InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Foundations of Neo Genesis ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: Long time no update. I’m sorry. This chapter has been giving me fits. I decided the break this it into two parts because it was getting really long. Second half is the harder part, so I can’t promise a quick update either. Now to the Q&A.

Q: Is Aodh some kind of altar boy?
A: Aodh is a very religious character, and follows the Gods very closely. Quoting scripture is his way of dealing with a rough situation.

Q: Are Inuyasha and Kagome going to get together?
A: Without giving too much away, their relationship isn’t going to be like the show per se. I just hope I can make it believable for what it is.

Q: What’s with Sango?
A: Sango is very much a product of her environment, one that will be far better shown in the original. In their world it is a high crime to disobey a direct order. She knows they are in a tight spot, but she’s not willing to risk disobeying and incase they second wave does show up. She is also going to willingly follow Inuyasha, but this is further on in the story so I won’t give too much away right now.

Definitions - (Because words change meanings over time and new words are invented)

Igno – short for ignoble or ignorant, an insulting term for a person of the lowest class.

Chouse – basically a spear. The dictionary definition is "To defeat some one in an expectation through trickery or deceit," but the future definition "a piece of hollow pipe that has been heated and beaten into a point at one end and are used to throw at other people from a hidden place like a building or roof.”


Inuyasha accepted the bowl of soup and stared into it. Kagome gave him a small smile, but he did not notice. The soup seemed thinner than usual and he guessed Kagome was trying to stretch it. He swirled it once in the bowl, then gulped it down.

The liquid landed in his stomach like a lump of warm lead. It twisted itself into a tight knot and sat there. Around him, groups were talking about the imminent arrival of the second wave, as the second group had come to be called. Aodh, Shippou, Anghus, Taisto, and Krishna were all quiet, staring off into space. Kagome was smiling and putting on her ‘nothing is wrong’ face. Sango was alternately sharing polite conversation with others and casting glowers in his direction.

“Excuse me,” Kirara interrupted his thoughts. He grunted in acknowledgment, but did not look at her. She smiled nervously and sat down next to him. “I was hoping you would give me a hand with Xun. His leg is better, but he needs a bath and I’m a little too small to help him around without hurting him.” She traced a pattern in the dust on the floor. “And, well, he seems a bit shy about a girl helping him bathe, so...”

Inuyasha grunted again and rolled to his feet. Shippou looked up when he moved, then quickly hurried after him. Inuyasha found Xun sitting up, looking longingly at the empty bowl in his hand. Sango frowned as she watched Inuyasha.

“Man, if they don’t start feeding us more, I’m going to starve.” Xun sighed. Shippou and Inuyasha exchanged a look but said nothing. Inuyasha ducked down and took Xun’s arm over his shoulder. The cheetah demon hobbled unsteadily on his one weak leg as Shippou took up his other arm. “Thanks for the help, by the way,” he added as they balanced him. Inuyasha grunted in reply.

The injured leg swung back and forth as Xun hobbled along. He could put some weight on it, but it was not strong enough to hold him yet. Shippou cast Inuyasha a look behind the cheetah’s back, and Inuyasha nodded in return. They had both seen legs like this before. It was healing partly twisted, so that his foot was turned inward at an awkward angle.

When they reached the river bank, they held Xun steady while he stripped out of his clothes, then followed suit and helped him into the water. Inuyasha dunked his head under the water and ran his hands through his hair. He came up with a gasp, sucking in the humid air. Wiping the water from his face, he stopped to listen. The forest was as calm and vibrant as ever. Xun sat in the water up to his shoulders, happily scrubbing at his face. Shippou had taken Inuyasha’s surfacing as a chance to dunk himself.

Inuyasha did not stay in the water long. As soon as he had washed the majority of the grime from his skin, he climbed out and dried himself as best he could.

“I’m going upstream a bit,” he stated over his shoulder to Shippou as he pulled on his pants on – frowning at a new tear in the knee – and grabbed his shirt.

“All right,” Shippou answered with an absent-minded shrug. Inuyasha snorted and turned upstream. He did not have to go far before finding what he was looking for.

