InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forget Me Nots ❯ Enemies ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I grumbled low in my throat as I followed a pace or two behind Kagome; not really a growl, but still an unhappy noise. Kagome wanted me to talk to Kaede about my memory problem, seemed to think the old hag would be able to help. I didn’t think so. We had argued about it for a good quarter-hour, while Kagome had slowly been luring me out of the den and onto the trail that led to the hag’s village. Even now, we were making our way back there, Kagome happily jabbering on as she led the way. She knew she’d won. Or at least, she knew I’d given in enough to stop arguing with her for the time being. I figured I’d give it one last try when we came to the village.

A scent caught my attention suddenly, tugging my head around to stare out at the trees lining the trail. I growled, low, angry, and deadly. This I remembered. Well, maybe not from before, but at least from the other day, when I had smelled it as I was getting water from the stream by the den. I knew this smell, and I hated it.

Kagome paused and looked back at me, frowning. “Inuyasha..?” she asked softly.

I ignored her and took off into the trees. No hesitation this time, no thinking. I was going to find whatever – whoever – that scent came from, and I was going to kill them. A half-acknowledged insight came to me as I ran: maybe this was the person who had hurt Kagome…

I stopped when I came to a clearing in the trees, a small thatch-roofed house set in its center. I blinked. That didn’t seem right… I stood there, bewildered, as I heard Kagome tramping through the trees behind, occasionally calling my name. She caught up with me after a moment or two, stopping just behind me to catch her breath before she too surveyed the scene before us.

Kagome seemed completely unfazed, and she glanced at me after a minute. “Inuyasha?”

I frowned. “I thought I smelled something…” I was sure I’d smelled something, in fact. Something sinister, evil. It was a smell that made my blood boil and my insides freeze all at once. Rage and fear, all rolled into one. At least, I thought that was what I smelled…

Kagome must have seen the emotions warring on my face, because her eyes suddenly lit with understanding, and she brushed past me into the clearing, a slight smile on her face.

“Kanna!” she called, making her way toward the house. “You in?”

I watched her, a sudden wave of suspicion overtaking me. Something wasn’t right here…

A tall woman poked her head out from around the back of the house, looking around for whoever had come calling. Her crimson eyes landed on Kagome, and a hint of annoyance passed through them, though she smiled nonetheless.

“Ah! Kagura!” Kagome smiled, sounding pleasantly surprised.

“Kagome,” the woman nodded, wiping her hands on the front of her plain kimono as she came forward. The woman was a youkai, though I couldn’t tell what kind from her scent or appearance. The scent of dog hung around her, but beneath it, I could smell what had originally drawn me here.

She didn’t seem to have noticed me yet. Just as well, as I felt myself begin to back toward the trees again. When I was sure Kagome wasn't looking, I turned and bolted into the forest, running as silently and quickly as I was able. It wasn’t long before I was back on the trail to the village, and I paused, looking in either direction.

I could go back to the den or on to the village… They both seemed like walking straight into enemy territory, though. Either way, Kagome would find me again. I shook out my mane and glanced behind me into the trees to make sure I wasn’t being followed, and on an impulse took the trail toward the village. Before I got close enough to be seen, though, I retreated into the trees, skirting around the edge to the other side. Again, I took to the trees.

Something was calling me, egging me on, pulling me deeper into the forest. I vaguely recognized that I was passing near the well that led to Kagome’s world, but I didn’t stop there either. I leapt from tree to tree, not wanting to be seen should there be any villagers or that cursed monk and taiji-ya in the forest, and then it was right in front of me.

I dropped down to the ground, landing in a crouch in front of the huge tree. I sat, knitting my brows up at it. I still didn’t know what had called me here, except that I needed to think and this was a good spot. Shrugging to myself, I stood and scaled the side of the tree, settling myself on a large branch high up from the ground.

That Kagura woman was my enemy, I was sure of it. And Kagome had acted like they were friends. So now what? I was back to square one. No, further back, I growled as I propped my chin on my hand. I couldn’t even mull over if Kagome was my enemy or not – I was back to when I had first woken up. Just like then, I didn’t know anything for sure, except that all the evidence said that Kagome and her companions were my enemies. I growled and slammed my fist down on the branch in frustration. Feeling lost and altogether dissatisfied, I slid off the branch and let myself fall the distance to the ground.

I landed on the huge gnarled roots of the tree and put a hand out to steady myself as I stood. My fingers brushed a strangely smooth patch on the tree’s bark, and I looked up, puzzled. It looked almost like the bark had been worn away over a long period of time, leaving nothing but the smooth wood beneath, or… I pressed my hand flat against it, my senses delving deep into the tree, searching.

There were still traces of it… A large blast of youki, wisps of a broken sealing spell…

I felt my blood run cold as light flashed behind my eyes, snatches of scenes replaying themselves before me.

Betrayal. Anger.

At last... It’s mine..!

"Inuyasha!"

My eyes widened...

There was a pain in my chest so sharp that it left me on my knees, gasping for breath as the vision ended. My claws dug into the wood beneath me. That face… that girl… She shot me..! She shot me! Kagome shot me and sealed me to this very tree!

My eyes narrowed as I flexed my claws again, cold rage boiling through me. She almost fooled me too, the little witch. Almost got me back in the village with the old hag so they could put me asleep again. I snarled.

