InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Second Chance At Love ❯ Looks Like a Trap ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. (I so enjoy repeating myself)

Chapter 6: Looks Like a Trap.

The gang was off again, following a trail left by Kagura. They'd realized sometime ago that they were being led to Naraku's dark castle or actually to the spot where the castle once stood. It had fallen in the final battle they'd had with Naraku. It just crumpled to the ground. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had almost been caught inside. They hadn't been near the spot since that day and had no idea what was there now. They were a good week away; provided they didn't get slowed down by rain or anything else. And they were still worried about what Kagura had waiting for them and they knew she had something waiting.

Kagome wondered why Kagura and Kanna hadn't bothered to use the Shikon no Tama. She could sense the jewel every now and then and she could tell in hadn't been purified or contaminated, so she knew they hadn't used it. It didn't make sense to her. Why did the girls take the jewel if they weren't going to use it? `Why have us chase them if they don't want it to use it?' she asked herself for the hundredth time and as usual she could not come up with an answer.

They were walking in a line down a small incline, Inuyasha in front, then Kagome, Sango, and last Mirouku. Shippou was on Kagome's shoulder and Kirara was in Sango's arms. Sometimes Rin and Jaken would walk with them. When that happened Rin would usually be found walking with Kagome and Sango, having one of their hands in each of her own and chattering like there was no tomorrow, but nor her or her guardians were with them now. Kagome hoped everything was okay with them.

They were just reaching the bottom of an incline when they saw a little girl running their way. They could sense the fear in the child... but there was something else under the fear that puzzled them. They didn't know what it was, but it had them all worried. They all looked at one another and ran to close the distance between them and the child.

When they reached her, they noticed the child couldn't be more than ten years old. She had black hair pulled up into two long ponytails and red eyes.

Something felt odd to Kagome. To be more specific, something about the girl felt odd to her. She didn't understand it really; it was like it wasn't real or something. She could see the child's tears and she could sense the child's distress, but it was as if the child was... faking. Kagome became even more worried, something wasn't right here, she just knew it, but they had to help the little girl. Just in case she was wrong, though she doubted it.

"Whats wrong?" asked Inuyasha.

"Its my village," sniffed the little girl, wiping her eyes, "its being attacked."

"Attacked!" echoed Inuyasha. "Well, what do you want us to do?!"

"Inuyasha!" admonished the houshi. "It is quite obvious the child needs some help."

Mirouku turned and gave the child a hooded look. Something about the girl was bothering him.

"Well, we don't have time to be helping every village that gets into trouble!" yelled Inuyasha irritatedly.

Kagome sighed to herself. She knew Inuyasha wasn't really thinking of leaving the village to defend itself, but she really got tired of him playing the `l don't give a damn' role sometimes.

"Inuyasha?" she called out to him.

"What?" he turned to inquire.

"Sit."

They all watched as Inuyasha's face hit the ground. It wasn't really all that hard, it was just a way to shut him up. She was glad that they were back on speaking terms or she'd felt really bad about doing that.

"What you do that for!?" he yelled at her.

"You were being rude to her. It wasn't nice," she replied evenly. Kagome turned to the little girl and tried to shake off the eerie feeling she was getting from her, but it wouldn't go away. Kagome sighed and stooped down to look the girl in the eyes.

"Whats your name sweety?" she asked the girl when her brown gaze met the child's red one. Kagome noted there weren't any more tears and that there looked to never have been.

"Eri." Replied the girl in a soft voice.

`It was the eyes', Kagome thought to herself. There was something about the child's eyes that wasn't right. Something that was familiar.

"How pretty. I have a friend with the same name," smiled Kagome. "Tell me Eri, who is attacking your village?"

"A bunch a demons," whispered the girl, eyeing Inuyasha with fear. "Some woman is telling them what to do."

"A woman," repeated Sango. "Eri, do you remember what the woman looked like?"

"I didn't see her. No one could. You could only hear her voice telling them to destroy my home," the girl replied sadly then she began to cry again.

"Don't cry Eri. We'll help," smiled Kagome patting the girl's shoulder. It couldn't be helped.

They could all see the village in the distance; not far off. They could see smoke rising from it. They wondered if the village was being burned.

"No we won't Kagome," said Inuyasha forcefully.

"Yes, we will. We can't leave them to die! Besides, we are heading in that direction anyway."

"We can go around," he stated logically.

"We're going Inuyasha," stated Kagome; then she added to make her point, "don't make me say you know what again."

They all looked at one another then. All of their faces mirrored one another's. They were all thinking the same thing: trap. They were walking into a trap, but it couldn't be helped because, there was every possibility that the village could still be in danger. For even though they knew it was a trap, they also knew Kagura and Kanna had no problem hurting innocent lives to set that trap; they'd done it before, hadn't they.

That decided, they followed the little girl in the direction of the village. Each one of them had their guard up. Sensing her mistress's distress, Kirara transformed into her larger self and Sango leaped onto her back as they walked behind the rest of the group. This was not going to be good.