Resting on the bottom of the stream, their mouths agape, the creatures Kagome had dubbed Armor Fish were feeding. Inuyasha crouched down at the water’s edge and watched them for a few moments. If they noticed him, they gave no sign. He flexed his fingers and remembered what the scientist had said about natural water’s refractiveness. His hand shot out, but he missed and the fish scattered. Frowning, he adjusted his aim and tried again. This time he grabbed one. The fish was as long as his arm and he had to grab it with both hands to control the mindless thrashing.

Pinning the animal to the ground, he pulled his knife from his waistband and smashed the hilt against the fish’s skull. With a final half-hearted flop, it lay still. Grinning, he turned back to the water.

&&&

Kagome looked up as the three demons returned from the river and lifted an eyebrow. She was not alone, the three made quite the sight. All three were shirtless for starters. Shippou had one of Xun’s arms around his shoulder, helping the lame demon hobble along. Inuyasha walked ahead of them, two shirts hanging over his shoulder and the third from his other hand. All of the shirts were bulging with odd shapes.

As Shippou helped Xun back to his mat, Inuyasha found a place next to the dead ashes of the fire and dumped the contents of the shirts on the ground. Fish of different sizes fell into a haphazard pile. Sango, who looked ready to have another go at the half demon, froze mid-step, her mouth opening in soundless amazement. Inuyasha ignored her as he took one of the fish and began gutting it the way he had the others so many weeks ago.

Kagome carefully walked over and crouched down next to him. He glanced at her, but gave no other acknowledgment of her presence. “Did you catch all these?”

“Nope, they fell out of the sky,” he replied flatly. Kagome blushed.

“I mean, what are you going to do with all of them?”

Inuyasha stopped and leveled her with a perturbed look. “I’m not even going to fucking dignify that.”

“Is there something I can do to help?”

“Get a fire going, unless you like your fish cold and raw.” Inuyasha turned back to his work.
There was not enough wood to get a blaze going, but she managed to work up a lot of hot embers. With a snap of her fingers and with a smile she dug into her samples, returning with a leaf that was several feet in diameter. Unrolling it over the coals, Kagome laid the cuts of fish out on top. The green leaf caused a bit of smoke as it burned, but not enough to cause any problems. The meat turned a pasty white as it cooked, but filled the camp with a wonderfully delicate smell.

As Kagome carefully removed the first fish from the fire, several people crowded forward to grab one. Inuyasha’s lip curled back, showing elongated canines, and a growl rose in his throat. Most of the people quickly backed off. He snorted, then turned to the cooked fish and picked up several in a small stack. Before anyone could protest, he elbowed his way through the crowd to where Xun was sitting against the wall.

The cheetah smiled when Inuyasha offered him one of the fish. Shippou, who was sitting next to him resting after helping him back from the river, also accepted a fish. The last one went to Aodh, much to the tiger demon’s surprise.
“Hey, stop shoving!” Kagome snapped at the crowd as they closed in on her and the fish. Sango forced her way through the crowd and stepped in between Kagome and the people pressing in.

“There is enough for everyone. Now line up by status, and food will be handed out appropriately.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Inuyasha growled as he moved around the edge of the crowd.
Sango gave him a bland look. “It is my job to take care of those worth taking care of.”

“You mean, feed the one who line your pockets and let the rest of use fight for the scraps to amuse you.” Sango started to snap back, but Inuyasha cut her off. “Screw you!” He snatched a couple more cooked fish and grabbed Kagome by the arm. Kagome squeaked in surprise and stumbled after him while looking back at Sango. The other girl pursed her lips and went back to arranging the crowd in an orderly fashion.

“Eat,” Inuyasha grunted, shoving one of the fish into her hands.

“Um... thanks,” she replied softly, “for everything.” Inuyasha snorted.

&&&

Inuyasha’s stomach growled and he snarled back. For the last three days they had waited for the other half of the group to arrive with no results. The food pills had completely run out and the fruit was only a fleeting cure for empty stomachs.

The mat of woven grass he lay on was little protection from the cold, hard ground. Unlike the streets back home, the earth was lumpy and uneven. The stiffness it caused only made his mood worse.

Rolling to his feet, he shoved his way past the grass curtains and out into the main part of the cave. It was still early morning and very few people were awake yet. Shippou was leaning over the last of the embers, carefully stoking them back to life before he added some more wood.

