Hey, back with more. I've been really busy with school and this so schedule isn't going to be held. Sorry, but I'm way too busy and barely have any time. Anyway, I'll post whenever I can. So let's get this started!
Thanks a lot for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon
Alive or Dead?
Jess was sitting by the entrance to a cave, her eyes distant and blank like a dead fish and staring out into nothing. Black Fang was behind her, who heard from Ryuu what had happened. He knew Jess would be like this for a while, and thought he should go and make sure Sesshomaru is dead or not. On the other hand, he didn't want to leave her by herself in this state. Ryuu said he would go and look since Naraku getting the sword would cause trouble for them. Black Fang only agreed because he knew Jess wouldn't be able to move to a safer location.
"This entire situation is a mess. If Naraku hadn't been so hungry for power, and if Sesshomaru had been more careful, this wouldn't be happening," he said to himself, making sure she didn't hear him. He knew she was blaming herself since he was her Master and her job to make sure he didn't die.
"Well, she's a sight of sore eyes. Guess she's in a really bad shape like Ryuu said," a male voice said, Black Fang looking behind him and saw Sajime walking towards him.
"You've got no clue. She's been like this since morning. I'm starting to worry she might not be able to talk at the moment. Until she knows for sure what happened to him that is. And for once, I wish he's still alive," he explained, Sajime nodding.
"If not, then she won't be getting better anytime soon. In fact, she might get worse. Leopara and the others were going to take a look around the area, but only a little. SO we're going have to get her back on her feet sooner or later," he said, Black Fang nodding as he looked over at Jess. She hadn't moved a muscle, nor did it look like she would any time soon.
"I just hope when she does get her senses back, she'll be no match against Naraku like this," he said, Sajime frowning.
"Yes, there's that as well. We'll have to keep a closer eye on her until we know what happened to him. And if the worse happen, then she either has to chose a new Master, or end her contract," he said, Black Fang not looking too positive. "And from her state, I can already tell which one she'll chose,"
"Anyone would be able to know, so why is Naraku so sure he'll be able to get his hands on the sword. The Band of Seven aren't qualified to wield it because they're not plain Human. Jess was before she pulled it," Black Fang said, Sajime thinking about what he said for a second.
"You're making a good point. I'll see if I can dig something up," he said as he turned his back to him. "And I know I don't have to say this, but don't leave her alone," he said, Black Fang closing his eyes and nodded once, walking over to Jess as the Demon left.
"I heard everything you said, Black Fang. And you should know better than anyone that picking a new Master isn't going to happen," she said, Black Fang sighing and was kind of happy to hear her voice.
"I know, but I'm not going to let you die so easily either. Just let them handle things and you can get your energy back," he suggested, Jess instantly getting up.
"I'm not going to rely on someone I don't trust to do something I'm supposed to do. Whether or not you like it, I'm finding Sesshomaru by myself. I honestly don't care if you follow me or not," she said, Black Fang instantly noticing she wasn't herself. She was acting the exact opposite of what she would usually act.
"Fine, then I'll follow you as you try and find him. But if Naraku shows up, I'm dragging you away without hesitation. Got it?" he said, Jess not answering as he looked up in her eyes. They were a bit clearer, but still not how they should be. This better not make her worse. He thought, kneeling down so Jess could climb on. Although she said she was going by herself, she knew he would follow her.
Surprising, she actually went on his back without questions as he took to the sky and flew to where they both last saw him. Since the mountain was far from there, it took a long time. And as they flew, Jess saw someone from the corner of her eye, floating on a feather it looked like.
"Who's that?" she asked, Black Fang looking over there. He growled as he told her that the scent from the newcomer was the same scent he picked up from Naraku. Worried about his Mistress, he instantly dived down to hide in the trees, being careful with his wings. Soon, he was forced to land and stay put until the Demon has passed them by. When it did, Jess noticed it was a female and looked nothing like Naraku.
