InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hanyou no kokoro no naka de; Within the Heart of the Half-Demon ❯ The Hanyou ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Too tired to think of anything to say

 

A/N: My internet's been down for a few days. Sorry about the delay in updating. There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter…so it's like 8 pages, but it's really not that long. Anyway, on with the story.

 

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Chapter 10

 

The Hanyou

 

 

 

“Inuyasha? That's his name?”

 

Shippo nodded. “Yeah. Well, come on, we should get going!”

 

He skipped a few yards, bounding happily in front of Kagome. She began walking after him. She had already forgotten completely why that name had made her freeze up. Now that she thought about it, it didn't sound the least bit familiar. But dismissed the idea as Shippo began calling for Inuyasha.

 

“Inuyasha!!”

 

“Inuyasha!” Kagome called too. She felt a little awkward about it, not having a clue who this “Inuyasha” was or what he looked like. “So Shippo…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“What does he look like? If I see him, I'll want to know it's him so I can say something.”

 

Shippo smiled. “He's kinda hard to miss. He's got long silver hair and wears a red haori. It's a big contrast to the green and brown of the forest. Don't worry, he'll be along any minute now. He's got a keen sense of smell and hearing. He'll come when he hears me calling.”

 

Kagome nodded.

 

“Inuyasha!” Shippo called again.

 

Kagome didn't call anymore because she saw no use in it. If he would hear her, he would hear Shippo so there was probably no point in wasting her breath.

 

“Inuya…”

 

“Hey,” came a flat voice from behind them.

 

Kagome spun around, a bit startled, and saw the hanyou that Shippo had described perched up in a tree. He was squatted, and facing down at her. There eyes caught.

 

Well he's certainly not what I expected to see…he has very pretty eyes. Oh! And those ears! They're so cute!

 

Who is she?? Great Shippo, who are you bringin' around here now! Hey wait…it's that girl…I think…the one that I saw at the shrine the other night, when I was human…isn't it?

 

“Hey, Inuyasha!” Shippo said, leaping up into the tree.

 

Inuyasha and Kagome had yet to break eye contact or say a word.

 

“This is Kagome! She and her friends need your help! I told them you'd be fart about it, but they insisted they talk to you! She's really nice, though! I think you'll like her!” Shippo carried on, not realizing the silence filling the air around him.

 

Kagome…it is her.

 

Kagome finally spoke first. “Hello, Inuyasha.”

 

He didn't say anything. Shippo, who sat on his shoulder, knocked him in the head, snapping him out of his trance.

 

“Uh…Hi.”

 

“Nee!?! What do you say, Inuyasha! Will you help Kagome?? Will you?!!”

 

“Now, hold on just a second!” he said, pushing Shippo off his shoulder and jumping to the ground. “I don't know who this girl is or what she wants!” He stood still for a moment, arms crossed, eyes closed. Then he looked at Kagome. “So who are you and what do you want?”

 

Kagome smiled. Good, maybe he'll be reasonable! “My name is Kagome. I am on my way to village on the other side of the Youkai no Mori, me and my friends who I'm traveling with.”

 

Shippo interrupted, “Kirara took them looking for you, but we found you first.”

 

“A priestess sent us in search of you that you may aid us in getting to the village, see as this forest is a dangerous place, full of youkai or what not. She said you could serve as some sort of protection.”

 

“Wha--?!?! Why on earth would I want to accompany a bunch a humans to some village I've never heard of?! There ain't nothin' in it for me! And who is this priestess anyway!?! How does she know who I am?!? Some nerve.”

 

Kagome was a bit taken aback by his retort. Kaede had said he would if she could tell him why he should go…but what other reason did she have then her and her friends need protection?? Now she was afraid Kaede had run her up a creek she couldn't get out of. Okay…maybe he'll be the opposite of reasonable… “Well, it's more than obvious that you don't want to help us…but could you at least just get us to the village? We won't need you after that, I promise! You and Shippo and Kirara can come back here and you don't have to worry about us after that.”

