InuYasha Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Not Your Normal 9 to 5 ❯ A Rough Start ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: A Rough Start

 

The group walked until midday when they stopped for lunch. Inuyasha did the first thing that came natural to him and complained about how weak humans were, and how they always slowed him down. The next thing he did was jump into the lower branches of one of the trees that grew beside the path. They had come to a stop at a hilly grassland area. The path they followed crossed this area and lead into a forest and at the `humans' request, they had stopped before continuing. The fact that it was warm out, and a small stream babbled along near their stopping point had nothing to do with it, or so Inuyasha was told. Of course the moment he had jumped into the tree and reclined, showing an air of nonchalance, the girls had immediately gone to said stream, removed their shoes, and waded in.

 

Inuyasha snorted to himself, but tried to relax his body. Ever since the night Kalin had made his appearance, he had been on edge. The powers displayed by Kalin had caused him some concern. The way he had killed that man had been so sudden that even if he was ready for it, he doubted he could have done anything to stop it; that's what worried him. What if he wasn't fast enough to save his friends or himself? What then. The way Lennex had talked about this power, the human could do some amazing things, but as Lennex had said, the power was not more powerful than a demon's; it was just how he used it that was foreign. He'd deal with it when it came to that time, he concluded. No sense in worrying about it now. He glanced down at the girls who were still ankle deep in the stream and talking quietly.

 

He then took in the monk who was trying to prepare lunch. And by prepare he meant figure out how the capsule-thing Lennex had given them worked. Miroku turned the small cylinder in his hand looking at it from all sides. He knew the button on top was what made the item work, but he was trying to figure out how something so small could produce all that food. He feared it was something that he wasn't going to be able to learn and decided his rumbling stomach should come before his mind's hunger. He depressed the button and tossed the capsule away from him, once again marveling at the small box that appeared. He also wondered how a box like this was able to keep food cold and not spoil it, but paid it no mind when he opened the door to the box. The items of food were numerous and he felt his mouth water at the selections. He pulled out a few items and proceeded to fix something they could all eat. The breeze picked up a bit as he finished lunch and he welcomed the cooling wind. Sometimes these robes of his were so stuffy, but that was the price to pay, he supposed.

 

He picked up one of the breaded creations he made and walked up to the tree raising it up to the half demon.

 

“Here you go my friend; I believe I made a `sandwich' as Kagome calls them.”

 

Inuyasha took it and eyed it. He hated to admit it but the monk had outdone himself. The sandwiches that Kagome brought back were just a few pieces of meat and a slice of cheese. This one Miroku had made, however, had at least four different types of meat with two or three slices of each, and at least three varieties of cheese. Inuyasha took a bite and his eyebrows rose in appreciation. He nodded his thanks to Miroku and continued to eat. Miroku turned back to the rest of the food and found the girls already there. They eyed his concoctions, one with a look of awe at the sandwiches, the other with an amused look. Kagome shook her head, telling herself to have a talk with Miroku about over doing it with their food supply. Sango picked up half of one of Miroku's lunch specials and started eating. They ate in relative silence for a bit. They looked at each other and it was actually Inuyasha who said what was on their minds.

 

“Kind of different without the runt here huh?”

 

They nodded in agreement wondering what the fox kit was up to now.

 

 

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

“And then that idiot, Inuyasha, shoved a tree down the well so she couldn't come back.” Shippo continued to talk, not really looking at Lennex as they rode down the path to the next village. They had made good time from the morning, passing the first village on Miroku's map just before noon. They had stopped and gotten a quick bite to eat at one of the beef houses. Lennex wasn't sure were Shippo had produced the money from and asked the kit about it. He was then advised that Kaede had given him a small bag of what they used for money in this time. He knew it was a bit early to start using it but wanted a nice lunch without Inuyasha eating all of it. Lennex laughed and as they rode out of the town he asked Shippo about their past.

 

 

As they rode Shippo retold the story of how they first met, and Lennex felt for the kid after hearing again about the loss of his father. He was glad Inuyasha had taken out his father's murderers for Shippo. It did give him some closure. And so that was how their trip progressed. Shippo, being as small as he was, walked up and down the length of the horse's back, jumping over Lennex when he got to him and continuously regaled him with stories. The horse had gotten used to the kit's wanderings, even when he walked up towards the horse's head.