"She's a part of him, a reincarnation I guess you could say. Let's just go slow from here. I know you want to find that troublesome Demon, but we can't get caught," he said, putting more effort into the word "troublesome", making Jess annoyed.
"You would've been the same way if you were me," she said simply, going into the clearing where he fell off the cliff. Not in the state of shock like she was before, and the air being more than it was yesterday. So it was very, very foggy and hard to see. She could see about 5 meters in front of her, but that was it.
"Climbing down would be safest with the fog as it is, it's too hard to see if you're flying," he said, Jess agreeing. She stepped on the first shelf on the cliff, already noticing how wet it was from the fog. Knowing she might slip, she went carefully down she wouldn't get herself in trouble before she kept going. Black Fang followed slowly after her, making sure not to be too far, nor too close so it wouldn't brake.
As they kept going downwards, she started hearing the sound of roaring water clashing with the cliffs. Black Fang told her there was a river down there that he saw yesterday. Although it wasn't big, it was certainly making a lot of noise. Jess, a bit more worried now, started subconsciously going faster down the cliff.
"Easy, you'll fall. I know you want to know if he's alive or not, but killing yourself isn't going to get you anywhere. I already told you I can't fly since I can't see what's in front of me," he scolded her, Jess looking upset. She did what he told her, but didn't really talk after that until they've been climbing for about 10 minutes.
"I still don't see anything. Was this cliff really that far from the ground?" she asked, the cliff getting wetter as they went down.
"I wouldn't think so, it didn't seem as deep. Maybe going further down wouldn't be a good idea," he said, Jess ignoring the last part as she continued down. This girl s going to get herself killed before she even finds out what happened to him. He thought, stepping lightly on the next shelf. Just as his thoughts stopped, they both heard rocks falling down from about them, looking up to see what was going on.
"Please tell me I'm the only one who heard that," she said, Black Fang growling as he moved a little faster to her side.
"Better find a safer place, though that would be easier said than done," he suggested, Jess nodding once and tried moving a bit faster. However, she quickly slipped and stared falling down the cliff. Before she even got time to scream, her back hit the ground and she lost her breath and let out a loud gasp. Black Fang heard her and landed neatly on the ground above her as a huge boulder came tumbling down, hitting him right in the back as he tried not to crush her. He soon lost consciousness and landed by her side with his paw in her stomach.
Rikuo was walking around , trying to find where the others had come in so he could go and make sure they were alright. If this Naraku gets his hands on that word, he'll start causing trouble for us as well since he knows we're here. He thought, seeing a familiar face.
"Kubinashi, what are you doing here?" he asked, walking up to his subordinate.
"Oh, Young Master. I saw some odd Humans jump through here into the era where that Lord Sesshomaru is from. I was wondering if something was going on," he explained, Rikuo nodded as he explained the situation to him. As soon as he did, they both decided on going through the crack and make sure they're OK. As they walked up to it, Kubinashi had a worried expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked, the Demon turning to him.
"It's gotten smaller, if was a lot bigger before," he explained, Rikuo looking shocked and looked back at the crack closely. Sure enough, there were thin lines showing where the cracks went to before.
"Wonder why. We should make sure everyone is where they're supposed to be before it's completely gone," he said, Kubinashi nodding. Just as the two were going through they heard a female voice call them from behind, both of them turning. Kagome was running towards them with Kirara in her arms.
"I'll come with you, Kirara's been uneasy lately and I think it's because of this place," she said, Rikuo smiling and nodded as the four went through. Once they passed through, Kirara jumped out of her arms and transformed into her bigger from.
"Whoa, wasn't expecting that," Kubinashi said, patting her head. Kagome smiled as she said she was going to meet up with her friends. InuYasha and Koga had returned before her so she needed to let them know she was back.
"OK, just be careful," Rikuo said, Kagome nodding. Kirara took to the sky and Rikuo looked around, trying to think of where they would go next.