 

“Keh - I don't even know who you are! Give me one good reason to help you! You'll be fine by yourself! There's not as many demons in this place as they say…”

 

“Oh yeah right! I've seen several since last night!”

 

“Well they won't hurt you that bad…if they do it'll be a quick death.”

 

“You jerk!” What was Kaede thinking!?! This can't be the right hanyou! She must have meant someone else.

 

“Come on, Inuyasha!” Shippo spoke up. “Just to the village!”

 

“Why do you need to get to this village for anyway? I'm guessing your from the town inside the palace…that's the only other town around here for miles. They'll have anything that old place will.”

 

“We just need to get there, okay! We're in search of help from some of the people there!”

 

“Boy, that sucks. You're pretty helpless aren't you? You looking for help to get to a village where you'll look for help. Are you alright up here?” he asked pointing to her head.

 

She knocked his hand away. “Never mind. I can't believe Kaede-sama thought you'd help us!” she said, walking away.

 

Inuyasha froze, then ran after her, grabbing her shoulder. “Who'd you say!?!”

 

Kagome shoved his hand away again. “I said Kaede-sama! She's the priestess that sent us after you! All a waste of time! Now, if you'll excuse me!” she walked away again.

 

Inuyasha leaped after her and grabbed her arm. She winced at his grip. “What did she say!?!”

 

Kagome gave him a strange look. “She said `Go find the hanyou that lives in the forest.' And something about you being a stubborn jackass who may need a little convincing. Boy was she wrong…you're just an overall jerk. Goodbye, Inuyasha!” she removed his hand from her arm and walked away once again.

 

He jumped after her, grabbing her arm again. “How do you know Kaede?”

 

She yanked his hand off. “You know, for someone who refused to help me, you sure asked a lot of questions. Why? Do you know Kaede?”

 

“No!” he snapped.

 

“M hm. I buy that,” she said sarcastically. “Okay. If I answer your questions then you come to the village with me.”

 

“Wha?!?!! Grr. We'll see about that. How do you know Lady Kaede?”

 

Kagome sighed. “She's the Shikon Priestess. Now how do you know her?”

 

“She…No! I'm askin' the questions here! Why do you really need to go to the village?”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “I told you, we looking for some help.”

 

“There's lots of kinds of help!”

 

“We're trying to figure out some stuff about the Shikon no Tama, okay!?!”

 

“How come?”

 

“You sure are nosey!”

“How come!?!”

 

“Settle down, jeez! That's not even the important thing right now. The biggest thing is that the jewel was stolen from the castle. We have a feeling that if we can learn what we need to, then we can save the Great Youkai from possessing the cursed jewel again.”

 

“The Great Youkai?”

 

Kagome sighed. “Just forget it. There's too much to explain, and besides…” she bent in closer to his face. “You're not even coming with us, so there's no need for you to know!” she turned and walked away again, this time, with Shippo on her shoulder. He looked back at Inuyasha and stuck his tongue out.

 

He fumed for a second and closed his eyes and, clenching his fist, tried to control himself. He opened his eyes and was surprised, though he didn't know why, to see Kagome still walking away. When she had gotten just nearly out of sight, she turned around.

 

“Now if you want to give it another try, Inuyasha, then let's go. Kirara and the others are probably waiting for us.”

 

His anger seemingly melted away and he found himself walking after the girl. Half way there, he realized he probably looked like an idiot and crossed his arms and let out another “Keh!”

 

“Don't worry,” Shippo whispered to Kagome so that Inuyasha couldn't hear, “he'll help you out.”

 

Kagome smiled and whispered back, “Thank you, Shippo.”

 

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“So this is the Goushinboku, huh?” Miroku asked as they approached the large tree.

 

Kirara meowed.

 

“I guess we wait for Kagome-chan here then?” Sango asked, looking around for her. “Do you think they've found this Inuyasha by now?”

 

“Some one call?” came the hanyou's voice from the trees.

