InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Intertwined ❯ Available options ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: All characters are products of Rumiko Takahashi, and Togashi Yoshihiro's minds, not mine.

 

 

 

A/N: Ugh. That took forever and a half, and it's woefully short. I just haven't really had the time to sit and put together a coherent few pages for the past couple weeks, and I refuse to give you a half-assed chapter (pardon my French, but it's the truth. If it's good enough for Genkai to say…) As per usual, I mostly blame the “drawing” muse butting out the “writing” one. Mostly. The good news is that I have a couple new pieces on my devArt page. If you wanna see a realistic (vest-less) pencil depiction of Kuronue, have a peek! ^_~ To the Watchers of my story: I'm sorry I had to go and update everything, thus raping your inboxes, but it had to be done. I try not to re-read my previous chapters online, as it's detrimental to the editor in my brain, and it demands that I fix everything. *sigh* I probably won't do it again until I end the story, but I'll give you warning again before I do.

 

Now, for the chapter that I've made you watchers wait far too long for.

 

~~~~~EDIT: Whoops, I forgot to add translations at the end, pardon the update. (Thank you, Resilience!)

 

 

 

The Intertwined

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 11

 

 

The echoing sounds of childish laughter reverberated from the hole in the hill, more or less announcing that the owner of the giggles had finished her share of that night's meal. The adults of the cave couldn't avoid catching the child's mood to some degree; all present felt a proverbial lift off of their shoulders now that Sango and Kagome were awake. Disoriented, but awake.

 

Sango sat in her spot beside Kagome as she sipped the remains of her broth, soothing her dry throat. Her head ached a little still, but she couldn't bring herself to mind the noise the children were making despite her pounding head. After having looked around the cave they had all apparently been in for three days now, Sango's brows knitted when she noted an absence, “Where's Kirara? I haven't seen her yet,” she asked to no one in general.

 

Inuyasha paused his chewing thoughtfully to look at her with a frown, then spoke around the cooked boar meat in his mouth, “Yeah, I haven't seen her since the fight with Kagura,” he paused and shifted his eyes to his half brother who was currently in his chosen corner while watching his ward. Sesshomaru turned and gave an imperceptible nod to confirm Inuyasha's observation before slowly returning his attention to Rin. The hanyou swallowed his food as he turned back to Sango, “But you know how she is, she probably went to tell Kaede what happened or something,” he assured her. He had a sneaking suspicion that the fire cat had been alive for far longer than any of them, including Sesshomaru, so he knew that wherever the feline had run off to, she could take care of herself.

 

Sango tried to hide her concern, but couldn't alleviate it altogether. She nodded with a halfhearted smile, “Yes, you're right,” she agreed hesitantly, shifting carefully into her chosen spot around the fire as Ayame refilled her bowl of broth for her. Kirara had disappeared with no warning once or twice before, so he wouldn't worry overly much for another week or so. Sango knew Kirara really was quite capable on her own, but she just couldn't help missing her supportive presence.

 

Accepting her bowl back from Ayame, Sango relaxed back to sip tenderly from the broth while considering all that they had been told of their situation. They were currently a rough two days from Kaede's village in one of Youko's hideout dens, and the first snow of the season was promising to be dumped sometime that night. She and Kagome had been out cold for two days since they had had their run in with Naraku. She remembered the face-off being lake-side, and that they'd ended up in an underground cavern where the manipulator had dropped them off.

 

`Lousy, no good, stinking fog-for-brains…' Sango glowered at the thought of the creature. They'd been unconscious and covered in bloody markings when Youko and Sesshomaru, of all people, had retrieved them shortly after Inuyasha had changed for his human night, and they'd been recovering in sleep since. That had been all they were told in the short time since they'd woken only a couple of hours earlier. Well, except that she and her closest friend were somehow connected to each other. She loved Kagome as a sister, but the very concept was frightening; especially now that she kept seeing foggy pink out of the corner of her eye when she sat near to Kagome. She had turned several times to get a better fix on the odd light, but it would disappear whenever she tried. It was strange how compelled she felt to find the source of it…she would have to ask Kagome of it later.

 

Lifting her bowl again, Sango took another long draught of the meaty broth; it had never tasted as good on her tongue as it did now. It relieved her throat, calmed her empty stomach, and slightly eased her strange yearning for some of Kagome's oden.

