Disclaimer: Once I again, I do not own Inuyasha; just the first two manga and some episodes. Although, I borrow the characters everyday for my own insidious plots. And wow, guys, you really made me happy! I got the five reviews I asked for on the very first day I posted this, so I'm giving you a treat that comes in the form of the next chapter coming much sooner than I planned! Thanks a lot, guys! Oh, and this one's a little short; sorry, guys. But bear with me, okay? It'll get much better after Kagome and Co. finally get to where they're going, which is Toga's place. Trust me.
Fearless
Chapter II
The sound of talking interrupted her deep sleep, something that annoyed her quite a bit. If you knew Kagome, then you'd know she hated being woken up more than anything. On top of that, her dream was quite nice, involving some very cute figure with long silver hair and slashing amber eyes. Of course, which youkai she was thinking about was yet a mystery, but she didn't want to wake up yet! And yet, those voices kept intruding, and she stuffed a fist in her eyes, listening to what the voices were saying.
"I honestly don't know what you're worried about, Kiyoshi. She won't be a handful at all. And besides, what kinds of demons would we be if we couldn't handle one measly human, and an onna at that?" That voice was deep, resonant. It was Toga, the Inu no Taishou speaking.
"Toga. If you have ever trusted me before, now would be a good time to do so once again. She isn't human." This voice was one she'd never heard before. Instead of being deep and husky, like most male voices she'd heard, it was a sort of tenor voice, with a lyrical quality to it. It must be the voice of the quiet Kiyoshi; she hadn't expected that.
"I understand that, but I don't get how you would be able to tell. She smells perfectly human to me, albeit with a spicy scent to her that most humans don't have. I want to trust you, but you need to give me proof for your accusation."
Kagome's eyebrow twitched; they were talking about her!
"There isn't any proof. At least, none of the tangible kind. It's just more of a sense that I'm getting."
She heard a shifting of cloth, and the gentle rocking she'd been experiencing stopped, and she felt herself being set down on something hard.
"I will trust you, Kiyoshi, but only to an extent. She's been truthful to us so far, so it stands that she'll be truthful later on. We'll just ask her; who knows? Maybe we'll learn something new."
Kagome resisted the urge to smile. That was more like it. She twitched her arms, give a fake signal that she was "waking up." The voices stopped immediately, and she felt someone bend down, and felt hot, sweet-smelling breath on her cheek. She opened her eyes, and found herself staring up at Toga.
"Feeling better?" He asked, and she nodded. Her headache was finally gone. "That is good to hear. You've been asleep for a little over a week. We're almost to the Moon House, where Father is awaiting our return."
Kagome tried to sit up; Toga, after seeing her plight, helped her. "Moon House? Is that the same castle as the House of the Moon?" She asked, not really thinking of what she was saying.
Kiyoshi flicked a glance at Toga, as if to say, "Are my suspicions really that far off?" Toga shrugged, turning back to the girl.
"'House of the Moon?' I have never heard of such a place. Yet you say it would be the Moon House? That isn't possible, for the Moon House belongs to my father, Kaemon, the current Inu no Taishou, and his mate, Ayaka. Their infant twin daughters, Cho and Chikako, also reside in the palace."
Kagome nodded, just then noticing they were in what looked like a cabin. "Um, where are we right now? And, wait, you have siblings?" She'd never heard of any siblings of the great Inu no Taishou.
"We're in wolf territory right now; this home belongs to the chief of the wolf tribe, Keiji. He has granted us usage of this place while we're passing through." He paused. "You sound surprised that I have siblings, which stands to show that you seem to think you know a lot about me. Why is that?"
Kagome waved a hand at him, not really wanting to answer. "I don't think I know a lot about you; it just seemed unlikely that you'd have infant siblings when you seem so...oldish?" Just then, her stomach growled loudly, and Toga dismissed his line of questioning.
"It doesn't matter so much anymore. Kiyoshi hunted earlier, and we've been making a meat stew for you to eat. It's almost ready."
