InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Echo of Destiny ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Echo of Destiny

Chapter 3

The smell of something warm and meaty greeted Inuyasha's nose. His mind begged for him to ignore it and sleep on, but his stomach had other ideas. With a long-suffered groan, he opened his eyes. Kagome lay curled up next to him on one of the small beds, her dark hair falling across her face and tickling her nose. Looking past her, he saw a wooden tray stacked high with slabs of meat, fresh bread, and a large hunk of cheese.

Carefully disentangling himself from his wife, Inuyasha slipped out of bed and over to the tray of food. It must not have been there too long, because the bread and meat were still warm. A bottle and two silver goblets rested on the tray as well

He broke off a small piece of bread and lifted it to his nose. Taking in a deep, slow breath, he pushed aside the wonderful smell of fresh bread in search of something more menacing. When no smell of poison or other drug he knew could be detected, he put the piece in his mouth. After carefully chewing, tasting it meticulously for anything out of place, he swallowed. When he felt no ill effects, he repeated the process with the meat and cheese.

He pulled the cork out of the battle and lifted it to his nose. Immediately he pulled away when the smell of sweet red grapes and alcohol hit his nose.

"Hell, these people hit the bottle early." Still, he tilted a little into one of goblets, swirled it, and drank. Inuyasha frowned down at the empty cup. He had had better wine, but had misgivings about having it this early in the morning.

Not knowing what else to do, and satisfied that the food was not tainted, he lifted the tray and walked back over to the bed. Sitting down on the edge and resting the tray on his lap, he gave Kagome a gentle shake. She groaned, rolled over, and opened her eyes.

"Breakfast, beautiful." Kagome smiled and yawned. With a stretch, she sat up and looked at the tray. Inuyasha carefully cut a chunk out of the cheese and handed it to her. Smiling, Kagome accepted the offering along with a slice of bread and meat. When he handed her one of the goblets and began pouring the wine, she raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it a little early?"

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth." Inuyasha shrugged. Kagome nodded and began to work on her breakfast. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the injuries." Kagome paused, seeming to do a mental inventory of her body. Her face twisted in surprise. "I feel pretty good, actually. My side and head still hurt a bit, but other than that I feel fine. You?"

"Keh. I'm a demon, woman. I'm fine." Kagome just smiled and shook her head. The rest of the meal was finished in a comfortable silence. Between them they could only eat about half the food on the tray. With a bright smile, Kagome took his hand and slipped off the bed.

"Let's go explore."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Kag." he answered, but followed anyway as she headed across the room.

"You won't let anything happen to me," she retorted so easily that he could not help but smile. They passed between the pillars that held up the ceiling in place of a wall and stepped down onto soft sand. Kagome gasped.

Before them stretched the most beautiful stretch of beach she had ever laid eyes on. The sand was an almost perfect white and the water was like sea green crystal. There was not a scrap of trash, or hint of pollutants in the foam at the tide line or on the water. Brightly colored crabs scuttled sideways across the sand in search of their microscopic prey. The beach stretched, unbroken, to the horizon on the left and right. A rich sea breeze rolled over her; bringing with it the smells of salt and sand.

Turning around, she took in the world behind them. The house they had just exited reminded her of something out of a Mediterranean estate. Ten-foot columns of clean, white stone supported the ceiling with Parthenon-style presence. The house, if one could call the building that, was not overly decorated in any sense, but it was framed by a huge mountain behind it. Its deep lush green was perfectly matched to the sapphire sky.

"It's beautiful!" Kagome gasped, "Isn't it, Inuyasha?" She turned to look at her husband and frowned. Inuyasha's face was marred with the strangest expression. "Inuyasha?" He looked at her, his mouth quirking slightly.

"I'm all for going commando, but this is a little breezy." Kagome blinked once before bursting into laughter. Inuyasha huffed. "I'm glad my discomfort amuses you."

"I'm sorry, Yash." Kagome managed between laughs, "It's just the way you said it." Inuyasha's ear twitched in annoyance and he snorted. Kagome smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

"My Lord, my Lady! It is good to see you are feeling better." The voice was male and unfamiliar. They both turned, Inuyasha putting himself in front of Kagome instinctively, to see a man walking towards them. He was tall and thin, with black hair and bright violet eyes. He was dressed in dark robes of black and rich purple. In his right hand he carried a staff. The wood was dark and ornately carved with strange ruins and topped with a gold ring.

