticed that everyone seemed to have settled down for the night. Kaede had prepared a pot of tea which everyone was taking sips of even InuYasha.
"Here," Kaede said and offered Kagome a cup once she had sat down between Sango and Miroku.
"Thank you," Kagome said and took the cup in her hands. She took a few sips from the cup; it was good, but the flavor was slightly different. Thinking nothing of it, Kagome quickly emptied her cup of tea. She stood up to hand the cup over to Kaede. She was unsteady on her feet as though she were drunk.
"Are you feeling well?" Sango asked.
"Just a little dizzy," Kagome answered, "I think I'm going to bed now."
"That's good," Miroku said, "You are probably just tired."
Kagome went off to the corner and pulled out her sleeping bag. Within minutes, she was deeply asleep with the puppet held tightly in her hand.
"Alright," Miroku said and stood to his feet, "The drug in Kagome's tea has taken effect. Now we conduct the experiment."
"Fancy name for taking the stupid doll away," InuYasha grumbled, "So you gonna do it or what?"
Miroku rolled his eyes and walked across the hut until he reached Kagome. He grabbed the doll with his thumb and index finger and quickly slipped it from Kagome's grip. He walked over to the other side of the hut and leaned the doll against the wall. He backed away to stand with Sango and InuYasha.
"So now what?" Sango asked.
"We just need to wait. See what happens," Miroku explained.
Minutes passed while the group watched the motionless doll rest against the wall. It showed no signs of movement at all.
"Maybe we were wrong?" Sango suggested
"I don't buy it! That damn thing is alive, I know it!" InuYasha exclaimed harshly.
"Lower your voice, InuYasha. We just need a little more time for it to work," Miroku said.
Nearly two hours had passed before the doll fell from the wall and landed on the floor. InuYasha moved towards the doll but Miroku stopped him.
"What are you doing?" InuYasha asked being mindful to keep his voice down.
"Wait. Let's give it a few more minutes. Maybe it was the wind that knocked it over," Miroku said.
After few more minutes passed, one of the doll's wooden arms stretched forward above its head and pulled its body forward. Slowly, it dragged itself across the floor in the direction of Kagome's sleeping bag.
"That sure as hell ain't no wind," InuYasha said.
"Give it more time," Miroku said once again holding InuYasha back, "Its aura is not malevolent at the moment. Let's see how far it will make it."
Steadily the doll traveled on the floor of the hut by dragging its form inch by inch. Kirara hissed when it passed her and tried to stop it. Without warning, the puppet swiped Kirara with its other arm. She backed away and went towards Sango. Sango picked Kirara up and inspected her feline friend but found no sign of injury where the puppet struck her. The doll continued moving until it was safely at Kagome's side once more. In her sleep, Kagome rolled over and put her arm around the doll.
"Looks like we have our answer," Miroku said, "The doll is definitely possessed."
"So let's get rid of it!" InuYasha suggested while clenching his fists.
"Nay," Kaede said after being silent for so long, "that is not responsible. Before disposing of the doll, the soul contained in it must be properly exercised."
"Do we really have to do that?" Sango asked, "I mean other than a harmless swipe at Kirara, the doll didn't really do anything. If Kagome-chan really likes it, then do we need to get rid of it?"
"For now," Miroku said, "I don't think that it'll be too detrimental to Kagome-san's wellbeing; it only wants to be close to her. We can allow it to stay. So don't try to get rid of it, InuYasha-san." InuYasha huffed and put his hands in his sleeves.
"Whatever," he said, "She's too damn old to be playing with toys anyway."
The group fell asleep in their usual positions somewhat less wary of the wooden addition to their group.
-O0o0O-
The next morning, the group got up and ready to head out for another shard search. Kagome dressed and set her backpack on the back of her bike. Shippo happily took his place in the front of her bike in the basket. Kagome smiled and ruffled his hair before she placed the puppet in one of the side pouches on her backpack leaving its head and arms hanging out.
