InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Impossible Love ❯ Chapter 9
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: YuriYaoiHet_ILoveEmAll 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.26.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 939 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.26.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 939 | Status: Work In Progress
Impossible Love
YuriYaoiHet_ILoveEmAll
Chapter 9
Sorry for taking so long. Here it is.
Note (posting this on top and bottom) : You can all thank Cricket42 for this story staying up. I want reviews and I want them now. If I can spend countless hours giving myself carpal tunnel and agonizing over the tiniest little detail to make sure you guys get a good story, the least you can do is review. Just sayin'.
______________----------------------_________________ ______-----------------------------_________
Inuyasha sat talking with Tonkouro and the others for a long time. The meeting didn't break up until after midnite, when they had a sure plan of attack. The would circle the wolves den to the west, riding on the kitsune's good graces with the the Bear Clan to pass through the heart of their territory. They would attack the wolves from the northern side of their den, their weakest point. The kitsune warriors would then use their illusionary powers to confuse the wolves while the inu warriors took them out. The plan was, first and foremost, a rescue mission, but Inuyasha knew he wasn't leaving until Kouga was dead. That wolf had to die.
He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep so, even though his warriors had brought back enough game to feed everyone several times over, he decided to hunt. He ranged out further than the hunting party had, figuring that any remaining game had fled the immediate area. When he was several miles east of the camp, he leaped into a tree and crouched there. His silvery ears rotated on top of his head, listening for the sounds of prey. He closed his eyes and lifted his nose into the breeze, mentally sifting the scents of the surrounding forest.
An odd aroma reached his nose. Leather, old bones, metal, and blood. Another sniff told him that the creatures carrying the scent were ningen. His ears, picked up the sounds of something being dragged across the ground and at least three sets of footsteps. He silently dropped to the ground and started towards them. As an afterthought, he stopped and closed his eyes, concentrating on concealing his youkai aura, just in case. He started moving towards them again as quickly as he could while being quiet. He caught up with them when they stopped by a large stream, and got his first good look at them.
Two men, and one teenage boy stood around another man on a stretcher. It was hard to tell in the dim moonlight filtering through the trees, but they all seemed to be wearing some sort of armor. Tajai! Inuyasha thought wildly. What are tajai doing here?
Before he could puzzle it out, he sensed something to their left. At almost the same moment, the tajai pulled out their weapons. It was a youkai. Inuyasha couldn't tell for certain what kind, but it's aura was not very powerful, so he assumed it was a low-ranking roaming youkia. Without warning it sprang from the trees. It spun, facing the tajai with a rumbling growl. Ot was a mixed youkai. Six legs stuck out from it's hairy, compact body and it's knobby head seemed to consist almost entirely of it's gaping mouth. Ugly beast, Inuyasha thought to himself. He was fully content to let the tajai fend for themselves, until he sensed more youkai in the trees behind the first one. Belatedley, he remembered that roaming youkia tended to form in groups. He counted at least twenty moving in on the tajai.
He glanced over at them to see how they reacted to this. They looked weary for a moment, before gathering themselves. The two men nodded to each other and the boy crouched down to speak to the man on the stretcher. Inuyasha tilted his ears to catch what they were saying.
"Father. There are too many. . ." The boy was saying, his voice thick.
The man nodded. He reached up and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Kohaku." His hand gripped Kohaku's shoulder a moment longer, then dropped. "Run. Save yourselves. I can distract them and buy you some time."
"No!" Kohaku said firmly, shaking his head. "Your fate will be the same as ours." He stood, facing the youkai. He gripped his weapon, a kind of sythe on the end of a long chain. "Come then, Youkai! Let us see which is stronger; Our blades or your teeth!"
"They don't stand a chance." Inuyasha muttered to himself, realeasing his youkai energy. He stood and stepped from the trees. "Sorry, kid. This fight is now mine." He called to Kohaku. The youkai hissed, snapping it's teeth at him as he approached. Inuyasha regarded it cooly. "Huh. You're even uglier up close."