 

“So, this Kagura witch…you called her `sorceress'. She smelled strikingly like Naraku, what do you all know of her?” Sango turned at the velvety words coming from Youko who leaned against the wall of the cave not far from the corner where they'd awoken, head reclined on the wall. His hand was leisurely brushing out his tail as he waited thoughtfully for an answer.

 

“She is an abomination, though not of her own volition,” Sesshomaru answered the fox smoothly from his corner without taking his eye off of Rin, “Her cooperation is held to Naraku only by physical ownership of her heart,” he turned to face Youko, “She once tried to enlist my sword to help free her from him.”

 

Youko lifted his silver head off the wall with a scoff, “Has a thing for you, does she?” the Demon Lord quirked a brow as the bandit continued, “I'd wager she got pretty mad when you no doubt told her no,” he said, cracking a real grin at the end of his observation.

 

Sesshomaru smirked in reply and returned to watching his ward play with the kit, “She did.”

 

Youko chuckled at that as he turned to the assorted demons and humans following the conversation as a few began playing with some cards of Kagome's, “Do you remember when I mentioned awareness on the part of the host while they are in use by the manipulator?” he was answered with various nods and stood, shaking his tail into place before strolling his way to the fire, “Well, while Gau wasn't overly fond of the fact that such a thing exists, he learned as much about this shield at the first possible opportunity when I attained mine.”

 

Choosing one of the meats leftover in the cooked pile, Youko placed it back over the fire. Then he peered over Ginta's shoulder to catch the game pattern, and casually pointed out a card to be played as he continued on his subject, “He may or may not be aware of this, but a host has access to a manipulator's mind should they know how to look,” he paused, and a look came over his face, “Gau has some of the most disturbing ideals I've ever encountered in the centuries I've been alive,” he said with a mock shiver as he rounded the other two card players. Inuyasha would win the game if he played right. Youko headed back to the fire, “But to the point, if she'd known to find the incantation within Gau, it would stand to reason that this…Kagura…could do these brands for us,” retrieving his re-cooked meat, he considered a moment longer, “Should she want to, that is,” he finished flippantly before taking a bite from the nearly charred meat.

 

A young voice spoke up from Sesshomaru's corner of the cave, drawing attention, “She would do it with no demands; she detests him the same as we do,” everyone turned to see Kohaku staring into the fire before he looked up to continue, “Because of Akago and Hakudoshi three years ago, she knows not only of how to shield her own thoughts, but she can be very perceptive as well. She would know to look for any advantage she could, and to hide what she'd found,” an uncharacteristic frown spread on his smooth boyish face, “What brands?”

 

Sesshomaru turned from watching Rin, who had finally ceased running in circles, to see Youko snacking on more of the atrociously overcooked meat he favored. He was pleased that the clever boy had caught on to the foreign subject and had inquired on it; it had been a subject he'd planned to learn more of. He'd known of the manipulator in the past, but hadn't had the need to acquire details of the creature until now.

 

However, it was the equally clever elder slayer that answered her brother before the fox had a chance, “It's a means to shield ourselves from the manipulator's uses. For humans, it keeps one from reproducing in us. And on a demon, it prevents possession,” she said calmly, somewhat surprised that she had been able to follow the conversation with her ears ringing from the headache. Aware that the Demon Lord also seemed interested in the answer, she looked over to Sesshomaru and continued, “It must be done by sorcery, and it's what we were looking to do when you came upon us. Kagura just showed up out of nowhere.”

 

Kagome chimed in from beside her, continuing where she left off, “Though the possibility hadn't crossed our minds at the time, I don't think,” she looked at Youko, who shrugged and popped the last bite of food into his mouth. She turned back to Kohaku, “Would she really do that for us? If we found her, I mean,” she asked gently, receiving a nod from the young teenager.

 

“Yes. Of that I have no doubt,” he replied instantly while nodding.

 

Sango sighed as she put down her emptied bowl, “Well, I guess that means we should try and find…”

 

Abruptly, she was cut off by a loud growling sound echoing from the far side of the cave, punctuated by a shocked yell from a jumpy wolf. Youko chuckled as Hakkaku squawked, “Did that human just growl?” the mohawked wolf questioned with wary eyes on Miroku, who was sleeping soundly along the far wall in the shadows.

