Bleach Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ New Life ❯ Tension ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Bleach or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Strong Language and Mild Violence

Tension

 

Inuyasha stared at Kagome, a confused thrown marring his features.

“Whaddya mean?”

“I mean that it would only make sense if I brought them here. Naraku's somehow gotten through, which means that Kohaku's here, too, probably. I know Sango would want to go wherever she can destroy Naraku, and Miroku as well.”

“Keh! How the hell're you gonna open it for them?”

“Oh, that's easy! I'll give them jewel shards, and that should open the well for them!”

“It's that easy?” Inuyasha said disbelievingly.

“There's a barrier I put around the well with Miroku and Kaede's help. It keeps evil out. All that it would take to get them through is a pure heart and a jewel shard, or some connection to me.”

“Yeah, and how are you gonna get through?” Inuyasha asked, glaring.

“What?” Kagome asked, blinking in confusion.

“Tch. It's pretty bad when I have to point something out. If Naraku's here, and you're here, then that means the whole damn jewel's here.”

“No it's not,” Kagome said, frowning. “A while back, I put a seal on one of the shards and buried it by the well.”

“Why the hell would you do something so stupid!?” Inuyasha growled.

“It wasn't stupid,” Kagome argued.

“It's easy pickings for any random-”

“It was just common sense,” Kagome cut him off, frowning darkly. “If Naraku ever got his hands on the jewel from us, then I had to make sure that he didn't have the entire thing. I couldn't let it happen. So, I sealed it into the ground by the well. I really didn't think it would be a way to keep the well open until just now.”

“Keh… That's actually pretty good, wench!” Inuyasha said, looking truly impressed.

“Yeah, I know. I do occasionally have a good idea,” she growled, making the hanyo jump back in surprise.

“The fuck-”

“It doesn't matter,” she growled. “Just keep a watch so that Naraku doesn't show up and break the well, okay?”

Before the bemused hanyo could respond, she jumped into the well, his retort being cut off by a bright flash of blue light…

 

The others were contemplating their futures when they felt the massive surge of energy from the well's general direction. They all took off the second Shippo said Kagome's name, and got there to find her glaring at the well.

“Wow. What'd Inuyasha do now?” Sango asked, knowing the look well.

“Oh! Nothing… Anyway, you're all going to need these,” she said, seeming surprised that they showed up.

She quickly broke out of her thoughts and pulled off four shards of the jewel.

“Umm… Why?” Miroku asked as she handed them to the group, Shippo climbing onto her shoulder.

“Well, the way I see it, Naraku's in the future, and we need all the help we can get, so I'm going to bring you to the future.”

“You can do that?” Sango asked. “I thought that only you and Inuyasha could get through.”

“Well, we won't know until we try. I think all you should need is a Shikon shard.”

“Speaking of which, how is it that you can still come through the well if the entire jewel is in your time?” Miroku asked, obviously very curious.

“A very lucky coincidence,” Kagome said with a shrug. “Anyway, it's convenient because once Naraku's dead, you can come back to your time.”

“Then shall we be going?”

“Yes! We might not be coming back for a while, though, so we should make sure you've got everything you could need.”

Sango looked down at her nekomata and smiled affectionately before letting a shy, hidden glance slid toward Miroku.

“I'd say that I've got all I need,” she said, hefting her boomerang and fighting a blush off.

“I as well,” Miroku said, smiling.

Kagome sighed as she saw the smack coming, even before Sango turned on him, her face a bright shade of tomato-red.

“How about you, Shippo?” Kagome asked once her giggles subsided.

Shippo simply buried his head into her shoulder and nodded.

“Well then, let's see if this works,” Kagome said, smiling brightly.

Miroku moved forward and, after only a second's hesitation, dove in. Kagome waited with held breath, which immediately released when a bright flash of blue light came from within.

“Alright! You next, Sango!” Kagome said enthusiastically.