A twig snapped behind me.

I was immediately up in one of the smaller trees, silent and deadly, waiting for whoever had followed me. A man walked into the clearing, looking around. He was of medium build and height, with straight black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and absolutely nothing remarkable about him. Even his kimono was a flat grey color, probably made of cheap cotton or wool. I raised an eyebrow as he continued to look around.

“Inuyasha! Come out, I know you’re here!” I answered him with silence, not moving from my spot in the trees. The man waited for a moment or two, then sighed, tilted his head back, and began sniffing the air. He was under my tree in a matter of moments.

“Found you,” he grinned, just before I snarled and dropped on him.

I tried to get my hands around his throat as we fell hard to the ground, but he seemed to know something about fighting. He flipped me off of him and leapt to his feet, spinning around to face me as he too recovered. We circled each other slowly, and he just kept grinning at me. His muscles tensed and I prepared myself for an attack, but then he straightened, threw his head back and laughed. I blinked, feeling oddly cheated.

He stopped laughing and looked at me, still grinning. “Sorry,” he said, his voice smooth, low. “I’m just so glad to have finally found you. After the battle, well…” He looked at the ground, his face grim.

Battle… Yes, there had been a battle, I had known that from the beginning. And I had won! ..Hadn't I? I regarded the man suspiciously. He looked human enough, but his scent said otherwise. If I wasn't mistaken, he was a hanyou …like me. It would make sense for us to be allies then.

“Who are you?” My voice sounded harsh and gravely, even to me. Fellow hanyou or not, I wasn’t about to take him at face value.

He surveyed me silently for a moment, his lips pursed. “You really don’t remember, do you? She blasted you pretty hard in that battle, so I guess it must have knocked some things loose in your head.”

“Who?” His eyes were a deep, dark black that glinted red in the dappled light of the forest. I didn’t like the calculating look he kept giving me. Like he was the only one playing with a full deck, and he knew it.

“The girl, of course. Kagome. Who else?” He frowned at me, like I’d said something idiotic. He must have seen my skeptical look, because he continued. “What, did that blast erase your intelligence along with your memory? She’s a miko, Inuyasha, and a powerful one at that. Or did you forget that too?” He snorted, shaking his head.

I had to admit, it did strike a chord in my mind. Kagome was a miko, and after that little vision by the tree… I kept glaring at him, though, determined not to be taken in so easily as I had been with Kagome. For all I knew, this was just another trap to lure me back to the village and unconsciousness.

His eyes bored into me. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “You don’t trust me,” he finally said.

I rather colorfully asked what he had expected.

He shook his head. “No, I mean you don’t believe me. Naturally you don’t trust me, just like I don’t trust you – we don’t trust anyone, remember?” He seemed to catch himself, grinned. “Sorry, I guess you don’t. But now you know – I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you, and you shouldn’t trust anyone either.” I couldn’t help mumbling an agreement, again thinking of Kagome and the vision.

“What do you know about the demoness Kagura?” I asked after a moment, slanting a look back up at him.

His face darkened. “She’s a traitor. She used to work with me, but now she’s allied with the miko-girl. She turned against her own kind.” He seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts for a moment, eyes glinting red and smoldering with suppressed rage. Then he shook himself out of it and continued. “I thought she was dead, but then she reappeared on the miko’s side, along with someone else…”

A name came to my mind, into my mouth. Something clicked into place. “Sesshoumaru.”

He smiled darkly, nodded. “Your brother, yes. You’re starting to remember.”

I looked at the ground, thinking. “He… did something to heal her… and… now they’re mates, or… allies at least…” I closed my eyes, shaking my head. A sharp pain was forming right between my eyes.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him nod again. “And your brother hates you even more than he hates the miko, making him more our enemy than hers. And she’ll likely soon be able to turn him completely against us, now that they know you’re awake again.”

I nodded, but something was nagging at the back of my mind. Hadn’t I… saved Kagome in that fight..? More than once, in fact. Sesshoumaru kept trying to kill her, and I… I shook my head. The memories didn’t come so easily as when I was with Kagome.

“What is it?” He didn’t sound concerned, just mildly interested.

I blinked my eyes several times, staring at the ground in thought. “Kagome said something about Sesshoumaru… There was a fight, where he tried to kill her… but I stopped him, and he punched a hole through my stomach…”

He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “The witch must have planted that memory in your mind. Yes, you fought Sesshoumaru, many times in fact, but never for her.” He drew back at my dubious look, growling. “Kami, Inuyasha, what is wrong with you?! You’re a youkai, she’s a miko – how could you believe anything she said?!”

“I don’t know!” I snarled back. “She just… I thought I was remembering things…” I looked away, feeling foolish.

He shook his head grimly. “You can’t trust anyone, Inuyasha, especially not her.” He paused, watching me. “You got too close to her and she turned on you. She shot you, almost killed you. Right over there,” he gestured past me, back to the huge tree I’d been sitting in. “She’s our enemy, Inuyasha, and don’t forget it.”

I stared at the blank patch on the tree.

"I won't."

/pulls on flame-resistant gear/ Okay! I'm ready! Review to your heart's content!


Edited 6.22.05, Reposted 7.12.05