InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ His Heart & The Only One Who Can Save Him ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

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

11: Artemis… To The Rescue?
The sun peeked over the horizon, it’s warm welcoming rays melting the remains of ice that had covered the area from the previous night. The temperatures had warmed before the sun had risen but it’s added warmth helped to return the temperatures back to normal in no time.Miroku, Sango and Shippo all emerged from Nobunaga’s hut. The sun had now emerged totally from the horizon and they were going out in search of their missing companions.
“What do you think happened to them?” Shippo asked concerned. He thought of Kagome as a second mother, and sometimes even InuYasha as a father; he just couldn’t bare to lose a second set of parents.
“I don’t know Shippo,” Miroku said, “But I hope their both okay.”
“Yes,” Sango said, “I felt a strange aura leaving the village last night, almost like Naraku… You don’t think?”
“That may be the case my dear Sango,” Miroku admited, “If that is what happened, a run in with Naraku or even an incarnation in InuYasha’s state would not end well.”
“I think we should go and look for them.” Sango said.
“Lets start in the forest.” Shippo suggested.
“Okay Shippo. Lets Go” Sango agreed, “Come on Kirara, we may need your help”And with that the two tail emerged from the hut and the small search-and-rescue team began their hunt for their missing companions, heading toward the edge of the forest they had come from the day before.

A little ways from where they had fallen, the figure of a young man lay at the edge of the river bank. His now silver hair floating in the water behind him, some how he had manage to surface from the deep freezing water and float to shore. The sun now barely over the tree tops, letting its warm ray hit the back of the hanyou. Regaining conciousness he slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry and began to gag and cough up water, his lungs starved and deprived of oxygen for too long. Once he had filled his lungs and his vision had cleared he pulled himself from the now warm water.
“InuYasha!” Miroku shouted for his missing friend.
“Kagome!” Sango called from a short distance away.
“InuYasha! Kagome!” Shippo shouted.
“INUYASHA! KAGOME!” The group shouted in unison as they reached the river, a little bit up-stream from one of the people they had been in search of.
“Over here.” InuYasha coughed as he finally cleared his lungs.Sitting at the edge of the river he looked out, no ice covered the surface, no ice on the trees or shrubs around him either, it seemed as if everything was back to normal, well almost.‘Where’s Kagome?’ He thought, panic running through out his entire body.
“Oh InuYasha thank the heavens you’re all right.” Shippo exclaimed as he then latched himself onto the hanyou’s arm.
“InuYasha are you okay?” Miroku asked.
“I’m fine, where’s Kagome?” InuYasha asked, panic evident in his voice and features.
“We figured she was with you.” Sango said hesitantly. “What happened to you?”
InuYasha went to stand but a searing pain shot through both of his legs and back, he had most defiantly shattered the bones in the lower half of his body and would take a while to recover from. His arms ached and his neck was paining him but not as much as the rest of his body.
“We were attacked by a damn incarnation of Naraku last night,” InuYasha began, “He kidnapped Kagome and I followed him. He took her over the water about a foot from the edge of the cliff there and dropped her, I went and grabbed her but all I could do was lessen the impact of the fall due to the fact that the river had iced over.”
“Well if Kagome’s not here then…” Shippo trailed off as he looked out at the river, tears coming to his bright green eyes, “You don’t think she’s still…”
“No Shippo,” Sango comforted, “she would have risen to the surface. I’m sure she’s down the river somewhere safe.”
“We need to go and search for her, if she’s injured then she may be in great danger.” Miroku said.
“Yes we have to go.” Sango agreed and they all turned and headed down the river.
“InuYasha aren’t you coming?” Shippo asked and everyone looked back to him. He was always the one to be overly protective and worried when it came to Kagome so it didn’t make sense that he would just sit around at a time like this. “Don’t you wanna save Kagome?”
InuYasha growled and looked at the small group, his eyes lit with fire as he gave a low growl and shouted to the small kitsune, “I would but I’ve got a PAIN IN MY ASS! I FELL FIFTY FEET AND SMASHED INTO SOLID ICE! MY BONES FROM THE LOWER BACK DOWN ARE SHATTERED YOU IDIOT!”
Everyone looked shocked as they responded to InuYasha’s out burst.
“Well you should have said something InuYasha.” Sango scolded, “Kirara will you please help him out?”
With that the two tail gave a little nod and went over to InuYasha who was able to get up high enough for Kirara to crawl beneath him and transform, lifting him onto his back so she could carry the injured hanyou. Then the now group of five headed down the river bank in search of the last remaining member of their team.