Sango was a lot more hesitant about it, and let out a surprisingly girlish scream when Kagome wrapped an arm around her and jumped forward, Shippo held gently in her other.

The light enveloped them, and the second their feet touched ground, Sango pitched forward, shaking violently.

“Time travel, in your words, Kagome, sucks,” Sango gasped.

“It's not so bad once you get used to it,” Kagome giggled.

“Need some assistance, my dear Sango?” Miroku asked, a lecherous grin on his face.

“I'm fine!” the slayer said, shooting up.

Kagome bit back a smile at how bright Sango's face was, and looked up at where the roof had recently been to kill all traces of mirth.

“Let's get going, then,” Kagome said, jumping clear of the well in one move.

They quickly followed, Kirara meowing and hissing at the foul-smelling modern air.

“I know, Kirara,” Kagome said, gently brushing the neko's head, which calmed her down and brought out a delighted purr.

The group quickly went into the house, Kagome pointedly ignoring Inuyasha as she headed into the kitchen.

Kagome found her mother's eyes red and puffy upon entry, and gently wrapped her arms around the woman.

“It'll be okay, momma. I'm sure he's probably up in Soul Society right now, exciting people to sleep with his stories.”

The elder woman giggled, and then her eyes widened when she noticed the others who slowly entered behind the miko.

“Well, you must be Kagome's friends from the Feudal Era,” she said, cheering right up. “And you must be Shippo,” she said, smiling down at the curious kit.

“Yep!” he yelled, smiling excitedly.

“My, he's even cuter than you described him, Kagome,” her mother said, ruffling his hair.

The kit blushed and buried his head into his mother's chest, which brought a smirk to her face.

Suddenly, Kagome sensed her brother running toward them, just before he came in through the back door.

“Hey, sis, what the heck happened!? There was a whole bunch of-”

Souta cut himself off at the sight of all the people in the kitchen.

“Souta, this is Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara,” Kagome said, making the introductions.

“So, this is your brother, then?” Sango asked, staring at the bright-eyed boy.

“Sure am,” he said, grinning brightly.

“I hate to break up this touching moment, but we've gotta figure out just what the hell that bastard's doin' here,” Inuyasha interrupted, killing the mood.

“Inuyasha?”

“Yeah, wench?”

“While you're right, you don't have to be such an ass about it,” Kagome said, her sweet tone contrasting with her words surprising all around. “Sit.”

The beaded necklace around his throat suddenly flashed with a bright light, and he slammed into the ground, a whole parade of colorful and creative insults rolling from his mouth.

“Anyway, he is right,” Kagome sighed. “Mama, could you possibly-”

At that moment, the elder woman yawned and stood.

“Well, I'm getting tired. Have a good night, Kagome. Souta, bed time.”

Souta followed behind, surprising Kagome with his lack of complaint. As soon as they were upstairs, Kagome dropped into the wooden chair her mother had vacated, the others soon following her lead. Except for Inuyasha, who stood pouting against the wall and glaring darkly at the miko.

“Well, first is the obvious question,” Miroku said, finally breaking several moments of silent contemplation. “How did Naraku know about the well?”

“That's probably my fault,” Kagome sighed, glaring down at the floor.

“Your fault? How?” Sango asked, frowning.

“Alright, let's look at what happened,” Kagome said, her tone business-like. “Our group got separated, probably because of Naraku. Then, Naraku hunted me, and ended up fatally wounding me. I don't remember going through the well, but I obviously had to have to end up here. So, it's obvious that he knew the well wasn't just a well because of me.”

“Okay, that seems plausible,” Miroku agreed. “Now, the question of how he managed to get through the well. We know that he has the remaining jewel shards. But how did he manage to get through the barrier?”

“Barrier?” Sango asked, confused.

“Yes. We, that is myself, Lady Kagome, and Lady Kaede, erected a barrier around the well.”

“Why?” Shippo asked, curious.