"Let's head out!" InuYasha shouted.
"Hold your horses!" Kagome said and looked around. Sango and Miroku were still missing from their group.
"Sango-chan!" Kagome shouted and looked back inside the hut. The older girl was kneeling by Kirara's side with Kaede and Miroku next to her wearing a worried look on her face. Kagome quickly rushed towards them leaving InuYasha and Shippo outside.
"What's wrong?" Kagome asked.
"It appears the cat has been poisoned," Kaede answered. She pointed to a large mark on Kirara's body that seemed by be expanding by the minute. It was purplish black in color and covered most of her side.
"Poisoned? But how did this happen?" Kagome asked.
"It's all that damned doll's fault!" InuYasha shouted from outside. With his superior hearing, he heard the conversation from inside the hut. He knew that damned doll had to be taken care of. He reached for the doll in Kagome's bag, but Shippo snatched it away from his grasp.
"Let go!" Shippo shouted and held the puppet away from InuYasha.
"Give it here you little runt!" InuYasha yelled at the kitsune.
"It's Kagome-chan's not yours!" Shippo shouted back at the hanyou and scampered away from InuYasha.
Back inside the hut, Kagome prepared for a lengthy confrontation. As she expected, the wooden doll had come up again.
"What does my puppet have to do with anything?" Kagome asked, "I had it with me all night."
"Not exactly," Miroku began, "When we were sure you had fallen asleep, I took the doll from you and placed it on the opposite wall of the hut. It had taken a long time, but it finally moved across the floor to get back to you."
"It moved on its own?" Kagome asked and Miroku nodded.
"Kirara is poisoned because she tried to stop it," Sango explained, "The puppet poisoned her when it attacked her with one of its hand."
"I've never seen a poison like this one," Kaede commented after finishing her examination of the demon, "I cannot prepare an exact antidote to it.
"So what can you do?" Sango asked.
"I can make a medicinal mixture that will flush the poison from her system," Kaede explained, "It may take some time to make, but it is sure to remove enough traces of the venom so Kirara will recover. I must get to work on it quickly." Sango, Miroku, and Kagome exited the hut to see Shippo running from InuYasha with the puppet in his hands. As soon as he saw Kagome, he jumped onto her back and deposited the puppet in her arms.
"InuYasha was trying to take it away!" he shouted. Kagome cradled the puppet to her chest protectively.
"Kagome-san," Miroku began, "the doll has caused Kirara harm. We now have probable cause to get rid of it."
"You provoked it," Kagome said, trying to rationalize what was going on, "If I just keep it with me nothing will—"
"Kirara is the only family I have left!" Sango shouted, cutting Kagome off, "This wouldn't have happened if you had just gotten rid of the doll."
"I'm sorry," Kagome said, but Sango wasn't convinced.
"Let it go, now," Sango said.
"Kagome-san, please," Miroku urged, "Give the doll to me."
Kagome stepped back when everyone began to advance towards her in a predatory way. She felt a sense of panic enter her body and a tight hold was encircling her wrist. She looked down and saw the puppet gripping her arm tightly. It looked up at her its expressionless face. A tiny compartment no larger than a finger nail opened on one of the puppet's arms.
'What are you doing?' Kagome thought. A small scroll unraveled out of the small compartment; there was a strange looking kanji written on it, but Kagome could decipher it.
"Transportation jutsu?" Kagome read out loud. Underneath the kanji for that was a symbol, a narrow rectangular bar over what looked like an outline of a sand filled hour glass.
'Sunagakure?' Kagome thought, 'What in the world is that?' In a white burst of light, Kagome disappeared along with the doll leaving no traces she was ever there.
-O0o0O-
Sasori sighed when Kankuro launched his first attack by trapping him in the torso of Black Ant and proceeding to impale him with the separate components of Crow. His so-called Secret Black Move was easy to counter with a sand clone. Still, Sasori felt mildly nostalgic battling his past creations.