 

He continued on about Inuyasha's foolishness concerning Kagome, and his former love, Kikyo. This was a new piece of the story Lennex had not heard, and after the story was told, he knew why. It seemed that Inuyasha could not decide on which of his loves he was most loyal to. While he felt responsible for Kikyo's death, she was only a reanimated corpse, or so Shippo said. Kagome was everything Kikyo wasn't, and not just the alive part.

 

She wanted Inuyasha for him and nothing else. She didn't want to make Inuyasha a human. She loved all of him, demon and human, and had stood by him all this time even after all his running off to Kikyo.

 

He looked around at the countryside, taking in the tranquility of the past. The rolling hillsides, the little houses on the side of the road every so often for those weary travelers who couldn't make it to a village during the day. It was extremely peaceful, nothing like the hustle and constant moving like Tokyo or Satan City.

 

Shippo was just finishing up the story of how he had beaten the younger sister of the Thunder Brothers, his father's murderers, in a duel. Lennex raised his eyes at this and asked him to elaborate a bit further. It was then he found out that Shippo and the girl were the same age and their duel resulted in a coloring contest. Lennex laughed at the story, and again at the putout look he received from Shippo. He promised the kit that after this adventure, he'd have a few new skills in his repertoire. He caught the kit's attention with a nod as he felt the presence of some demons. Not quite like ki as he already assessed but still noticeable. Seemed like a good time for a lesson as any.

 

“Ok Shippo let me tell you a little more about Ki and how to sense it.”

 

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

 

As they put lunch away, a typically tedious task turned into a magical feat by shrinking the food box back into its capsule, Inuyasha and company readied to continue on their journey. The breeze had picked up a bit more and started cooling off the sun-warmed air. Kagome made her way back to the stream to fill a water jug before they left. Inuyasha resumed his lofty perch and lounged in the tree, content after the masterpiece Miroku had given him. Sango and Miroku finished packing up the supplies that were still out. All in all, if this wasn't a journey to stop a madman, this would have been very enjoyable.

 

The wind whipped up again and blew Inuyasha's long white hair out in front of him, partially obstructing his view. He brushed it out of his eyes and looked towards the forest; he wanted to get through most of the way before bedding down for the night. It was then that he made a small but significant discovery. The leaves and branches of the forest were also being blown in the wind, like his hair. Only the direction was completely different. It was blowing towards Inuyasha, not away like the direction of his hair.

 

“Guys,” he called out, “I think we may have some trouble.”

 

No sooner had he spoken when six men on horseback charged out from behind a hill. They were almost on top of the group's position. They had snuck up on them downwind. Inuyasha leapt from the tree and drew his sword as the rest took defensive positions. He pulled his sword from the scabbard and swung and the first rider's horse. He didn't like taking the animal's life but better it and the bandit than his friends. His sword cleaved through the animal and the rider came tumbling down. Inuyasha saw the man hit and turned his attention to the next, knowing the first rider was down for the moment. He was ready to take another bandit out when he was jumped from behind. The first rider had gotten back to his feet quicker than anticipated. The second rider was almost on him as well.

 

Sango had quickly jumped on a transformed Kirara and took to the air gaining some distance and quickly turning to come back at two more of the riders. One rider raised a bow and fired at the airborne woman. The other had a long chain scythe and threw the bladed end at the exterminator. She brought the Hiraikotsu around to shield from both attacks, protecting her and Kirara, but the bandits proved not to be stupid as they separated and tried to flank her so she could only protect from one of them at a time.

 

The last two riders stormed up towards Miroku. He had seen Inuyasha's move and tried to mimic it with the bladed end on his staff. The rider pulled his reigns to his horse to move the animal out of range of the attack. The second rider did the same going around Miroku's other side, only this rider leapt off his horse and tackled the monk, the momentum sending them both towards the ground. The last rider continued on towards the girl by the stream. Kagome had watched everything unfold and quickly took her bow in hands and readied an arrow praying she had the time for shot. The distance closed quickly.

 

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

The impromptu lesson about sensing Ki had gone well until they had practically stumbled into another group of demons that were resting idly in the forest. And since they were resting, they weren't producing any type of energy signature to be detected. The kit's exuberant shout of delight upon feeling the first group of demons had awoken the two ogres. They were not happy about being awoken from their lazy slumber. Lennex kicked the horse in its flanks urging it to go faster. Shippo had bailed off the horse to allow Lennex more control and acted as a lookout in the air after he had transformed into what Lennex thought was some type of pterodactyl. He was quickly informed that the form was that of a seagull. Shippo weaved in and out of the branches, shadowing Lennex as he rode. The ogres were quickly running after them and gaining ground.

