InuYasha Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Down the Rabbit Hole ❯ Waking Up ( Chapter 3 )

~*~AN~*~ I wanted to thank all you guys who reviewed (because I didn't get a change to before), especially: Kix, Khyssa, Kagome4Hiei, Syngi, Cewo, Realdarkangel, and Anf600. I try to name my reviews to show my thanks, so thank you guys! And no… it wasn't really all a dream like the title of the chapter suggests. I wouldn't be -that- cruel ^^.

 

Duo was quite shocked when the little girl he now knew as Rin had put such a strong honorific after his name. He could see such a title being used for the youkai, Sesshomaru-sama, since he was a full-blooded youkai and looked regal enough to be someone of great importance. What had shocked him more than anything was the fact that Sesshomaru-sama had agreed to stay with the small group. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see and understand that Inuyasha was very unhappy to find the youkai and his small party was sticking around.

 

Rin had seemed torn between her Sesshomaru-sama and Duo-sama. Sesshomaru-sama was her Lord and protected her just as a father would his child, so she had come to think of him as a father figure. Duo-sama, however, was very fascinating to her, and she couldn't help but be drawn towards him. He seemed interesting, fun, strong, and someone that would be very willing to play with her. It was rare when adults played with her, especially since the only one that had ever played with her was Shingi-san. Eventually the little girl chose to hover around Duo-sama, looking to her Sesshomaru-sama for occasional permission.

 

Kagome hovered near Duo as the group walked back to where the original spar had been taking place. The braided ex-pilot was walking slow and grimaced every so often when his torso was turned in a certain position, or when took too deep of a breath. He was sure his upper body was bruised, and he most likely had a cracked rib, but he was able to carry himself as if it were hardly anything. Miroku, who had also been tossed, was a bit better. He had only been thrown once, and had been able to cushion his fall a bit. He picked up Duo's duffle bag turned the bag away when the Kitsune went to reach for it.

 

Inuyasha gave Duo back the sheath and cloth for his katana, before returning to his place on Kagome's other side. Duo was grumbling and occasionally growling at not being able to carry his own things, worried about the bag's contents when he knew he shouldn't have to. Rin reached up to take his hand and gave him a smile, which seemed to calm the male as he gave a small smile in return and held tight to her hand, not wishing to loose hold of her and have something happen.

 

Sesshomaru was not very pleased with the idea of staying around his half-brother and his traveling companions, but Rin seemed very happy and she seemed to be drawn towards the Kitsune, Duo. The youkai Lord wasn't sure how he felt about this new development. On one hand Sesshomaru was glad to know that Duo would look after his Rin, even if it was only not to anger the Taiyoukai, but on the other hand he was furious that Rin was sticking so close to him. She had always been by his side, and she hadn't openly asked permission to follow the Kitsune around, even though she did look to him to see if she was doing something wrong. He finally managed to register the feeling. It was a feeling he had felt for many decades; not since if father had brought home Izayoi, and not since the birth of his half-brother. He was jealous.

 

~*~*~

 

They had reached the village quickly and Kaede quickly set about checking them all over. Most of the party suffered from bruises and scratches, most of which would heal on their own, but a few needed to be tended to. She saw to Duo first, who seemed to be the worst off, though he protested that he was just fine and could take care of his own wounds. He had a couple cracked ribs, which were wrapped up tight, and the rest of his injuries were dark bruises and scratches, but because of his youkai blood most of them would be gone by morning.

 

Inuyasha was next, though there was nothing to wrap. He had managed to avoid a great deal of injury this time around. Sango and Miroku had both managed to avoid getting anything broken, though Kagome didn't think Sango was telling the truth.

 

“You were thrown to the ground from the sky! It doesn't seem possible that you didn't sprain or break anything!”

 

“Nothing feels broken, and Kaede confirmed it. I'll just be soar for a while. Isn't that a good thing?”

 

Kagome dropped the subject, but didn't look happy about it. The demon slayer turned out to be fine, as she had said. Kagome just had a few scratches, as did Rin, but Shippou was the only one completely unharmed, other than Jaken. Kaede turned her attention to Sesshomaru, who had been standing in the doorway of the hut, watching closely while the old woman looked over his Rin. When the woman's attention was turned toward him he simply glared. He was fine, and would not allow himself to be seen as anything other than strong and healthy. Fortunately Kaede was smart enough to let it drop, knowing the Lord could take care of himself.

 

“It be drawing towards supper time, and ye still need to settle yourselves. Where will ye all be sleeping?”

 

“Duo can stay with us, if you're staying. Sesshomaru can find his own place to sleep.” Inuyasha answered, sitting Indian style in the corner of Kaede's little hut. The group had a small hut of their own to sleep in while they were at the village, but they usually spent most of their time with the old Miko.

