It's been a week since we found Shippo and I wasted the two brothers. We found a traveling pervert...I mean monk, called Miroku. He was on the hunt for Naraku as well, so he started tagging with us. Walking for what seemed like an eternity with nothing interesting going on was quite boring. That is, until a whirlwind took Kaggs away. Now we were chasing her down. Lucky for me, I caught up and tackled the blasted dust ball. It surprised me when it let out a yell when it was face planted. Now I sat on top of a very angry wolf with Kagome safely in my arms. "Kaggs, I think we have another pervert..." I whispered and earned a nod in agreement.
One long conversation later, Koga (The wolf I still sat upon) explained his packs predicament. "So, birds of paradise have been killing off your pack and you wanted my priestess friend for her shards?" I asked, arching one eyebrow at my captive. "Yeah, now will you get off me? You're very heavy." A tick formed on my jaw from holding back a feral snarl. Just who does this guy think he is? King of bone heads? I stood up on hid back and heard a satisfying crack and groan. "Never call a female fat, It might be the last thing you do." I warned and stepped off Koga. He sat up with a moan and looked at my retreating form. Where was I going? To kill a few fowls of course, You think I can hold my wrath back for more than a few minutes? Not at all.
These Birds of paradise were creepy and loud. Half giant bird and half green goblin, one even had two goblin bodies. Guessing that he was the boss, I shifted into my silky red furred panther and bounded up to him. Claws itching for a fight, and not one that ends quickly. "Oh look, a cat looking for a pidgin. Too bad we will eat her like a snack!" It squawked and dove towards me. Crouching at the last moment, I let my iron muscles push me towards the bird. My claws latching onto the thing with a vise like grip. "Ah! You stupid cat! You'll pay for that!" The bird screeched and started to slam me into the rock surface. "You think a little shove will do anything? I'm already pissed, so why don't you give me a real fight?" I growled deeply and clawed up the demons side to it's conjoined body.
Down below, Kagome and inuyasha fought a few of the smaller birds of paradise. Miroku was making sure Shippo was alright and Koga was watching that panther swipe and claw at the boss bird. "Are you sure that cat doesn't need a hand? my whole pack couldn't bring that thing down!" The wolf yelled, eyes never leaving the panther. "Don't worry about Nikki, she's pissed at you and is taking it out on that bird!" Kagome yelled out as she fired an arrow. "Just be glad that isn't you, You'd be a new scratching post in seconds." Koga nodded and took a swipe at a low flying bird. "Sure hope you're right." He grumbled.
A few cuts and gashes later, one of the goblin heads were crushed between my massive jaws. The other was sputtering out apologies and promises. "A coward gets nowhere." I snarled and pounced at the quivering figure. Claws tearing the creature in two. A quick sniff around and I was able to pull a shard from it's tongue. Kagome and the others quickly ran over to me. "NIKKI! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LIKE THIS WHEN YOU GET MAD? WHY CAN"T YOU JUST YELL LIKE A NORMAL PERSON?" Kagome screamed out in a high pitched voice making me wince at the sound. "Simple, I'm far from normal Kaggs. You should know that." I shrugged and stood up. A nice gash running from my shoulder to my hip, completely ruining my shirt. "Great, this is gonna need stitches..."
Koga's den was dark and lively, much like one of the bars I frequent back in my era. Kagome was still ranting about my reckless behavior and I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. My eyes trailed the cave and found no one suspicious, though the feeling never left. "I swear you have not changed since day one. Just as reckless and brash now as you were when we were six. Nikki, one day you wont walk out of a fight with that cocky smirk of yours." She said as she tied off the wrapping. "Don't break these stitches cause I wont fix them." With that, Kagome left to speak with Miroku about where to go next. I gave a sigh and stood up myself, stretching to check that the stitches would hold well. "You got chewed out pretty good back there." A ruff, cocky voice called from behind me. I turned and saw Koga sitting on a ledge and looking down at me. "Yeah, I get that whole speech at least twice a week." I scoffed out and strode over to the relaxed wolf.
"How come you had to get stitched up? Don't you heal like a demon should?" Koga asked, raising an eyebrow with his question. I gave off another sigh and jumped up to his ledge, settling myself on the wall. "Well, that's the strange part. I don't heal like a demon, the only thing have that makes me a demon is my form. Sure I'm strong and stuff, but that comes with practice and survival. Other than that, I'm more human than anything." I said, leaning my head back to rest a bit. A stretch of silence ensued as the wolf mulled over his thoughts. My eyes started to drift closed before a certain hanyo pulled me down. "Time to go." Was all he said as I was, once again, drug from my resting place and on another walking trip.
A growl escaped from my throat as the sun blinded my sensitive eyes. Inuyasha was now walking by Kagome, Shippo on her shoulder. Miroku was a little ahead and I was trailing the back with Taki walking by my feet. "Couldn't you let me sleep for five minutes? Inubaka..." I grumbled under my breath as my feet shuffled to follow my meager pack. When sunset finally came, I didn't even bother with a sleeping bag. Curling up at the base of a tree, I was out in a matter of seconds. Dreams couldn't even reach my sleeping mind as my muscles welcomed the needed rest.
