InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Unforeseen Flame ❯ A Shard ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: Enjoy the updated chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, nor could I ever hope to be as genius as Rumiko Takahashi.

Sesshomaru was thoroughly annoyed. No, he was beyond annoyed. The woman, Kagome, had challenged his dictate openly, and he had done nothing about it. He did not dispatch her like he would any other creature that opposed him. Instead she faced no consequences at all, as he had no desire to upset his young ward. Damned headstrong fool of a girl! Why didn't he just let her go back to her family? Now, he had another weak human female to chase after every time she got herself into a troublesome situation. Plus this business about letting her visit her family was quite a hassle, but he had to admit it had led to some interesting information.

Sesshomaru did not know, until this time, that Kagome was from a different era. The girl had always seemed strange, yes, but he had never considered the possibility that she was from the future. It was beneath him to ponder matters concerning humans, but, it was not her that he was concerned with. The prospect of traveling through time piqued his interest, not that he actually planned to try using the well himself. The information was good, and, if ever a need arose for such a thing, Sesshomaru liked to be well informed.

Kagome was angry, although angry did not seem like a strong enough word in her opinion. How dare he order her about like that! She couldn't believe the nerve of him. Demon Lord or not, Sesshomaru had no right to tell her when she was allowed to visit her family and how she was to spend her time in the Feudal Era. She didn't really mind playing caretaker for Rin. The girl was sweet and friendly, much like Kagome herself, but, if he thought that he could get away with ordering her about like she was his servant, the inuyoukai had another thing coming!

The small party had been walking for what seemed like hours to Kagome. Her already stiff legs were even sorer than before, and the forest's dense underbrush kept jabbing her tender bruises and raking at the multitude of scrapes and cuts on her legs. Many of the sores upon her legs had started bleeding all over again.

Next to her Rin continued skipping along merrily seeming indefatigable to Kagome. Skipping through a forest this thick would have been torture to Kagome, not even any semblance of fun. She could never keep up the pace as Rin did, especially not with that jovial smile plastered on her face the whole time. Suddenly Kagome's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sensation.

"I sense a jewel shard," she stated quietly to no one in particular, peering in the direction from which she sensed it in the hopes that she would spot the demon that possessed the powerful fragment.

"I am not concerned with the Shikon no Tama, nor do I have any need for the shards. Since I do not detect Naraku, this shard is not associated with him, and therefore negligible," Sesshomaru remarked coldly, disconcerting Kagome. She had forgotten, for a moment, that she was with someone who was not searching for the fragments and did not care who or what possessed them. Steeling herself, she stopped walking with the group and turned in the direction of the shard. She hoped the demon was a weak one, as it looked like she would be facing it on her own.

"Well I am concerned with the shards! I can't let some demon terrorize innocent people with the power the shard gives it. I broke the jewel, so it's my responsibility to clean up the mess," she declared gallantly, dashing away from the small party and toward the jewel.

So, the Shikon No Tama was shattered by her hands. This was also new and interesting information to Sesshomaru. He had assumed his idiot brother had broken it while trying to steal it from the villagers so that he could become a full demon. He also found that he could not argue with her logic. It was her responsibility to "clean up the mess" as she put it. He would have done the same thing. Not because he cared for the fates of humans as Kagome did, but because his honor would not allow him to do any less. The fact that she also possessed the same sense of honor almost amazed him. He had always found humans to be weak and cowardly, with no sense of responsibility for their indiscretions.

After letting his thoughts settle a moment, he decided to pursue her. He could feel the demonic aura emanating from the creature Kagome sought. He sensed that it was a pathetic excuse for a demon when compared to one such as himself, but a mere human would not have such an easy time exterminating it, especially a human that did not currently possess any weaponry. He was traveling with a damn fool of a woman, but a courageous and honorable fool of a woman at least.

"Jaken, stay with Rin," he enjoined succinctly. Then, with a flash of silver hair and white kimono he was gone, dashing between the trees adeptly.

'Already the wench is interrupting my search for Naraku,' Sesshomaru thought to himself irritably as he followed Kagome silently. Although he could not fault her for being honorable, this was most definitely an inconvenience. One that he hoped she didn't make a habit.

Kagome slowed her pace, panting. She was too tired to chase after a demon. Hell, she was too tired to be traipsing through the forest following a demon with pretty silver hair. Fending even a weak demon off on her own would be near impossible in the state she was in, so why was she doing it? She knew the answer, but she had never really fought a demon by herself, and this one had the added power of a shard of the jewel. This was certainly going to be a challenge. Then she was struck, like lightning, by a sudden realization. Her bow and arrows were back in Kaede's hut. There was no way she stood a chance without them. But it was no matter; she had to at least try. Her only comfort was the fact that once her heart was no longer beating, it wouldn't be aching so badly either.