 

“Great, killed by an ogre, I can't wait to be made fun of for that,” he muttered. Shippo quickly zipped out in front of him and landed resuming his usual form. Lennex looked at the little demon as he rode by and quickly pulled the reigns back stopping the horse and spinning him around. Shippo held up something in his hand and threw it at the lead ogre.

 

“SPINNING TOP!” the young demon shouted, and the child's toy flew from his hands. When it hit the ogre it grew in size until it was quite a bit larger than the beast, spinning and crushing the ogre underneath it. He heard Shippo chuckle in victory until the second ogre came from around the top and continued its charge. The color drained from Shippo's face as he dove out of the way. The ogre turned to follow the fox and Lennex decided it was time to make his move. He kicked the flanks of his horse, yet again spurring it into a charge. He pulled the katana from its sheath and held it by the handle so that the blade curved back along with his arm. As he neared the ogre, he swung his arm in a wide haymaker punch, putting enough force into the blade to cut the ogre's neck. The blade sunk in and Lennex quickly ripped his hand back pulling the blade free. The ogre cried out in pain, its head nearly being severed, and swung a wild backhand towards the creature that caused it pain. The fist connected, sending Lennex tumbling from the horse and onto the ground.

 

“Didn't need that.” Lennex said to the ground, rolling onto his side. He thought his body hurt before this tussle. He saw the ogre advancing on him, blood streaming from its neck. The blow had injured the demon, but not fatally. Then Shippo was there, standing before him, thrusting his little hand out towards the ogre.

 

”Fox Fire!” he cried and an azure blaze sprung forth, enveloping the demon. The fire burned the ogre and did nothing to help the wound it already had. It also served in blinding the creature. Lennex got to his feet and spied the sword he had dropped during the fall. He quickly went to it and picked it up. The adrenalin coursing through his body made him feel more like his old self than he had since he'd been in the past, so he tried something reckless. He pointed his finger at the beast's forehead and willed his body's energy to focus at the end of his finger tip. Earlier, Lennex had explained to Shippo the art of sensing ki. Of feeling the fluctuations in a living being's energy by expanding the senses of your own ki. Of taking your own energy and throwing it outward in a type of radar. This was just the opposite. He pulled all his energy to one focus point. For a moment he saw a brief yellow glow at the end of his fingertip but before he could release the ki, he felt his energy wane once again. Fatigue dropped him to a knee.

 

“Oh not the best idea I have ever had.” He looked up in time to see the ogre break free of the fire and send its foot out, punting Shippo like a football. The little demon flew back through the trees with a loud racket. Lennex looked up at the advancing ogre and with the rest of his remaining strength, stood and hurled himself at the approaching beast sword pointed directly outward. When the two joined the sword sunk halfway to the hilt into the demon's chest. The impact sent Lennex staggering back a few paces and he was glad for it because the ogre, now staring at the sword sticking out of it his chest, dropped to its knees. Lennex knew the blow to be fatal and so did the demon. In one last act before death claimed it, it the ogre punched outward and up, catching Lennex in the chest. The blow lifted the young Sayjin off the ground and back fifteen feet into the arms of an awaiting tree. Lennex slid down the tree until he settled at the trunk. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the ogre pitching forward, driving the sword blade to the hilt when it hit the ground.

 

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

The arrow was released as soon as the string was taut and she watched as the arrow impaled the rider in the throat; he fell back off the horse and lay on the ground unmoving. The horse continued to run past the girl in white and green. Kagome looked at the rest of her friends, quickly assessing the situation. Sango was still in the air fighting off two of the riders, while Inuyasha had knocked his second opponent to the ground and engaged in battle with both opponents on foot. The fifth bandit straddled Miroku's chest, forcing the young monk's staff down towards his throat. The monk pushed back valiantly, but the bandit had the advantage of leverage over him.

 

Kagome started off to help Miroku when a hand clutched her ankle, tripping her to the ground. She turned back and saw the bandit she felled gripping her ankle with one hand and pulling a small dagger from his belt with the other, the arrow still lodged in his throat. She squeaked in surprise and kicked at the bandit's face as he tried to crawl forward and stab the girl. The noise made Miroku glance at the young girl and then redoubled his efforts in the battle of strength he was engaged in. He tried rocking side to side but the bandit maintained a firm position. He finally went to his second option and shouted.

