InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ After-effects ❯ Unexpected encounters ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: Well, I believe I've repeated it often enough now for everyone to get the picture.

 

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Chapter 9: Unexpected encounter

 

"So what do you think Inuyasha, will our going to Midoriko's cave really accomplish anything?" asked Kagome in a tone that clearly said she wasn't exactly hopeful to begin with.

 

"To be honest... I don't think so," replied the hanyou. "I do know that it's better than staying put and wait for Mattemaru to pounce on us though," he added.

 

"Yeah," agreed Kagome. "I feel a lot better doing something than just lying around waiting for him to come down on us," she finished while looking carefully at the fishes that were roasting over a small fire.

 

It was around midday and the pair had elected to stop near a small river for lunch. Their trip so far had been very uneventful, but then again, they had merely been gone for half a day. "Food's ready!" the girl announced as she straightened up.

 

This caught the attention of the other two other occupants of the small camp as surely as if a youkai had decided to show up. Kirara and Inuyasha promptly bounded nearer to the fire in hope of getting their share of food faster. It was rather comical to see and Kagome couldn't help but giggle a little at seeing the display.

 

"What's so funny?" asked the hanyou, eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had the distinct feeling that the girl was making fun of him.

 

"Oh nothing really, you just look like a bunch of hungry animals, that's all," replied the miko lightly, her amused smile never fading.

 

"Keh!" snorted the hanyou as he snatched the fish from Kagome's hand. "I'm not just any hungry animal, I'm your hungry animal," he launched back and smirked as Kagome's cheeks turned bright red.

 

Sitting down, he started munching down on his food with smug satisfaction, the sweet taste of victory actually making the fish taste a lot better. The miko for her part handed another fish to the demanding Kirara and flopped down, her back to the hanyou, sulking and muttering unintelligible things while eating her own share of food.

 

As Shippo had once pointed out, when they weren't fighting youkai side by side, they would be fighting each other. In the beginning it had been true. The hanyou's aggressive and overly protective nature had lead them both to bitter and violent arguments. The event where Inuyasha had insinuated that something may have happened between her and Kouga after he had rescued her from the said wolf youkai had become virtually legendary. Over the years though, things had smoothed out considerably and while the two would constantly bicker at one another, it had become mostly a game where they showed each other affection. Now wasn't any exception to this rule and while the girl appeared to be sulking, there was no real anger behind it, she was merely plotting her revenge so to speak.

 

Finally, after a few minutes of silent chewing, the girl decided she had enough moping for one day and turned back to face Inuyasha. "You know, I'm surprised that you actually trusted Kagura enough to leave her in charge of everyone's safety," said the miko thoughtfully.

 

"Well I might be an animal..." he began in a slightly mocking tone that earned him a glare from the miko. Smirking slightly, he continued, more seriously this time. "… but I'm not blind. I know a mother when I see one," he finished matter of factly.

 

"Yeah, I suppose you'd have to be blind not to see," she replied ruefully.

 

"Anyone trying to force his way through Kagura had better prepare himself for one hell of a challenge," she finished, a slight shiver running down her spine as she tried to imagine the thing.

 

The rest of the meal was spent in silence. As they started cleaning up their camp though, Inuyasha suddenly tensed up, Kirara started to growl aggressively, though still in her small form, and Kagome felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

 

"Youki," spoke the hanyou warily. "And it's coming this way," he finished.

 

Sure enough, after a few moments of idle waiting, the river in front of them suddenly parted ways and a huge serpentine form emerged from its depth. For all its size and obvious strength, it was still a lower class youkai, and thus did not present much of a threat to them.

 

"Keh!" snorted the hanyou in obvious boredom. "What a disappointment, I was expecting something stronger than this," he finished in the same tone.

 

The huge serpent growled menacingly, but it felt confused nonetheless that the two people in front of it were not afraid of him. He had half a mind to stay put and consider the situation, but then it could see it, the source of the power that had called him here. It was hanging around the girl's neck. It didn't know what it was of course, but it knew it must have it. So, with a loud shriek, it lunged for it.