He unsheathed the Tetsaiga, feeling the pulse of power as it transformed. The youkai roared and charged at him, the rest of the group following close behind. He waited until they were almost on top of him before leaping into the air. He sliced Tetsaiga through the air, sending a shockwave flying into the group. Their bodies exploded into tiny fragments, along with the ground they'd been standing on and a large number of the surrounding trees. Inuyasha landed a few feet back from where he'd been standing.
"Pathetic. Wasn't even close t being a challenge." He grumbled, sheathing the Tetsaiga. He looked over at the tajai. "Sorry. Scum like that get under my skin."
They were staring at him in shock. The two men were looking from from him to the newly formed crater, mouths gaping. The boy was the first to recover.
He stepped towards Inuyasha and bobbed his head. "Arigato."
"Don't thank him! He's a youkia!" One of the men hissed.
"He's not a youkai, he's a hanyou! Abomination!" The other man spat.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort, flexing his claws, but the man on the stretcher cut him off. "Silence! That is no way to speak to the one who saved your life!" He snapped. "Help me up, Kohaku." He said in a slightly quieter voice. The boy stepped forward and helped him prop himself up on his elbows. "What is your name?" He asked, looking up at Inuyasha.
"I am Prince Inuyasha of the Inu Clan of the West." He stated proudly. "What is yours?"
"I am Takashi. Leader of the Jewel Drop Village and Head of Tajai." He looked steadily at Inuyasha for a moment. "Though my son has already said it, arigato. We owe you our lives."
"You owe me nothing. I do wonder though. How is it, that tajai warriors are here in the Western Lands? Have you a mission to accomplish?"
"Hai. We do."
"May I ask what it is?"
"To answer that Inu Prince, I must ask that you answer a question for me first. I swore to never speak of certain events lightly." Inuyasha nodded for him to go ahead. "Do you know an inu youkai by the name of Sesshomaru?"
Inuyasha's eyes went wide with shock. "Hai. He is my half brother. How is it that you know him?"
Takashi took a deep breath. "Several months ago, my tajai and I took a mission for the Eastern Warlords. The wolf youkai of the north had begun raiding villages along the northern border and we were sent to stop them. We didn't know it at the time, but the warlords had grown fearful of our power. The tajai of the Jewel Drop Village were the best this world has ever seen. They feared we would revolt and so the set a trap. They would eliminate two of their enemies at once. As the wolves closed in, they dropped back and attacked us. An arrow peirced my chest and I fell. I stayed conscious just long enough to see the wolves take my daughter. There was nothing I could do."
"What does this have to do with my brother?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.
"It has everything to do with your brother."
"How?"
"Becaue, Inu Prince, you just saved four dead men."
"What?!" Inuyasha took a few steps back in suprise. "He saved you with the Tenseiga?"
"If by 'tenseiga' you mean a slender katana with the power to bring one back from the dead, then hai."
"But why?"
Takashi shook his head. "That I don't know. He only said that the katana had lead him to the feild and compelled him to save us."
Inuyasha shook his head. "Sesshomaru saving a bunch of ningens." He muttered to himself wonderingly. Suddenly, he threw back his head and howled, startling the four tajai.
"What are you doing?" One of the men asked accusingly.
Inuyasha sent hima sharp look. "What is your name, ningen?"
"Jiiro." The man snapped.
"Alright, Jiiro." Inuyasha drew his name out mockingly. "If you wish to keep you tongue, I suggest you learn to respect your superiors."
"I respect no youkai! Murderous theives!" Jiiro spat. "I became a tajai because I beleive that youkai are a plague to this planet and a hinderance to ningens everywhere! Begone, youkai filth!" He yelled, drawing his katana.
Takashi glared at Jiiro muderously. Kohaku and the other man were staring at him in shock. Almost simultaneously, they looked at Inuyasha to judge his reaction to Jiiro's words. Inuyasha was angry at first, planning on beheading the ignorant man, but when he drew his katana, Inuyasha was stuck by just how pathetic this ningen was. He tilted back his head and howled with laughter.
Suddenly, twenty or so inu youkai, in various forms, emerged from the trees. Jiiro, Kohaku and the other man froze. They had been so distracted, they hadn't noticed the inu warriors approach. Takashi had.