As the man moved towards them in crisp, even steps, Inuyasha cursed under his breath. With the wind coming in from the ocean, he had not smelled anyone approaching, and he had been too wrapped up in talking to Kagome to hear him either. The man seemed unaffected by the threatening growls rising out of Inuyasha's chest. He swept across the room, the heavy door left open in his wake, and stepped down onto the sand, then promptly bowed at their feet.

It was not the simple bow of the old woman, or even the bow she had used when asking for their forgiveness. The man dropped to one knee in the sand, both his hands and his staff on the ground, and his head bowed.

"We were so worried when you arrived in such poor condition. Praise the Gods you are well again." Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other. Both wore expressions of surprise and déjà vu.

"Umm… do we know you?" Kagome ventured.

"Forgive me, my Lady. I did not properly introduce myself. My name is Miroku, a priest. I am now your humble servant."

"Ooookay," Inuyasha drawled slowly.

"Well," Kagome pressed on, "I'm-"

"There is no need to introduce yourselves," Miroku cut in, "Even if I were blind I would know you. You are Lord Inuyasha and Lady Kagome." Both lovers' eyes widened and they recoiled sharply.

"How the hell did you know that!?" Inuyasha growled, his patience at its end. He grabbed the man off the ground and held him so they were nose to nose. His golden eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Answer me!" The man stuttered, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Please, my Lord, mercy! I meant no disrespect."

"How did you know our names?!" Inuyasha roared, shaking the priest for emphasis.

"They are written, my Lord. On the walls of your temple, they are written." Inuyasha's eyes widened more than seemed possible and he dropped Miroku into the sand. The priest landed with a soft thump on his ass, his eyes still wide and frightened.

"Our… temple…" Kagome repeated, tasting the words in her mouth. Her hands gripped the fabric of Inuyasha's clothes. "Inuyasha…?"

"It's going to be okay, Kagome." His voice was confident, but his body told a different story. Every single muscle was tightly coiled, ready to spring at a moment's notice. He turned his eyes down to Miroku again, ignoring his flinch. "I don't know how the fuck you know our names or who the hell you think we are, but you will take us to this 'temple' and I'm going to show you that you are dead fucking wrong."

"Yes, my Lord." Miroku scrambled to his feet, "This way." His stride was clipped as he led them around the old woman's abode to a simple dirt road. There they found a woman dressed in black and pink armor. Her dark brown hair was tied in a high ponytail, keeping it out of her chocolate eyes. There was a simple sword strapped to her side and an enormous boomerang strapped to her back. She was holding the reins of four horses.

Each horse wore nothing more than a simple blanket and a bridle that did not appear to have any buckles. Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in thought. His mother was an avid horse lover and had no qualms about teaching him everything she knew, but he could not place this breed of equine. He shook it off, chalking them up as a crossbreed.

The woman bowed deeply at their approach. To both Inuyasha and Kagome's relief, holding onto the horses kept her from getting down on the ground.

"My Lord and Lady, my name is Sango of the Amazon tribe. I am the guard of the priest Miroku. I humbly offer my services to you." Inuyasha huffed and Kagome looked like she might be going into overload. Sango shifted nervously and looked at Miroku for help.

"It is a long way back to the main city and the temple, my Lord and Lady. It will be faster if we take the horses." Miroku gestured to the horses, seeming to expect them to choose their mounts first.

"I don't think I can get on one of those." Kagome's voice was small.

"I'll help you." Inuyasha assured. He took her hand gently and led her to the nearest horse. It was a beautiful bay. He laced his fingers together and held them down to provide her a step up. Kagome placed her left foot in his hands and reached up to grip the horse's black mane. She looked up to get her bearings and gasped. "Inuyasha… look up."

When he did, his jaw dropped. Overhead was a perfect clear sky, not a cloud in sight. But it was not like the sky as he knew it. High overhead was a smooth blue-green sky with a texture like looking up from the bottom of a pool. But the most astonishing thing was the two large Humpback whales and a small calf swimming gracefully just beyond the dome.

"Where the fuck are we?"

"My Lord," Miroku answered tentatively, "You are on the outskirts of Atlantis."