 

Seeing the attack, Inuyasha promptly reacted by grabbing Kagome and jumping away to safety. Danger thus avoided, he turned to his enemy with the obvious intent of making short work of it. He had taken one step forward when the miko stopped him.

 

"Wait Inuyasha," she said. "Leave it to me," she spoke with narrowed eyes. "I want to see just how strong this taint is actually making me," she thought to herself.

 

The hanyou was about to object, but then he saw the bluish aura of purification energy surrounding the miko. He abruptly realized that she was about to pull the same trick as when they had battled Mattemaru. Remembering the strength with which the said youkai had been hurled back, he had the sudden desire to get out of the miko's line of fire. "Are you sure you don't want me to finish him off?" he asked, just to be sure.

 

"Positive," came the immediate answer.

 

Shrugging, he moved back to her side and watched warily. If anything went wrong, he wanted to be ready to push Kagome out of danger. Even if the youkai was relatively weak compared to Naraku, it could still kill the miko in one blow.

 

For her part, Kagome was focused only on the enemy in front of her. Reaching into her soul, she called forth her powers and they immediately answered her plea. She was getting the hang of this. This time though, something was subtly different. She couldn't really tell what, it was an indistinct sensation, hardly noticeable. But it was enough to tell her that there had been a slight change. "Is this… the taint?" she asked herself, but she didn't have any time to ponder on this because her opponent suddenly lunged at her.

 

Immediately, she did as she had done with Mattemaru, she willed the flow of energy coursing through her to converge toward her hands. As the youkai in front of her got closer and closer, she let the energy build up and, right before it was on her, she let everything fly. An enormous beam of purification powers slammed into the serpent youkai and disintegrated it on contact.

 

The threat being gone, she closed her eyes and allowed her powers to recede back into the recesses of her soul. She then turned back to Inuyasha and caught him gaping at her. Smiling at his expression, she was about to make a humorous retort when her knees suddenly gave way.

 

The hanyou was on her in mere seconds. "Kagome, are you alright?" he asked in concern.

 

"Y... Yeah," she panted. Obviously, that little stunt had taken a lot more out of her than she thought. "Just a little... drained that's all," she added tiredly.

 

"Geez woman, don't scare me like that!" he admonished angrily. "But still... that was a pretty neat trick," he continued as an afterthought.

 

She was a bit confused though, against Mattemaru, she had hardly breathed hard at all after her attack and now she had a hard time standing up. She was missing something there and wanted to find out. So with the hanyou's help she managed to struggle to her feet and turn around to survey the damage she had done. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. More than half of the serpent youkai was gone like it never existed. "Surely I didn't channel that much power," she mused in complete bafflement. But the evidence was there, as little as she felt she had channeled, she had still brought forth enough energy to destroy almost any youkai that threatened her.

 

"Is something wrong Kagome?" asked the hanyou upon seeing her expression.

 

"What? Oh everything's fine really. It's just that I didn't expect my attack to be this strong," she answered truthfully.

 

"Well, one thing's for sure," began the hanyou. "If you can master this... I don't think we'll have to worry about the jewel falling into the wrong hands," he added in an impressed tone of voice.

 

"Yeah..." the miko replied absently. "My god, if this is merely the beginning… just how powerful am I supposed to become?" she asked herself, a bit unnerved by the idea.

 

"Kagome!" he snapped, jarring her back to the present.

 

"W... What?" she stammered in surprise.

 

"Are you coming, we don't have all day?" he shot back in a rather annoyed tone of voice.

 

Looking at the hanyou, she noticed that he was standing near a transformed Kirara and was tapping his foot impatiently. "Well excuse me for being impressed," she snapped back, but nonetheless, she moved and started gathering her things.