"What's going on?" Jiiro asked, voice trembling. The scent of fear coming from him almost made Inuyasha sneeze.
"Be quiet, Jiiro! Don't antagonize them!" The other man hissed.
"I will not be quiet, Doshio! Look! They intend to destroy us! We must-"
"That is enough!" Takashi snapped, cutting him off. He looked up at Inuyasha. "What are your intentions, Inu Prince? Am I to take it that we are allies?"
"Hai. We have a quarrel with the wolves as well. That is, if you can stand to be allied with 'filthy youkai'. "
Takashi sent Jiiro and Doshio another withering glance. "You'll have to forgive my men. Though the should be by now, they are not used to change. This will be a powerful step for them. Despite this, I am sure that they will uphold the honor of our village by being curteous to our new allies. That or they may find themselves with no allies at all."
Doshio, hearing the barely veiled threat in Takashi's words, bowed. "Gomen nasai, Inu Prince."
Jiiro looked as if he would rather sever his owna rm than appoligize, but he bobbe his head and mumbled an appology anyway. It irked Inuyasha slightly, but he decided to ignore it for the moment. Jiiro would learn his place or he would lose his head, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.
"Takashi. It is several miles back to our camp." Inuyasha paused. For some reason he did not want to insult this particular ningen and he felt that offering assistance might do just that.
Takashi, thanfully, understood. "Hai. I know what you mean to say, Inu Prince. It would take us some time to reach your camp under or own power. Though I am old and prideful, I am not a baka. Would your warriors care to assist us.
One of the inu warriors in humanoid form stepped forward. "An ally to our prince is an ally to us." He bowed to Takashi."Daisuke would be honored if Takashi-san would accept his assistance."
Takashi bobbed his head. "And I would be honored to accept it."
Three more inu warriors, two male and one female, stepped forwrd and offered their assistance as well. Inuyasha's heart swelled with pride at what Daisuke and the other warriors had done. They had accepted the situation without question and had acted flawlessly. He made a mental not to tell his father what Daisuke had done.
He watched as even more of his warriors stepped forward to help lift Takashi onto Daisuke's back. He had transformed to his full youkia form and was now a little too tall for the tajai to be lifted safley by the other ningens. The next thing he noticed almost made him laugh out loud. The female warrior, whose name, Inuyasha recalled, was Tomoyo, was kneeling in front of Kohaku.
The teenage boy was blushing profusely. Inuyasha could smell the boys embarrassment and, interestingly enough, his arousal. Tomoyo was blushing as well and her body was reacting to Kohaku's scent. Hmm . . Maybe I should invite the tajai to stay in the Western Lands for a little while after the battle, He thought, chuckling.
Then his mood darkened. If they didn't manage to save Kagome . . He refused to let himself finish the thought. I will save Kagome! He thought determindly. His heart suddenly felt heavy. He galnced at the mixed group of youkai and ningen. The could fend for themselves for awhile. He needed to be alone.
He ran to the stream and jumped across it. He ran low and fast. The cool night air, normalling soothing, did nothing to calm him now. It did not erase his sorrow at the thought of being too late. Morning suddenly seemed so far away. Every moment of delay was another moment Kagome spent in Kouga's clutches. His blood boiled at the thought of what she might have already been through. He leaped into a tree and jumped, branch to branch, to the top.
Five days. She'd been gone for five days. He knew that Kouga hadn't mated her, he could feel that much through the mating bond, but that only slightly reassured him. There were so many other ways she could be hurt.
An image of the last time he'd seen her face swam to the forefront of his mind. Her eyes full of pain as she turned away from him sent a pang to his heart. Sorrow washed over him. After all the things he himself had put her through, he didn't blame her for hating him. And from the things she'd said, he knew that she did hate him. I still have to save her! He thought, his hands fisting. He looked up to the half-moon.
"I swear on everything I am, that if I save Kagome and she no longer wishes to be with me, then I will take her to the Bone Eater's Well myself." He cried loudly.