On the grassy space between the edge of the overhang and the forest, Miroku knelt. His hands were pressed together so that his fingers and thumbs formed a triangle as he prayed. Aodh and several others knelt near him, following along with the morning ritual.

Kagome was seated in the center of a sprawling mess of plant, dirt, and fruit samples she had collected. Her comp was in her lap and a frown was on her face as she worked. The normal morning pile of fruit had dwindled to only a few pieces, many of which were over-ripened and attracting bugs.

“This is it?” Inuyasha groused.

Kagome glared up at him with a sour expression. “I’m hungry too. We all are. If you want to take a shot at something better, be my guest.” She waved vaguely in the direction of the nearest fruit tree before turning back to her work. Inuyasha grumbled, but turned in the indicated direction.

Shippou stood and dusted his hands off as he passed. “Watch your back?”

“I think I can handle a tree all on my own, thanks,” Inuyasha snapped back. Shippou shrugged, and returned to his self assigned task.
The tree in question was not far from the overhang. It skirted the edge of the forest so it could catch the morning sunlight and be protected in the cliff’s shadow during the heat of the day. The tree itself had a thick trunk with willowy branches. Pale, peach-like fruits hung from the tip of each branch – or would have, but any piece within reach had already been plucked. A few fruits lay scattered on the ground, but they were already half-eaten by passing animals and starting to rot.

Inuyasha walked around the tree several times, in hopes of finding a piece that had gone overlooked, but had no luck. Finally, he pushed past the branches to the trunk. The nearest branch was almost eye level with him and only as big around as his fist. Frowning, he took hold of it and began to climb. The smooth bark of the tree offered no help. The branch snapped under his weight and he landed with a thud on the firm ground. Cursing to himself, he stood up and walked around the trunk. No other branches looked anymore promising.

Frustrated and hungry, he turned back to camp, but a sound caused him to perk his ears. He half turned to see a football sized creature move out of the forest. It was covered in dirt-brown fur, had a puff of a tail, and round ears as large as its head. It moved to a fallen piece of fruit with a bouncy gait, before peering around for any sign of danger. Its ears swiveled and its brown nose twitched up and down. Satisfied, it turned to its meal and began to chew and slurp at the fruit.

Keeping behind the curtain of branches, Inuyasha crept closer. The creature’s ears pivoted towards him and he froze. After a moment, it returned to its meal warily and Inuyasha slunk closer again.

In a flash, he lunged. The creature let out an awful, almost human, scream as it flailed in his grip. Inuyasha grinned at the his success just as the creature proved its flexibility – twisting around and scratching razor sharp claws across his arm. Startled by the maneuver and the pain, Inuyasha dropped the creature to the ground – where it promptly dashed off into the undergrowth – and grabbed his bleeding arm.

“I heard a scream,” Kagome said as she ran up. She looked at his bleeding arm and her breath caught “What happened?”

“I didn’t scream!” Inuyasha snapped back.

Kagome pursed her lips, then sighed. “Fine. I really don’t care enough at this moment. Let’s just wrap your arm before it gets infected.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha huffed and stormed passed her towards camp. Kagome shook her head and followed. Shippou raised an eyebrow at the sight of the blood dripping from Inuyasha’s fingers, but said nothing. Inuyasha flopped down near the smoldering fire and Kagome went to her bag. In a few moments she returned with several long pieces of cloth, a rag, a metal-alloy cup, and a canteen. She poured some water into the cup and set it over the coals to heat.

“While we wait, would you mind describing the creature you saw for my records?” She asked dubiously as she pulled her mini-comp out of her pocket and turned it on. With a shrug, Inuyasha obliged her. By the time she had a small holographic image of the creature floating about the screen, the water was steaming.

She dipped the edge of the rag into the hot water, and carefully began to clean the cuts. It quickly became obvious that, while numerous, they were not very deep. Still, she cleaned each with care to be sure no dirt was accidentally overlooked. When she was finished, she carefully wrapped the long strips of cloth around the cuts.

As she worked, Inuyasha studied her. Her skin looked paler than normal and her eyes had turned a bit glassy. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line that was either concentration or frustration, perhaps a bit of both.