'Speaking of nostalgia,' Sasori thought, 'That vision I had before the battle started.'
It was a quick vision but an informative one nonetheless. It began when Kagome had retired for the night shortly after she returned from her bath and drank a cup of tea. Sasori knew the beverage had to be drugged by Kagome's companions for her to fall asleep to quickly.
'They are paranoid,' Sasori thought, 'Tensions will only continue to rise until they eventually erupt.'
As Sasori expected, Kagome took the wooden puppet to bed with her and held it as she slept. Then without warning, the puppet was removed from her grasp and placed on the other side of the hut, another act by one of her companions. It was the raven haired man dressed in the purple robes. At the sudden separation, the puppet began to move towards Kagome to rejoin her at her side to it. Since the puppet was one of Sasori's earlier creations, the poison wouldn't have any fatal effects. When the strange feline tried to interfere, it was quickly delivered a mild dose of poison. No other obstacles deterred the wooden doll from its goal.
For the rest of the night, the puppet was not disturbed. It wasn't until the poison began to take effect on the cat did things take a hostile turn. Kagome's comrades quickly turned on her and threatened to remove the puppet by force. By the way it clutched Kagome's sleeve, the puppet (and Sasori) was not pleased. The vision ended when a small compartment on the puppet's arm opened. Sasori instantly knew what that meant and was shocked.
'It would employ all means to protect her,' Sasori thought, 'but I suppose that was inevitable.' Sasori turned his attention back to the battle at hand. The Jinchūriki's sibling wasn't much of an opponent, but Sasori wanted a little more time to toy with him before defeating him.
'I'll have to end this more quickly,' Sasori thought. Sasori ascended from the sand that covered him and faced Kankuro who released another series of attacks. Every move the shinobi made with his poison tipped needles, blades, and poison mist, Sasori dodged without the slightest bit of effort. Kankuro was quickly getting frustrated by Sasori's perfect defense.
"Are you finished?" Sasori asked drily when the mist Kankuro's last barrage attack faded.
"No way!" Kankuro said to himself, "Not even the poison mist had an effect on him!"
"Did I mention how much I despise making people wait? It's against my policy," Sasori said, "You're had your turn. Now it's mine." Sasori attacked with Hiruko's extendable iron tail, but Kankuro blocked it using Salamander's shield.
"Good luck breaking through that!" Kankuro said smugly, "As long as I stand behind Salamander's shield, you can't touch me!"
"Indeed that puppet does have extraordinary defensive capabilities, but even the best made puppet has a weak spot," Sasori said. Once again Sasori attacked with Hiruko's iron tail and aimed for the joint that connected Salamander's shield with the rest of its body sending it flying into the air. Without the puppet's protection, Sasori struck again with his iron tail. Kankuro dodged and landed on his feet behind Sasori.
"It didn't take him any time at all to find its weakness!" Kankuro sneered as he glared at Sasori's back. Sasori used Kankuro's pause to attack again with his iron tail again. The tail's tip landed a hit at Kankuro's abdomen and lifted the shinobi in the air. Sasori lifted Kankuro in the air a few meters before letting him plummet to the ground.
"That puppet is the same as any other," Sasori explained, "You can make the individual parts as strong as you want, but the joints will always be a weak spot." Kankuro stood and pressed his hand tightly to his wound. Despite being injured, he still attacked with his puppets using all of the hidden compartments and mechanisms. Sasori blocked every attack effortlessly.
"You have talent," Sasori commented, "You may even win against a different opponent. But those puppets of yours and all of their hidden poison mechanisms are not hidden from me!" With a crushing blow of Hiruko's iron tail, Sasori reduced all of Kankuro's puppets to kindling. Kankuro stiffened as his chakra strings dissipated.
"You must be wondering how I can anticipate every attack your puppets make?" Sasori asked the shaken shinobi, "Crow, Black Ant, and Salamander. I am the one who created them!"