He meant it. If she truly was not happy here, then he would take her home. It would most likely kill him to do it, but he would. He just prayed she was still alive to make the choice.
"Kagome . . " He whispered softly. Tears that he would not allow to fall, glistened in his eyes.
"Don't be upset, Prince Inuyasha." Tonkouro's voice called from below him, causing him to start.
Inuyasha glared down at the him, waring between embarrassment that his moment of weakness had been witnessed and his respect for the old kitsune. "How long have you been there?" He asked jumping down.
"Long enough, young one." They began walking through the trees in the general direction of the camp. "It will work out." The old kitsune said after a moment.
Inuyasha looked up at him. In his full youkai form, Tonkouro was several feet taller than him. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Everyone has doubts. Love is not a weakness, Inuyasha." Tonkouro said, for the first time dropping the honorific.
"You sound like my father, old one." Inyasha snorted, relaxing into a casual tone.
Tonkouro chuckled. "I don't mean to. When you reach a certain age, you can't help but to give advice to those younger than you." They walked in silence for a moment. "You truly do love this woman don't you?"
Inuyasha hesitated for a moment. "Hai. I do."
Tonkouro looked down at him with one large eye. "You can talk to me, Inuyasha. Whatever you have to say will not go beyond these ears."
"Why should I burden you with my troubles?"
"Because talking about them will lessen their hold on your heart and, in doing so, will free your mind for more construtive tasks."
"That and you're just nosy."
Tonkouro laughed loudly at that. "Ah. You caught me."
They laughed together for a moment. For the first time in his life, Inuyasha felt he had made a true freind. He felt more comforatable with this old kitsune than he did with anyone else. Well, anyone besides Kagome. Her name sent a now-familiar pangs of sorrow to his heart.
Tonkouro noticed. "Tell me. How can one you love bring you such sadness? It's not just because she was captured is it?"
Inuyasha sighed. "She may not return my feelings."
"Why would you think that?"
"She practically told me herself. We . . had an argument." He admitted quietly.
"May I ask what it was about?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Might as well."
"Start at the beginning, if you will."
Inuyasha took a deep breath. He told Tonkouro about his and Kagome's past together. He explained who she was and all of her frequent escape attempts. He stumbled a bit over their first meeting, but Tonkouro let him finish without saying a word. Then Inuyasha told him about Kagome's latest attempt. The elder kitsune growled lightly, but did not otherwise interupt. Inuyasha went on to tell him about the marking, blushing slightly and skipping a few details, then he told them about the fight.
" . . and she told me she never wanted to see me again." Inuyasha finished quietly. "After what I've done, I can't blame her."
"Aye, pup. You do have a problem." Tokouro said quietly. "But all may not be as bad as it seems."
"I don't see how it couldn't be."
"Well, from what you've said, she does care. At least a little bit. Maybe this will give you a chance to redeem yourself in her eyes. To show her that you truly do care. You must keep your hope, Inuyasha, for without hope, we are lost."
"There you go with that wordly shit again." Inuyasha jabbed in an attempt to cover his own sadness.
Tonkouro chuckled. "Once again, I appoligize." He shook his head. "My you are so much like your father. He was a headstrong pup as well. No regard for rules that one. He was set in his ways and it seemed like Kami himself couldn't change him."
Inuyasha looked at him in shock. His father used to be like him? He couldn't wrap his head around that image. In a strange way though, it made him happy. If he was as much like his father as Tonkouro said, then maybe he could do grat things with his life as well.
Suddenly, the upcoming battle didn't seem quite as imposing as before. they had a strong army, stronger than he could have beleived posible. And Kagome was a srong woman. She had proved it time and time again. She could hold off Kouga until he got there, he was sure of it.
Tonkouro watched him with amusement. There was a spring in the hanyou's step that hadn't been there before. Inuyasha's confidence seemed to be bolstered, exactly what the kistune had been intending. His own doubts would be best kept a secret for now/
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Not e (posting this on top and bottom) : You can all thank Cricket42 for this story staying up. I want reviews and I want them now. If I can spend countless hours giving myself carpal tunnel and agonizing over the tiniest little detail to make sure you guys get a good story, the least you can do is review. Just sayin'.