Kagome obediently looked to the side, where Kiyoshi was stirring a yellowish mixture in a small pot. Whatever kind of meat it was, the smell permeating from the pot was heavenly. Kagome took a long whiff, and sighed happily. She could definately wait for this.
Toga studied her reaction, before laughing loudly. "It appears you're hungrier than I thought. Ah, thank you, brother. Here; eat up. We'll be leaving as soon as you're done, and you'll be walking this time."
She eagerly took the bowl handed to her and practically devoured the surprisingly tasty soup. It was thick, which filled up her stomach quite nicely, but it wasn't so thick that it upset her stomach. She finished up her bowl withiin ten minutes, and even ate another bowl before she was satisfied. She gave the bowl back to Toga, letting out an appreciative "Mm."
Toga grinned. "You sure ate a lot of that. More than a normal human would, anyway." He said, fishing just a little.
She shrugged. "I was hungry. And don't try to wheedle an answer as to why I smell different. It's not going to work." At his surprised look, she nodded. "Yep; I heard the conversation you were having with Kiyoshi-sama right before I woke up. But since you decided to talk about me behind my back, or rather when I was asleep, I'm not going to give you that information yet. You'll just have to wait."
Toga's eyes suddenly turned cold, and his dark-blue markings became more pronounced as his voice turned deadly. "I have ways of making you talk, you know."
"I know. I'm trusting you not to use those ways, though. Shall we go now?" She asked, standing. She bent to retrieve her backpack, but Kiyoshi beat her to it. He didn't say anything, but she got the message; he'd be carrying it instead of her. Whatever; less weight for her.
Toga sighed and stood, stretching to he cracked his back. "Fine, fine. I'll wait for you to tell me. Us. We're only about three days' walk from the Moon House, so I suggest you use the time we'll be walking to fortify yourself for meeting the mythical Inu no Taishou. I've heard he is quite intimidating." He was teasing, and she let loose a small laugh.
"I can imagine. Anyone who holds the title of "great dog general" has to have a certain amount of intimidation. And if he's your father, well, that just fortifies it just a little bit more."
He looked pleased with her answer, but why she couldn't really tell. So she ignored it. Instead, she asked a question. "So, how long has your father been the Inu no Taishou?"
He tilted his head up as he opened the door for her, waiting for Kiyoshi to follow after her before leaving himself. "Hm. I think that would be around seven centuries. Three of those centuries he went unmated. Why do you ask?"
She shrugged. "Just curious, that's all." Seven centuries?! It must be close to when Toga becomes the Inu no Taishou. I just hope he doesn't end up becoming the Inu no Taishou because his parents die. Come to think of it, I wonder why no one ever talks about his parents? Or his sisters, for that matter? Or even this mysterious Kiyoshi! Oh, this is all so confusing!
Toga sniffed the air lightly, turning to Kiyoshi. Growling, speaking in the inu language only other inu and elemental youkai could understand, he said, "She smells of confusion. Did I say something that was confusing?"
Kiyoshi shook his head. Of course he hadn't. When he replied, he spoke the elemental language, which Toga could understand as well. "No. I think it has something to do with whatever secret she is keeping from us. But do not worry. Whatever that is, I am positive that it will come out when we meet with your father."
Toga turned back around to lead the way. He hoped so. After all, he couldn't protect this sweet girl with the wisteria and pineapple scent if he didn't know all there was to know about her.
Let's end it here, shall we? Yes, Toga now has a father and mother, who are my own creation, because I don't know what they look like. Kaemon means "Joyful" and Ayaka means "Colorful Flower/Fragrant/Summer." His sisters, who will be totally cute, I'm planning, also are my creations. Cho means "Butterfly" and Chikako means "Child of Wisdom." The next chapter Kagome will meet the rest of the Inu family, which will be a pretty cool suprise, I'm thinking. Anyway, please review for me once more! I want another five reviews to continue this story.
Ayame