 

“Sango, Kagome!” he yelled.

 

The Demon exterminator heard the yell and quickly spotted the woman in trouble. She reared her hand back and threw her weapon. She watched the boomerang spin on its course and knew it would hit, but she was unable to watch it hit its mark as the chain scythe whizzed by her face. Saved by the bandit's poor accuracy, she directed Kirara towards the ground and duplicating the maneuver used on Miroku, leapt from her back and unseated one of the riders. His friend would have helped him, but the demon cat was now upon him as she took the rider to the ground.

 

The Hiraikotsu nailed the bandit, forcing him to release Kagome as the weapon shoved him away. She heard the bones in his chest snap on impact, but when the body and weapon finally came to rest, she watched in horror as it pushed the weapon off itself and started to rise. She quickly got up and ran to Miroku; kicking her foot in a wide arc, nailing the bandit under the chin. The force brought its head and upper body up and allowed Miroku to finally get an advantage he pushed with his staff and flung the bandit from him and stood by the his friend. He looked amazed to as both men stood and started advancing on them again.

 

Inuyasha observed this all as he fought his two. He saw Kagome's attacker rise after two fatal blows and his own opponent's miraculous stamina. He could also smell them quite clearly now that he was in battle with them, and he knew that every one of them had to smell like these two. They smelled like death. Inuyasha quickly scanned his surroundings. The tree he rested on during lunch wasn't the only tree in the area; there was one more that was a little ways off. He couldn't trust his smell at that distance but he could trust his eyes. And there were no other hills at all that could conceal someone from him. He knew that was his real target. The zombies and unusual wind concluded it.

 

He jumped out from between the two undead and swung the Tetsusaiga toward the tree releasing a Wind Scar blast. It hit the tree, obliterating it, and Inuyasha saw the form of a woman jump from out behind it, avoiding the attack. When he landed, he cut the two zombies in half with a sweeping swing of his blade and charged for the new target.

 

“I knew this smelled of your work, bitch!” he shouted as he charged down Kagura. The wind sorceress opened her fan and swung it towards Inuyasha.

 

“Dance of Blades!” she cried out, multiple wind blasts springing forth. Inuyasha used his sword to block and avoided taking damage, but the force of Kagura's attack still pushed him back.

 

Kagura smiled at the half demon and said, “What's the matter Inuyasha, surely you didn't expect Naraku to make this easy on you did you?”

 

Inuyasha growled in response. Of course he didn't, but he didn't expect this strong of attack at the beginning. Kagura was one of Naraku's detachments. A minion created from his own body and the power the jewel shards. She was capable of controlling the wind at will, shaping it however she saw fit, like the focused air blasts that were as sharp as any blade. Her other specialty was controlling dead bodies, making them act and fight like the living. Inuyasha renewed his attack, leaping for Kagura yet again.

 

Though his eyes were not as sharp as Inuyasha's, Miroku saw the altercation taking place and now understood what they were dealing with. His hand dug into his robes and brought out two sacred sutras. He charged them with his holy energy and threw them, one at each zombie approaching them. When they connected, a brief crackle erupted and the zombies collapsed to the ground, once again becoming the dead men they should have been. He nodded to Kagome and ran towards Sango to help her. Kagome went to Inuyasha's aid knocking an arrow and aiming for his previous opponents. This time she put her purification energy into the arrow and let it fly. When it hit the pink aura surrounded the corpse for a brief moment.

 

When it faded the body was still there, but the strings controlling it had been cut. It collapsed to the ground without a word. Kagome readied another arrow for the second one. Across the field Miroku had dispatched the other two with sutras and he, Sango, and Kirara approached Kagome as she nullified the final zombie. Then as a group, they went to Inuyasha's aid. He and Kagura were heatedly trading blows, he with the Tetsusaiga, and she with the wind attacks she specialized in. When she saw his approaching friends, she smiled.

 

“Well it looks like your playmates are here to help you, half breed. Too bad I don't have anymore time to baby-sit.”

 

This earned a growl from Inuyasha but before the half-demon could attack she had pulled a feather from her hair and threw it to the ground. In her place was a whirling vortex of wind, closely resembling a tornado. When it dissipated, Kagura was gone. They looked to the sky and watched her fly off in the feather, now large enough to carry her on the wind.

 

Inuyasha turned to his friends as he put his sword away. “Anyone hurt?” he asked.