Ok. I know these last couple of chapters have been mostly talk, but hopefully, things will pick up from here on in. Anyway. Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YuriYaoiHet_ILoveEmAll
Chapter 9
Sorry for taking so long. Here it is.
Note (posting this on top and bottom) : You can all thank Cricket42 for this story staying up. I want reviews and I want them now. If I can spend countless hours giving myself carpal tunnel and agonizing over the tiniest little detail to make sure you guys get a good story, the least you can do is review. Just sayin'.
______________----------------------_________________ ______-----------------------------_________
Inuyasha sat talking with Tonkouro and the others for a long time. The meeting didn't break up until after midnite, when they had a sure plan of attack. The would circle the wolves den to the west, riding on the kitsune's good graces with the the Bear Clan to pass through the heart of their territory. They would attack the wolves from the northern side of their den, their weakest point. The kitsune warriors would then use their illusionary powers to confuse the wolves while the inu warriors took them out. The plan was, first and foremost, a rescue mission, but Inuyasha knew he wasn't leaving until Kouga was dead. That wolf had to die.
He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep so, even though his warriors had brought back enough game to feed everyone several times over, he decided to hunt. He ranged out further than the hunting party had, figuring that any remaining game had fled the immediate area. When he was several miles east of the camp, he leaped into a tree and crouched there. His silvery ears rotated on top of his head, listening for the sounds of prey. He closed his eyes and lifted his nose into the breeze, mentally sifting the scents of the surrounding forest.
An odd aroma reached his nose. Leather, old bones, metal, and blood. Another sniff told him that the creatures carrying the scent were ningen. His ears, picked up the sounds of something being dragged across the ground and at least three sets of footsteps. He silently dropped to the ground and started towards them. As an afterthought, he stopped and closed his eyes, concentrating on concealing his youkai aura, just in case. He started moving towards them again as quickly as he could while being quiet. He caught up with them when they stopped by a large stream, and got his first good look at them.
Two men, and one teenage boy stood around another man on a stretcher. It was hard to tell in the dim moonlight filtering through the trees, but they all seemed to be wearing some sort of armor. Tajai! Inuyasha thought wildly. What are tajai doing here?
Before he could puzzle it out, he sensed something to their left. At almost the same moment, the tajai pulled out their weapons. It was a youkai. Inuyasha couldn't tell for certain what kind, but it's aura was not very powerful, so he assumed it was a low-ranking roaming youkia. Without warning it sprang from the trees. It spun, facing the tajai with a rumbling growl. Ot was a mixed youkai. Six legs stuck out from it's hairy, compact body and it's knobby head seemed to consist almost entirely of it's gaping mouth. Ugly beast, Inuyasha thought to himself. He was fully content to let the tajai fend for themselves, until he sensed more youkai in the trees behind the first one. Belatedley, he remembered that roaming youkia tended to form in groups. He counted at least twenty moving in on the tajai.
He glanced over at them to see how they reacted to this. They looked weary for a moment, before gathering themselves. The two men nodded to each other and the boy crouched down to speak to the man on the stretcher. Inuyasha tilted his ears to catch what they were saying.
"Father. There are too many. . ." The boy was saying, his voice thick.
The man nodded. He reached up and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Kohaku." His hand gripped Kohaku's shoulder a moment longer, then dropped. "Run. Save yourselves. I can distract them and buy you some time."
"No!" Kohaku said firmly, shaking his head. "Your fate will be the same as ours." He stood, facing the youkai. He gripped his weapon, a kind of sythe on the end of a long chain. "Come then, Youkai! Let us see which is stronger; Our blades or your teeth!"
"They don't stand a chance." Inuyasha muttered to himself, realeasing his youkai energy. He stood and stepped from the trees. "Sorry, kid. This fight is now mine." He called to Kohaku. The youkai hissed, snapping it's teeth at him as he approached. Inuyasha regarded it cooly. "Huh. You're even uglier up close."