 

“Inuyasha, there should be enough room for Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken. It's rude not to offer them a place in the hut since they helped up today.” Kagome was practically ignored.

 

“If there isn't enough room I can stay outside. I've slept in worse places anyway, and I'm still practically a stranger to you,” Duo spoke up. One of his largest pet peeves was taking charity from others, and he was hoping they weren't offering him shelter just because he was hurt. `Hell, I've slept on the streets with cuts, bruises, broken bones… even during the plague and I was just fine!' “Rin should at least fit with me outside, ne?”

 

“Rin does not leave this Sesshomaru's side after dark. She is my ward and she stays with me. Come Rin.”

 

Rin knew Sesshomaru would still let them stay close by, so that she could come back and check on Duo-sama, so she wasn't worried and she stood and padded over to Sesshomaru's side. She wrapped her hand in his hakama, preparing herself to say goodnight when Kaede spoke up.

 

“Ye can have supper here, if ye wish. The little one must be fed, and I doubt ye will have what she needs.”

 

The Lord paused before nodding to Rin, who gave a little cheer and went to sit next to Duo once again. Sesshomaru sat himself in a corner, which just so happened to be the furthest from Inuyasha and the closest to both Rin and the doorway of the hut. Jaken immediately went to the little girl's other side, playing the part of the dutiful retainer.

 

When Kaede began the stew that would feed the group Duo began his search through the various things in his duffle bag. Rin watched closely, curious as to what all the strange things were in the bag. When he found what he was looking for a pulled it out, Rin couldn't stop herself from asking about it.

 

“What's that, Duo-sama?”

 

“It's ramen. It's a noodle soup, and the container has a little heater on it so you can cook it without a fire. Watch,” He twisted the bottom, creating friction and starting the heating process, before setting it down and pealing the lid back just a bit, so it would vent the steam. In a few moments the bottom cooled and there was steam pouring through the opening. “See? It's all done.”

 

The demonstration had caught everyone else's attention, and the smell of cooked ramen had roused Inuyasha from his private moment of brooding. Ramen was the hanyou's favorite, ever since Kagome had brought some back with her, but he wouldn't allow himself to ask for any.

 

“Wow! I've never seen ramen cooked like that! Is that something you can do with foods in your time?” Kagome asked, wondering just how far in the future Duo was from.

 

“Not all foods. These are designed for military rations, really, but now people who camp and hike use them. They're hard to find, but I prefer them to having to carry pots and pans around with me when I hike.”

 

“Ye didn't have to make ye own supper, boy. Ye could have eaten the stew.”

 

“Nah, you have enough mouths to feed with that, and I had planned on using them anyway.” Duo smiled when he saw Rin sniffing scent of the cooked ramen and Shippou leaning closer to the plastic container. He chuckled. “I have plenty more if you two would like one.”

 

“Oh, Rin could not eat all that!”

 

“Yeah, I can never finish my ramen either,” Shippou muttered.

 

He pulled another out and set it up. “Then you can share one. I can practically hear your tummies rumbling for it.” He pealed back the lid once it was finished and warned them about it being hot before he split it between them; Kaede provided the bowls and chopsticks. She offered a bowl and a set of chopsticks to Duo as well, but he turned them down, opting to eat right out of the container with his own set of chopsticks.

 

Duo smiled as he watched the two youngsters eat. Shippou dove right into his meal, having eaten ramen plenty of times before. Rin was more cautious with hers. She sniffed it before trying to pick up the noodles with her chopsticks, dropping them quite a few times before being able to taste her food. The poor girl realized soon after taking her first bite that the noodles were still hot. She quickly swallowed what she had and looked up to ask for water, but the adults had been watching and Sango and Kaede had readied a cup for her. Rin drank it down quickly, and blushed lightly before going back to her ramen, remembering to let it cool a bit before taking a bite.

 

The stew was passed around to the others once it was finished. Sesshomaru was offered some, but he refused by simply glaring at the old woman. Jaken had attempted the same response, but unfortunately Rin had become almost as violent towards the toad as Sesshomaru. The girl gave him a heavy bop on the head and glared harshly at him. Duo outright laughed at the sight, which did nothing to quell the little toad's annoyance and embarrassment. Jaken took the offered bowl and scowled, inching away from the child.

 

Sesshomaru's lip twitched ever so slightly, proud of his little Rin for showing Jaken his manors. The Taiyoukai believed he didn't need manors, not among this group, but Jaken was a mere servant and manors were expected of him. Rin's choice to show the Kitsune such extreme respect, the same level of respect she showed him, was baffling him. He noticed Duo turn to him and move a bit closer, intent on striking up a conversation with him.

 

“Sesshomaru-sama-“ The Taiyoukai was pleased to hear the male had respect. “-Forgive me if I'm being rude, but does Rin call you Sama simply because you are a youkai?”