 

“Bumps and bruises, maybe a few cuts, but nothing serious,” Sango replied. When the rest reported the same Inuyasha strode past them looking towards the forest.

 

“Come on then, I want to get at least halfway through there before we stop. We need to find a good defensible spot. Naraku may have us hunting Kalin and the shards, but I think hunting season also opened on us.”

 

His friends nodded, and while tired from the fight, they knew he was right. They gathered up their loose belongings that were forgotten and discarded during the fight and started towards the forest.

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

Lennex awoke once again in the past to the familiar sensation of being carried. The only difference this time was he was being carried by cart and not by person. He lay in the back of a rickety cart being pulled by two mules. The people who sat at the front of the cart were an older couple. They heard him move and turned to face him.

 

“Hello stranger, how are you feeling?” The woman asked. Lennex had to admit he was feeling better then he thought he would. He sat up and looked around. There was still light left in the day, but not for much longer as it was quickly fading. He had to have been out for some time. The next thing he noticed was that his horse was tied to the back of the cart and following along, Shippo in the saddle.

 

“Your young friend there wanted to ride your steed when he awoke, I hope you don't mind?” the woman spoke again.

 

Lennex shook his head and then looked back at Shippo. “You alright little buddy?”

 

Shippo nodded his head, his brow knit in concentration. “I'm sorry I couldn't help you more, I've been practicing though while you slept, to…you know, make up for it.”

 

Lennex waved off the apology. “You took one out by yourself, Shippo, and then had to help me with mine - I'd say we're even. So, what do you mean practicing?”

 

The older woman spoke up again. “Oh the little one has been back there with a very stern look of concentration on his face the whole time. Whatever he's been doing, he has been giving it his all.”

 

Lennex nodded and turned back to the fox. Shippo had his eyes closed but quickly opened them. “There are three to the east, two towards the south, and a half dozen southwest,” he said. Lennex looked a little puzzled for a moment before he figured out what the demon was talking about. He closed his eyes and shot out his senses. Sure enough the kits numbers were correct.

 

“Good job, my friend. We'll give you something else to work on later.” He turned back to their hosts. “Thanks for helping us back there; I assume you found us in the forest?”

 

The woman nodded again while the man continued to direct the mules. “That we did, son. We saw you were pretty banged up. We found your sword and the child near you and gathered you up. It was the least we could do.”

 

“Well I thank you again, I wish there was some way to repay you.”

 

The woman laughed and simply said, “Nonsense, you just keeping us company is reward enough, and we couldn't expect any more than that.”

 

Lennex smiled back and looked out at the road. They were quickly coming up to a fork and he brought the map out of his pocket. After reviewing the map he knew they needed the left fork. When conferring with the couple he found they were going right. They stopped at the fork and Lennex made ready to ride. He thanked them again and watched as they traveled down the path. Lennex mounted the horse, an exercise that hurt more than normal. His back was still tender from the impact with the tree and his face didn't feel right either. At least he was alive; not many could say that after an ogre backhand.

 

They traveled for another hour and just as the sun was starting to set, they crested a hill. Below them was a small village, warm and inviting.

 

“What do you think? A nice soft bed and a warm soak after our first battle together.” Lennex asked with a grin. Shippo looked towards the village and then back to Lennex.

 

“Kaede did say to save this money for when we really needed it, but there is more than enough to give us one night of luxury for a warrior's hard day.” The kit almost kept a straight face until his stomach rumbled. “Heh, a nice hot meal sounds pretty good too.”

 

Lennex laughed and directed the horse towards the village. He looked at the kit that was currently standing high on the horse's neck. “How much money do we have?” Lennex asked curiously.

 

Shippo's hand went inside his vest and searched for the money bag. After a minute of searching, which became more frantic by the second, he turned towards Lennex. His eyes wide with panic.

 

“It's gone,” was all he said.

 

Lennex shook his head and pulled the horse to a stop. “Your company was all the reward we needed.” He said in a womanly voice. “All that schooling for becoming a security officer slash detective, and I let us get swindled by a mom and pop operation.”

 

He looked around at his surroundings and then looked at Shippo. “Well let's go find us a place to camp eh? Man, what else could go wrong.”

 

When the words left his lips he knew it was the wrong thing to say as a peal of thunder echoed across the valley. Shippo looked up at the sky and then back at Lennex. For his part, he kept his face downcast and shook his head.