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When they'd reached the village they all looked around in confusion. The village wasn't being attacked; in fact it didn't look as if it ever had been. Not recently anyway. As for the smoke they saw, it was a bon fire that had been built in the middle of the village square. It seemed as if the people of the village had been celebrating. What was going on here?

"I don't understand... I thought they were being attacked?" asked Sango to no one in particular. She was just speaking aloud what everyone was wondering.

"Where is Eri?" asked Mirouku suspiciously.

"I wouldn't worry about her. She's gone," replied Inuyasha with a frown.

"He's right. I had a feeling... and I still do," sighed Kagome and then she added. "There is something not right about this village, but I don't know what it is."

"Yeah, I feel it too," said the houshi as he looked at the village in front of him. No one had come up to greet them, yet they knew they were there. Mirouku also noted that the inhabitants that had bothered to look there way would end up starring at Inuyasha. `They act as if they never seen a demon before', he thought to himself.

"Kagome, if you knew something was wrong why did you have us follow that girl here?" asked Inuyasha with a snear.

"Because we had no choice Inuyasha. We all knew something wasn't right with that little girl and we knew Kagura is somehow behind this, but have you noticed that this village is directly in our path? One way or another we were going to end up here. So, I figured we might as well do it with our eyes open," she explained calmly.

They had all realized what about the girl's eyes had been bothering them: they were red. Just like Kagura's. They guessed the child was the wind demon in disguise, but why did Kagura want them here? And how did she pull of such a disguise.

They all turned in unison and looked once more at the village. More of its occupants were outside now... watching them, or more importantly, watching Inuyasha. They didn't know what to make of that.

"What are you looking at!!" yelled Inuyasha. They were making him uncomfortable.

"Shall we?" said Mirouku with a sweep of his hand toward the village.

Each of them looked at each other and nodded. They all took a step forward when they were brought up short by a familiar, quiet voice.

"Not a good idea to go in there."

They all turned in shock to look at the speaker.

"Sesshoumaru..." breathed Kagome.

Sesshoumaru turned his head towards the young miko first, than he looked at the rest. He knew they were going to go into the village. He decided he'd give her a little warning. She was the only one likely to heed it. So, he turned back to the miko and caught her eyes with his own.

"You will go. Be warned the village is not what it seems. They are cut off. It will be dangerous to stay to long."

After saying what he'd come to say, Sesshoumaru turned and walked away. As he was walking, they watched the cloud materialize under his feet and lift him to the sky.

"What did he mean by that?" asked Sango worriedly.

Kagome looked at her and could only give her a helpless shrug. She had no idea what Sesshoumaru meant, but she was going to find out.

Once again they all turned and walked further into the village. Kirara had changed back into her smaller herself at seeing no threat in the village.

They looked around them and watched as the people went about their business. Ignoring them. They noticed some of the people looking at them out the corner of their eyes, but whenever a person's eyes would fall on the hanyou that person would scurry off as if they were on fire. The villagers were afraid of Inuyasha they realized in astonishment.

"Look. Over there at that woman." Sango called out, catching the rest of their attentions.

They all turned to look where she was indicating. Standing in the doorway of a home, they guessed was her own. Stood a middle-aged woman of considerable beauty. She had black shoulder length hair and piercing green eyes. She was the only person openly, acknowledging their presence.

When the woman waved them over they all exchanged looks of surprise and wonder.

"Do you think we should go over to her?" asked Mirouku.

Inuyasha shrugged in answer. He could care less.

`What could it hurt? Maybe she can tell us something we don't know." Replied Sango.

"I... I don't know.... Kagome?" stuttered Shippou. He didn't like the village. He was afraid they'd start looking at him the way they looked at Inuyasha.

"Sango's right. It couldn't hurt and anything she can tell us could be useful."

So that decided they all walked over to the woman. They stopped when they were within speaking distance. They were all mesmerized at just how green her eyes were.

"Konnichiwa." Kagome spoke first in greeting.

"Konnichiwa," replied the woman in a velvety voice. "I am Taki"

"I am-" Kagome began only to be cut off by the woman.

"No. Do not speak your name here. You should not be here. Its not safe for you or your friends."

"Why?" Inuyasha spoke up in a hard voice.

"Because you do not belong here. You are demon, hai? Have you not noticed how they watch you?"

"We noticed. Why is that?" questioned Mirouku.

"Because they have never seen a demon before. You are like a myth here. No demon has ever stepped foot within this village."

"WHAT!!" they all exclaimed, in unison.

"How is that possible? This town looks to have been here for years!" said Mirouku in disbelief.

"Because of a man named Onigumo, who became a demon named Naraku."

"Noraku! What's he got to do with this?!" yelled Inuyasha in anger. He couldn't believe that Naraku was still tormenting them, even from the grave.