“For just this reason,” Kagome said, eyes thoughtful. “It doesn't make sense. We made that barrier for exactly this reason. With the power between us, as well as the aid of the jewel, that barrier shouldn't have been able to be broken.”

“Keh! Maybe yer just not as strong as you think you are, wench,” Inuyasha sneered.

His eyes widened in shock when she suddenly drew a dagger and threw it, the blade ending inches from his throat into the wall.

“I don't think I'm strong. And are you stupid, or are you really incapable of telling when you're annoying me?” she practically growled at the surprised hanyo.

“Well, by the looks of the structure around the well, there appears to have been some kind of explosion,” Miroku said, moving right along.

“So, it could be that he simply found a way to overpower the barrier… I really don't like that idea. That would be very bad,” Kagome said, eyes wide.

“Quite,” Miroku agreed. “But, we know he's still got Kagura, and a far greater portion of the jewel than ours. So it stands to reason-”

“Miroku,” Kagome cut in, “we made that barrier so that nothing with ill intention could get through. There's only one way he could've broken the barrier made by two mikos and a priest, no matter how strong he is,” Kagome said, eyes refusing to come up from the floor.

“What would that be, Kagome?” Sango asked, not understanding why Kagome looked so afraid.

“The only way that he, a demon intent on killing and doing everything he can to gain power, would get through our barrier would be… he would have to…”

“He'd need the help of a particularly strong priest or miko,” Miroku said, eyes also downcast, away from Inuyasha.

Sango began to have an inkling as to why they were acting so skittish, but she needed confirmation, despite the suddenly dangerous-looking hanyo.

“There are plenty of strong mikos,” Shippo said, frowning. “Though none are as strong as momma.”

“No… There's one other miko,” Kagome said, sensing every one of Inuyasha's muscles tense.

“There's no fuckin' way that Kikyo would-”

“Shut up, Inuyasha, you don't know anything,” Kagome growled. “She's not the woman you used to know.”

“She wouldn't help that bastard,” he snarled.

Kagome rose up, her eyes dark and her fists clenched.

“Yes, she would.”

“Yeah? Why the hell should I believe you?” Inuyasha growled. “I believed instantly that you were you, but maybe I should've believed Kikyo! You were gone for a long time, and then you suddenly show up again, and the very next day, Naraku breaks through this barrier, which you say would need a strong miko to break. Seems like Kikyo-”

The hanyo's eyes widened almost comically, along with everyone else's, when power suddenly rushed from the miko's body in waves.

“Inuyasha, choose what you say next very carefully,” Kagome warned, glaring.

“Or what, bitch?”

“Or I'll bury you so hard with the word, you'll find out first hand if you can really dig your way from once side of the planet to the other,” she snarled, eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Keh! You can't do shit! Looks like Kikyo was right. I shoulda believed her instead of my nose. But I will give you that hiding your scent's somethin' I haven't really seen before so close. Must be some kinda' magic.”

Suddenly, Kagome vanished, along with Inuyasha. The others quickly ran through the front door to find the miko standing over a pained-looking Inuyasha. But they noticed she was glaring up at the sky.

Which they soon understood when several people in black suddenly appeared in the same way they'd seen Kagome do.

“What the hell was that massive power surge?” a woman growled, glaring at Kagome.

“Power surge? Aren't you a little late?”

The girl's eyes widened marginally before she glared even harder at the miko.

“You can see me?”

“Ugh! Yes! Will people stop asking me that!?” Kagome growled.

“Well, people aren't exactly supposed to see us,” Ichigo's voice said, preceding his appearance by a few seconds.

“Yeah, I get that, but do I really feel that… mundane?” Kagome asked, ignoring the surprised-looking Shinigami before her.

“Heh… Kind of. Hey, what the hell happened? Karin won't tell me how I ended up at my house,” he said, frowning.