He unsheathed the Tetsaiga, feeling the pulse of power as it transformed. The youkai roared and charged at him, the rest of the group following close behind. He waited until they were almost on top of him before leaping into the air. He sliced Tetsaiga through the air, sending a shockwave flying into the group. Their bodies exploded into tiny fragments, along with the ground they'd been standing on and a large number of the surrounding trees. Inuyasha landed a few feet back from where he'd been standing.
"Pathetic. Wasn't even close t being a challenge." He grumbled, sheathing the Tetsaiga. He looked over at the tajai. "Sorry. Scum like that get under my skin."
They were staring at him in shock. The two men were looking from from him to the newly formed crater, mouths gaping. The boy was the first to recover.
He stepped towards Inuyasha and bobbed his head. "Arigato."
"Don't thank him! He's a youkia!" One of the men hissed.
"He's not a youkai, he's a hanyou! Abomination!" The other man spat.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort, flexing his claws, but the man on the stretcher cut him off. "Silence! That is no way to speak to the one who saved your life!" He snapped. "Help me up, Kohaku." He said in a slightly quieter voice. The boy stepped forward and helped him prop himself up on his elbows. "What is your name?" He asked, looking up at Inuyasha.
"I am Prince Inuyasha of the Inu Clan of the West." He stated proudly. "What is yours?"
"I am Takashi. Leader of the Jewel Drop Village and Head of Tajai." He looked steadily at Inuyasha for a moment. "Though my son has already said it, arigato. We owe you our lives."
"You owe me nothing. I do wonder though. How is it, that tajai warriors are here in the Western Lands? Have you a mission to accomplish?"
"Hai. We do."
"May I ask what it is?"
"To answer that Inu Prince, I must ask that you answer a question for me first. I swore to never speak of certain events lightly." Inuyasha nodded for him to go ahead. "Do you know an inu youkai by the name of Sesshomaru?"
Inuyasha's eyes went wide with shock. "Hai. He is my half brother. How is it that you know him?"
Takashi took a deep breath. "Several months ago, my tajai and I took a mission for the Eastern Warlords. The wolf youkai of the north had begun raiding villages along the northern border and we were sent to stop them. We didn't know it at the time, but the warlords had grown fearful of our power. The tajai of the Jewel Drop Village were the best this world has ever seen. They feared we would revolt and so the set a trap. They would eliminate two of their enemies at once. As the wolves closed in, they dropped back and attacked us. An arrow peirced my chest and I fell. I stayed conscious just long enough to see the wolves take my daughter. There was nothing I could do."
"What does this have to do with my brother?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.
"It has everything to do with your brother."
"How?"
"Becaue, Inu Prince, you just saved four dead men."
"What?!" Inuyasha took a few steps back in suprise. "He saved you with the Tenseiga?"
"If by 'tenseiga' you mean a slender katana with the power to bring one back from the dead, then hai."
"But why?"
Takashi shook his head. "That I don't know. He only said that the katana had lead him to the feild and compelled him to save us."
Inuyasha shook his head. "Sesshomaru saving a bunch of ningens." He muttered to himself wonderingly. Suddenly, he threw back his head and howled, startling the four tajai.
"What are you doing?" One of the men asked accusingly.
Inuyasha sent hima sharp look. "What is your name, ningen?"
"Jiiro." The man snapped.
"Alright, Jiiro." Inuyasha drew his name out mockingly. "If you wish to keep you tongue, I suggest you learn to respect your superiors."
"I respect no youkai! Murderous theives!" Jiiro spat. "I became a tajai because I beleive that youkai are a plague to this planet and a hinderance to ningens everywhere! Begone, youkai filth!" He yelled, drawing his katana.
Takashi glared at Jiiro muderously. Kohaku and the other man were staring at him in shock. Almost simultaneously, they looked at Inuyasha to judge his reaction to Jiiro's words. Inuyasha was angry at first, planning on beheading the ignorant man, but when he drew his katana, Inuyasha was stuck by just how pathetic this ningen was. He tilted back his head and howled with laughter.
Suddenly, twenty or so inu youkai, in various forms, emerged from the trees. Jiiro, Kohaku and the other man froze. They had been so distracted, they hadn't noticed the inu warriors approach. Takashi had.
