InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ After-effects ❯ Changing winds ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Me no own Inuyasha and the gang.

 

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Chapter 4: Changing winds

 

"Miroku, would you choose a card already!" exclaimed Inuyasha impatiently.

 

"Do not rush me, Buddha will show me the way," answered the monk in a desperately level tone of voice.

 

Everyone sighed in discouragement at this. Miroku had been staring at the two remaining cards in the hanyou's hand for the last five minutes, trying to determine which one to take and everyone's patience was starting to wear extremely thin.

 

Shaking her head, Kagome reflected back on the events that had led them to this point. The morning after Kohaku's incineration ceremony had been a pretty boring one. Everyone's injuries prevented them from doing anything but sit around and talk, meaning that the mood wasn't very high. She then had the idea of fishing her deck of cards from her backpack to show them how to play joker. The idea had been brilliant and everyone had enjoyed it considerably… Until a certain monk decided to take more than his bloody time to make his move that is.

 

Surprisingly it wasn't Inuyasha who exploded first, it was Sango. "Miroku, you take a card right now or I swear I'll slap you so hard you won't feel your face for the next month!" she snapped angrily.

 

All eyes turned to the glaring demon slayer in surprise. Her state was the worst of the gang with a broken leg, a broken arm and a few ribs which had seen better days. She had trouble moving around and breathing. It was therefore doubtful that she could muster the power to actually act on her threat. Yet the anger boiling in her eyes was enough to persuade the monk to stop stalling.

 

Gulping he finally took a card and his face fell when he saw that he had taken the joker from the hanyou's hand. "Keh! Serves you right for taking so long. Even your so called Buddha deserted you on this one," exclaimed Inuyasha as he dropped his last card on the pile, proclaiming him the winner of the game, much to everyone's relief.

 

"Really Miroku it was just a game!" said Kagome. "What on earth possessed you to take so long to decide," she inquired.

 

"Every decision you make must be carefully thought over, no matter how insignificant," was the monk's only answer, prompting a groan of discouragement from the other four people present.

 

"Geez, if he takes that long to decide between two cards, I wouldn't want to be him when he's faced with a real choice," Shippo added earning him a glare from the monk.

 

"How about we try another game, one where people wouldn't actually freeze in indecision," proposed the young miko while staring dangerously at Miroku.

 

"Well why not, it's not like we can do much of anything in our state," said the hanyou in a dispassionnate tone.

 

Looking around, she could see that everyone was agreeing with her proposal. "Good, hold on for a second," she said as she started to rummage in her bag for a special deck of cards.

 

"Got it!" she exclaimed after a few seconds. "This game is called Uno and the goal is to…" she froze as Inuyasha suddenly tensed up and sniffed the air intently.

 

"What's wrong?" she asked puzzled by this sudden reaction.

 

"I smell blood!" exclaimed the hanyou.

 

"Kagura!" Sango suddenly cried as the shape of the wind sorceress appeared in the door.

 

Everyone gasped as soon as they saw her. The female youkai was sporting a dazed expression on her face and was looking as though she might collapse at any moment. What caused them all to react this way however was the prone form lying in her arms. The little girl, no older than ten, was deathly pale and her breath came in short and labored gasps. An arrow was protruding from her shoulder, obviously the cause of the child's condition.

 

"Please... save her," murmured the sorceress weakly.

 

There was a few seconds of stunned silence before it was pierced by a common cry. "Kaede!" they all yelled at once urgently.

 

******

 

When the girl had been taken from her arms, Kagura felt a surge of relief flow through her. She had done it, she had gotten Yuna to safety and that thought alone made her happy. She was so lost in thought that it took her a second to realize that the young miko was talking to her. Yet, when she tried to focus on what she was saying, the world started to spin around her. "What's going on," she thought dimly before her legs gave way and blackness envelopped her. She woke up an unknown time later at the sound of two woman discussing.

 

"...be alright Kaede?" said the first voice.

 

"The child is surprisingly resiliant, she will be just fine... Though I would like to give a piece of my mind to the ones who did this to her," answered the old miko with a dark undertone.

 

Opening her eyes, she could see that she was in an ordinary room. Turning her head slightly, she noted that two futon adorned the floor, one which was occupied by herself and the other by Yuna. She also identified the second woman present in the room as being Kagome. The latter seeing her slight movement immediately focused on her.

 

"Kagura, you're awake," exclaimed the schoolgirl happily.

 

"Yuna... How is she?" was the sorceress' first groggy question.

 

"The child will be fine, no need to worry," answered Kaede reassuringly.

 

The female youkai sighed in relief upon hearing this. "How long was I out?" she asked again after a few seconds.