"Young Master!" someone called behind them, Rikuo turning around to see Tsurara and three other Demons. The other Demons were Aotabo, Kurotabo and Kejoro "You shouldn't just leave without telling us! We would've searched the entire town for you!" she sort of scolded him, the others nodding. Rikuo slightly smiled and gave a shaky laugh.
"Sorry, guess I was in a bit of a hurry. Thanks you all for coming here," he said, smiling normally. All of them nodded as Rikuo was still thinking of which way to go. "Let's go this way and have a look. If we find either Sesshomaru or Jess, then we can figure out what exactly happened," he said, pointing to the left. It was the opposite way that Kagome and Kirara went.
"Sounds like a plan. We should keep our guard up since we don't know how things work here," Kurotabo said, everyone nodding. Rikuo walked first, all of them close behind him in case something happened to him while they were walking to wherever they were heading. Although he knew Jess and Sesshomaru were strong, he was mostly worried about that Naraku he heard about from the conversation Tsurara had with Rin and Jaken.
"Where could they be, it'll take forever to find them in a place like this. Being out in the sun long won't be good for my skin," Kejoro said in a whining voice, holding her hand up to her face to look.
"Then why didn't you just stay back at the main house? You knew we would be going around outside," Aotoba asked, not understanding why she was complaining.
"Because the Young Master could be in danger. I know you're strong and all Aotoba, but what if he's somewhere you can't even get to him. My hair would be useful then. Oh, and I have something to tell you, Young Master. I can't believe I didn't remember this sooner," she said, Rikuo looking back as she ran up to his side since they didn't want to stop. "Shoei hasn't been seen the last couple of days, even before Sesshomaru came,"
"Really? No one knows where he is?" he asked, Kejoro shaking her head. "That's odd. Where could he be. I don't think he would just wander into an area completely clueless, unless he was acting like he was after Hihi died," he said, Tsurara and the others catching up a bit.
"Where do you think we should start looking, Young Master? We don't really know this place, so we shouldn't move too far away. Or we won't be able to find out way back," she said, Rikuo nodding, but it didn't seem like he was paying really much attention. Which kind of made Tsurara annoyed.
"Relax, I've been in this area for some time now and gotten to know some of this place. So us getting lost while going in this direction isn't as likely as it would be if we went another way. So you can take it easy," Kubinashi said, Tsurara looking a bit less worried and annoyed, though she wasn't completely sure yet.
"So, we'll be able to get back without getting lost?" Aotabo asked, Kubinashi nodding.
"We still shouldn't let our guard down. Anything could happen in a place like this. So don't think this makes it less dangerous," Kurotabo said, all of them slightly nodding.
Jess slowly opened her eyes, her back aching in pain and feeling something heavy on her stomach. She tried moving a bit, but the pain in her back made it hard for her to do much of anything. The extra weight didn't help much either. Her vision was blurry so she wasn't able to really see. All she saw was black fur.
"Argh, man that hurt," she moaned, trying to turn on her side to get whatever was on her stomach off. However, it only made the pain worse. And whatever was nearby groaned in annoyance as she moved, an eye looking at her.
"You really need to stop moving about without knowing what's around you," the voice said, Jess instantly telling it was Black Fang. He moved his paw, which was what had been on her stomach. He moved up behind her, helping her sit up. Although, he wasn't in the best condition either since he protected her from that bolder. So he also had pain running through his back.
"You don't seem to be in top shape either. What exactly happened after I fell?" she asked, Black Fang telling her about the boulder that came down after her fall. She was unconscious, so she couldn't really get out of the way. "So you used yourself to protect me?"
"Like you, I don't want my Master to die," he said, Jess smiling and patting him on the head.
"Thanks, you're always looking out for me. Even when I stupid things like this," she said, Black Fang smirking.
"Don't go soft on me, please. That's the last thing I would want happen," he said, Jess giving him a slight knock on the head before standing up, having some trouble holding her balance. But she was able to stand just fine and stared looking around the place. She noticed old ruins of houses along the river, looking like they were destroyed in a flood.