 

Miroku and Sango turned to see the silver-haired demon walk toward them with Kagome and Shippo close behind.

 

“Sango-chan!” Kagome exclaimed, “You made it!”

 

Miroku stepped forward. “You must be Inuyasha.”

 

“Yeah, and who are you?”

 

“I am Miroku. This is Sango. You've come back with Kagome-sama. I suppose that means you intend to help us.”

 

Inuyasha scoffed. “I'm takin' you to the village. That's as far as I'll go.”

 

“Alright then, that's all we want.”

 

Inuyasha turned and started walking. “Alright, then! Let's go!”

 

Miroku walked after him. Kagome waited for Sango to catch up before following.

 

“Is he always in a bad mood like this?” Sango whispered to Shippo who was riding on Kagome's shoulder.

 

Shippo nodded.

 

“Kagome!” Inuyasha called from the front of the group.

 

The princess looked up at him. He had not stopped walking or turned around. She sighed and, handing Shippo to Sango, ran ahead to the impatient half-demon.

 

“What?”

 

“I'm takin' you to this village. So answer me. What are you trying to learn about the Shikon no Tama.”

 

“You sure are persistent.”

 

“If it has to do with the Shikon Jewel then it's my business!”

 

“What do you mean by that!”

 

Inuyasha held his tongue, something he should have done earlier. He had let that last comment slip out without thinking. Kagome noticed his serious hesitation before speaking.

 

“Fine,” she said. “But if I can't ask you questions, then you can't ask me questions.”

 

“Why do you gotta go and make this so damn difficult!”

 

“What are you talking about! It's only fair that way!”

 

“You just don't get it.”

 

“If you'd talk to me then I would.”

 

“I just met you, wench! You can't expect me to spill my guts to you.” Or ever for that matter…

 

“I don't want you to! I don't even know why you're getting so worked up over this!”

 

“This is stupid!”

 

“Grah!!!” Kagome exclaimed. “I give up! I can't even talk to you without you freaking out for no reason!”

 

“Fine. I didn't want to talk to you, anyway!”

 

“Wha?!?!” Hadn't he just called her up there to talk to her? Oh yeah…he's a mature one.

 

The other four companions walked behind Inuyasha and Kagome, unable to believe the two's breach of an argument after they had met less than an hour before. They had had three minutes of silence.

 

“Okay,” Inuyasha said finally. “What do you want to know? But I'm not gonna answer if I don't want to.”

 

Oh, that's good! Kagome thought sarcastically. What's the point then? He won't wanna answer anything. “Okay. Why are you so compelled by the fact that Kaede-sama sent me after you?”

 

Inuyasha thought for a moment. How do I say this without mentioning…

 

“Is that too personal? Or should I ask your favorite color?” Kagome asked smartly.

 

Inuyasha shot a glance at her. “No. I just know Kaede from a long time ago. That's all. I thought it was weird that she is the one who sent you to find me.”

 

“Why is that weird?”

“She...she still trusts me,” Inuyasha replied with a tone that made Kagome know that there was more to a very personal story that had given Kaede a reason to doubt the hanyou besides the plain fact that he was part demon.

 

“Oh.” Kagome replied absently.

 

“And my favorite color is red.”

 

That made her smile.

 

“Now you have to tell me yours.”

 

“Blue.”

 

“What shade of blue?”

 

“Well, what shade of red?”

 

“Now, see, you can't do that.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“I asked first.”

 

Kagome laughed. Inuyasha seemed to be taking this exchange of information so seriously. “Fine. My favorite shade of blue is…” she thought for a minute. “The color of the clear sea.”

 

Inuyasha nodded. “Alright. Then my favorite shade of red is this.” He pointed to his haori.

 

“Is that why you wear it?”

 

“No. That's why it's my favorite color. Because I wear it.”

 

Kagome swallowed the laughter that was trying to escape. Inuyasha still seemed far too serious about this in her opinion.

 

Miroku leaned into Sango and whispered, “Well, they sure seem to be hitting it off, now.”

 

“Shhh,” she whispered back.