As Kagome tucked the end of the bandage into place, his hand came up and caught her chin. She startled and looked up into his eyes in surprise. “You need to eat,” he grunted.

Her lids lowered into an incredulous look. “Really? The growling of my stomach hadn’t alerted me to that fact.” She turned away, pulling her chin from his hand before she met his eyes again. “No one has had a good meal in two days. Where do you propose I get this food you think I need?”

“Bah.” He turned towards the fire. Kagome sighed and shook her head, then retrieved her things and walked away. Inuyasha watched her from the corner of his eye, a small frown on his lips.

Inuyasha stared into the smoldering flames as the camp woke around him. Many people trekked to the river to wash and get a drink, others took up work on some of the still-unfinished housing structures, and still others made the same trip to the fruit tree he had and returned just as empty handed. As the mist began to burn away with the heat of yet another sweltering day, the now standard steady stream of complaints began to hang in the air.

Inuyasha’s eyebrow twitched. His ears flattened against his skull and a snarl curled his lips. In one smooth motion he rolled to his feet and turned to glare at the group at large. Kagome was jabbing angrily at her comp, her lips pressed into a tight line, as Sango stood between her and a human who was screaming at the top of his lungs about responsibility. Sango was trying to keep her voice flat and calm, but was obviously losing the battle with her patience.

With a final snarl, Inuyasha stormed across the camp, reared back, and slammed his fist into the boy’s jaw. Sango stopped talking mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open. The boy went sprawling across the ground with a surprised yelp, most of the camp turning to stare.

“Shut the hell up!” Inuyasha roared. “If you’re so gods-damned hungry, do something besides complain to the bitch who can’t do a fucking thing about it.”

“Now you listen–” Sango snapped, but Inuyasha cut her off.

“Listen to what, bitch? That the other team is coming? You’ve been saying the same fucking thing for almost a week, and they still aren’t here. But you still believe they are coming, don’t you? Because those are your fucking orders. You couldn’t think for yourself if your life depended on it. So you’re just going to sit here and fucking starve? Well, you’re not taking me down with you. I’m going to go find something to eat, if I have to kill it with my own hands.”

Sango pursed her lips and looked down her nose at him, despite being the shorter of the two. “I expect nothing less from an uncivilized, barbaric, urchin of an igno like you.”

Inuyasha snorted. “Beats having my nose so far up someone else’s ass my head disappears if they stop short. You’re just the military’s loose baggage.” Sango gaped at him in horror as color rose to her cheeks. Kagome coughed and sputtered, then tried to focus completely on her comp. Several people laughed or gasped. Inuyasha grinned. “I’m going.”

He turned and strode towards the woods, not bothering to see if anyone was going to follow him. The steady crunch of leaves under his feet was quickly joined by others. When he reached the river, he turned to look at the small group. He was not surprised to see Shippou, but a little more so to see Aodh.

Several people stood behind Aodh. Muriel, with her dyed-blue hair, stood out the most. With her was Branwen, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at him. Aonghus, stood in the back, still looking indecisive. Krishna stood with his arms crossed and a blank expression on his face. Several humans and demons Inuyasha did not know stood around in different states of uncertainty. Inuyasha swept over them with a critical eye, judging each by his own standards.

“So... you have a plan, right?”

Inuyasha’s eyes snapped to the face of a stout human girl. She had a round face and platinum-blonde bobbed hair that fell in front of pale blue eyes.

“Of course I do!” Inuyasha snapped. “And if you even fucking question that, you’ve got shit for brains for following me out here.” The group eyed him silently. “Good. Now everyone find a weapon.”

“Like what?” a female demon asked. She had black hair and large brown eyes that gave off an air of only marginal intelligence.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes in frustration. “Anything: a few rocks, a large stick. Whatever.” The group broke up as they began searching the ground for anything useable. Inuyasha came up with a thick short stick, Aodh found a thin stick that had broken off in a sort of point, and Shippou found a chunk of stone. The other members came up with sticks and stones of various sizes and shapes. Inuyasha met them all with a sharp look. “The plan is simple. We surround one of those stupid things on the open ground, and bash its head in.”

“Your standard swoop and smash,” Shippou replied. “Got it.”