"This looks like it was some kind of village or something. Who would make a village right next to a river that could easily go over?" she wondered, Black Fang looking around.
"It wasn't their choice. I remember this place from when I flew over it 60 years ago. The village was filled with people that had to run away from their home village and find refuge some place they couldn't find them. Some of them were thieves, others were just normal villagers who have been accused for something they didn't do," he explained, Jess looking around a bit more.
"Must've been hard in those times. Even now people get accused of things they might not have done, but in my time, you have a lot of people going against you and standing up for you to prove whether you've done it or not," she said, Black Fang looking surprised.
"Your era sounds odd," he said, Jess laughing slightly. She looked around, trying to find some sign that Sesshomaru was nearby. Black Fang looked around as well, but neither of them found anything. "Damn, the river is mixing up all the scents. I couldn't even smell a bleeding man if he just got cut a few seconds ago,"
"That's one way to describe something," Jess said, not wanting that image in her head right now. She looked around a bit more, noticing something a few meters from the river. She walked over, trying to get a better view. As she got closer, she was it was a piece of a kimono. She kneeled down, picking it up and looked closer at it.
"This…defiantly belongs to Sesshomaru," she whispered to herself, calling Black Fang over. He did so without much hesitation, Jess holding up the piece of cloth. "Think you could figure out where he is with the help of this? It seems pretty dry,"
"Maybe, but the scent might be old by now. I'll give it a try at least," he said, sniffing the piece of cloth and then sniffing the air to see if he could pin-point where exactly Sesshomaru was. After about 2 minutes, he started slightly jogging along the river line, Jess getting up and following him. "Think I've got something. Don't get your hopes up, though. It could be something else,"
"I know, just lead the way," she said, not caring much about what could happen now. As they walked, she felt eyes on her from somewhere in the shadows on the other side of the river. She didn't pay much attention to locating whoever was following them, but didn't really let her guard down either. However, as they kept walking, the one following them quickly jumped over the river and followed right behind her. Black Fang had noticed it as well, stopping in his tracks.
"I don't think we can ignore it like this," he said, Jess nodding as she backtracked her steps and got ready her sword. As she moved closer, whoever was following her started feeling a little unsafe and backed off a bit.
"No point in running away now, might as well show yourself," she said, the figure freezing and sighing.
"You've got a sharp eye for a Human. Nice to see someone with some sense," the person said, moving towards her. She narrowed her eyes, not recognizing the man. His hair was white, with a few red stripes going the opposite way. He had a red kimono on with a sort of hood which he had on. He carried a sword in his hand, holding it very tightly.
"Who are you? You don't look like the Demons I've seen," she asked, not letting her guard down.
"MY name is Shoei, I'm from a clan that's allied with the Nura Clan," he said, Jess looking surprised. She knew that they still had a alliance with Sesshomaru, so she couldn't really attack him without reason. "You seem a little less serious now. Maybe you're the girl that Demon was mentioning,"
"What Demon?" she asked instantly, not thinking through what he was saying properly. He looked over at her, looking deep into her eyes before smirking.
"To think a girl that's not even considered adult in their rules is a puppet of a Demon. Then again, you would be an adult for Demons," he said, Jess eyes widening. "If you know who I'm talking about now, follow me. Your little pet can join us as well," he said, Black Fang growling. Jess put her hand on his snout, calming him down.
"I don't trust him as easily as you," he snapped, not liking where this was going.
"I don't really trust him either, but he's the only one who has any clue to if Sesshomaru is even alive," she said, Shoei walking closer and putting a hand around her waist.
"Well, shall we go?" he said, getting ready to jump. "You can follow by yourself, can't you?" he taunted Black Fang, who stared growling again. He smirked and jumped, the Demon wolf following quickly behind him.
Well, I'll stop here. Sorry that is taking so long, but I've really got little time to write. Hope you all understand. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!