"What's going on?" Jiiro asked, voice trembling. The scent of fear coming from him almost made Inuyasha sneeze.
"Be quiet, Jiiro! Don't antagonize them!" The other man hissed.
"I will not be quiet, Doshio! Look! They intend to destroy us! We must-"
"That is enough!" Takashi snapped, cutting him off. He looked up at Inuyasha. "What are your intentions, Inu Prince? Am I to take it that we are allies?"
"Hai. We have a quarrel with the wolves as well. That is, if you can stand to be allied with 'filthy youkai'. "
Takashi sent Jiiro and Doshio another withering glance. "You'll have to forgive my men. Though the should be by now, they are not used to change. This will be a powerful step for them. Despite this, I am sure that they will uphold the honor of our village by being curteous to our new allies. That or they may find themselves with no allies at all."
Doshio, hearing the barely veiled threat in Takashi's words, bowed. "Gomen nasai, Inu Prince."
Jiiro looked as if he would rather sever his owna rm than appoligize, but he bobbe his head and mumbled an appology anyway. It irked Inuyasha slightly, but he decided to ignore it for the moment. Jiiro would learn his place or he would lose his head, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.
"Takashi. It is several miles back to our camp." Inuyasha paused. For some reason he did not want to insult this particular ningen and he felt that offering assistance might do just that.
Takashi, thanfully, understood. "Hai. I know what you mean to say, Inu Prince. It would take us some time to reach your camp under or own power. Though I am old and prideful, I am not a baka. Would your warriors care to assist us.
One of the inu warriors in humanoid form stepped forward. "An ally to our prince is an ally to us." He bowed to Takashi."Daisuke would be honored if Takashi-san would accept his assistance."
Takashi bobbed his head. "And I would be honored to accept it."
Three more inu warriors, two male and one female, stepped forwrd and offered their assistance as well. Inuyasha's heart swelled with pride at what Daisuke and the other warriors had done. They had accepted the situation without question and had acted flawlessly. He made a mental not to tell his father what Daisuke had done.
He watched as even more of his warriors stepped forward to help lift Takashi onto Daisuke's back. He had transformed to his full youkia form and was now a little too tall for the tajai to be lifted safley by the other ningens. The next thing he noticed almost made him laugh out loud. The female warrior, whose name, Inuyasha recalled, was Tomoyo, was kneeling in front of Kohaku.
The teenage boy was blushing profusely. Inuyasha could smell the boys embarrassment and, interestingly enough, his arousal. Tomoyo was blushing as well and her body was reacting to Kohaku's scent. Hmm . . Maybe I should invite the tajai to stay in the Western Lands for a little while after the battle, He thought, chuckling.
Then his mood darkened. If they didn't manage to save Kagome . . He refused to let himself finish the thought. I will save Kagome! He thought determindly. His heart suddenly felt heavy. He galnced at the mixed group of youkai and ningen. The could fend for themselves for awhile. He needed to be alone.
He ran to the stream and jumped across it. He ran low and fast. The cool night air, normalling soothing, did nothing to calm him now. It did not erase his sorrow at the thought of being too late. Morning suddenly seemed so far away. Every moment of delay was another moment Kagome spent in Kouga's clutches. His blood boiled at the thought of what she might have already been through. He leaped into a tree and jumped, branch to branch, to the top.
Five days. She'd been gone for five days. He knew that Kouga hadn't mated her, he could feel that much through the mating bond, but that only slightly reassured him. There were so many other ways she could be hurt.
An image of the last time he'd seen her face swam to the forefront of his mind. Her eyes full of pain as she turned away from him sent a pang to his heart. Sorrow washed over him. After all the things he himself had put her through, he didn't blame her for hating him. And from the things she'd said, he knew that she did hate him. I still have to save her! He thought, his hands fisting. He looked up to the half-moon.
"I swear on everything I am, that if I save Kagome and she no longer wishes to be with me, then I will take her to the Bone Eater's Well myself." He cried loudly.
He meant it. If she truly was not happy here, then he would take her home. It would most likely kill him to do it, but he would. He just prayed she was still alive to make the choice.