 

Duo was expecting to get ignored, like everyone else had been until now, but Sesshomaru responded. He did, however, receive a fierce glare for his ignorance.

 

“This Sesshomaru is the Lord of the Western Lands.” His response was clipped, showing his annoyance. Duo's eyes widened, quite impressed.

 

“Than what are you doing helping him?” He pointed a thumb in Inuyasha's direction. It wasn't that he thought badly of the Inu hanyou, but it appeared as though hanyous weren't seen as a good thing by any means. He figured humans would be thought of in the same manor, as well. So why would a youkai Lord hang around a rag-tag pack like this?

 

“This Sesshomaru only helps this one and this one's Ward. This one wishes to be rid of the filth that is Naraku.”

 

While Duo had respectfully lowered his voice so as to not disturb the other conversations in the room, Sesshomaru had not done so and attracted attention by the end. Inuyasha had been holding his tongue, but couldn't hold it in any longer.

 

“So you'll help and protect a human girl, but you'd let your hanyou half-brother die, right? Shit, you've tired to kill me yourself just because our father gave me the better sword.” The hanyou snorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked away.

 

“A hanyou does not deserve the Tetsusaiga.”

 

“And it's an ironic sort of justice on our father's part to leave you with the Tensaiga, which can only give life to the dead.”

 

“Wait, you two are brothers?” Duo couldn't believe that Inuyasha, as harsh and crude as he is, grew up as the son of a Lord.

 

“Half-brothers.” Both Inu spoke in unison and then proceeded to glare at each other.

 

“I think it is time ye all retired until morning, before ye start creating trouble.”

 

Sesshomaru stood in one smooth motion and began to walk towards the door. He didn't have to speak as Rin stood and gave Duo a quick hug goodbye before hurrying to her Lord's side. She was already keeping pace with Sesshomaru with a light hold on his hakama while Jaken was still fumbling over himself. They were already through the doorway to the hut and making their way swiftly towards the tree line. They would make a campsite within the forest.

 

~*~*~

 

Two days had passed since Duo left for his hike and hadn't returned and the Preventers were in an uproar. One of their best field officers was missing, and Lady Une was not about to leave one stone unturned in the search. Quatre and Trowa had both shown up at Head Quarters that day demanding to be put on the case. Une had sent them to Japan to meet up with Heero, Wufei, and Sally who were already starting to search Duo's intended hiking path. They had been stuck with a small group of Preventer field agents, which had managed to slow them down enough for the other two ex-pilots to catch up to the search party.

 

The group had been taking a break in one of the small clearings on the trail. Heero had a deep scowl on his face, and it was evident that he was annoyed the rest of the group needed to stop and rest. Duo and Heero had become close and acted more like brothers than best friends. Wufei had formed more of a best friend relationship with the braided pilot. This also left the young Chinese man quite agitated with their little group. Movement by Heero had caught Wufei's attention and he looked up to see what was going on. The Japanese man signaled to his lover that they had company before using the hand signals for the pilots 03 and 04.

 

Trowa and Quatre had followed the map given to them by the forest rangers assigned to the area. Duo had made sure that someone of authority knew the exact route he was taking and where he was most likely to stop to replenish his water supply. The map they had was only a copy. The park rangers had a copy as well, so the original had to be with Heero and Wufei, which didn't surprise the other two pilots. They managed to get up close to the group as they rested, amused as Heero and Wufei seemed to be stalking opposite ends of the clearing and impatient to get back on the trail.

 

When Heero and Wufei's stalking patterns changed the two knew that their presence had been acknowledged, so they wasted no more time and stepped into the clearing. The other agents seemed startled to see them there, not knowing someone was so close, but what startled them more were the Preventer jackets they had on. They were identical to the ones Agents Yuy and Chang wore. The specific design meant they were of a special class of top officers that answered to Lady Une directly and no one else. The four ex-pilots spoke quietly by the trail without interruptions, as the other agents weren't brave enough to approach them and risk any one of their tempers.

 

“It's about damn time you two got here! Now we can ditch these morons and get on with this search.”

 

“They seem to have done nothing but slow you two down so far,” Trowa spoke.

 

“Hn.”

 

“Well, then it is a unanimous decision. The four of us can cover more ground with more accuracy than they can, and we can get it done faster. We'll give them the copy of the map we have so they can find their way around and the four of us will go ahead and follow in Duo's footsteps.” Ever the strategist, Quatre only confirmed their need to split off from the other group. They all knew Duo and his habits much better, anyway.

 

~*~*~

 

The smaller group was under attack yet again, but this time it wasn't Naraku. It was only his annoying minions out to agitate the pack and, if possible, severely injure or kill any member of the group. They seemed to be doing their jobs.

