Chapter 9
Family and priestess new responsibltys,
"Mom," shippo and shiori jumped off kiarra and tried to save there mother but it was no use, tamahome scooped both of them up quickly,
"Don't worry," "knowing Bella she probably beating the living crap out of the guy who took them," tamahome tried to comfort the two of them,
ever since he saw them playing at taiitsuku palace, he thought the old hag was crazy for housing demon's, he thought they were going to eat him until shiori and rin said, "your it," ever since then he hanged around the two cats and the half bat demon the half dog demon like bella and the fox,
He was taken aback when he found out that he was shippos and shiori's and rin's mother, who would of thought the four adorable demon's fallowed bella, and who she deemed worthy enough to go near them, he freaked out when the two cat's transformed, he should learn to expect the unexpected when it comes to Bella,
Nuriko petted both the kit's hair and let kiarra and dios on his shoulders, he almost tackled the five demon's when he saw them wandering around taiitsuku palace, they were so cute that he had to hug them to death! But before he could do any damage, Bella scooped the demons swiftly before he landed, when he knew the relationship of the five, he tried so hard to stomach the information and keep it there,
Looking around, tamahome went down the path that the girls disappeared into, they couldn't gotten far, as he started to run in the direction nuriko suddenly felt something that don't bode well for them all,
meanwhile With miaka and Bella,
Bella and miaka bit their kidnapper's hand and obviously it hurt him a lot, they where released and miaka shouted,
"What's the big idea buddy?" Bella narrowed eyes looked at the fox face man with blur grey hair in a weird hair style,
"Hey that really hurt," "no da," the man blew on his red hands, Bella and miaka looked at each other,
"You have healthy bite's there priestesses," "no da," "I should've asked you before I saved you from kuoto warriors," "no da," Bella and miaka was clueless at what he was saying they uttered a response,
"Don't let them catch you," "no da," and he disappeared into his hat, Bella picked up the hat and thought about what he said, saved from kuoto warriors, Bella and miaka found themselves back in the forest, miaka was ranting at not knowing his name,
After the scenery changed, miaka blinking as she slowly tried to absorb the fact that they were back, Bella was urged to know why the stranger took her and her cousin for,
"Let's just get back to the others," the stunned miaka only could nod and fallow, all of a sudden they here a rustling in the bushes,
bella shoved a Trembling miaka behind her protectively and assumed her defensive stance, keeping her Senses open for anything but not a tumbling tamahome out of the bushes out of the offending bushes came shippo and shyori behind him, miaka ran immediately to tamahome and cried into his chest,
tamahome wanted answers but he hugged the girl awkwardly, Bella wondered if she was like that with edward, she took a hold of her voltorei family necklace and remember that care about us so,
They where snapped out of their thoughts when they heard a scream pierce the air, Bella recognized it as nuriko's and she dashed to her friend, leaving the to love sick people behind,
Bella arrived and noticed nuriko in a ridiculous pose as he avoided ever arrow that was meant for his life, the others weren't so lucky and were dead, if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, after getting nuriko out of his predicament, Bella made him tell everyone what happen,
They were only fallowing tamahome was a little ear shot away, arrows soared through the sky and killed them all, expect for nuriko and kaiarra and dios came out if the near by bushe's with in his jaws while looking smug and kiarra looking put out, nuriko suspected that the arrows came from kuoto and Bella agreed,
"maybe these where the one's that the mister fox face warned us about," it was possible that it was,
The young couple just arrived when Bella was about to bury the body's properly, tamahome shielded miakas eyes from the scene, and the girl did not protest, he clinched his jaw tightly and and turned away as well, he was not able to bear the sight's of his dead comrades, nuriko helped bella after a hour or two, the body's buried,
"Why don't we head toward the village," tamahome suggested as he patted a unconscious miaka on his lap, miaka was worn out and so was everybody else,
Bella was fighting the urge not to curl up on a seeming comfortable grass while nuriko let out a unladylike *yawn*, shippo and shiori was sleeping on kiarra as she and dios watched everything, they all have no choice but to agree,
Bella climbed on dios and urged him to fallow tamahome, miaka was placed in front of Bella who held on her cousin so she wont fall off, nuriko trudged sluggishly behind them,
meanwhile At the inn
Miaka woke up at the smell of food and started to gobble everything in sight, bella and the other's were thinking about the strange attack's,
"Even sleep and shock don't put and end to that appetite of yours," commented nuriko,as he sat by bella,
bella just *sighed* at her cousin and petted her pup's who were laying on her lap fast asleep,wishing rin was with her as well, they have confirmed that it was kuoto's solder's that planed the attack,
"It's just like what guy said," "miaka and I are being targeted," "but for what thought that's the puzzling part," miaka stopped eating and started to look worried, tamahome just smiled,
"Don't worry miaka," "I won't let anything happen to you," "I promise I will not leave your side," Bella and nuriko ignored the two, when,
"Tamahome!" "Their of group of bandits at the west gate!," tamahomes expressions changed from sincere to goofy then to weird,
"Ooooh ok!" "Money time!" "Woo hoo!" "Nuriko Bella the care of miaka while I'm gone," and he left in such a hurry,
"Is money all that guy cares about?"