Artemis had come to a small clearing and perched herself in a high tree. She was utterly and completely baffled, she had been tracking the hanyou and miko for most of the night, following their scents as they left the village. She had kept her distance but was intrigued when the sent of the hanyou changed, Artemis couldn’t put her finger on it but it was almost as if he was….dare she say it…human.
“That does make sense though,” She said to herself, “He is a hanyou after all.”
But some time during the night as the pair left the village she caught the faint smell of Naraku and followed them. She saw as a tall man with jet black hair and ice blue eyes captured the young miko and made off with her. She had followed him naturally and came to the conclusion that he was indeed an incarnation of Naraku. Hiding among some bushes along the river bank and watched in horror as her targets were steadily falling the long distance from the cliff to the river covered in ice. As soon as they hit the frozen water she looked up and saw that the incarnation had disappeared. She had been trying to find him ever since.
Jumping from her branch she began to wander back toward the river, she had traveled quite a ways down the shore line during the night and had found a small cave to take shelter in. She neared the river edge when a two familiar scents wafted toward her sensitive nose. ‘Well the hanyou survived the fall then,’ she thought to herself.
Turning around her dark eyes met with those of perching blue. Then the man spoke.
“Naraku told me to dispose of you if you became a problem or interfered with the orders that were given to me.” he said
“Who are you and what were you ordered to do?” Artemis asked questioningly.
“My name is Yokoro.” he replied, “and I was ordered to take care of the hanyou seeing as how you were taking so long.”
“I do believe that is my job, it is nearly half of a month till the next full moon, what am I suppose to do?” Artemis retorted, “And if you were only suppose to get rid of the hanyou why Kagome?” There was her mistake. Referring to her target by name.
Yokoro gazed at Artemis, a look of utter amusement upon his face, “You are growing attached to the miko then, are you not?”
“No of course not.” Artemis replied. In all honesty she had, knowing she had to get rid of the hanyou though, she had no intention of harming the young school girl. “It seems as if your attempts were unsuccessful.” she said hesitantly.
“Well would you prefer it otherwise?” Yokoro questioned as he turned to leave, “You know my intention was to kill both miko and hanyou, it seems as if both of my attempts have failed.”
“What do you mean?” Artemis asked, surprised.
“The one you seek is down stream, better get to her before some other demon does.” Yokoro replied as he formed a small dark cloud and vanished as quickly as he’d come.
Artemis wasn’t 100 confident that she could trust this demon…especially because he was an incarnation…or even worked with Naraku. But she had to admit, it did make sense since when she tried to track her scent she couldn’t pick up even a whiff. Turning into her wolf form; this gave her an advantage in her sense of smell and speed; she took off down the river in search of the young future school girl.

A hollow log floated out atop the calm surface of the slow river. A young woman clung to the drifting wood, her ebony hair floating around her unconscious form. The two were about half way out away from the river’s bank and slowly making their descent down stream.
A white wolf made it’s way toward the slow stream, her nose in the air sniffing for any trace of the sent she was searching for. Her gaze landed on the figure of the woman in the water as she started to loose her grip on her only means of staying afloat. With a small flash of white light the wolf transformed herself into her human form, on the riverbank stood the demon form of Artemis. With out a second thought she dove in to the cool water and swam over toward her target. Reaching her before she totally lost her grip and swam toward the bank once more. Lying the unconscious girl before her she started to get her lungs to purge themselves of the water they had taken in.
‘Maybe it’s a good thing I agreed to do this.’ Artemis thought, ‘that class in...oh what was it called…P.E? that first aid and CPR class is not coming in handy’The young demon began to perform CPR in order to restore air to the passages of the young woman.
“Come on Kagome,” Artemis said to the young school girl, “Breath!”
Then as if to comply with her request Kagome began to cough up water, turning to her side so it was easier she began to dispose of the excess water that had inhabited her lungs.
“That a girl.” Artemis sighed, relief washing over her as she knew that now the girl would survive.
“Diana?” Kagome asked in a daze as she tried to focus on who was with her. The figure was blurred but she was positive that her new friend from school was with her, but that was impossible.
‘Shit!’ Artemis thought as she started to panic. She sniffed the air and found that InuYasha and his group were about to make their way here. With one last look at the woman who she whom had some how befriended her, she made her escape. With one last statement she was off.
“Take care of yourself Kagome.” she whispered as silently as the wind.

InuYasha’s wounds had healed enough as to where he was able to walk again although Sango had insisted that he be aided by Kirara, just in case.
“Where do you think Kagome is?” Shippo asked from his perch atop Miroku’s shoulder.
“I don’t know Shippo.” The monk responded, looking over toward InuYasha he said, “You smell anything InuYasha?”
InuYasha was getting worried and was very irritated at the moment. Kagome was down wind, that much he knew so her sent would be near to impossible to detect, so he decided to humor the monk, sticking his nose high in the air sniffing he said, “I smell..:pause:..a perverted, lecherous monk. An annoying Kit, and an aggravating Slayer and her cat….There that’s what I smell.”
“Well geeze InuYasha you don’t have to be so rude about it.” Sango retorted, “We’re all just as worried as you are.”
‘No YOU’RE NOT!’ InuYasha thought, ‘You’re not the one who loves her….’
As the group neared the bend in the river a figure claded in white, red and green caught InuYasha’s eye and in a flash he was by her side.
“Kagome?” he questioned, “Can you hear me”InuYasha then sniffed the surrounding air, he was looking to see if she was injured but a new sent came to his sensitive nose, one he couldn’t place and it unnerved him.
“Inu…Yasha?” Kagome questioned, coming to.
“I’m right here Kagome.” He responded gently.
“Diana was here, did ya see her?” She said in a daze.
“Who?” InuYasha questioned.
“A friend from school, but how’d she pass through the well?” Kagome responded. She knew she was safe and now she intended to get some much needed rest.
InuYasha sensing this leaned down closer and whispered, “Okay Kagome go to sleep now all right”She nodded and then drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
InuYasha contemplated what she just said, ‘friend from school passing through the well?’
“Shippo!” InuYasha said as an idea came to him, “Do you smell something that is remotely similar to the sent of a wolf?” He had a hunch and wanted and second opinion.
“Yeah, Why?” The young kit responded.
‘Naraku has that young wolf working for him,’ InuYasha began to put two and two together, ‘and she can pass through the well. She turns into a wolf, her human demon for and a human form. So this Diana person is the one we’re after’
InuYasha gathered the young girl into his arms and held her tightly against his chest. Taking in one more good whiff of the sent in question he looked the rest of the group whom had gathered around him and said,
“I know how to find that wolf whose working for Naraku.”