&&&

The small group gathered together at the edge of the forest. The flat plain of tall grass stretched out before them. Animals grazed in loosely organized groups, occasionally raising their heads to peer around. Shippou scurried up a tree to scan as far as he could see, before reporting that he saw no giant birds.

“I think we should all agree on which of those things we are going after,” Branwen said. Several people nodded in agreement.

“That one looks healthy.” Inuyasha pointed to one of the brown striped horselike creatures.

“Healthy is good,” Shippou agreed. “We don’t want anything bad in our food.” The group gave an affirmative mutter.

“We should take caution, though,” Krishna added. “Those birds are fast, and a lot of noise will probably attract their attention.”

“May the gods guide our hands and guard our steps,” Aodh added, making a quick triangle on his chest.

“Shut up, Thumper,” Inuyasha snorted. Aodh frowned, but made no reply.

Carefully looking around, the group crept forward into the tall grass. Several of the animals lifted their heads curiously to watch the party pass. The grass rustled as they waded through it, the thin edges making their skin itch.

The striped horse paused in its chewing as the group formed a loose circle around it. En mass they moved to close the circle. It was an awkward maneuver at best. Each person moved at different speeds, pinching out those who moved too slowly. The quicker members soon formed an inner circle.

Inuyasha smiled to himself. With two lines the prey was even more trapped. Now the end was simple, no different than any other day of his life. He shifted his hold on the club so it rested comfortably in his hand. It was not perfect, with several rough edges and sharp places where twigs had once been, but it would have to do.
He edged his way closer with the inner circle. The creature was watching them intently now. It spun in place, ears swiveling and making small noises in the back of its throat. Inuyasha grinned in spite of himself, enjoying the rush he had begun to miss from life back on Earth.

The circles closed in, giving the animal only a few feet of space. It danced around wildly, and suddenly reared onto its hind legs. Forefeet, with five finger-like extensions tipped in a small hard hoof, struck out violently. The strikes missed by a long shot, but did make several people back away. Suddenly, the animal dropped to all fours and charged. There was no time to move.

The world spun before Inuyasha’s eyes in a dizzying blur of blue and green. Stars exploded behind his eyes as a rush of pain split through his head. Rolling onto his back, Inuyasha lay still, trying to catch his wind. His head throbbed and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Inuyasha?” Shippou’s voice sent another wave of pain through his skull from the sudden headache. “Are you dead?”

“No, I’m not dead!” Inuyasha barked as he pushed himself to a sitting position and glared at the younger demon.

“I don’t think you should get up yet,” Aodh jumped in. “You’re bleeding pretty bad.”

“What?” Inuyasha snapped as he brought his hand up to his throbbing temple. He felt something warm and sticky squish between his fingers, then a slow trickle ran done the side of his face. Pulling his hand away, he saw it covered in blood. “Shit!”

“You should go see the nurse girl,” Aonghus chimed in. “Or at least lie back down.” He put a hand on Inuyasha’s shoulder and gently tried to push him back to the ground.

Inuyasha snarled and flashed his fangs, “You wanna lose that arm?’ The bull demon quickly backed away and Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet. The world swam and his head throbbed, but he refused to give in. He could feel more blood rolling down the side of his face and dripping slowly onto his shirt, but he ignored it. “What’s everybody staring at? Let’s go! I’ll be damned if I return empty handed!”

&&&

By the time the sun reached its peak, the small party had retreated to the coolness of the overhang. They returned with nothing to show for their efforts but scrapes and bruises. Everyone was tired and hot and each quickly secured a place on the cool stone to stretch out. The day had turned out to be as humid as those before it, and many made short trips to the river to drink or swim in the water.

Inuyasha flopped down on his grass mat inside his tiny shelter. His head had stopped bleeding long ago, but the humidity kept it from drying, so it formed a sticky mess with his hair. His head hurt too much for him to care. The throbbing had died down to a dull, continuous, pain centered behind his eyes. Turning his head, he pressed his temple to the cool stone in hopes of some relief.

He growled when someone pushed open one of the grass flaps and sent a line of bright sunlight right across his eyes. Cracking one eye open, he glared at the offender. Kagome was unmoved as she knelt down next to him with a small metal-alloy cup cradled in her hands.

“Please, don’t be like that. I’m not in the mood,” she sighed as she placed the cup down next to him.