 

Kagome and Sango shot each other looks and nearly laughed at the mental image of Miroku actually growling, but Youko answered, “No, he's just a very loud sleeper when he can't keep himself awake any more,” he saw the questioning look the two women and Inuyasha turned on him that he knew that, and he nearly rolled his eyes, “Yes, yes...I know,” he said, waving his hand in the air. He winked at the women before bending down, “You all seem to forget that I've been around since the last moon,” he said to them playfully before standing straight and returning to his spot on the wall, and then pointing at Miroku. “He did this within the first human night of Inuyasha's that I witnessed,” he stopped and looked at Sango, “Nice job with that peacock demon by the way; very clean.

 

Sango just blinked, “Thanks?” she said, trying to sift through her memory to bring forward that night's rounds.

 

Youko smirked, still pointing at Miroku, “He also did this on the night of your stargazing, roughly three or so days before that,” Kagome blushed at that while Sango was lost in thought, but he didn't comment on it as he knew it was a touchy subject for human females, “Both of those nights, he stayed up as long as he could for different reasons, with the same result,” he said, opening his palm and finally dropping his hand.

 

“Oh, wasn't that the night that Inuyasha said you were getting thicker, Kagome?” Shippo joined in from next to said hanyou, quickly receiving a glare from him. Shippo yelped and escaped to hide on the other side of the fire when he realized what he'd said, and whom he'd said it next to.

 

Inuyasha returned to the game and played a card as he turned a look toward the miko, “That wasn't what I meant, and I'm sure you know it,” he glowered, well aware of the amusement pouring off of his high-mighty brother who again pretended not to be listening.

 

Kagome grinned sheepishly with a nervous laugh, “Yeah, sorry about that…” she said, getting a grumble about bad backs in return. She turned back to Miroku as another snore tore out of him, “He must be pretty tired, huh? It's much louder than usual,” she mumbled sadly, wondering if she should approach him about remedies for the ailment.

 

“The monk hasn't been sleeping well,” Sesshomaru interposed again from his corner, obviously still tagging on the line of conversation for lack of anything else to do. He stole a glance to the purple lump emitting the sound, plus one the humans couldn't hear, “And he neglected to eat in favor of sleep,” he left out the reason the human hadn't slept well; he knew both women would blame themselves, and he had no desire to forfeit the good mood Rin was in because the women couldn't curtain their emotions. The scent of tears, even when unshed, could be quite unpleasant at times, and he wished to leave the current scents in the air untainted. It couldn't be helped that they would likely work out the reason anyway.

 

 

Kagome knew that the taiyoukai had left out that they were the reason Miroku hadn't been sleeping, but she honestly would have been surprised if the houshi hadn't been affected by what had happened. That was the kind of nature in the monk that she and her other companions had come to know. Seeking out her sister's eyes, Kagome saw in them that she had caught the omission as well. The both of them knew that it would only take a bit of sleep for the monk to recover, but they shared the same worry that their new predicament would only cause more, or worse, trouble from there.

 

 

 

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“So then, it's done? That easy?” Gau sounded dubious, disbelieving that their plans had fastened so easily. Naraku slid a sneer at the sad excuse for a replacement body Gau had recently procured, and then he returned to the view beyond the rouka he and the freshly disguised incarnation stood upon.

 

The annoyingly increasing amount of members in his adversary's pack had somehow fallen off the face of existence once they had retrieved their women three days previous. Gau had insisted that it was Youko doing the shielding of the large assembly, as he'd done so in the past for their clan on several occasions.

 

Generally, Naraku could search out and find Kohaku's mind at any time--and he knew the teenager was among them--but he simply hadn't been able to get a lock on him until only moments ago. For a while after Kohaku had escaped, he had tried to continue feeding the brother slayer doubts and suggestions, but the unfortunate fact that Lord Sesshomaru had gotten his claws into the boy had effectively taken the young slayer's mind out of his hands. He couldn't even catch spare thoughts from him anymore, and given that Kohaku was human it was slightly disturbing. Now he only used the boy to keep tabs on Sesshomaru's group location. At the very least, the group's alliance with Inuyasha now provided a single target that he could locate easily because of the connection. The young one didn't know of his beacon status, but that was supposed to be Naraku's little secret, anyway. The kid may have thought that he'd been freed by Kagura's near sacrifice two years ago, but he was still unknowingly under use.

 

The dark hanyou sniffed as he slid another look at Gau. Speaking of Kagura…

 

“Master? Sir?” the nasal voice of the badger-like demon Gau had found asked for his reply tentatively.

 

The body his “son” had found was nearly unbearable to look at or be around, much less listen to; the creature was short, plump, and smelled of humus. It wore a purple vest and green hakama, and Naraku had the nagging thought that he'd seen the squat thing before. Either way, he wished Gau had had the forethought to choose a more pleasant vessel until he deigned to retrieve Kagura.