"If you save the village it should be no charge for it," nuriko lectured while putting his head on his hand and leaned into it,
Bella really didn't react she only watched tamahome fight the bandits through the window, miaka scowled at the behavior, "he cares more about money than me!" The inn keeper chimed in,
"I'm sorry to interrupt but you got it all wrong," "tamahome don't ask for a big amount," "and he dose help alot with the village," "besides," "what's wrong asking for a few cents,"
Nuriko didn't believe him but he stayed quiet, miaka was wondering why money was so important to him for,
Miaka woke up and found out that it was around 6 I'm the morning or so, she looked around and found herself lying on a bed, she couldn't get much sleep she was wondering why tamahome needed money for, she sat up looking around for Bella and tamahome but found no one, their was no shyori, shippo, kiarra, dios either,
climbing out of bed she found her pack near the table of the room, Miaka grabbed a flashlight and crept to nurikos sleeping form,
"Nuriko," *poke,* *poke,* no response,
"Nuriko wake up," *poke,* *poke,* *poke,* still no response, growling lightly, a light bulb turned on above miakas head as she thought of a evil idea to get nuriko up,
positioning the flash light where nurikos eye was, she open his eye and turned the flash light on in her hand,
NURIKO WAKE UP!
AHHHHHH!
meanwhile With Bella,
Bella crept through the trees and stalked her prey, she waited she the next,
"Ah ha!,"
"What the- ?" Tamahome was caught off guard when body collided with his and he lost his breath, not to mention his foot and his balance so there was only one thing to do,.. Fall, Bella couldn't help herself he looked so funny, she clutched her sides as she laughed her head off,
"Hahahahahaha!" "You should see your haha face!," Bella couldn't stop laughing she had to lean against a tree stunk, after it clinked into tamahomes head what just happens he spoke,
"Bella what was that for?" "By the time she stopped laughing and giggling like mad,
"Ooooh nothing," she shrugged, tamahome grumbled as he got up, he brushed his cloths off annoyed and stomped off, Bella smiled as her and the others fallowed after him,
"Why are you up so early?" She fell into place right behind him and put her hands behind her back, he shot her a glare,
"I should ask you the same question," Bella's brown eyes sparkled,
"But you didn't," "and I asked you first," tamahome let out a annoyed *sigh* and said,
"I'm just going to visit some people," Bella's eyes sparkles even more,
"Ooooh who?" "Maybe a girlfriend?" "If you hurt my cousin your in a world of pain mister," bella threatied and her hair back smugly, tamahome stopped in his tracks and Paling,
"You wouldn't," "Are you serious?"