 

"I would say about two hours," replied Kaede cooly.

 

"I see," said the sorceress quietly as she sat up on the couch. This was a mistake, because as soon as she righted herself, the world started to spin violently and black dots clouded her vision. She would have crashed right back on the mattress if Kagome had not been there to support her.

 

"You girl are not going anywhere," shot the old miko sternly. "I may not be a youkai expert, but I know exhaustion when I see it," she continued in the same tone. "Kagome, would you fetch our guest some food, I do believe that it would do her some good," finished Kaede as sternly as ever.

 

Only when the old miko mentionned food did Kagura realize that she hadn't slept nor eaten anything in two days, thus explaining her fainting episode. "How did you..." she asked the old woman in surprise.

 

"As I've said, I have enough experience with sick people to know the symptoms of total exhaustion..." began the old woman before a loud gurgling sound emanating from Kagura's stomach interrupted her. "And also those of ravishing hunger," she finished with a wry smile, prompting the sorceress to blush in embarassement.

 

"I think I can manage to put together something decent," said Kagome after stiffling a giggle.

 

With that said, both miko and schoolgirl stood up and headed for the door. Upon reaching it, Kaede turned around for one last warning. "Oh, Kagura, you are not to get so much as a foot off this bed before tomorrow, do I make myself clear?" she asked in a tone so firm that the female youkai could only nod in answer.

 

It was the first time since meeting Yuna that the sorceress had time to actually ponder on her behavior. The first thing she found unusual was the fact that she had felt drawn to the girl. She suspected that it was because she was a slave just like her though, so it didn't bother her that much. What did surprise her was the fact that she had actually grown fond of the ten years old over an extremely short period of time. So fond in fact that when an arrow had hit her in the shoulder, she had nearly lost herself completely.

 

That brought her to yet another troubling point, her outburst. While the madness that had come with her all consuming rage was unnerving, once she thought about it, the power that had flowed through her at that very moment was phenomenal. "Even Naraku might have blinked at seeing me like this," she thought amused.

 

"If I could learn to control it, I could protect Yuna better," she mused before stiffening. "Protect... Yuna? When did I start thinking like this?" she reflected in surprise.

 

Her musing was interrupted when the said child stirred slightly in her sleep, causing Kagura to turn her head. She couldn't help but feel her heart warm up at seeing the ten years old's sweet and innocent features.

 

"She's looks so peaceful," she thought fondly. But then she noticed that the good hand of Yuna was clutching something. "My feather..." murmured the sorceress in surprise. "She... kept it," she finished in a whisper.

 

This realization brought forth a reaction the female youkai could not explain. The small warmth she had felt at seeing Yuna suddenly multiplied tenfold and began to fill her whole being until she thought she would burst. Her vision blurred as tears started to fall down her cheeks and a lump formed in her throat.

 

"Why am I... " she spoke softly. But even as she spoke the words, the answer came to her. "If you're ever in danger, this magic feather will protect you," she had said to the child.

 

"But it didn't... it didn't do anything! In the end, it was you who saved me Yuna!" she exclaimed angrily.

 

Up to now, Kagura had tried to hide from the truth, not willing to fully accept the reality of her situation. She even went as far as being surprised at her thoughts and behavior when, deep down, she knew why she was acting this way. The same thing went for the emotions she had refused to identify, she had known from the start what they were. And now, as her anger and frustration exploded she could not deny anything any longer. "I care about her... I don't know how it happened, but it's true... I care," she finally admitted to herself.

 

Of course, it so happened that Kagome chose that very moment to come back with her meal. Both human and youkai stared at each other in surprise for a few seconds before Kagura turned away in embarassement. "Damn of all the time, why choose now to come barging in on me?" she thought, angry at being caught off gard like this.

 

The schoolgirl could only smile in amusement at the reaction. "Just like Inuyasha would react," she mused as she made her way to the sorceress.

 

"Here Kagura, I hope you'll like it," she said while presenting a tray with a few rice balls and some fish.

 

"I'm not..." the sorceress began before her stomach growled loudly, contradicting what she was about to say.

 

To the youkai's surprise, Kagome didn't laugh, instead she only smiled sympathetically at her. "Kagura... I'm not going to ask why you were crying, but if you want to talk, I'm here," she said before standing and heading for the door.

 

The girl was almost out when the sorceress decided to speak up. "I couldn't... protect her," she began in a low tone. "I didn't hear the arrow coming... She pushed me out of the way..." she finished while looking at the ground.

 

Making her way back to the sitting youkai, Kagome settled once again in front of her. "Here," she spoke handing her a rice ball.

