InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ I've Got Your Back ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 5 )

~ Chapter Four ~

They returned to the hut again, moving to sit down in their original places. Kaede looked up, watching their expressions. She knew this would be a hard task to take on. For both of them. Kagome was still so young and Inu Yasha hadn't the experience to fill his real age.

Kagome spoke up, "Where do we find this book, exactly? I want more information before I decide to go home and run halfway around the world. Especially if I don't know what I'm looking for."

Kaede nodded, understanding. She'd planned on telling them more, but they'd both run out. "Very well. Your journey begins here, about twenty miles south of this village. In the deepest throws of the forest you will find a temple. Two guardians watch over this temple. Prove to them you are worthy and you will receive the first part of the book."

Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to tell us this book is in… pieces?"

Kaede sighed, "I'm afraid so. In order to protect the book from ever truly being discovered and destroyed we scattered it in pieces, or pages to be exact. Their aren't many of them… however, knowing where they are will be hard. You may get clues from each possessor after finding the next piece."

"Great," he muttered.

Kagome sighed, taking his hand as she looked over at Kaede. "What does this temple look like? And these guardians?"

"The temple itself is a large structure of stone with many demon bones decorating its exterior in order to ward off unwanted visitors. Its shouldn't be too difficult to find once you reach it." She glanced between the two of them. She watched as Inu Yasha's face swept between confusion and frustration. Kagome simply seemed overall worried.

"Is there anything else we need to know before leaving?" Inu Yasha said.

Kaede shook her head, "Not that I can think of. You can leave whenever you wish. I've already got horses and supplies ready for your journey."

Kagome nodded and looked over at Inu Yasha. "Do you want to leave now? I have to get something first, but it won't take long."

He nodded, "Now would be fine."

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"Can't you get them later? I mean, we should wait till be get the first piece of the book, right?" Inu Yasha looked over at her as they walked towards the old well.

"No, I need to change out of these clothes and put on something better for the trip. I also have some supplies of my own I need to get." She stopped and looked over at him just as they reached the well. "You're coming with me, right? You have to eventually anyway."

He nodded and sighed. To be truthful with himself, part of him was worried about loosing her again and this all being part of some dream. He'd lived that before and didn't want to again. He opened his mouth to speak, wanting to tell her, but not really knowing how. He wasn't exactly use to expressing so much emotion in a matter of two days to one person he hadn't seen in ages.

She arched a brow at him, touching his shoulder lightly. "Are you alright, Inu Yasha?" She smiled. "You're not getting cold feet are you? We've only just started. You can't be afraid now."

He growled. He wanted to say he wasn't afraid. He wanted to tell her he wasn't worried about loosing her. That it didn't matter because he'd gotten so use to being that way, his heart having hardened over time. But, he couldn't. "But, I am…"

She blinked, not having expected this. "Why? Its not as if you haven't faced battle before. We can do it together. Remember?" She placed her hand on his chest as she spoke, "I've got your back."

He sighed as his yellow depths gazed down into her soft brown ones, "I'm not afraid of fighting. I'm afraid that once we go down this well, it'll be just a childhood dream again. I'd rather live the dream than have you out of my life."

She didn't know what to say then. His words touched her in a way she hadn't expected. Just where we they going with all of this? Were they friends? She would say yes. More than that? She wasn't sure at this point. She sighed, taking his hand as she moved towards the well and sat on the edge of it. "I promise we'll be fine."

He nodded, sighing softly and moved next to her.

"On the count of three we jump, alright?"

"Alright."

"One… Two… Three!" She cried out with a laugh as they both leapt into the darkness. Once again, the light encased her for only a split second and she felt the ground beneath her feet. She looked next to her to see that Inu Yasha was in fact still with her. She smiled. "Nothing to it."

He blinked, looking up at the darkness above. "Is it night here?" Yet, he couldn't see the stars.

She shook her head and began to climb out. She gasped as she felt arms grab her about the waist and her whole body move upward. She turned around once she landed.

Inu Yasha shrugged as he stepped back. "It was faster than having you climb out." He gazed about the old well house. The room was dark with bits of sunlight shinning through the wood paneling. His eyes fell on the stairs leading up to an exit way. He saw Kagome start up them and followed after her.