"don't Flatter yourself," "as if I consider the possibility you have any experience with girls," Bella flashed him a mischievous smirk, before walking ahead of him, they were already in the village and the people were starring once again at bella walking gracefully among them, tamahome snapped back to reality and rushed after her,
They reached a small hut that was almost on the other side of town and a small girl came running out of the house,
"Onii- chan!" "Your home!" The little girl launched herself towards him and In
circled her arms around his neck, the little girl wore a warn out yellow kimono and her hair was up in two bun's and she had a darling smile like her little rin has,
Bella watched as three more kids came out and doggy piled on tamahome, they were so young and Bella wondered how they managed,
"Hey!" "Chuei," "shunkei," "yuiren," "gyokurun!," "have you all been good while I've been gone?" Greeted tamahome, as he carried yuiren as he patted the heads of the others, they replied enthusiastically,
"Yes we have Onii-chan!," "we worked together like you told us to do!," "and we took care of father!" Tamahome smiled and asked,
"How is father?," their mood immediately dampened as chuei, the oldest of the four replied,
"Father still ill," "but come he would want to see-," the boy was cut off by shunkei,
"Wow Onii-chan," "who is the pretty pretty lady behind you?" All their faced turned to look at a smiling and mildly blushing Bella, then gyokurun spoke disbelievingly,
"Is she your wife Onii-chan?" Tamahome *coughed* and Bella nearly chocked on her spit,
"Nope," "I'm just a friend of your brothers," "his wife-to-be is asleep somewhere's still," "I'm Bella it's nice to meet you all," tamahome blanched and chuei, the one that looks like him *sighed* and spoke,
"I knew it was to good to be true," "Onii-chan is to impossibly to be with someone and pretty as you," "he's to hopeless," he was bonked on his head by tamahome and went into the hut annoyed, Bella patted and kissed the aching head of the boy and said,
"Don't worry little one," "I'll tell him not to hit you anymore," shunkei replied,
"Onii-chan don't listen to anyone," "he's to stubborn," there was a loud cry of protest from the hut that made Bella and the Kid's laugh,
"Hey listen little one's," "stubborn or not," "besides," "he's no match to me," the kids turned wide eyed,
"Can you really out best Onii-chan?" Bella flashed them a knowing smile and went inside for the kids to fallow, when they went inside,
Bella felt cozy and quit at home, it didn't really matter that it look like its gonna collapse at any minute, Bella slowed to a stop at the sight of tamahomes father, the man looks worse for wear and is thin, he didn't even have the strength to sit up,
Tamahome was kneeling next to his fathers bed and holding his hand,
"Hello father, how have you been? The man coughed,
"I'm fine son," "it's good to see you home," "you're always out on some business," "and we rarely get to see you," he coughed again, Tamahome struggled to keep a smile on so he wouldn't alarm anyone, but inside he felt guilty that he couldn't provide a better life for his family, he loved them so much but love don't pay the bill's,
"And may I ask who is that beautiful creature behind you?" "Don't tell me I've died and gone to heaven I see a angel," "because i'm in love," joked tamahomes father, Bella fought the urge to frown but she just introduced herself instead,
"I'm Bella sir," "I'm a friend of your son," "may I ask you what I can do to make you a little comfertable?" She bowed deeply, they were all shocked at her words and gesture, they were poor and no status why would a angel like her bow to us as a *sign* of respect, the man coughed and smiled at her,
"That's not necessary," "Bella-San," nodding once again, Bella stood up once again, then old man turned to tamahome,
"How are you son?" Tamahome smiled,
"I brought some money today," "it will last for some time but I'll earn more for you guys,"
"Tamahome," "I do appreciate want you do for us but why don't you go and make a life for yourself," "chuei manages the farm well enough for us," "why dont you settle down," "and take a bride," tamahome coughed and patted chuei head affectionately,
"Father don't worry about me," "and get better soon," "I need to leave now but I'll be back soon," tamahome stood up and was about to leave until yuiren clutched to his leg,
"Please... Don't go Onii-chan," tamahome knelt and kissed the top of her head,
"Don't worry yuiren," "when I come back I'll bring you a new doll,"
"But I don't want a doll," "I want you Onii-chan," they all started crying and ran over to their older brother,Bella couldn't bear the sight and turned away,effectively hiding the tears that was coming down her face,
"Yuiren?",
"YUIREN!"
Bella sipped her head around and gasped, the little girl was suddenly red, she rushed over immediately and scooped up the child up,
"She's burning up!" "Somebody get me a cloth and some water!" "You prepare a bed!," "so I can lay her Down in it!," Bella shouted orders and they obeyed when,
"What happend?" Miaka bursted through the window with such force that stopped everyone from what they were doing what Bella told them to do, Bella realized this but ignored her cousin and continued to do what she was doing,
"Hurry!"