 

“Yes Gau…that easy. It would seem that they have taken to a thick forest into the Western territories,” he scoffed internally, `So predictable…'

 

Turning away from his place against the railing, the tall hanyou with the long, wavy black hair went back inside as snow began to fall over his hillside. Dawn was approaching, and he was sure the large group of fifteen or so beings (sixteen actually, but he hardly counted the girl-child as an adversary) would begin moving toward their village in Musashi soon. The two women would most certainly feel the need for the old miko's guidance, and Naraku was easily able to see that the women were the ones holding the strings of the whole herd. He doubted the others could see it, though. Either way, they would go wherever the women wanted to go and the village next to Kagome's odd well-portal was undeniably their foundation.

 

He ended his current company with the possessed raccoon-dog by closing the shoji on him, and indulged back into thought as he crossed the room toward a tetsuyoso that lay open on a high table next to his sake. Pouring himself a cup, he set down the tokkuri flask and began fingering the handwritten print on the page he'd been studying. It was this book; everything would change thanks to the information discovered in this insignificant tome, and his developing plans for the women he'd involved.

 

Their newfound power was now there for his needs whenever he wished for them, but since the group was on high alert thanks to his last interference he would allow them to settle momentarily before retrieving all he would need to form the fabled chuuou seki from the girls' prepared powers.

 

 

 

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No later than a couple hours or so after leaving Youko's barrier, Kagome was shoved behind Inuyasha with lots of protest when a swarm of low-level demonic arthropods began closing in on their position. They were not wholly unlike Naraku's swarm of demons, but these were all the same species and held none of the hanyou's air; merely bugs after the jewel. Certain that Kagome was out of harm's way, Inuyasha reached for his heirloom sword as the others merely readied their weapons in the event that he missed any of the projectile demons coming straight at him. Before he could draw Tetsusaiga, he heard Kagome growl from behind him with a flare of miko power.

 

“Duck or loose your ears.”

 

Nearly yelping at the thought of sheer pain by purification that threat induced, Inuyasha dropped to the snowy ground as though she had subjugated him. Above him, an answering projectile of pink fire shot toward the mindless horde ahead of the group, disintegrating the entire cloud to steam in one arrow.

 

Bearing witness to the exponentially more powerful arrow she'd just fired, Kagome's arms fell like dead weight to her sides in shock while her eyes stayed on the open air where she'd expected to see at least a few remaining demons once the dust had cleared from her shot. The others had yet to put away their weapons, as they were doing much the same.

 

“Damn, Kagome! I almost felt that from here!” Kouga finally shouted from his position next to Youko.

 

Beside him, the fox simply stood awestruck. He didn't really count himself to be twisted, but that had to be one of the most erotic sights he'd ever seen. The way her hair seemed to fly on its own breeze as her face set and pink fire surrounded her was enough to render him enthralled. And yet he wondered if anyone else had seen the way Sango's bone boomerang weapon had charged with the same color power while Kagome's arrow flew… Tearing his golden eyes from the woman holding the bow, Youko looked to see Sesshomaru returning his gaze knowingly as everyone's stupor began to wear off. He'd noticed, but it would be discussed at a later time.

 

 

Looking back to her from his spot on the ground, Inuyasha studiously ignored the view from his position to gape at the girl's face. She looked to be grasping for words, but she eventually shook her head as if to clear it and then turned to him with penitence, “Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?” she quickly knelt down as she checked to make certain that she hadn't carried through with her previous threat of burning his ears.

 

Before her hands could make contact with his sensitive ears, he unconsciously moved out of her reach, “Feh, they're fine. That one may have been stronger than usual, but I got out of the way,” watching her nod with what looked oddly like rejection, he reached for her hand after he stood, unsure of what he'd said to cause her deflation, “Come on…let's eat lunch while we're stopped.”

 

Taking his hand with one last wistful glance to his head, Kagome nodded again, “Yeah…”

 

 

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Once the event had shaken off, a quick camp was set up for the humans to refuel before they were to continue traveling. Kagome sat cross-legged, deep in thought, and Kouga sat with a napping Ayame's head in his lap. He ran his hands through Ayame's unbound hair as he considered the girl he considered to be his pack sister, “Oi, you okay Kagome?” he asked as softly as his rough voice allowed.

