InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Falling Over You ❯ Chapter Four: Kagura ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four: Kagura

The next village was what Kuma called fondly, "an extremely peculiar experience." After singing in the tavern for a few hours, and playing her guitar, she had earned a bit more money, but counted it and found it a slow go, and she didn't like not being able to afford any sort of weapon yet. At this point, she would've been content with a small dagger, at least it would be something. "Working awfully hard to earn so little money, aren't you young lady?" "Huh? Oh, hi. Didn't see you down there," Kuma said as she looked down at a rather short and plump old man who pulled himself up onto the bench beside her at the tavern. Shippo was sitting on the table in front of her thinking, this guy is almost as short as I am. "May I ask what a young woman like you has a need of such funding for?" "I keep running into demons, so I want to buy a sword. Don't have enough yet though," Kuma answered absently as she tucked the pouch back between her breasts, and noticing Miroku's expression, commented, "you enjoy that a little too much I think, monk." Having missed it, but noticing now, Sango hit him.again. With a meaningfully mischievous smirk, she added, "you know Sango, he probably wouldn't be half as horny if you just put out once in a while," and ducked the boomerang that went flying towards her head. "Hey, chill out! It was just a joke. You need a sense of humor," she laughed. Miroku couldn't help but chuckle, although he was silently agreeing on the matter, and the amusement at her expense got him another good whack on the head. "Ow! Hey, I didn't even say it!" he protested. "It doesn't matter," Sango huffed. "You were thinking it!" "You're such a troublemaker," Shippo giggled at Kuma. "Well, I've accomplished all I needed with Inuyasha and Kagome, finally-bet they're off sucking face somewhere as we speak-so, I need a new hobby," Kuma joked happily. "How about finding yourself a man instead of getting me beat up for your jokes," Miroku groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. She frowned at this, briefly, but he caught it. So there is someone. "Not nearly as fun Miroku. Not nearly as fun," she joked, having already forgotten the old man, who now tugged lightly on her sleeve. "Oh, sorry," she said. "I got distracted," she beamed. "I would like to make a sword for you, as a gift," the man said. "Wha..?" "That is to say, of course, for free." "Why?" she asked blatantly, causing the old man to start laughing. When he recovered, he grinned at her. "I haven't made many swords in my lifetime, since I only make swords for people who I like," he said. "I think I'll probably only make one more before I die, and I would like to make it for you, or someone like you." "Let me get this straight. You want to make me a sword, for nothing, just because you happen to like me for some reason?" "Precisely." ".well, I don't get it." He started laughing again, as did the others, who found the confused expression on her face priceless. "Free" didn't seem to be a word used very often in the future world that she and Kagome came from. When the man recovered, Kuma said, "so what's the catch?" "The catch?" "Yeah. You know, you do for me, I do for you. That's the way stuff works. I don't believe you want to just make me a sword out of the blue, so what's the catch, what do you get out of making me a sword." "Well.you'd have to use it to fight evil, of course," he said as if it were obvious. "Fight evil. You mean like crow demons and such?" "Exactly!" Kuma thought about this a moment and said, "well, sure, that's what I want it for anyway. You've got yourself a deal old man."