"My mom is probably going to kill me." She muttered. But, what we she say about all this? Her mother had certainly been wrong when she was a child. But, then she'd understood. Kagome was so young then and she'd merely been worried about her little girl. What mother would believe such ideas from their daughter? She pushed the door open. The back yard was empty, free of anyone. "Hello?" She called out as she moved down the steps.

Inu Yasha glanced about and blinked as he saw the shrine in front of him. This was the future? It didn't look much different to him. He followed Kagome and she went across the yard and towards the shrine.

"Mom? Souta?" Her brow furrowed in worry. Where were they? She pushed the sliding paper door open. She entered, looking around the kitchen area and yelped and as the small form leapt on her, forcing her to stumble back a bit, but not loose her footing. She blinked, glancing down at Souta. A sigh escaped her. "Souta?"

He looked up at her, tears brimming his eyes. "We were so worried about you! I told mom what happened, Kagome! Grandpa tried a few spells to bring you back and then they both went to look for you." He cried into her shirt.

She sighed, patting him on the back. "I'm alright, Souta. Did they say when they'd be back?"

Just then, voices broke out over the house, "Souta! We're home!"

Kagome's mother came through the door and through the entrance to the kitchen, blinking at the site before her. Kagome stood there, still in her outfit from the night before and a young man stood next to her in a bright red suiting of some type that fell around his form loosely. What most surprised her were the wolfish looking ears atop his head. He had an expression of what looked like bordered between boredom and confusion. Souta was crying his eyes out into Kagome has she held him. Her mother frowned. "Do you have any idea how worried we were about you? And who's this? Is this who you were out with till all hours of the night? I can't believe you made Souta rant and lie about such a false tale. You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

Kagome frowned as well. "Mom, Souta wasn't lying. I did get pulled into the well. Just like all those years ago when you thought I wasn't telling the truth." She motioned over to Inu Yasha. "This is Inu Yasha. The friend you thought I was lying about. The half demon, remember?" She sighed, "I have a lot to tell you, but right now I need to change and get a fresh pair of clothes and supplies. I'll be leaving again soon."

Her mother blinked. Kagome had never been like this. She'd never seemed so serious. Was it possible she was telling the truth? Was it possible that all this time she had been wrong? There were many odd tales wrapped around her family history involving this shrine. Many of them she simply thought were old stories. But… Kagome had been gone for a whole evening… and they'd looked everywhere for her. It wasn't like her to run off. Or lie. So, maybe she was wrong this once. Maybe she would have to trust her daughter.

Kagome gave her brother a final hug before moving toward the stairs and up to her room. She felt Inu Yasha following behind her. She opened the door to her room and left it open for him to come in. She immediately began going through her drawers for clothes to take with her.

Inu Yasha didn't say anything as he saw her pull out several black uniforms. Many of them looked to have no sleeves with some sort of odd symbol on them.

She began to speak, "I would bring some of the others… but, I figure most of this is going to be a stealth mission. So, black would probably be my best bet. Even thought I haven't worn these in a while."

"What are they?" He asked, curious. Much like many things he'd seen in the home already, the way the clothes were designed looked alien to him.

She smiled as she folded them. "They were my teams' uniforms for tournaments a year ago. Before I started going to independent matches." She touched over the unique symbol her teammates had chosen together and designed. "It means unity and trust. We made it up, you see. We didn't want anyone to know what our secret was." She chuckled "Or that's how it started. Now everyone knows." She sighed, folding another. They were all the same. Black with a red colored trim.

"By… tournaments do you mean fighting matches of some sort?" He didn't quite understand.

She nodded, "Yes, I've been fighting seriously since I was very young. Before I even met you that first time. My grandfather wanted me to learn."

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why did you start going independently?"

She shrugged. "I thought it was time to try something new. But, who knows… if I don't get very far next year, I may rejoin the old group." She grabbed a set of one of the uniforms and moved past him. "I'm going to take a shower. You can chill out here if you want. I won't be long." She moved out and down the hall.

Only moments after Kagome left his mind began to turn. So, after she gets done here we'll have to go to the temple and face these guardians. In his mind he pictured two large warriors. Probably male with the strength of ten thousand. Or they could be demons. Just how was he going to protect Kagome from that? He gazed over at her bag now stuffed with clothes. Clothes of a warrior who'd been fashioned to fight for years. It seemed like he didn't have to. She could handle herself pretty well as well as keep her eyes on his back. But then, he suppose he could do the same with her. So long as they had each other they'd be fine, right?