 

Still staring in the general locale of her knees, Kagome absently nodded, “Yeah…the sooner we get back, the better. Rin shouldn't be out in the cold,” she mumbled softly, sounding as though she spoke to herself.

 

The mated wolf looked back to the little girl sitting dwarfed by her guardian, and caught her wiping her nose again on an old cloth Kagome had given her. Kouga grimaced as he watched this; he just couldn't get used to the way humans leaked when they caught a sneeze. Apparently, the child only had what Kagome had called “the sniffles”, but it had the capability to worsen without the right care. Something Kagome had taken to doing for anyone who needed it, of course.

 

The mission of finding an appropriate sorceress had been put on hold for obvious reasons, but they had decided that they might as well try finding Kagura when they got to it again. Another week or two, maybe… For now however, they wanted to regroup and find out more about what had happened to her and Sango, and why it might have drawn Naraku's attention to do such to them.

 

As far as she and the slayer were concerned, they hardly felt any problems. In fact, Kagome had never felt healthier, and she had this kinda strange urge to just get out and run…somewhere, anywhere to work up a sweat. She'd never been much for exercising aside from the traveling they'd done here in the feudal era, but now she wanted to feel…exerted. The recent hold up had only left her feeling energized, and it was an odd feeling for her; she usually felt drained after those types of encounters.

 

Pursing her lips in consideration and looking at Sango, Kagome found her looking back with an unreadable expression on her face. Feeling an odd bloom of worry in her chest, she gave her friend a reassuring smile as she wondered if Sango would mind helping her learn to use Hiraikotsu. If they were connected somehow, it wouldn't hurt. Inevitably, she had wondered if Sango would need to learn more of mikos since they'd been told that she now smelled like one. Did she have such powers?

 

And again those frequented thoughts generated other questions: Was this permanent, and what does Naraku hope to get out of it? …They needed to have a long “bath talk”, and soon.

 

Even as she tried sorting out her thoughts, Ayame jumped up from Kouga's lap with a concentrating, yet fearful look on her face. Inuyasha soon joined in what Kagome recognized as identification of an intruder, some of the others standing from their spots and Shippo taking to Kagome's side.

 

Miroku sat up from his prone position on the grass, also recognizing the signs, “Who is it, Inuyasha?” he turned to look at the wind wolf, “Ayame?”

 

Kouga stood up as he answered the monk tiredly, “It's the Western Wolf Lord of the Northern Mountains. Our sole rival tribe.”

 

 

 

 

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----->Translations:
rouka--platforms surrounding and connecting buildings in Japanese dwellings
tetsuyoso--a type of book bound using folded sheets of washi and sewn together.
tokkuri--the flask, usually porcelain, that is used to hold sake
chuuou seki--Central Stone

 

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madmiko—Alright!! That's exactly how I hoped for people to see it. I didn't want a huge orgy-thing, but I did want a very close-knit familial group here. They'd kinda have to be with the way the girls are connected. And you're so right about the bedding problems, but I do have ideas to counteract that. I loved writing that whip joke. I rarely laugh at my own writing, but that one came out of nowhere and I just couldn't resist.

Resilience--*giggle* Aww, go on… Well, I'm sorry I had to over-fill your inbox with my freshly revamped chapters, but I had the new chapter after it and I won't do it again! <3

miko-onna—Thanks so much! ^_^ The plot just kind of grew over time in my head and I finally got the guts to write it out. I'm glad you like it! (despite the slow set-up)

Yue no Rei--Well, you get a bit more of what Naraku's after in this chapter, but I hope to let you guys catch it as it goes along. Thanks! And I'm sooooo sorry this chapter took over a month to post. Crappy real life…*shakes fist*

knjj727--^_^ heehee…glad you like!

Brightshaddow4494—Wow, thanks. *blush* It's good to hear…er…read that sometimes. ^_~

kookookitty—More power, indeed!! *muahahaha* …Mmmm; chocolate and cinnamon…

quarry—Oooh, I love that you love it! Thank you so much for reading it. <3

fatal shadows—Thank you for the kind words! Yeah, I don't get many reviews, but the ones I do get help make up for it. ^_^

KuroxTenchi—Heehee! I wasn't sure if I should add that or not, but it's just so…Inuyasha.

Tiger Timberwolf—I like writing him, so the story kind of ended up mostly surrounding him. I didn't mean to do it, but I'm still happy it works.

 

 

*love to all my readers!!*