 

******

 

The clearing of the bone-eater's well was quiet under the midday sun. Only the gentle breeze would disturb the absolute silence that reigned over the place. But then, the sound of soft footsteps coming closer could be heard. A few minutes later, a shape clad in the red and white uniform of a miko made her appearance through the trees. At casual glance, one would have thought the woman to be Kagome and indeed the resemblance was uncanny. Same hair, same face, same height, same stature. The one difference resided in the eyes though. While Kagome's were full of warmth and life, those sported by the figure currently strolling through the clearing were cold and calculating.

 

"The rumors were true, you look so much like her that's it's almost scary," a voice suddenly pierced the silence.

 

Turning around, the girl immediately spotted a shape leaning casually against a tree. The pointed ears, the sharp claws and fangs and also the tail denounced the speaker as being a youkai.

 

"I have no interest in a panther youkai," dismissed the miko in a cold tone and turned to leave.

 

"You're wasting your time," launched the feline, effectively catching the miko's attention.

 

Shifting her gaze once again to him, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion and shot the youkai a piercing glare. "How so?" she asked.

 

"Well, due to some annoying interference, the hanyou and your reincarnation left early this morning so you won't find him here Kikyo-sama," he answered with a hint of mockery at the title.

 

"Since you are so obviously well informed about everything, I suppose you also know where they went. But since you are too weak to face them, you come to me in hope of evening the odds," the miko stated.

 

"Quite correct," the youkai answered, ignoring the jab. "You see, I'm merely interested in the shikon jewel. If I can get my hands on it, the rest won't matter. So that is what I'm proposing: You can have the hanyou as long as I can have the jewel," he finished simply.

 

"So you can take it back to your master and be praised for it," added Kikyo with a cold smile.

 

Surprise flashed briefly over the youkai's features, but it was enough to confirm the miko's suspicion. "I thought so, you are too well informed to have worked alone on this," she cut in before the feline in front of her could place a word.

 

"As sharp as ever I see," smirked the youkai. "So what will it be? Yes or no?" he asked again.

 

"Fine, just as long as I can get Inuyasha," she answered after a few seconds of pondering.

 

"Well then, now that that's settled..." the youkai said and let out a shrill sound. Almost immediately the shadow of a bird darkened the sky and huge gusts of wind swiped at the pair as it made its landing.

 

Once everything had settled down, Kikyo was able to take in this new arrival. White head, dark brown feathers and sharp amber eyes. In short, the beast looked exactly like an eagle, only about fifty times bigger.

 

"Not exactly the best thing to have if you want to sneak up on someone," shot the miko critically.

 

"He may be big but when it comes to speed and eyesight, he can't be matched. He'll be able to spot them from so far that they won't even know we're there," said the youkai.

 

"I'll take your word for it," answered the miko coldly before starting to climb on the eagle's back, the panther demon close behind.

 

Once they were both securely in place, the bird took off in a gale of wind and in seconds they were out of sight. About half an hour after the two were gone, a dark shape wearing a cloak suddenly materialized in the clearing. It was immediately greeted by a small bee that started buzzing frantically.

 

After a few seconds of this, the figure known as Mattemaru chuckled lightly. "So they left eh? Exactly as planned," he said in a satisfied tone.

 

A few more buzzing from the insect and suddenly the youkai raised an eyebrow. "Midoriko's cave? Now there's an interesting destination," he commented, visibly amused. "In any case, the important thing is that they actually left. To where is not important," he finished.

 

"So then, what else do you have?" he asked the bee after a second of silence.

 

Another buzzing fit prompted a frown to appear on the normally bubbly kitsune's face. "Kikyo and another youkai?" he asked seriously.

 

"A giant eagle?" he said after yet another buzzing session from the bee.

 

"Well it seems like She's starting to pick up the pace," launched Mattemaru with obvious amusement. "Kikyo and Kagome face to face… this promises to be quite a show, I definitively don't want to miss it," he added with obvious anticipation.

 

"I'm going to go and see how the competition fares," he shot to the bug before heading off.