Suddenly the door opened. "Kagome?"

Inu Yasha's ears perked up. "What do you want, boy?"

Souta blinked as he stuck his head around the door to look at the guy in red with the weird ears. "How'd you know it was me?"

Inu Yasha snorted, "I could smell you all the way down the hall. Kagome is in the shower. What do you want?"

He blinked and narrowed his eyes. "I was just curious how long she was going to be. Mom's freaking out downstairs. Or at least she seems to be. She wants to talk to her as soon as possible." He moved into the room, opening the door wider.

"I'll tell her when she gets out."

Souta nodded, but didn't move to leave the room. In fact, he didn't appear to be going anywhere.

Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes as he spoke, his ears drawn back, "What?" This kid seemed too curious for his own good.

Souta eyed him a bit longer and then asked, "So, are you that guy that helped my sister get home when she first fell into the well?"

"Yeah, what of it?" He moved to sit on the bed, his arms crossing over his chest as he settled back into the pillows. One of his bare feet propped up in the soft mattress.

Souta shrugged. "I was just curious. The last time she left and came back mom didn't believe her. She got real scared. I think she just got too worried, to be honest. I wasn't sure if she was lying or not." He looked up at Inu Yasha. "But after seeing her get pulled in by some freaky hands and you being here with her… I don't think she was."

Inu Yasha arched a brow, "So why tell me that? You don't even know me," he muttered.

Souta rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I just thought you'd like to know you only have one person in this house to worry about when it comes to Kagome." And with that last statement the young boy walked out and down the hall.

Inu Yasha sighed. The kid was too much like himself years ago. Or should it be decades ago? He supposed that was right, even if it only felt like years.

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Kagome sighed as she came out of the shower, droplets falling down her soft form and onto the floor. She reached for a towel and dried her long strands and then her lower form. She dressed quickly pulling the sleeveless shirt over her form and tying her shoes last. She then glanced in the mirror as she braided her hair in a tight fashion. She grabbed a few of her bathroom supplies off the counter and tossed them into her sack she planned to take with.

She sighed, exiting and flipping off the light. In a matter of less than a day her life had seemingly turned around. And she wasn't entirely sure it bothered her. She moved down the hall to her room. She was sure her mother wanted to speak with her. It wasn't something she was looking forward to. She didn't know how to explain it. Yeah, mom, turns out I'm some reincarnation of some super archer priestess who fought demons in ancient Japan. And hey, now I have to destroy some jewel that was inside me for the protection of the past. Great, huh? She rolled her eyes. Perfect way to word it. Just perfect.

She suddenly paused as she watched Inu Yasha growling at something across the room. "What are you…" She saw that the TV was on some horror show that was new this season. She laughed suddenly. He was growling at the TV?

Inu Yasha stopped and blinked at her. "What's so funny? What is that thing? A magic portal to hell?"

She continued to laugh, "Of course not. It's a TV. Special wires send images to it. It's a show. Um… like a play or something, but, on a screen. It won't hurt you." She moved across the room and pushed the button to turn it off. She smiled at him, "See, no worries." She moved towards her bed with the pack and stuffed several of the uniforms in it. "Lets go down stairs. I've got some food to pack."

He nodded and moved to follow. "You brother said you mother wanted to speak with you."

She nodded as they neared the stairs. "I figured she would. I'm just going to tell her the whole thing and then leave. She can believe me or not. I don't care either way."

He shrugged and followed her as she went down the steps. They were both immediately faced with Kagome's mother.

Kagome paused, "Yes? You wanted to speak to me?"

Her mother sighed and crossed her arms over chest. "I'm sorry… It's only natural for a mother to worry about her child. I was afraid you get out of hand and I didn't want that go badly for you. I didn't… I didn't want people to think you were crazy. You were so insistent about it being true." She raked a hand through her hair. "I believe you now though. You haven't ever lied to me before, why would you start now? Forgive me, Kagome."

Kagome blinked, surprised by her mother's confession. She smiled and embraced her. "Thank you."

Her mother nodded and smiled. "So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?"