Inuyasha pushed himself to a sitting position, still glaring. “What the hell do you want?”

“Here,” Kagome said, lifting the cup to him. “Kirara and I have been working on this. It’s a pain killer. I saw the gash on your head and thought you’d be perfect to test it... that, and no one else will.” She gave him a half-hearted grin.

Inuyasha looked down into the purple green contents of the cup and frowned. It smelled foul in a way he could not describe. He leveled her with a withering glare. “What kind of an idiot do you take me for?”

“Fine!” Kagome snapped. “I’m just trying to help. I’m sure it will make your head feel better.”

“Or kill me,” Inuyasha offered mildly.

“I should be so lucky!” Kagome huffed, slamming the cup down. The contents sloshed onto the ground. Inuyasha grinned at her as he picked up the cup. He knocked it back in one gulp, then grimaced. It tasted as bad as it smelled and left his tongue and lips tingling. Kagome raised an eyebrow.

“Here’s hoping your doctor skills are better than your barmaid ones,” he snorted. Kagome pursed her lips and snatched her cup back with an annoyed “humph.”

“You better get that wound cleaned before it becomes infected.”

“What?” Inuyasha gave her a sly grin. “You aren’t going to insist on doing it for me? If you’re good, I’ll even let you hold me down.” Kagome’s mouth worked wordlessly for a moment. Then she raised her hand. Inuyasha easily caught it before she slapped him and grinned. “What’s wrong, science girl? I was just trying to reward you for taking care of me.”

“You’re an ass!” She yanked herself free and stormed out of the shelter, Inuyasha’s laughter drifting behind her. In frustration she turned and threw the cup back into the shelter, smiling when it clanged loudly, followed by a “bitch!”

Satisfied, she walked back to where Kirara, Emer, Katrine, Sango, and Miroku were sitting. They each had a large leaf spread out in front of them, on which they were crumbling bits of dried plants. Sango scooted over enough to let her into the circle and passed her comp back to her. Kirara sat next to a small pot over a tiny fire, stirring the contents with a long stick that had had the bark stripped off. Pale blue steam rose in wisps from the top of the pot.

“Did you actually get him to drink that stuff?” Emer asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Kagome nodded. “He drank it... then said it was disgusting,”

“I can’t say I blame him,” Kirara added, peering into the pot. “If your comp hadn’t said this stuff was safe, I certainly wouldn’t have tried it.”

“If we are lucky, maybe it will kill him,” Sango huffed.

“You should not wish such an ill fate on anyone, Lady Sango,” Miroku said sagely without looking away from his careful crumbling. “It tempts the gods into ill favor.” Sango blushed at the admonishment, muttering something under her breath.

“He’s kind of an ass,” Kagome agreed, “But that doesn’t mean he should die for it.”

“At least we have a willing test subject,” Katrine added.

“I don’t think ‘willing’ is the proper word...” Kagome replied. “But, then, his head probably hurts and he’s not the most open individual.” She pulled a large leaf towards her and began grinding up the dried plants with her hands.

Sango snorted. “You can say that again. Serves him right, if you ask me. We’re lucky he did not kill anyone this time.”

“We each must find our own path,” Miroku added as he dusted off his hands and passed the contents of his leaf to Kirara. “It is not your place to choose his path for him, nor that of those whom choose to follow in his footsteps.”

Sango pursed her lips and glared at him. “It is my job to keep this group alive until the second wave arrives.”

“Your job and your path are not indivisible.” Miroku stood. “If you will excuse me, my ladies, I think I had best go wash up.”

&&&

Inuyasha yawned as he opened his eyes. A thin sliver of golden light peeked between the hanging grass mats, signaling the lateness of the day. He squinched his eyes closed and stretched, trying to work the grogginess from his muscles. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he rubbed his head – realizing at once that his hair was still a bloody mess and his head no longer hurt.

With a yawn, he climbed to his feet, cursing when he had to use the wall to steady himself. The ground refused to stay still at first, but it passed quickly. Pushing his way out of the shelter, he saw everyone else settling in for the evening. He swore again and began walking towards the river, driven by his dry throat.