"So then," Kankuro began with shock evident in his face, "you have to be the legendary master craftsman, the Great Akasuna no Sasori."
"I'm honored my name is so well known," Sasori said, "even to a child like you."
"Twenty years ago you deserted us," Kankuro said angrily, "Why?"
"What's the point of asking meaningless questions like that when you're about to die?" Sasori asked. On cue, Kankuro collapsed onto the sands of the desert. The poison from Hiruko's tail was beginning to take effect.
"I won't finish you off now," Sasori said and Hiruko's tail retreated underneath his Akatsuki robes, "I'll let the poison do that for me. It should take around three days." Sasori turned around and walked in the direction of a sand mound not too far from him. The wind had picked up causing the sand to form piles. Peaking from underneath the pile of sand Sasori was approaching was a small, pale hand clutching a wooden puppet.
'The transportation was a little off,' Sasori thought, 'but it would have too troublesome if she appeared too close by.' Carefully, Sasori extended Hiruko's tail and used it to unearth the being covered with the sand. Underneath the mound, Kagome was sprawled on the ground and unconscious. She moaned slightly and twitched a little but do not regain awareness of her surroundings.
"You shouldn't have kept me waiting," Sasori said roughly and pricked Kagome's arm with a mild sleeping agent coated on the tip of Hiruko's tail. There will be no ill side effects other than her prolonged awakening.
Sasori sighed and opened up Hiruko's protective armor. He stepped out just long enough to kneel beside Kagome and bring her in his arms. He returned inside of Hiruko and adjusted his body so he could still move and fight while carrying Kagome without causing her much too discomfort. She hadn't stirred again since Sasori administered the sleeping agent so he assumed she would remain asleep until he and Deidara finished their mission.
'It shouldn't be much longer,' Sasori thought, 'Deidara and I should get there without much delay.' With his new cargo secured, Sasori made his way to Deidara.
-O0o0O-
Deidara scowled when he caught sight of Sasori making his way towards him. Not only was Sasori late, but waiting in the desert heat became unbearable started causing Deidara to take refuge underneath a rock formation. His creation was perched atop the rocks with the Jinchūriki held tightly in its tail.
"Sasori no danna!" Deidara shouted over the rustling of the sands, "You're late! I thought you didn't like to keep people waiting, un."
"I don't," Sasori said once he was close to Deidara, "but time flies when you're having fun."
"What the hell does that mean?" Deidara shouted becoming annoyed with is partner.
"Don't get too worked up," Sasori said, "You accomplished your mission and secured the one-tailed Jinchūriki. After our mission is finished, we can start on mine."
"I guess," Deidara said calming down a little. Sasori had already begun traveling in the direction of their destination without waiting for him. Deidara sighed before he signaled to his creation that held the Jinchūriki that it was time to move on and followed behind Sasori. Sasori could tell Deidara was still annoyed but didn't linger on that thought for long.
'Deidara doesn't need to know about her now,' Sasori thought as he held Kagome, 'It will only serve to distract him.' While the two continued traveling, Sasori looked at Kagome's sleeping face. Although her skin was speckled with grains of sand, her body was noticeably bruised from the landing after the transportation jutsu, and her hair and clothes were out of place, Kagome still looked serene and at peace resting in his arms. Her grip on the puppet was looser; it had served its purpose so Sasori would dispose of it soon.
'I'll inform Leader about her in due time,' Sasori thought. He had every intention of keeping Kagome with him, but he couldn't go around the Akatsuki leader to do it. He gingerly brushed a few flecks of sand from Kagome's cheek.
'I wonder,' he thought, 'What secrets do you hold?'
-O0o0O-
punkish furball – And that was that! I did the best I could with the Sasori and Kankuro fight scene; I based a lot of what I wrote on episodes 7 and 8 of Naruto Shippuden. I'll try not to take forever to update the next chapter! L83R!
(edited 12.13.2010)