"Onigumo lived and grew up here with his okaasan. When he became Naraku, while the man inside still held control of the demo he had become, he commissioned a dark miko to cast a spell on this village to keep demons out. But in doing this, he inadvertently caused everyone within to be stuck here."

"But, that had to be only a little over fifty years ago. I noticed some of the villagers appear to be older then that. Did they not see demons before Naraku happened to them?" asked Kagome in confusion.

"I would not know, but I would believe they did. You see, not to long after Naraku had the spell cast a good and powerful miko moved here. She was with child and had lost her husband. She came and saw how the town was suffering from being trapped inside. She decided to help. Though she did not believe that the man, Onigumo, had meant for his spell to turn out so bad, she knew it was an evil thing to do to these people. She knew the young man had only been trying to protect his mother, but the miko did not have the power to reverse the spell so, she decided to change it a little. Make it bearable until one came along who could reverse it."

"What did the miko do?" whispered Sango.

Taki turned to look at the young taijiya and smiled. "She erased their memory of the outside world."

"Ohh... thats why..." Kagome trailed off in surprised understanding.

"Yes. Thats why they have never seen a demon. They do not remember anything of the world outside."

"I see... but why is it dangerous for us to stay here?" asked Sango worriedly.

"Because if you stay too long, your memory will also begin to fade and ultimately disappear. It was a way of protecting the people from being told of the outside world should someone be able to get in."

They all starred at her in stunned silence. Kagome could feel Shippou trembling in her arms.

"Who was the miko that did this for them?" inquired Mirouku.

"She was my okaasan. She died ten years ago. I have been trying to find a way to reverse the spell and give them back their memories, but I have not figured it out. I fear I am not the one who is meant to do it."

"Because you're not the one. Kagome is," stated Shippou simply.

"What?" breathed; Kagome. She starred down at the kitsune in her arms in wonder.

"Don't you get it Kagome-chan? You're the one with the power to help them. You're more powerful then any miko alive... or dead."

"He is right you know. You have the power within you. I sensed it right away. It is why I told you of our village."

"Taki?" Sango began, "How come you can remember the past? Haven't you been here all your life?"

"Yes I have. I was still within my okaasan when she cast the spell. I, figure when she protected herself from the effects of the spell, she protected me as well. It has to be why, because I've always been able to remember as well as come and go from the village."

"Its your miko powers that allows you to come and go. That spell was cast by a dark miko. It is natural for you to be able to deflect it," said the houshi wisely.

"For me to help you all, it will take a lot of power and energy," Kagome stated aloud to no one.

"Will you excuse us Taki? We'll be back in a moment," Mirouku stated pleasantly, then in a move completely out of character, he reached out his hand and latched onto Kagome's arm and started pulling her back in the direction they had come.

The rest of them followed behind. They knew something was up, because Mirouku never acted that way before.

When Mirouku decided they were far enough away that they were out of earshot he stopped towing Kagome and spun around to face her and the others.

"Its a trap."

"What? Who, Taki?" asked Kagome; startled.

`No. Kagura," stated Mirouku gravely.

"What the hell are you talking about Mirouku? And what the hell were you thinking of grabbing her like that?!" yelled Inuyasha angrily.

Mirouku ignored the hanyou. He had no time for Inuyasha's petty jealousy right now. They were in trouble.

"What Taki is saying is true. This village needs help... and Kagura is counting on you, Kagome, to give it to them."

"Why would Kagura want us to help them?" asked Sango; still confused.

"She doesn't. I doubt she cares what happens to this village. She wants Kagome to help them, so Kagome will tire herself out in doing it. I think she wants you out of the way."

"But, Kagura is the one with the Shikon no Tama. How can I be a threat to her?"

"I don't know. It doesn't make sense, but I think you must be or at least Kagura thinks you are."

"What are we going to do?" inquired Shippou. He was worried for his Kagome-chan.

Sango was also looking worried for her friend and hugged Kirara, who was sitting in her arms since she'd changed back to her smaller self upon entering the village.

"I don't know. All I know is that, we are most likely going to be attacked by Kagura and who else she has with her once Kagome is vulnerable."

"It can't be helped. I have to help them," sighed Kagome.

"Fine. I guessed that anyway. You help them. Then we get out of this town as fast as possible. If we're going to be attacked we are not going to let it happen where stupid villagers can get in the way," said Inuyasha with a light in his eye.

They all stood quietly contemplating when they heard a quiet voice behind them.

"Yes. We will fight them, but on our ground."

They all turned at the familiar voice.

Kagome's heart flipped. She didn't know why, but she was glad he was going to be with her. She smiled and walked over to the taiyoukai.

"Sesshoumaru... you came back."

Sesshoumaru starred down at the face that he had begun to know very well and looked into her eyes. He knew he would protect her, while she could not protect herself.

"Friends"

Kagome heard the one word and shuddered slightly. For some reason she got the feeling that that word was more of a warning then a friendly gesture... but a warning for who?