The urgency in her voice sent them all scrambling again, miaka and nuriko decided to help and rushed to do errands as well, after a few more arrangements, Bella managed to get yuiren to sweat decently, tamahome turned to miaka with a accusing glare,
"You... What are you doing here?" "You fallowed me didn't you?" Nuriko shrank in
embarrassment behind bella, miaka took the hat from bella and tried to disappear like the strange man did before but it was no use,
"I'm still here..," Miaka stated quietly tamahome heard it still yelled,
"Of course your still here you moron!," his older little sister clutched to his cloths and asked,
"Is she your wife Onii-chan?," tamahome put his hands out there and denied it,nurikos voice came from behind him and was talking to tamahomes father, who was shocked at the moment,
"They are practically husband and wife," "they probably went all the way by now," tamahome father almost lost consciousness, tamahome shouted at him,
"Don't joke around with him with such a straight face!," "he will believe you!," Bella was still attending to yuiren and *sighed*,
"You keep saying that," "and in the end you always blush like a love sick school boy," tamahome only reddened even more, miaka smiled and volunteered to go get some water, miaka and tamahome are already in love she know's it will work,
"Oh, Bella I'm sorry that we thought you were tamahomes wife," Bella remained silent and miaka turned to her cousin worriedly,
"What's wrong?" Bella looked at her with synthetic eyes,
"Miaka," "do you know a relationship with tamahome is impossible don't you,
" but then again it might be with the law's of time travel," "i cant tell you that right now until it's over," bella thought's to what taiiskun made her promise about time travel from the universes, miaka face darken as she came to a realization,
"Me.. And tamahome can never be together," miaka bit back the tear's and smiled,
"We'll have to make the best of it," "come along," "yuiren needs this water," the both nodded and ventured on,
"So the priestessess are traveling alone," spoke the assassin, as he watch bella and miaka head toward's the stream,
When miaka and Bella reached the stream, they started to talk about to find the other warriors while looking at the universe of the four gods that they borrowed from hotohori, Bella smiled at the thought of his name and shook it away when something caught her eye,
"It says monk and the other one says mask," translated Bella while miaka got the water,
"Hmm," "strange do you think it has to do with-," miaka was cut off when Bella pushed her to the side quickly,
they both avoided the long scythe that hit the ground where they just where, miaka was shocked and moved effectively out of the way, and they continued to do so while Bella was trying to sneak around the evil baka,
The assassin kept swinging his weapon it nearly hit miaka head but nearly missed it by a inch, Bella took this chance and punched him in the gut, the assassin doubled over and Bella landed a upper cut to his jaw, swiftly, she grabbed the scythe and kicked him in the head, making him land on his back, bella pointed the scythe at the guy's throat,
"Who sent you?" She asked before he could do anything, another man dressed in black cape jumped out of the trees and hit the ground effectively where his fallen comrade was, accomplishing two things at the same time, one, stopping the other man spilling anything to betray their master, two separating the two girls,Bella was thrown against a tree,
the black capped man cornered miaka since she was the most helpless one,and was about to kill her, when two hands sprung from both sides of miakas head, they came from the strange man from the hat that was on her back,
The hands moved in a form of a spell that sent the assassin flying backwards and instantly disappearing, miaka fell on her butt in relief and shock, the hat on her back floated to the ground and a man floated out of the accessory,
"Hey your that guy! Mister fox face!" "The inhuman monk!" Miaka excessive name calling stopped after hearing Bella *groan* on the side,
"Miaka are you alright?"
"Oh bella, are you ok?" Running to her cousins side to check to see if she is ok, the strange man *sighed*,
"Well, that was just rude, no da," "I'm just a traveler, no da," with that said, with that said he chanted some kind of boosting spell on Bella with her healing ability's combined, with that said Bella was better in a blink of a eye,
"Thank you," "I feel much better now," Bella got up and miaka gathered the water,they started walking back to the hut,
"You both know that you have responsibility as priestesses," "and you can't stop running from them," the monk lectured them, Bella put her hands on her hip's and asked,
"Who said I was running away," the monk stopped in his footstep's,
"This is no joking matter, no da," "both of you are responsible for your actions," "we can't have two priestesses who don't know anything, no da," "people will suffer on account on how you do you job, no da," Bella was about to retort before they heard a scream,
"kuzo, i know that scream,"
"There you see, no da,"
With no other thing in mind other than getting their as fast as she can, bella strained her leg's to go faster and faster, when she reached the hut,
Bella stopped in her tracks, the kids the old man and tamahome and nuriko was dangling from some sort of a ribbon, the children where screaming and nuriko was trying to get out of his bonds, tamahome was somehow unconscious,
"Bella look out!" Nuriko shouted, just in time Bella ducked and twirled her heal into the assassin stomach, the man stumbled back while clutching his pained stomach,