 

“Hey!” Kagome suddenly exclaimed, “What's that?”

 

She pointed into the trees, off of the path where they were walking. From a distance, it looked sort of like a dead animal. Suddenly, Inuyasha covered his nose.

 

“It's dead.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Kirara jumped forward and over to the dead thing in question. She let out a loud meow, and everyone followed her. They gathered around. Sango and Kagome covered their mouths in surprise.

 

“It's a dead wolf demon.”

 

Sure enough. It appeared as any wolf, but it had been shot with several arrows and its underside was sliced open. The blood was all over the ground, and near by was a knife, also covered in the wolf's blood.

 

“Who did this?”

 

“Looks like the work of humans,” Inuyasha observed.

 

“But why did they just leave it here?” Miroku asked.

 

Inuyasha looked around and noticed the weapons that were left laying on the ground. “It looks like they got out of here in a hurry. Someone chased them off. Someone like the Wolf Demon Tribe.”

 

“Well what should we do?” Kagome asked. “We can't just leave it lying here!”

 

Inuyasha looked at her. “Sure we can.” He began walking off. “It's just a no-good, dirty wolf.”

 

Got some personal grudge against wolves, there, Inuyasha?

 

The rest of them looked down at the dead animal, and, not wanting to do anything themselves, ran after Inuyasha. Kagome walked a step behind him, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara behind her. For the next few minutes, no one said a word. The dead wolf seemed to have dampered everyone's spirits. Inuyasha noticed that Kagome was right behind him, and purposely slowed down just enough for her to be beside him.

 

“Now, what are you tryin' to learn about the Shikon Jewel?” Inuyasha demanded again.

 

Kagome looked at him, kind of surprise with his sudden interest in conversation. She sighed. Well, if he's not going to drop it! How much could he know, anyway? It shouldn't do any harm. “Do you know about the…well…curse?”

 

Miroku and Sango froze. Was she really bring this up? Was she going to tell him?? Kagome's question had caught Shippo's attention as well.

 

“The Curse that inflicts the Shikon Jewel?'

 

Kagome nodded.

 

He shuddered. “Yeah. I've heard something about it.”

 

“We're trying to learn about it,” Kagome said flatly. “It's that simple.”

 

“Okay, then. That's good enough for me,” Inuyasha said, walking on ahead of Kagome. She didn't try to catch up.

 

Miroku and Sango were relieved that she didn't say anymore. Kagome fell back a ways and walked along side Sango.

 

“Well, that was interesting,” Sango commented quietly.

 

“Interesting?” Kagome asked, a bit puzzled. “How so?”

“I don't know…the way you two get along.”

 

“Oh please. He's way too weird. He has yet to smile since we met, and he took that entire conversation way too seriously.”

 

“It's just because he's a dummy,” Shippo said. “Once he gets used to you being around, he won't be so bad.”

 

“Yeah…But He won't be around that long, remember!” Kagome shouted purposely for him to hear.

 

He just raised his nose in the air as if to ignore her.

 

“Like I said, he's a dummy.”

 

“I can hear you, ya know, Shippo!”

 

“Well you are!”

 

Before anyone could breathe, Inuyasha had hit the little kit over the head.

 

“Ow!”

 

“Let that teach you a lesson!”

 

“Meanie!”

 

“Inuyasha! Leave Shippo alone! He didn't do anything!”

 

“He called me a dummy!”

 

Kagome sighed, “Oh please! My cat's more mature!”

 

“What did you say!?!?!”

 

Kagome, Miroku, and Sango kept walking, leaving Inuyasha standing, his mouth gaping.

 

“Come back here! I ain't done with you yet!”

 

“Settle down, Inuyasha! Onward to the village!”

 

“I'm more mature than any cat!”

 

“We're going to leave you!”

 

“You can't get there without me!!” He shouted back, still standing and watching the others walk off.

 

“Bye Inuyasha!” Kagome called.

 

“Grrr…” he stomped after them. “Ingrates.”

 

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