"Wonderful! I'll meet you here with it three days from now," he said before jumping off the chair and disappearing into the crowd. "Well. That was bizarre," Kuma said. "What was bizarre?" Kagome asked as she and Inuyasha approached, looking downright cuddly with his arm casually wrapped around her back, hand resting on her waist, even if he did look a tad self-conscious about it, Inuyasha also had a glimmer of pride in his eyes at being able to call Kagome his girlfriend. But it was hard to look at him for too long, since, physically at least, he bore a resemblance to his brother. "An old man just decided to make Kuma a sword," Shippo said before she could. "What?" Inuyasha asked, certain he had heard wrong. "Yeah, it was weird, a little guy not much bigger than Shippo," Kuma shrugged. "It was pretty weird, but, who's complaining. Anyway, I'm not holding my breath, but it'd be good if it worked out. I'd feel better being armed. Since I apparently attract crow demons for some reason or other. At least the last one was small," she said. Kuma had thought once the shard was out of her chest she wouldn't have to worry about being attacked by demons anymore, but crow demons still seemed to love her for some reason that she couldn't even begin to fathom. She could manage the small ones bare-handed without too much trouble, but as for the larger ones, the others always ended up saving her from those. And she was resolute in her decision; until she could defend herself and survive without help in this world, she wouldn't think about the promise she made to Sesshomaru. Forever was one thing, but only if you could keep yourself alive to enjoy it. "So how long until this sword of yours is finished?" Inuyasha asked. "Three days. I'll stick around and wait for it, but you guys should go ahead if you've got to." "And leave you to get killed or kidnapped again?" Inuyasha said. "I don't think so. Rescuing you wastes too much time." Okay, that stung. Kuma knew he meant it in the best possible way, but it bothered her enough that she couldn't defend herself without him having to point it out at every opportunity. And he was so oblivious, he didn't even notice. "Well, whatever. All the noise in here is giving me a headache, I'm going to take a walk. Don't worry, Inuyasha, I won't leave the village. I'd hate to hassle you," she said as she got up and left. "What was that about?" Inuyasha asked, sure he'd picked up the tone in her voice, hell, he'd used the tone in her voice. "Idiot. You don't have to remind her that she needs to be protected all the time. Can't you tell how much it bothers her," Shippo said as he debated going after her, and decided against it. She probably wanted to be alone for a little while. When Inuyasha gave Shippo the "like you would know" expression, Sango chimed in. "Shippo's right, Inuyasha. She wouldn't want a sword so badly if she didn't mind being saved all of the time. She's trying very hard to become a part of this world, and the way she sees it, if she can't defend herself against demons without being rescued, then she's failed." "Poor Kuma. In our world, she's very strong, but in this world, it isn't enough. I've never been very strong, so I guess I can't really relate. It must be hard for her," Kagome said, reflecting back on how, in spite of how hard it is, she still won't return to her own time. She easily could, now that the jewel shard isn't inside of her anymore. She didn't have to stay. But it was a choice she had made. "It's not all that's bothering her though," Miroku added. "There's something else, guy problems I think. Not that I have any inkling as to when she had time to meet a guy. I mean, the past few weeks have been nothing but virtually non-stop attacks, and she's been with us the whole time, and before that she was with." the thought suddenly hit him like a rock, an extremely large rock. She was with Sesshomaru. They all thought it at the same time and the way the expressions around the table dropped, it was obvious. Inuyasha was the one to finally say it out loud, "she was with my brother. You think there's something going on with them, monk?" he asked tensely. "No. No way," Miroku said quickly. "I'm sure she has better taste than that. You know me, I'm probably just imagining things." Problem was, Miroku wasn't so sure that he was, and he wasn't so sure that that wasn't exactly what he thought. But what bothered him more than what Kuma might feel towards Inuyasha's full demon brother who wanted their traveling companion quite dead, was what aforementioned demon might be thinking about her. This could be bad, he thought. None of the expressions at the table changed, should've kept my big mouth shut, now they won't be able to keep from wondering. Whether it was true or not, everyone was thinking about it now. After a few minutes, everyone seemed to decide it was ridiculous, except for Inuyasha who kept recalling the scene he witnessed at the lake what now seemed like such a long time ago, and Miroku, who came up with the brilliant idea in the first place. Not possible. It's simply too disturbing, he thought to convince himself. Problem was, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Things could get very complicated in the near future.

Rin crawled up into Sesshomaru's lap as he sat thoughtfully by the window. "Rin, what is it?" he asked. "Rin misses Kuma," she sniffled. "She coming back soon?" "I don't know when she's coming back," Sesshomaru told her, but the girl seemed hopeful that at least she would be coming back, and Sesshomaru could only think, I miss her too Rin. Truth was, not seeing Kuma only made him think about her more, so Sesshomaru sent a sword-smith to forge a weapon for her, one whom he paid in advance, and who was under strict command to not let her know about the bargain, or that there was any third party involved at all. She would never forgive him if she knew. That old man was expensive, after all, and she wouldn't want to feel indebted. Sesshomaru would simply feel better about her safety if she had a weapon to protect herself with. No, Kuma need never know he had anything to do with this. Of course, Sesshomaru hadn't known when he paid for the charge, that the old man already knew who Kuma was, and was looking for just this excuse to forge his last great sword. Willful, stubborn, a bit reckless-that was just the right personality for the sword he'd been planning to forge for the past forty years. And now that the right person had come along (and one that had such a wealthy benefactor), the opportunity simply could not be passed up. And, of course, there was something else in her that the others had missed as yet, but which, he presumed, would make it self apparent in not much time at all. A bit, just a hint, of youkai in her eyes. "You're making a sword for that human girl, m'lord?" a young wolf demon asked as he approached the old man. "I am, Zaru. Does that bother you?" the old man answered as he continued on his work. "No m'lord." Yes, a little, she is human, after all. "It's just.why? You've never forged a sword such as this for a human before." "An experiment, Zaru. I should like to determine if evil tendencies are related to youkai blood. This sword will tap into and awaken the dormant demon in her, and I should like to see how her behavior changes once that demon is awakened." "She's a half.!" Zaru's eyes widened. He hadn't smelt any demon on her at all. "Not quite, no. But the blood is there, and it is strong. Now that that jewel shard isn't blocking it, it will awaken as the moon passes through it's phases, but.why not hurry up the process? I won't live forever, after all, and I want to see what happens when the little cub wakes up." "And Sesshomaru of the west paid you well to forge her a weapon." "Hah! Yes, that too. See that I am not disturbed." "Yes sir."

"Three days though? We should be out looking for shards, not sitting around here for three days," Inuyasha complained. Three days seemed like an awfully long time to him. "Inuyasha," Kagome said as she scooted closer to him where he had her up in a tree with him, what Miroku fondly referred to as their make-out spot when he caught them up there the day before. "Shh," she said as she kissed him again. "Mmm. On second thought, maybe we could all use a break," he whispered huskily. "Good boy," Kagome told him.

