InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Blood ❯ Memories from the Past ( Chapter 2 )

"Demon Blood" by Jezunya

Chapter 2: Memories from the Past

I wish I owned Inuyasha… but alas, he belongs to a lucky girl named Higurashi Kagome, and both of them were created by the real-live genius Takahashi Rumiko-sama… However, I did come up with the plot for this fic! ^-^

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Her gown swirled around her as he watched her dance. She was all in green, and he in his colors. The song ended and she scampered over to him. "Dance with me!" she laughed, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the dance floor. He smiled a bit reluctantly and let her drag him out.

"You went away again," she said quietly as the music began to play.

"I had to," he replied.

"I missed you." She looked up at him, her emerald eyes sincere.

"I'll always come back," he said just as sincerely.

She grinned. "And if you didn't, I'd find you and make you come back!"

He gave a rare, soft smile. "Ketzia…"

Ketzia….

Ketzia……

Inuyasha jerked awake. For a moment he just lay frozen on his branch, his claws digging into the bark as he tried to get his breathing back under control. It had been so real… Like he was really there again… He shuddered, pulling himself up into a sitting position and wrenching his claws out of the wood.

After taking a few calming breaths and slowly forcing each muscle in his body to relax one-by-one, the dog-demon looked out over his sleeping companions. They all lay peacefully on their respective bedrolls, completely unaware of whatever had awakened him from his dream.

Inuyasha frowned. What had woken him? He cocked an ear, feeling relief wash through him when he was greeted with all the usual sounds of a living forest. The wind carried no scent of a threat, only the smell of leaves and spices, the smell of healthy trees. Then what..?

A sudden deep, rumbling growl startled him, sending him into full alert again. It took him a moment to realize that it was his own stomach growling. He blinked, feeling an embarrassed flush rising in his cheeks, and sat back heavily on the branch. His stomach growled again, and he growled back, feeling put out that he had gotten worked up over a stupid dream and a little midnight hunger.

His stomach growled again, louder, a small ache building up. Maybe it was more than just a little midnight hunger… He shook his head and rolled over onto his stomach, telling himself to just go back to sleep. However, now on his stomach and thus facing down toward the ground and the girl camped out beneath him, Inuyasha's eyes were drawn to the bulging pack that sat, huge and silent, next to Kagome's sleeping bag.

His stomach grumbled loudly against being ignored.

There was ramen in the girl's pack, he knew. But to be caught searching through her bag, even on an innocent quest to fill his empty stomach… Only a man with a death wish would risk such a thing.

Grumble, growl.

Of course, starving to death could be just as bed…

The dog-demon gingerly slipped down from his tree, careful not to wake the others. He paused next to Kagome, and almost decided against leaving her …them… even for a few moments. He had no idea how closely they were being followed; even a short trip into the forest - thus leaving the camp unguarded - could prove to be the end of the chase. He looked over his shoulder, towards the tree line, and scanned the surrounding forest with all his senses, searching for any signs of their pursuers. He found none.

Inuyasha looked at the sleeping girl one more time, and then ran out into the forest.

After several minutes, he came upon the trail of a lone doe. He followed its scent, coming up behind it silently as it paused at a small stream to drink. The only sound it made was the sharp crack of its bones as he deftly broke its neck. He ripped through the soft skin, fully enjoying the raw meat and warm blood, a delicious meal that he had rarely tasted since Kagome began providing them with food.

I used to hunt all the time… What happened? he wondered. Well, for one thing, he now had a source of free food - and it was free ramen, to boot - and for another thing, hunting just wasn't the same without the Pack. Especially without her.

"Feh…" Inuyasha muttered as he chewed. It had been too long since he'd seen her… Ketzia. His face softened slightly at her memory. Thick tawny hair, the color of autumn leaves, and laughing emerald eyes, always so mischievous. She was always playful and cute, but she could beautiful and grand, too, when the occasion called for it. Those were good times, he thought unconsciously, then berated himself for sounding liked Myouga-jiji.

But maybe it wouldn't be so bad, part of him reasoned. After all, it had been… What? Nearly a century? It would be nice to see her again. He shook his head, angry with himself for such thoughts. Things were different now. He was different. A hundred years changed a person. Especially a hundred years of questing, fighting, and… No. No, he didn't want to see Ketzia. Not now.

Inuyasha's tongue darted out, licking up the blood left on his face as he reached for another piece of meat. He froze, his hand poised in mid-air above the deer, as the sharp edge of a katana blade slid across his throat.

***

Something had woken her up, some subtle change in the environment. After a moment or two, it occurred to her that the entire forest had gone dead silent. Even the wind seemed oddly hushed. She sat up in her sleeping bag and looked around groggily, wondering what had brought about her wakefulness. The others still slept soundly, without a certain dog-demon prowling around them at all hours of the night.

…Without..?