“Oh… Uh, well, this woman seems to be impatient,” Kagome said, noticing the woman was now gritting her teeth. “Short version. You got knocked out by the Arrancar, and then Uryuu and I beat them and chased the survivor away. I… uh… sorta carried you back.”

“They managed to beat me?” Ichigo asked, frowning.

“I only showed up as you got knocked down. I can only guess that the leader hit you from behind.”

“Damn,” Ichigo groaned. “Wait. You and Uryuu fought together?”

“Well, actually, I killed a bunch, and then he showed up and got more…”

The girl finally seemed to reach her limit, and growled when she noticed, finally, Inuyasha, who was still glaring up at Kagome, who had moved several feet away by now.

Suddenly, her Zanpakuto was drawn, and she was in a fighting stance.

“My name's Soi Fon, leader of the Covert-Ops and Captain of the Gotei 13 2nd Division. Prepare yourself for death, on the charge of existing, youkai,” she snarled.

“Excuse me,” Kagome said, drawing the Captain's attention to herself. “How is being a youkai a crime?”

“You know what this beast is?” Soi Fon exclaimed, staring at the miko with a suddenly wary glare.

“Uh… yeah. And he's an idiot, but he's not a monster,” Kagome said, frowning.

“The youkai were annihilated, a long time ago, when the Soul Society was created. Their very existence today is against our founding! And he will die!”

“Oi, Soi Fon, calm down,” Ichigo said, staring in shock at the usually collected and calculating Captain.

With a growl, she took off, her sword coming for the still-unmoving hanyo's throat. And her eyes widened in shock when the miko suddenly disappeared, only for a dagger holding the blade far from Inuyasha.

“Hey, if you want to attack someone, it'd better be me! He hasn't done anything against you.”

“I don't need yer help, bitch,” Inuyasha snarled.

And he promptly yelped when Kagome's foot shot backward and kicked him with unbelievable force.

“As I was saying, you're not going to attack him. I'm the reason he's here. And he doesn't deserve to die, just for being who he is. Though I finally understand why Koga wanted to,” she added, throwing a glare over her shoulder.

“Who the hell are you to him?” Soi Fon growled.

“I don't know,” Kagome said with a shrug. “We're friends, I guess. That sound about right to you, Inuyasha?”

“Fuck you, bitch!” the hanyo gasped, still gripping his chest in pain.

“That's a yes. He's here because of me. So, you're not attacking him.”

Soi Fon drew back, her Zanpakuto gripped with white-knuckled intensity.

“Alright. Who are you?”

“Kagome Higurashi,” Kagome said, drawing her blade.

“I see… And what division are you in?”

“I'm not part of Soul Society, but you already figured that out, didn't you?” Kagome asked, bringing her dagger up in preparation.

“Momma!”

The voice brought both of their attention to the wide-eyed kit, and Soi Fon growled.

“Yet another abomination.”

She began to move, but was shocked when the curve of Kagome's blade came around her throat, power flooding the air. She stared in stunned awe at the bright, flaring aura around the miko's arm, a combination of white, blue, black, and red pulsing in time to the girl's heartbeat.

“I don't think getting that close to her is smart, Kagome,” Ichigo advised.

“That's fine. I seem to have picked up that idiot's rash behavior in the last few seconds. Now listen carefully, Captain of the 2nd Division, because I'll say this only once. If you point your blade at my son, I'm not sure how I would react,” Kagome whispered, her voice shocking through Soi Fon's system. “Now, I really don't have the time to deal with some Shinigami's opinions on youkai.”

“The Substitute Shinigami was right,” Soi Fon hissed. “You really shouldn't have gotten so close to me. Jinteki Shakusetsu, Suzumebachi!”

Suddenly, light enveloped Soi Fon's Zanpakuto and arm, and Kagome dove backward.

Suddenly, Soi Fon's right arm was covered in a yellow and black gauntlet, ending in a black bee-like stinger that covered her middle finger.