"Three days is a really long time," Kuma realized with a sigh as she and her guitar joined her friends for dinner. "I'm not used to sitting still this long anymore." "Relax, you'll get your sword tomorrow," Sango said. She's extremely impatient. "I know. I'm just getting bored is all," Kuma said with a sigh. "Do you even know how to use a sword?" Miroku asked, realizing it was a matter that hadn't come up. Kuma blushed slightly. "Well.how hard can it be?" Of course that would be her answer? he groaned mentally. Why do I bother? And Sango just looks at him with a tiny smirk that seems to say, "stupid question." I think she's warming up to me, he thinks, back on his old familiar train of thought. She hasn't hit me in hours. "I made more money though!" Kuma says, totally breaking the conversation off. "Not a lot, but every little bit helps, right?"

"Well, there's really no point in staying here any longer," Sesshomaru decided after a few days of taking care of business around the castle. To be quite frank, he was bored, so he figured he'd might as well head off after the tetsusaiga again, if perhaps he was somewhat lacking in his old enthusiasm for the task. He just didn't know what else to do to keep himself from going stir crazy. Besides, it was a good excuse to see Kuma again, as pathetic as he realized that that was. Well, I suppose it can't be helped. I'll try to claim the tetsusaiga until I find some other purpose for myself, like she wants. The problem seems to be that he can't imagine himself doing anything else.other than spending his life with Rin and Kuma, of course.and Jaken, who didn't seem to approve of his attachment to Kuma at all. A small smile crosses his face briefly as he thinks about Kuma's first meeting with the little toad demon.and how she tossed him across the room into the far wall. He'd laughed in spite of himself.

Zaru brought the altogether too large sword to the tavern for Kuma. It was wrapped in brown cloth and he had to drag it. How's that girl gonna carry this thing around? "A sword for the Lady Kuma from master sword-smith, Deraku Oudabi," he announced as he put the sword down on the floor, glad to "Lady Kuma?" she giggled. "Well, whatever. Thanks." Zaru gave her a peculiar look and then left quickly. "Odd fellow," she said. "Wolf demon," Inuyasha told her as if that was the perfect explanation. "I'm glad to have a sword and all now, but, isn't this a little.big?" Kuma asked as she picked up the large object, which was almost as tall as she was, and laid it down on the table before untying the knots in the cloth. A black sheath with a shoulder strap holding an almost 4 foot long double- edged blade attached to a two foot hilt. "What does he think I am, a giant?" she asked as she laughed at the bizarre proportions. She shrugged and slung the weapon over her head and shoulder. "Well, a little heavy, but not too bad. I can get used to it if I practice." Inuyasha grabbed the note off of the table, looking rather suspicious of the weapon, and Kuma almost dove after him, fuming. "Why you! That's addressed to me you asshole!" After scanning the note quickly, he crumpled it and threw it at her. "The sword's name is Kagura." Kuma scowled, picked up the note and read it, and sure enough that's exactly what it said, "the sword's name is Kagura." Okay, so it also said, "take care of it." "Not one for long, drawn-out explanations, is he?" Kuma said with a shrug, tossing the note over her shoulder, where it landed in Miroku's rice bowl. He picked it up, shook it off and tossed it at the back of her head. "Huh? Hey!" "Watch where you throw things," he frowned. "Oh! Haha! Sorry Miroku!" she laughed. "So is everybody ready to go?"

"Damnit! Where'd she disappear to now!" Inuyasha growled before Kuma came running up behind him, slapping him on the back of the head and saying, "I got it! Defeated the big bad all by myself! And I come bearing gifts!" she giggled as she tossed the little pink shard at Kagome. I'm glad she's figuring out that sword and can take care of herself, but she's making me look bad. I would've gotten him easily, but.she's just too fast, and she's getting faster. I wonder if I should have mentioned that that guy who made her sword is a demon. Bah! Never mind. "Fine. We've got it, let's stop wasting time and keep going then," Inuyasha said. They started walking. "Hey, Kuma, doesn't having such a big sword bother your arm?" Shippo asked as he hopped up onto her shoulder. "Not really. It hasn't been bothering me as much lately. I guess it's getting stronger. I mean, it hurts a little, but not as bad as it used to," Kuma answered. And the scar has been fading away too, she thought. It didn't make much sense to her. Was it something about this time, or something else entirely. She'd been feeling strange the past few weeks, not sick exactly, just.different. She could swear her hair was getting lighter, and she was starting to see better in the dark. Not to mention her other senses seemed to be improving somewhat as well. It worried her, but she didn't say anything. It's probably nothing, she told herself. Problem was, she wasn't so sure.

Okay, so I know, technically, I should rename the sword, since Kagura is the name of a character in the series, but well, I wrote this fic before I knew that, so I'm just going to leave it as is. No big thing, really. Aaannnyways! One more chap and this fic is over! But, the arc is not! I still don't know what to call the arc either, *pouts*…but I'm open to suggestions.