On an impulse, Kagome glanced up into the tree above her and was further alarmed to see its boughs empty. A faint, cold tingle ran up and down her spine, and she shivered, realizing the meaning: there were demons near. Where's Inuyasha..? she thought almost franticly. Surely he was nearby… He wouldn't just run off when they were all asleep, especially after all the fuss he'd made about the youkai following them.

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, shivering again as she looked out at the eerily quiet forest around her.

***

"My, my, my... One of the Six caught off his guard. Perhaps we should disown you for such carelessness."

"Ketzia."

Ketzia grinned. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Oh, yeah. This is just great. I've got a sword stuck in my throat and an annoying little youkai girl breathing down my neck. I'm happy as a labrador."

Ketzia rolled her eyes and gave him a small kick in the butt. "It was necessary. I couldn't have you leaping around and ripping my throat out the instant I made a noise behind you."

"I didn't even smell you."

"Baka! We're in a forest! Of course you didn't smell me!"

"Feh," was his reply.

She rolled her eyes again. "Maybe this will brighten your mood," she said as she withdrew the katana and placed it back in its scabbard at her hip. Inuyasha snorted and swiveled around, still in a crouched position.

She stood grinning down at him, wearing a short forest-green tunic and carrying her long-bow slung over her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with a long leather strip, leaving just enough slack so that her fluffy brown ears could easily move about. "You've grown," Inuyasha noted, looking her up and down.

"No, you're just sitting," Ketzia replied, rolling her eyes again.

"Oh, you're right," Inuyasha smirked, climbing to his feet and finding her head level with his nose. "You're still a midget."

"I am not!" she said indignantly, slapping his shoulder. "I'm a girl! I'm supposed to be shorter than you!"

Inuyasha smirked again and chuckled slightly. "So what are you doing way over here?" he asked, crouching in front of the deer again. And why are you following me? said the look he gave her.

"No reason, really," Ketzia shrugged nonchalantly, standing back to let him eat his fill. When he sat back on his haunches and looked up at her, she moved in, grabbing a piece of meat to munch on.

Inuyasha watched her suspiciously, and she busied herself with the deer so as not to meet his piercing golden gaze. "You expect me to believe that you left the Citadel out of sheer boredom?" he asked skeptically.

"You did."

He snorted. "That was different. I had a mission. I was searching for the Shikon no Tama."

"And now that you've found it…" she left it hanging, not looking at him.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "Why are you really here?" he asked.

Ketzia squirmed a bit under his glare. "It's nothing. Just… never mind…" she said uncomfortably, and stuffed another morsel into her mouth so she wouldn't have to talk.

Inuyasha continued to glare at her for a long moment. She was hiding something from him. She'd hinted that he'd finished what he'd originally set out to do. And he had, in a way: he'd found the Jewel and challenged its protectress - several times, in fact. So now..? What? She wanted him to return with her? But the Jewel had been shattered, and he hadn't become a full demon. And he couldn't just leave Kagome …and the others, of course. He mentally shook his head. If she wasn't going to come out and say she wanted him back, he wouldn't worry himself about it.

"It's just…" Ketzia began slowly, breaking through his thoughts. "Without you, everything's… different…" She glanced up at him, finally looking him in the eye.

"Ketzia…"

She looked away again. "We can't fight without you. You know that. Mizuki's out of control without you to balance her. It's almost better to just have the four of us than to have her even try to fight."

"And what exactly are you fighting now?" Inuyasha asked, his tone almost sharp.

Ketzia winced. She hadn't missed that he'd said "you" rather than "we." He really had left them behind… "Shadows…" she mumbled, fingering a piece of meat.

Inuyasha snorted in disgust. "If that's all it is, you're just chasing your tails." He wiped his hands on his pants and stood.

"But -"

"There's nothing left to fight, Ketzia. There was nothing left to fight when I left. We destroyed them. All of them." His eyes were hard, but Ketzia felt a surge of hope when he said "we." Perhaps he was still one of them after all.

"And now I have a different mission," Inuyasha continued. "I have-"

"-Your own pack now?" Ketzia sniffed pathetically. "You've forgotten about us, haven't you? You've forgotten me."

Inuyasha scowled and kicked at the ground. "I guess I have been away for a while…" he began, and the girl looked at him hopefully. "But I have other responsibilities now. My… my own pack, as you put it."

Ketzia's face fell. "It's the humans, isn't it?" she said, her tone mournful.

Inuyasha looked at her sharply. "What about them?"

"That one. The female with the miko powers." Ketzia bit her lip.

"What about her?" Inuyasha asked forcefully.

"She's distracted you." Ketzia looked up at him, deciding bluntness was probably best. "She's the reason you've stayed away so long." Her tone was almost accusing, as if all her life's problems could be pinned on one unknowing human girl.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I… I don't know." Ketzia deflated, looking away. "Nothing, I guess… I just… O, Kami, everything's so confusing right now…"

Inuyasha snorted. "You can say that again."