She searched the forest floor for anything that might make a good weapon. A pointy stick or a heavy object would do just fine, or at least she hoped. Finally her endeavor ended in reward. She reached down and lifted a knobby and crooked but fairly long stick. It was a thin, but sturdy branch that had been broken from a tree at an awkward angle leaving a sharp, jagged tip at one end. Kagome decided it would be suitable for self-defense if she could not get the shard in any other manner.

Determinedly Kagome continued her trek through the woods in search of the demon with the shard. As she came to a bright clearing, she spotted a lizard demon and a pretty young girl, who Kagome surmised was probably only a few years her junior. The poor girl was frozen in fear as the lizard surveyed her greedily.

Quickly taking stock of the situation, Kagome searched for the jewel shard and found that it was embedded in the creature's scales on the back of his neck. Her soft hands clenched tightly into fists around the rough bark of her improvised weapon as she readied herself. Her grip was so tight that she could feel indentations from the bark already forming in the flesh of her hands.

'You can do this,' she thought to herself as optimistically as she could. Her heart felt as though it was in her throat, and she could hear the roar of blood pounding in her ears.

"Yesss...," it hissed, flicking his disgusting red tongue out as he spoke, "you will make a fine addition to my harem..."

Kagome shuddered. No one in their right mind would acquiesce to such a demand willingly. The demon was absolutely grotesque. It was taller than most humans but lanky, its hide covered in thick moss green scales with sharp spikes projecting down the spine of its hunched back. Kagome had never liked lizards to begin with, and this oversized brute was no exception. Determined not to let the girl suffer such a terrible fate, Kagome decided to make her presence known to the demon.

"Hey you! Let the girl go and hand over that jewel shard you have on your back!" she demanded, brandishing her makeshift weapon in an attempt to look intimidating. She had a feeling she wasn't as impressive as she hoped. She already looked half-dead as it was, covered in cuts and bruises and wearing a tattered and dirt-stained uniform.

"What have we here?" the demon jeered derisively, chuckling at the audacious girl as though she were some sort of joke. Obviously, he did not find Kagome menacing in the least. "Another pretty girl that wisssshessss to join my harem, sssso it sssseemssss."

Kagome was almost flattered by the compliment, but the idea of joining the lizard's harem was largely unappealing. She raised her weapon, preparing to jam the sharp tip of her crude spear between the scales that protected the jewel shard.

"Run!" the other girl cried desperately. "Do not worry for my sake. You are not cursed to such a fate as mine. Do not try to fight the beast. Escape while you can!"

"I will do no such thing!" Kagome exclaimed, determinedly. "Lizard, give me your shard and let the girl go free!"

She charged at him, as fast as her legs would carry her, trying to get at the lizard, but he easily sidestepped her attack. Kagome wheeled around, righting herself and turning to face the creature again, a look of grim determination plastered on her face.

The demon snickered in amusement. What did a mere human hope to achieve by challenging him? But at least fortune was smiling upon him. She was a very attractive woman despite being a bit battered, and if she did not become too irritating, she would make a fine addition to his collection. Two new women would indeed make for a very good day.

Kagome raised her weapon and charged the creature again. Again, the demon dodged her attack, and again she whirled around to face him, panting heavily. She was just so tired, and the lizard was only playing with her. She wasn't fast enough to match the speed of even the lowliest of demons, and even if she had been, she wasn't certain she possessed the strength or skill enough to win at close quarters combat.

"When you have tired of your gamesssss, let me know, little girl," the demon taunted, laughing its strangely serpentine snicker.

"You asked for it," she muttered angrily, charging him a third time. The demon was laughing so hard that his yellow eyes were streaming as he stepped to the side once more. His mirth quickly came to an end when a deft blow to the back of the head had him seeing stars. Kagome had swung her branch around with as much force as she could muster as she passed him by this time.

'Got him!' Kagome celebrated inwardly for a brief moment. She had landed one successful blow, but she had not ended the fight.

"Why you," he growled infuriated, grabbing the young woman roughly by the hair before she had another chance to swing. He knocked the branch out of her hands and held her before him. "Sssssso pretty.. It isss a sssshame that I mussst make an exsssample of you."

Kagome whimpered pitifully. The odds were definitely not in her favor now, and she had already been testing them as it was. She struggled as fiercely as she could, trying desperately to free herself from his grasp, but a swift backhand from the creature knocked her unconscious. The other girl lowered her eyes, her hopes of escape diminished. She pitied the young woman who had foolishly tried to rescue her from the monster. She could guarantee that the ideas percolating the creature's mind would not be pleasant for the unconscious woman.