InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Divergence ❯ Chapter 8

Divergence

 

Canto VIII

 

The boar and chase approaching to his stand,

Who hears the crashing of the beasts and branches;

And two behold! Upon our left-hand side,

Naked and scratched, fleeing so furiously,

That of the forest every fan they broke.

He who was in advance: “Now help, Death, help!”

 

-The Inferno, Dante Alighieri, Canto XIII, Lines 13-18

 

 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!”

 

Miroku looked over at Kouga who was ranting to himself while looking intently out into the part of the forest he could see over the impromptu walls that had been built to protect the village.

 

“What?”

 

The wolf demon looked to Miroku before pointing wordlessly. Miroku followed his gaze and felt his eyes widen. As if sensing the monk's eyes on him Inuyasha looked over from where he had been scouting the line of demons a few miles from the village. Even from this distance Miroku could see the intense look on the hanyou's face. To say this was surprising was an understatement. They hadn't heard from Inuyasha since he had disappeared from the temple with Sesshoumaru. He saw the hanyou look out over the ruined fields again before disappearing into the forest. Miroku swallowed hard and looked over at Kouga who was not looking happy.

 

“What do you think it means?”

 

Kouga scowled and looked over at Miroku, dropping the hammer and planks of wood he held. “It could mean that he's here to help…finally.” Miroku said nothing and waited for Kouga to finish because he sensed an `or'. “Or he could have rejoined Naraku and he'd here to kill all of us.”

 

“I don't think he's rejoined Naraku,” Miroku mused after thinking for a moment. “But Inuyasha's actions have become unpredictable lately.”

 

“They have? I've always wanted to be unpredictable.”

 

Kouga whirled around, his claws bent and just barely missed slicing off Inuyasha's face. The hanyou stepped out of the way and ducked the high kick that Kouga aimed at his head. After that Kouga managed to gain control of is body but Inuyasha still remained out of reach, eyeing the other demon suspiciously. Miroku blinked at Inuyasha's sudden appearance and shook himself.

 

“Inuyasha what...?” He looked to the walls around the village then to Kouga who had backed up a few paces so he was even with the monk.

 

“I didn't smell him coming,” he admitted glaring hotly at Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha just cocked his head to the side and stared at the two of them blankly. A crowd had begun to build around them. It hadn't been very long since Inuyasha had left the village and people from the surrounding countryside recognized him.

 

“Well I would hope not,” Inuyasha finally said sharply.

 

Kouga looked indignant but didn't ask for any explanation, knowing that he wouldn't get one anyway.

 

“What are you doing here?” Miroku asked, unable to hide the hopefulness in his voice. Inuyasha heard it and looked amused, both of his eyebrows raising as he glanced over Miroku and Kouga shrewdly.

 

“I came here to help, but you have Kouga.” The hanyou looked down at his booted feet and began shuffling around on the dirt road looking sad. “You replaced me so easily. You don't need me anymore.” Inuyasha sniffed and looked up at a shocked Miroku and Kouga. Tears were standing in his eyes. He sniffed again and looked down at his feet again.

 

Before he could say anything else Kagura dropped down from the sky next to him and proceeded to straighten her new cloak. “Oh this is nice. What's it made out of?”

 

“Leather,” Inuyasha answered without looking up.

 

“And the shirt and pants? They hang so nicely.”

 

“Cotton blended with satin.”

 

“Are my underwear made of silk?”

 

“I suppose they are.”

 

“Very nice.”

 

“You bitch Kagura!”

 

Kagura looked up from patting herself down when Kouga yelled at her and glanced around as if noticing where she was for the first time. This must have been true because she turned to Inuyasha to ask what was going on and noticed that he was still staring down at his feet.

 

“What's up with you?”

 

Inuyasha looked up and covered his eyes with one of his hands, shaking his head back and forth sadly. Kagura rolled her eyes and grabbed a piece of his hair and tugged. Inuyasha grunted and tried to pull his hair out of her grip but only managed to cause her to tug on his hair more.

 

“Oh ouch, ouch! Leggo, leggo you crazy bitch!”

 

“Only when you stop becoming so unstable at random moments!” she snapped sharply tugging on his hair again.

 

By now Sango and Kagome had managed to elbow their way through the crowd and had come to stand at Miroku's and Kouga's side. Their eyes widened at what they saw and they thought about asking Kouga what was going on, but he was just growling and flexing his fingers. So they turned to Miroku, who happily told them about Inuyasha's sudden appearance. They turned to watch the odd scene playing out in front of them. Kagura still had a firm hold on Inuyasha's hair and was berating him in hushed sharp tones. Inuyasha managed to look indignant and shamed at the same time.

 

“Are you thinking clearly now?”

 

“Despite what you think now, I'm not insane. Would you let go, you crazy bitch!?” Inuyasha snapped trying to pry Kagura's fingers off the long stand of hair she held.

 

The wind witch let go and Inuyasha stumbled a little from the sudden change in resistance. He righted himself and glared at Kagura out of the corner of his eye as he coughed into his fist to hide his blush. Kagome couldn't take it anymore. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him close to her. Inuyasha stumbled mid cough and wrapped his arms around her in shock.