"You fool," "do you want to condemn your friends and cousin to death?" "priestess of the shikon,?" The bonds tightened on everyone and whimpered her pain, Bella eyes widened and growled deep in her throat,
"Tightened that again you will not live past a second is finished," the assassin chuckled,
"You do not know who your dealing with, miko," "do you think I fear death," Bella smirked,
"Then you do well not to fear it now," the cries if the children reached her ears and nurikos warnings went through one ear out the other,
Bella felt the power of the seemingly dormant shikon jewel around her neck next to the volturi family necklace and under cloths reacting to the urgency of the situation, blue and pink energy sprung from her neck and encircle her form,
"You shouldn't have to hurt them," with that he was incinerated in seconds, Bella retracted her power and tried to get control of it, she knew there was something wrong,
she did not know what exactly what it was though, it was like if she was coming a different person all together and it was not nice, their seems something was eating her soul from the inside, it hurts and it burns but there was no evidenced of it all, Bella grimaced and clutched the jewel tightly,
"what's happening to me?" "Why is this happening?" Bella took a deep breath and regained her usual composure so she won't alarm anyone, bella leaned on the wall to get her mind straight,
*Meowing* and two familiar figures launched their selves at her,Bella fell over by the impact, kiarra and dios sat their and look on in amusement, shippo's turquoise and shiori's violet eye's looked up at her in concern, she just smiled gently at them,
"Now where have you four been?" She asked in a raspy voice and from dehydration, shippo and shiori looked smug and announced,
"We caught lunch," kiarra and dios mew in agreement,
The children watched the interation between the demon's and bella and was a little confused who where the four demons were,
tamahome saw the sprouting curiosity of his family, and explained simply that they are apart of Bella group or pack as she once called it, he also told him their in another one but she is stay with a friend of theirs, and her name is rin, he also said their's use to be a demon slayer, monk, another miko, and two more demons that traveled with her,
Bella smiled sadly at the story sounding like a fairy tail but it was welcomed though, miaka and the monk arrived a little while ago and was tending to the bruises of them all when another hail of arrows came through, Bella took the
four demons to with her and ran to the old man and the kid's, tamahome covered miaka's body with his own while the monk when he turned his staff to a great speed, deflecting every arrow, Bella, who appeared through her bangs and saw the red mark on his knee,
After the ordeal bella lead the kids to a safe corner and left them with shippo and shiori and kiarra and dios as playmates, while she went over to the monk and asked,
"What do they call you?" The monk turned to her and smiled,
"I'm chichiri, no da," "and you have a good eye to see through me," "no da,"
miaka and tamahome put his father on the futon and proceeded to the table where, nuriko and Bella and chichiri sat, miaka and tamahome pulled out their chair's and waited for someone to start the discussion, it was chichiri who spoke first,
"When I was traveling I heard new's from kuoto," "that two miko's where found in konan," "no da," "and it seem's that they are after their own priestess to grant their own wishes," "no da," "and their are rumor's that they are trying to get the shikon miko on their side," "so you better watch out," "no da," Bella grabbed her head and groaned in annoyance,
"Why me?" Miaka smiled at her cousin to make her feel better but didn't help,
"Maybe they think you look pretty," tamahome cleared his throat,
"That is unlikely," "no da," "maybe they find you a threat," or maybe a key to bring them power," "no da,"
"both of those are probably right," "but why Are they aiming to kill miaka?," Bella interjected with a frown,
"They probably want her dead because she is the priestess of suzaku," "and the guardian of konan," "no da," "I heard in this place I stayed at that konan and kuoto are not in good terms," "and that they are only on stand still," "waiting for the right time to strike each other," "all of this for power now," "if they don't find their priestess and get rid of miaka," "then their quest on power will be finished," "and then will defeat konan," "no da"
tamahome, nuriko and chichiri nodded grimly, Miaka did not like where this mood was going,
"But where are they going to find another priestess?" "Aren't they supposed to be from another world?" Miaka caught onto what she was saying and Bella gave her a horrified look, she knew this was no good at all,
"Yui,..." Her fears where confirmed Bella and miaka shared a look that only the two cousin's could read,
"We'll go find yui,"
"Of course," "but we need some help,"
"What help,"
Bella adverted her eye's from miaka and didn't answer her question,instead Bella called out to the four demons,
"Guy's I think me and miaka could use some fresh air to Clear our mind's," "we'll be back in a jiffy," before they could protest they where out the door,
Once away from ear shot, miaka and Bella mounted dios's large form and shippo and shiori was on kiarra's,Bella spoke
"We have to find yui," "I don't want to have to fight her," "and I don't wish to put her in the middle of this mess,"
"Your right," "I don't want to either," "I hope we reach her before they do,"
"Don't worry," "if they do," "then I would have to beat them all to hell," "that usually dose the trick," Miaka and Bella laughed good naturally and continued on their way,
To be continued,