A fist grabbed the edge of his shirt and he turned to glare at the offender. Kagome huffed and held out a canteen. Without a word he took it, pulled off the cap, and upended it into his mouth. It was semi-warm, but he did not care and quickly drained the liquid, wiping his mouth on his arm when he finished.

“Well you let me clean that for you?” she asked softly. “It will get infected if it stays like that and it’s not safe to go out alone at twilight.”

“Keh.” He shrugged in disinterest and sank to the ground. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. A few moments later he felt Kagome carefully dabbing at the area with a damp cloth. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Of course not,” She replied promptly. “The light is just low and I’m not sure what is blood and what is flesh.”

“Keh,” he repeated. They were silent for a long time as she worked. Around them, the camp went to sleep and the creatures of the night began to wake up. When she had finished cleaning away the still-sticky blood, Kagome covered the wound with a slimy green paste and wrapped a piece of cloth around his head a few times.

“There,” she announced as she tied off the end of the wrap. “That should do it. You can take the cloth off in the morning; it’s just there to keep the antibiotic on.” She sat back on her heels, looking down at her hands. “And... I’m sorry I threw the cup at you. I’m hungry and that tends to put me in a sour mood. I’m sure you were tired and not in the mood to have me forcing anything on you. So, I apologize.”

“Keh.” He stood up and shrugged. “You talk too much.”

“And you’re still an ass,” she replied with a sigh and pulled one of her mini-comps off her belt. “Can you tell me how the medicine made you feel?”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Sleepy,” he offered simply, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. “It also got rid of a bitch of a headache. You may actually be good for something, science girl.” He gave her a half smile before walking back to his shelter and letting the curtain fall in place behind him.

&&&

“This... isn’t... working,” Krishna panted as the hunting party watched yet another prey dart away.

“They are too fast,”Aonghus added as he rested with his hands against his knees, his breath coming in short gasps. “What we need is something slower...”

“I haven’t seen those things run yet,” Aodh offered, pointing to one of the largest creatures surrounding them. It stood at least twelve feet high at the shoulders, with a stout, round body and a barrel chest. Thick rolls of gray skin was sported a fine layer of moss, giving it a greenish tint. Heavy heads with large mouths slumped from nonexistent necks. They opened their mouths, showing rows of long flat teeth, before ripping huge swathes of grass up by the roots. Dull eyes gazed constantly at the ground, without a care in the world as they lumbered along at a snail’s pace on their short legs.

“I don’t think that thing could run if its life depended on it,” Inuyasha snorted.

“Assuming we could kill that thing,” Krishna pointed out, “what would we do with it? It’s got to be at least a couple tons. We couldn’t move that, even if we got everyone out here to help.”

“And I don’t want to know what will happen if it runs over someone,” Muriel added, shaking her blue hair. “Death would be a blessing.” The group stood, huddled together in silence. Around them the animals grazed, but kept an eye on the people as they did. A stiff wind rippled the grass and all the animals lifted their heads.

“What we need,” Shippou said after a long silence, “is some sort of range weapon... something we can throw.”

“Like, maybe, rocks?” Kouga asked sarcastically as he tossed a jagged fist-sized stone in the air and caught it.

“No, you dumbass,” Inuyasha snapped. “He means a chouse.”

“Oh, of course, how stupid of me,” Kouga bit back, “I’ll go stoke the fire and you go find a dozen or so alloy pipes. Then we can get right on that. I’m going back to the cave. This is a waste of time.” He tossed the stone over his shoulder as he walked away.

Inuyasha snarled at his back. “I hope you get lost, you son of a bitch. “Kouga made a rude gesture over his shoulder.

“He does have a point,” Aodh said carefully. “How are we going to make these chouses?”

Inuyasha frowned at him for a moment before turning back to the plains. “I’m going to try for one of the small ones this time.” He pointed to one of the striped horse-creatures that was a third smaller than the one it was cleaving to. “Anyone coming?”

&&&

Inuyasha rolled the stick slowly between his palms. It was about an inch thick, three feet long, and not very straight; but it would serve his purposes. Using the hologram from the mini-comp as a guide, he carefully began to rub one end against the stone floor. The work was slow and soon his fingers and back began to hurt. When one side was flat, he rotated the stick ninety degrees and began again. He worked until the light grew too dim to see by. When morning came, he returned to his task.