"I don't understand, why would this many demons attack a village if the hunters in it were gone? Wouldn't do them any good except to go extinct when the hunters find out." I sniffed while digging another grave. "How should I know? Just keep digging." Inubaka hollered from another grave. "Yeah yeah." I was panting by the time all of the graves had been dug and the bodies properly laid to rest. To recap, we heard of a demon hunter village from Miyoga the flea. They were supposed to know about the origin of the shikon jewel. But being dead, I don't think they will be much help. A scent hit my nose that I didn't recognize and I turned to face where it was coming from. "Guys, someone's coming." I warned, lengthening my claws as a giant boomerang came crashing from the trees. I had to hit the ground just to dodge the thing, my shoulder flared with pain as I stood up.
A girl with black and pink armor walked out of the trees and called out. "Inuyasha! You are the one responsible for my clans death, prepare to die!" Kagome gasped as the girl dashed towards the shocked hanyo. My nose was working double time as a sickening scent pounded at my senses. "She had a jewel shard in her back!" I heard Kagome yell, but I was on my own trail. Only one thing can smell as bad as this. "You must be Naraku." I said to a tall, white baboon clad individual who started laughing darkly. "Yes, I am Naraku. A pleasure to meet such a unique panther, I haven't seen your kind in quite some time." His voice oiled out and chuckled. "Are you going to laugh like a hyena or are we going to fight?" I growled out, fangs peeking out from my lip. "I see, not in a mood to chat? Fine then, lets seen how good you are."
Dodging fists was easier than dodging thorny roots, my ankle had already suffered from the contact of one. "You are quite skilled in the art of evasion. How are you at attacking?" Naraku sneered, his voice making my blood boil. My form changed into my panther and I lept at him. Before my claws could reach their mark, the roots trapped my in their thorny hold. I yowled in pain as I felt blood drip through my thick coat. Naraku laughed and circled me, gloating at his victory. My tail lashed in agitation as I stayed pinned on my back. "Exquisite, never have I seen a panther of your color before. Nor quite as large. It makes me wonder what secrets you hide, what powers you have leashed under that demon you hold." The man said as he stopped at my head, the roots tightening their hold on me. Inuyasha's scent soon found it's way to my nose and I wanted to cry with relief.
"Iron reaver soul stealer!" A familiar voice yelled out, making Naraku jerk around in time to see Inuyasha's attack coming at him. Too bad he moved in time to miss it. I heard Kagome nearby and I thrashed in the hold I was in. "I see your friends have come for you. Fear not, we will meet again." Naraku said and vanished in a cloud of miasma. Growling again, Inuyasha started cutting away the roots to release my from the deadly cage. "Why did you go off on your own again!" Kagome cried as she tried to staunch my bleeding. "Cause you guys were busy and he was just a coward." I mumbled and looked over my wounds. I changed to my human self to get a better look at what happened to me.
"Nikki, quit squirming and hold still. I know it hurts, but it has to be done." Kagome commanded as she cleaned another gash. "I know, but it's hard to hold still when I'm shirtless and hurting. Not to mention cold." My complaining was halfhearted, but still held truth as I shivered from blood loss and the chill air. "Last one." I heard Kaggs say as the cold and stinging antiseptic touched another raw and bleeding injury. Sucking in a breath, I held my shiver until Kagome started to wrap me up like a present. "There, Finished." I sighed as Kagome put away her medical box. "Sorry Kaggs, I didn't plan on getting hurt this bad." I said. My odd eyes looking into chocolate ones and saw understanding. "I know, and I doubt our help would have made ay difference. wear this and get some rest." She handed me a spare school shirt and left.
I was curled up by the fire, trying to stay warm as another breeze whipped around me. Shivering, I pulled the sleeping bag tighter surround me in a sorry attempt to get warm. Blood loss sucks when fall is well under way in the woods. "No matter what I do or say, Nikki wouldn't ever back down from a fight. I don't think I can keep worrying about her like this. At least in my era, the worst that can happen is that she is shot once and a body laying at her feet." I heard Kagome whisper. This conversation has been going on for the past hour while they think I'm asleep. "Yeah, I think the best course of action would be to take her back. She has a very high probability of dying here, Nikki just isn't strong enough." Miroku said, his staff jingling as he shifted. -They want me gone...I know it's for safety reasons, but it stiff hurts for them to talk about it.- I thought, the wind blowing around again as the group agreed and soon fell asleep. -If hey don't want to worry about me, then I guess I need to leave. And not to my era, I love being myself too much.-
Leaving the group was hard, not saying goodbye was harder. I stood a few feet from the camp and gave a silent apology to my friends, praying that I would become stronger for them. Turning on my heel, I trudged away from my pack and into the deep woods. Even though my wounds were screaming at me, I knew that I had to get away from them. All I caused was worry and grief, I can't do that to the ones I call friend.
A/N: Hey Hey! another chapter! Sorry for the wait, life gets busy around this time. Anywho, hope you enjoy! P.S. If you guys have a specific love interest for Nikki, let me know! (Inuyasha is off cause him and Kagome are my OTP)