 

“Didn't know you'd miss me this much,” he joked half-heartedly, patting her on the back awkwardly.

 

Kagome mumbled something into his chest and Inuyasha nodded sagely. Sango and Miroku had walked over by then and they were both staring at him, their expressions stormy. The half-demon look nervously between the two of them and shrunk back a little.

 

“What?”

 

“What possessed you to go off and let yourself be possessed by Naraku?” Sango hissed softly making Inuyasha swallow and look to Miroku, who didn't look like he'd be of any help.

 

Kagome wasn't crying anymore but she hadn't let go of him, which Inuyasha was glad for because he was sure that Sango would be chasing him with intent of bodily harm if she hadn't been here. Inuyasha unconsciously patted her on the back again. Thank god for Kagome. Sango eyed him carefully and Inuyasha eyed her back.

 

She is bold.

Hmm, Inuyasha agreed distractedly.

 

Kagura walked up behind him and he looked over at her questionably. The wind witch jerked her head towards the sky and Inuyasha sighed.

 

“As nice as it was to see you all again, I have an army of demons to destroy.”

 

Kagome finally let go of him so she could stare up at him in shock. Then she looked to his waist where the Tessaiga was strangely absent.

 

“Where's your sword?” Kagome asked quietly.

 

Inuyasha looked down at his waist as if just noticing the Tessaiga was gone. He looked up at the worried looking faces of Miroku, Sango, Kagome and Kouga and shrugged.

 

“Not here obviously.”

 

“Inuyasha,” Miroku started slowly. “Where is your sword?”

 

The half-demon's eyes narrowed, letting everyone know exactly what he thought of Miroku's tone. His left eyebrow twitched and the open expression that he had been wearing disappeared. Kagura sighed quietly.

 

“It's somewhere safe. Don't bother yourselves thinking about it,” he said blandly.

 

Then he looked to Kagura, communicating silently with her and she shrugged before giving a little nod. With a single leap Inuyasha jumped onto a nearby house then onto the fortification that had been built around the village, and then over it, disappearing. Kagura paused before going.

 

“Naraku might have messed with his head, but he's not stupid. He's helping you out of the kindness in what remains of his heart.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Kagome asked fearfully.

 

“You think that anyone could remain intact after what going through what Naraku put him through?” Kagura asked haughtily. She paused and looked towards the spot Inuyasha had disappeared.

 

“What did he do to him then?” Kouga asked carefully.

 

Kagura's eyes swiveled back to them and looked them over silently for a few moments. At length she spoke, her voice subdued. “Nothing that you're thinking of.”

 

Then she followed the same path as Inuyasha, disappearing over the wall. Sango heaved a sigh and turned to look at the village. It was falling apart, the villagers were loosing hope. This couldn't last much longer. She turned and her eyes locked with Miroku's. He looked resigned and a little guilty.

 

“He's not as he was,” Sango said softly. Miroku lowered his head slightly in agreement. Kagome stepped up next to her and allowed herself to do what Sango had done, looking over the poor state of the village.

 

“It's all going to end soon isn't it?” she asked no one in particular.

 

Before anyone could answer they heard Shippou's voice calling them from across the village. He ran up to them and gave them a message from on the men patrolling the wall on the other side of the village, the one not facing the forest. The mismatched band of warriors broke apart. Kouga to talk to his tribe, Kagome to meet with Kaede as well the other miko that were staying in the village, and Sango and Miroku to follow Shippo to meet in the patrol. From in the forest Inuyasha watched them and snorted in disgust.

 

“They treat me like a dog that ran away and came back,” he said sharply reclining on a wide branch.

 

Kagura stood somewhat below him, watching the village a well. “You were their dog for a long time and they still hold your leash.”

 

“Do they?” Inuyasha snorted turning to looked over the forest. He felt the alien presences of the army of demons surrounding them and he knew that Naraku knew that he had revealed himself. He would be gathering for the final strike against the village tonight and it would most likely start in the morning. Inuyasha wouldn't have been surprised if Naraku had planned the siege on the village in an effort to lure him out. Inuyasha sighed to himself resignedly. It'd worked but Inuyasha had bigger fish to fry for lack of a better term.

 

“Yes they do,” Kagura said returning Inuyasha's attention to her.

 

“The beads don't work anymore,” Inuyasha stated offhandedly.

 

“That's not what I'm talking about.”

 

“Then what are you talking about?”

 

Kagura looked over at him, watching him carefully. “If you don't know than I don't think I'll tell you.”

 

Inuyasha huffed and closed his eyes, readying himself to rest for tomorrow. Kagura fell silent and continued to watch him silently. After a while she shook herself and stretched out on her branch like Inuyasha was on his. She closed her eyes as well and began to doze. After Inuyasha was sure she was asleep he opened his eyes and looked up at the darkening sky. His own soul ached as well as the wind soul. His youkai whispered to him and he felt the itch return.

 

Why the hell am I thinking about Sesshoumaru!?

 

 

He who was in advance: “Now help, Death, help!”

 

 

Thank you, rin sama1989 and LadyIvy for your reviews. You guys are great! Thanks again and I'll try to get the next chapter out as fast as I can.