 

It had been a couple days since Duo's first encounter with Naraku and his previous injuries were completely healed. Now he was sporting lacerations, aches, and bruises anew. They were constantly getting swarmed by poisonous insects, which rendered Miroku's wind tunnel useless to them. Inuyasha and Duo were trying their best to take the brunt of the attacks, and Sesshomaru had stepped in to do the same. Rin had convinced him to stay close to the group, so he was able to smell the stench that followed anything Naraku created.

 

There wasn't much cover for the children to hide in, so they were both back with Kagome, sticking behind her as she purified insects one at a time with her arrows. Miroku also stuck close to the Miko, helping her protect the children as well as keeping an eye on the Miko herself. Sango was providing cover from the air, having a better view of what was going on while riding on Kirara's back. Inuyasha and Duo were working through the insects like a team, and when Sesshomaru had joined the fight he had fallen into the pattern and become a third member of the team.

 

There was a scream from behind and the three males turned. Rin had been picked up by one of the insects as bait for the Miko, and she had fallen for it. Another insect moved in to snatch Kagome up and they both took off, the majority of the others following them. The men and Sango abandoned their fight to chase after the girls, and Sesshomaru was not happy to have his ward used as bait. He had taken off at full speed with Inuyasha on his heels, but it was Duo's speed that astonished them all. He managed to pass Sesshomaru, his long legs carrying him swiftly and with a deadly silence. Sango called out from above as Miroku was struggling to keep up.

 

“Inuyasha! They're flying towards the well!”

 

The Inu hanyou growled as the Taiyoukai narrowed his eyes. `'What is Naraku planning? Why draw us towards that well?' Duo was not paying attention to anything going on around him, only focused on the girls and their captors. Once he got close enough he leapt into the air and landed on the back of one of the creatures, slicing into it with his claws. He called out a warning to Kagome before killing the thing for good.

 

“Brace yourself!” The insect dropped Kagome to the ground before dropping from the sky. A yelp was heard as the Miko hit the ground, spraining her ankle, but was otherwise unharmed. Duo leapt for the next one, but without the Miko they didn't need the girl, so the insect threw Rin towards Duo. He gasped as he saw the young girl being hurled towards him, screaming, but he could tell he wouldn't be able to catch her from the air. He heard Sesshomaru shout from beneath him and his mind quickly worked out a plan. He let himself drop from the sky, hoping Sesshomaru would understand what he needed.

 

The Taiyoukai saw the Kitsune dropping, paying careful attention to his stance. He looked as though he were dropping toward a foothold to leap from, so Sesshomaru was quick enough to provide that foothold. He grunted when Duo's boot landed on his shoulder, but was glad Duo managed to get the force he needed. Duo shot past Rin and whipped himself around in the air. His arms closed around the girl as she collided with his chest. Unfortunately, Duo had not realized they were so close to the well and his leap placed them almost directly over it.

 

Duo tried to control the fall, hoping to land on the ledge or the ground around the well, but the force of Rin colliding with him had knocked him off balance. The insects had retreated, not bothering to try and grab the Miko again now that the others surrounded her, so everyone else's attention was on Duo and Rin. Sesshomaru cursed when he saw they weren't going to make a nice landing and took off for the well. Duo's foot hit the ledge, but he toppled backwards anyway. Sesshomaru's arm darted out to grab Duo's hand as he fell backward and the Kitsune twisted to reach back, but as their hands brushed they both realized it wasn't going to work.

 

Duo curled around the girl, bracing himself for a rough landing. He gasped when blue light erupted around him before everything went black.

 

~*~*~

 

Heero, Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre were coming up on the next spot Duo had marked down for water. It was an old well house, and according to the map it was still working, so would check it out for any sign of Duo having used it.

 

Suddenly Quatre gasped, falling to his knees as he clutched at his heart. The others were by his side in a heartbeat with Wufei kneeling before the blonde.

 

“What is it? Do you feel Duo? Is he alright?”

 

“He's hurt… the well house… go!”

 

Heero was off in an instant, sprinting towards the well house to check on his partner. Wufei looked up at Trowa. They both knew they couldn't leave the blonde alone and as their eyes locked it only took a split second for the silent decision to be made between the two. Wufei took off down the trail after his lover as Trowa knelt by Quatre's side. They hadn't been far, so it didn't take long for Heero to reach the well house. He door was ajar and he skidded to a stop as he saw the state of the well wall. One side had collapsed into the well. He quickly looked over the edge and growled when he couldn't see.

 

When a light appeared in the well house he whipped around. Wufei was standing in the doorway with a flashlight. He snatched the light away from his lover and directed it down the well. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Duo lying unconscious at the bottom of the well, dirty and bloodied, with a young girl wrapped in his arms. The girl shifted blinking at the harsh light directed at them from above. She sniffled as tears of pain and fear rolled down her cheeks. She didn't want Duo-sama to die; he had saved her life. She cried up to the men at the top of the well.

 

“Please! Help us!”