 

The insect immediately flew in front of him and started buzzing in what appeared to be an angry way. "Of course! Silly me," Mattemaru exclaimed. "Here you go, that's for a job well done, keep it up," he said and threw a small round object that the bee caught in midair.

 

"Now, time for me to take my leave if I want to be in time for the opening act," he chuckled right before disappearing into thin air.

 

******

 

"Okay, one more time," thought Kagome as she once again let her power flow.

 

Ever since her battle against the serpent youkai four days before, the miko had devoted a few hours every evening to the mastering of her "new" skill. Kaede had definitively not been lying when she said that this taint was making her stronger, it still gave her the chills at how she had disintegrated that youkai without really trying. So, in order to prevent any unfortunate accident, the girl had firmly decided to master her powers completely, taint or no taint. So far, her progress was good as she had learned to dose her bursts, thus avoiding the unfortunate and also dangerous side-effect of passing out when she was drained.

 

Now though, she was trying to test a theory. It was Inuyasha who had inadvertently spurred this experiment when he had slain a youkai with the Tessaiga earlier that day. She had then wondered if it was possible to control the flow of power enough to make a blade out of it. So there she was now, focusing all her attention on her right hand where the energy was concentrated. She was currently stuck though. No matter how hard she tried, she could not push the flow more that a few inches out of her hand without losing control of it.

 

Sighing, she finally decided to give up for now, she could feel fatigue beginning to cloud her mind and that was not a good sign. "No good," she murmured as her powers receded back to the depths of her soul.

 

"Something the matter?" asked the hanyou who had caught her last retort.

 

"Not really," answered the miko while wiping her brow with her sleeve. "I just tested something and it didn't work," she finished, stifling a yawn.

 

The hanyou only nodded in answer. He wasn't sure he fully understood Kagome's explanations about channeling and controlling the flows of purification energy, but he knew two things. One: it was powerful. The way she had torched that serpent youkai a few days ago was proof enough of that. And two: Stay away from her when she's training. Last night he had carelessly walked up to her and surprised her. It had broken her concentration and she had accidentally released an energy blast at him. Luckily, the blow had merely grazed his forearm, but even through his fire rat haori, his arm had been burned. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if it had fully connected.

 

"Anyway, I'm going to go take a bath," said the miko, jarring him out of his thoughts. "Don't peek," she admonished.

 

"Keh! Why would I? There's nothing to see," he said apparently bored out of his mind.

 

"Really now," answered the miko. "So you won't mind if I undress here then," she added mischievously.

 

"If that's what you want," he shot back, calling her bluff. At least he thought it was one until she started to fumble with the laces of her hakama. "She's doing it?" he thought in complete bafflement. Sniffing the air discreetly, he tried to detect anything that would tell him she was not going to go through with this. The only thing he could detect though was... excitement. "What the hell!? She's not only doing it, she's actually enjoying it!!!!!" he thought with growing apprehension.

 

Frantically he jumped to his feet and firmly took hold of her hands. "Dammit wench, stop this nonsense!" he exclaimed, his heart thundering in his chest.

 

Fiery golden orbs locked with surprised brown ones for a few seconds until Kagome broke off in a fit of giggles. She then shook her hands free of the hanyou and proceeded to tie back the laces she had undone. "You're cute when your embarrassed did you know that Inuyasha?" she said playfully and before he could think of a reply, she disappeared through the trees toward the hot spring they had been lucky enough to find.

 

Once she was safely away, the hanyou let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Damn that woman!" he mumbled angrily as he flopped in front of the fire. "What the hell did she think she was doing!" he continued in the same tone.

 

In truth, he wasn't exactly angry, but the idea of seeing Kagome naked somehow made his blood boil. He could easily picture her curves, the creaminess of her skin, its smoothness, the warmth emanating from her body... "Argh! That's IT! I need to break something!" exclaimed the hanyou, unable to get his passion under control.

 

Abruptly standing up, he whirled around only to come face to face with a figure clad in red and white, face hidden in darkness. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Kagome's return. "What? Did you forget something?" he snapped.