 

Kagura looked at it for a long time, as if expecting the food to jump up and bite her. Finally, she extended her hand and took it from the smiling schoolgirl's grasp. "Did you know... When you used the jewel... Did you know I would turn out like this?" she asked hesitently.

 

"Sort of," answered Kagome. "I could feel that you weren't as evil as you lead us to believe, so I hoped that if you were given the chance... you'd turn up for the best."

 

Silence fell on the two, only broken when Kagura would take a bite from her food. "And the rest, how are they taking my presence," she questioned again.

 

"Well, Inuyasha's kind of suspicious, as always," she began with a wry smile. "Sango, Miroku and Shippo are mostly curious though. And as for Kaede, I think her order speaks for itself," she finished mysteriously.

 

Kagura blinked in confusion, her chopsticks halted halfway to her mouth. "What do you mean?" she blurted.

 

"Well... She could see that you cared for..." she spoke in a questioning tone.

 

"Yuna... Her name's Yuna," Kagura said softly.

 

"Right, so she could see that you cared about Yuna. She could also sense that you would be too stubborn to admit it openly and guessed that you would get out of the room at the first occasion. However, since you obviously have feelings for Yuna, once out, you would have only one thing in mind: get back into the room to watch over her. So she ordered you to stay in to satisfy your heart's desire and save your pride," explained Kagome.

 

The sorceress goggled at the schoolgirl in front of her in complete disbelief. "That woman is far too sharp for her own good," she said after a few seconds..

 

"I suppose you're right," giggled Kagome.

 

"So what will you do now Kagura?" asked the schoolgirl after yet another episode of silence.

 

The said youkai sighed heavily before answering. "I don't know. At first, I just wanted to fly and never stop, but now..." she said while looking at Yuna. "I don't know anything anymore," she finished.

 

"Children do have a tendency to throw our world upside down," spoke the schoolgirl with a dreamy smile on her face. "But in the end, they bring out things in you that you never thought you had. They make you stronger."

 

"Stronger?" asked Kagura in confusion.

 

"Hum let's see... I know! Tell me, how long did you have to carry Yuna to bring her here?" questionned the schoolgirl.

 

"All night and a part of the morning," said the sorceress, not quite seeing where this was all going.

 

"So basically, you flew all night long on an empty stomach and with an already sleepless night to account for? Anyone else would have collapsed in exhaustion," said the schoolgirl knowingly.

 

Again, Kagura found herself frozen in surprise. "She's right... I was so concerned that I didn't even realized how weak I actually was," mused the sorceress.

 

The smug expression on Kagome's face brought the sorceress out of her trance and she frowned a little in irritation. "Alright, I get your point," she spoke in an aggravated tone.

 

The schoolgirl was about to answer when Inuyasha's loud voice suddenly filtered through the walls. "YEOW!!!" he yelled in pain. "Why you little..." he spoke before a serie of crashing noises were heard.

 

"I think that's my cue," said the young miko with a discouraged sigh. "If I don't go, Inuyasha might hurt himself," she finished with a half smile.

 

"Rest well Kagura and if you need anything..." she began before another yell from the hanyou interrupted her. "...just scream," she finished wryly.

 

With that said, she got to her feet and walked to the door. Kagura watched her go with mild amusement when something struck her. "Kagome... You spoke as if I had already decided on my future," she said perplexed.

 

The girl stopped halfway through the door and turned back. "I think you have Kagura... I think you have," she said with a mysterious smile before closing the door.

 

******

 

On the outskirt of town, a shape draped in a black cloak was sitting lasily in a tree. It looked bored out of its mind but since its features were hidden, no one could tell for sure. It raised its head as the buzzing of a small bee reached its ears.

 

"Well you sure took your time," he adressed the bug sternly as it stopped a few feet in front of him.

 

He paused for a few seconds as if listening to something before talking again in a bored tone this time. "Oh never mind your silly excuses, what do you have to report?"

 

Again there was silence. The more time passed however, the more interested the shape seemed to be in what the bug was saying. "Are you sure about this?" he asked in complete disbelief.

 

The bug seemed to buzz angrily at this retort prompting the shape to answer. "Oh don't get so worked up, everyone has the right to be surprised!" he exclaimed.

 

"Well in any case, you did good, here's for your trouble and keep me informed," he said and promptly threw a small round object that the bug caught in mid-air before heading back to the village.

 

"The wind sorceress befriending Inuyasha's gang was unexpected in itself. Her actually saving a child's life though, that was something even the boss couldn't have foreseen in a thousand years. He was right, they are an interesting bunch," he said with a light chuckle before leaning back against the tree.