"Everything's so confusing right now," Ketzia grinned, then laughed at the dead-pan look Inuyasha gave her. After a few moments she sighed. "I guess I just wish everything could be the way it was before."

"Sometimes change is good," Inuyasha said quietly.

Ketzia looked at him and gave him a strange smile. "Funny… I never thought I'd hear you of all people saying something like that."

Inuyasha shifted his weight around uncomfortably, not meeting her eyes. "A lot's happened, Ketzia."

"I know," she said, looking at him sidelong and still giving him that strange smile. "You fell in love didn't you?"

"…"

"Don't think you can ignore it. I heard all about that." She smirked. "Got a little too frisky with the local priestess, eh?"

"I didn't touch her!" Inuyasha snarled, looking back at her sharply.

She gave him a level look, then smiled softly. "You've changed so much. It's almost like you're not the Inu-chan I knew before," she said wistfully.

"I'm still me," he snorted.

"I know," she smiled. "And that's why I love you."

Inuyasha didn't respond. After a moment, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "What do you want?" he asked wearily.

Ketzia blinked. "What?"

"You're after something. I can tell. What is it?"

"Um…" she flushed and looked down at her hands. "I… I guess I… I want you to come back with me." She looked back up at him, her eyes serious.

Inuyasha nodded somberly, as if to say That's what I thought, then said firmly, "No."

"What? Why?!" Ketzia cried, jumping to her feet.

"I told you already, I have other responsibilities," Inuyasha growled, turning away from her. "And taking care of your problems is not one of them."

Ketzia looked outraged. "How can you say that?! This affects you as much as any of the rest of us!" Inuyasha ignored her, marching purposefully back the way he came. "Inuyasha!"

"No, Ketzia," he said, not even stopping to look at her.

"But-"

"You might as well go home. I can't help you."

"You can't help, or you won't?!" the she-dog burst out in frustration.

"I can't," Inuyasha replied coldly, still walking. "And I won't."

Ketzia opened her mouth, reaching out to him with one hand, but she seemed to change her mind, scowling and letting her hand fall back to her side. "I came here to bring you home, Inuyasha," she said. "And I will do that. One way or another you will return."

"Is that a threat?!" Inuyasha spun around, snarling, but she had already disappeared into the forest.

***

Kagome looked up as Inuyasha pushed through the last of the trees and stepped into the campsite, a troubled expression on his face. "There you are!" she cried, relief coloring her voice. "Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere," Inuyasha growled moodily, coming to crouch in front of her knapsack. He opened the bag and started stuffing the girl's belongings back inside.

"N-nan de?!" Kagome squeaked.

"Go wake the others. We're leaving," he replied tersely, tossing her shoes at her.

"In the middle of the night? Why?" Kagome asked, pulling on her socks and shoes.

"Same reason we had to keep moving yesterday," Inuyasha grunted. He strapped the pack closed and moved to stamp out what was left of their fire, watching Kagome stumble over to Sango and Miroku out of the corner of his eye.

They were packed and ready to go a few minutes later. Kagome picked up her bike, but Inuyasha grabbed it out of her hands. "Hey! What're you doing?!" she demanded, reaching for the metal vehicle.

"I'm carrying you the rest of the way," he growled back, handing the bike off to Sango, who attached it to Kirara's side. "Besides, it's the middle of the night. You wouldn't be able to see anything," he said, crouching down with his back to her. "You'd probably run into a tree or something and end up just slowing us down."

Kagome made a face at his back, but didn't say anything as she climbed on. A moment later, they took off, Inuyasha leaping easily through the trees and the others riding on Kirara above the trees. Kagome rested her head against the dog-demon's back, watching the forest passing by. Just before the campsite disappeared from her view, she saw two round points of light glitter in the underbrush. Kagome's breath caught, and she tightened her hold on Inuyasha's shoulders, wishing they could get out of this forest as quickly as possible and away from whatever was following them.

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Just so you know: no, it's not a plot hole. You're not supposed to know who or what Ketzia and Inuyasha are talking about. These two have more than a little history together, and thus have much to talk about. However, don't just brush aside their conversation either; it's all important. ^-^

baka - idiot, fool …I've even seen it translated as "jackass," thou most people simply go with "idiot"

hakama - traditional parted skirt; this is the term usually used when referring to Inuyasha's pants, even though it's not entirely accurate. Hakama would be more like what Kikyou and Kaede wear in the anime: pleated pants that are loose at the bottom, instead of gathered like Inuyasha's.

katana - a Japanese sword

Nan de? - "What are you doing?"

Shikon no Tama - The Jewel of Four Souls (EVERYONE should know this one!!)

Please review!!!

[Revised 4/17/03]