 

"I think it is you who forgot something Inuyasha," the figure answered. While she said this the figure moved toward the fire and revealed her face to the hanyou.

 

His blood that had been boiling a mere second ago abruptly turned to ice as he saw who exactly it was that emerged from the forest. "Kikyo," he whispered, dread creeping up his spine.

 

******

 

Kagome couldn't help but giggle at Inuyasha's reaction. She hadn't really meant to go that far, things merely happened on their own and before she knew it, she had found herself unable to back away. Strangely, she found the idea of the hanyou seeing her naked more exciting than embarrassing. Unknowingly, she found herself wondering what he would look like naked. The feel of his muscles rippling under her touch, his warm breath against her neck, his... "Get a grip girl, you're starting to sound like a female version of Miroku," she berated herself.

 

As it was she had reached her destination anyway. The inviting waters of the hot spring lay just a few feet in front of her. Humming slightly in anticipation, she made to undo the lace of her hakama when the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end.

 

Whirling around, she barely had time to see a dark shape barreling toward her before she found herself sprawled on the ground, the humanoid shape straddling her. Acting on instinct alone, the miko threw her head to the side and the blow that would have surely killed her merely grazed the side of her neck. The slight pain it caused was enough to wipe the shock from her mind and make it function again though.

 

Turning her head to face her opponent, she was able to take him in for the first time. Pointed ears and sharp fangs told her immediately it was yet another youkai coming for the jewel. It took a mere instant for her to note all this and an instant was all it took for her opponent to get over his surprise at having missed its intended target.

 

"Lucky bitch," he hissed malevolently. "But I won't miss a second time," he said and with that, he placed his left hand on her forehead, crushing her scalp roughly, while he poised his right hand for another strike.

 

"Get your dirty hands off of me," she shot him in a cold and emotionless voice.

 

A look of surprise flashed of the youkai's face but was quickly replaced with a feral smirk. "Or else what? You're going to call upon your hanyou friend?" he chuckled.

 

Bringing his face an inch from Kagome's, he locked his gaze to hers and started talking again. "Don't count on it, he's probably in hell with that undead miko by now," he whispered cruelly.

 

"No..." Kagome breathed, her eyes widening in horror.

 

Straightening up, the youkai couldn't help but laugh in sick pleasure at seeing its prey's despair. Victory was so close that he could virtually taste it, the jewel was mere seconds away from falling into his possession. In his mirth though, he made the mistake of not paying attention to the miko under him. So it was that the next thing he knew, he found himself encased in a huge beam of purification energy. His laughter abruptly turned into a blood curling scream as the miko power destroyed his cells one after the other.

 

Grunting with the effort of maintaining that powerful of a flow, Kagome watched as the last of the youkai dissipated into thin air, effectively silencing him. Only then did she allow her powers to recede to the back of her soul. "Dammit! I... I... channeled... too much," she panted as dots danced in front of her eyes.

 

Gritting her teeth, she laboriously started to get to her feet. Between unconsciousness that threatened to overtake her and a body that demanded rest more than anything, Kagome somehow found herself on her feet, holding against a tree in order to keep her balance. Breathing hard from the effort, she shifted her weight and started staggering toward the camp, grabbing at whatever she could to remain standing.

 

"Inuyasha..." she whispered in a silent prayer, hoping beyond hope that she would be able to reach the hanyou in time to prevent the worst.

 

From the trees in the opposite direction she had gone to, the air suddenly started to shimmer and the shape of Mattemaru slowly came into focus. "Now that was very nice, albeit a little short maybe," he commented gleefully.

 

"Still, it would have been nice if she had left something worth taunting," he added, bending down and picking up a small piece of fabric that had miraculously survived the miko's wrath.

 

"Oh well, that's life I suppose," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay then, act two is about to start and I definitively don't want to miss that," he snickered and with that, he disappeared into thin air once again.