The Shinigami suddenly vanished, completely expecting no contest. But she was very surprised when her blade was met with the sound of clanging metal.

Kagome stood, her right blade blocking the Shinigami's strike with her dagger ready for the follow-through.

“A Shikai?” Soi Fon asked, her composure broken by all the surprises that kept coming.

“Meet Kumori Suishou,” Kagome said, power flowing into the blades. “Shinikage!”

Suddenly, Kagome's blade became incorporeal and went straight through the Captain while she brought her dagger up to hold off the Captain's.

Suddenly, Soi Fon disappeared, and Kagome felt a sharp pain in the center of her back.

“That's the first step in my Nigeki Kessatsu. You'll die if I hit the mark again,” Soi Fon said, the tip of her blade just barely pressed to the mark. “Give up, and I'll release you from an assured death.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” Kagome said, her right blade glowing.

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“Well, since you were so nice to explain how your power worked for me, I'll be nice. I'm sure you noticed my Zanpakuto went through you. What I did was put some of my energy inside of you. It's kind of like a targeting system. When I want, your shadows will become corporeal and come after you until you die, either from a fatal blow, or blood loss, or exhaustion. So, it looks like we're at an impasse, doesn't it?” Kagome asked, a very uncharacteristically feral gleam to her eye.

“That's enough,” Ichigo sighed, suddenly between the two. “It'd really suck if you both ended up killing each other.”

“As I was saying before, I don't want to fight you,” Kagome said, her tone and manner as though the Captain hadn't just attacked her. “I don't really like fighting… until I came back as a Shinigami, apparently… but I've got bigger concerns right now than a pissed off Shinigami. So, what do you say we both release the time bombs and talk rationally,” Kagome said, her blade glowing.

The searing pain in Kagome's back vanished, and Kagome's blade suddenly stopped glowing.

“Alright. Now then, let's try to get through this without you attacking my friends. There's currently a demon in this time far worse than Inuyasha. He's opportunistic, and he's dangerous, and he's got a very dangerous item with him. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be more concerned about him than Inu… ya… sha?”

Kagome turned around, to find that the hanyo was gone.

“When did he-”

“You were saying?” Soi Fon asked, staring at where the hanyo had been.

“He's probably off brooding somewhere,” Kagome said with a shrug. “If you want to go demon hunting, it shouldn't be him, or my son. It should be the dangerous, sociopathic, evil one that's never been in this world before.”

“This time? This world? What are you talking about?” the Captain practically growled.

“Umm… It's a long story,” Kagome sighed. “If you want to hear it, could you kindly send away all of the assassins that are currently glaring at me as though they want to break me?” Kagome asked, staring at the various Shinigami.

Soi Fon nodded and, with a snap of her fingers, the Shinigami were all gone, except for Soi Fon and Ichigo.

“Let's continue this inside. I really don't want more people coming by tonight.”

The group followed her quickly, Shippo climbing up Kagome's side and into her arms, curling warmly.

“Why did you call that thing your son?” Soi Fon asked, watching as Kagome cradled the kit.

“Because he is my son. Or, at least, I think of him as my son,” she said, smiling warmly at the kit.

“How can a youkai be-”

“It's all part of the explanation,” Kagome assured her as they piled into the kitchen.

“Perhaps we should go get Inuyasha? He may end up causing problems,” Miroku said as he took a seat, practically on top of his fiancé, who gave him a warning glare to behave.

“I'll listen to everything you have to say before I decide what to do,” Soi Fon said, sitting with a strange elegance which contrasted with her previous behavior.

Ichigo stood against the wall, trying to hide his interest in the miko's background.

Soi Fon gave Kagome an expectant look, and Kagome told her the story. And she did not disappoint the Captain.

 

A/N:

Well, there's the next chapter! Sorry that I always make Inuyasha into an ass, but I seem to be able to characterize his bad points far better than the good. And yes, there will be romance in this fic, but I'm having a very hard time deciding who I want to pair.