"Kagome . . " He whispered softly. Tears that he would not allow to fall, glistened in his eyes.
"Don't be upset, Prince Inuyasha." Tonkouro's voice called from below him, causing him to start.
Inuyasha glared down at the him, waring between embarrassment that his moment of weakness had been witnessed and his respect for the old kitsune. "How long have you been there?" He asked jumping down.
"Long enough, young one." They began walking through the trees in the general direction of the camp. "It will work out." The old kitsune said after a moment.
Inuyasha looked up at him. In his full youkai form, Tonkouro was several feet taller than him. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Everyone has doubts. Love is not a weakness, Inuyasha." Tonkouro said, for the first time dropping the honorific.
"You sound like my father, old one." Inyasha snorted, relaxing into a casual tone.
Tonkouro chuckled. "I don't mean to. When you reach a certain age, you can't help but to give advice to those younger than you." They walked in silence for a moment. "You truly do love this woman don't you?"
Inuyasha hesitated for a moment. "Hai. I do."
Tonkouro looked down at him with one large eye. "You can talk to me, Inuyasha. Whatever you have to say will not go beyond these ears."
"Why should I burden you with my troubles?"
"Because talking about them will lessen their hold on your heart and, in doing so, will free your mind for more construtive tasks."
"That and you're just nosy."
Tonkouro laughed loudly at that. "Ah. You caught me."
They laughed together for a moment. For the first time in his life, Inuyasha felt he had made a true freind. He felt more comforatable with this old kitsune than he did with anyone else. Well, anyone besides Kagome. Her name sent a now-familiar pangs of sorrow to his heart.
Tonkouro noticed. "Tell me. How can one you love bring you such sadness? It's not just because she was captured is it?"
Inuyasha sighed. "She may not return my feelings."
"Why would you think that?"
"She practically told me herself. We . . had an argument." He admitted quietly.
"May I ask what it was about?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Might as well."
"Start at the beginning, if you will."
Inuyasha took a deep breath. He told Tonkouro about his and Kagome's past together. He explained who she was and all of her frequent escape attempts. He stumbled a bit over their first meeting, but Tonkouro let him finish without saying a word. Then Inuyasha told him about Kagome's latest attempt. The elder kitsune growled lightly, but did not otherwise interupt. Inuyasha went on to tell him about the marking, blushing slightly and skipping a few details, then he told them about the fight.
" . . and she told me she never wanted to see me again." Inuyasha finished quietly. "After what I've done, I can't blame her."
"Aye, pup. You do have a problem." Tokouro said quietly. "But all may not be as bad as it seems."
"I don't see how it couldn't be."
"Well, from what you've said, she does care. At least a little bit. Maybe this will give you a chance to redeem yourself in her eyes. To show her that you truly do care. You must keep your hope, Inuyasha, for without hope, we are lost."
"There you go with that wordly shit again." Inuyasha jabbed in an attempt to cover his own sadness.
Tonkouro chuckled. "Once again, I appoligize." He shook his head. "My you are so much like your father. He was a headstrong pup as well. No regard for rules that one. He was set in his ways and it seemed like Kami himself couldn't change him."
Inuyasha looked at him in shock. His father used to be like him? He couldn't wrap his head around that image. In a strange way though, it made him happy. If he was as much like his father as Tonkouro said, then maybe he could do grat things with his life as well.
Suddenly, the upcoming battle didn't seem quite as imposing as before. they had a strong army, stronger than he could have beleived posible. And Kagome was a srong woman. She had proved it time and time again. She could hold off Kouga until he got there, he was sure of it.
Tonkouro watched him with amusement. There was a spring in the hanyou's step that hadn't been there before. Inuyasha's confidence seemed to be bolstered, exactly what the kistune had been intending. His own doubts would be best kept a secret for now/
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Not e (posting this on top and bottom) : You can all thank Cricket42 for this story staying up. I want reviews and I want them now. If I can spend countless hours giving myself carpal tunnel and agonizing over the tiniest little detail to make sure you guys get a good story, the least you can do is review. Just sayin'.
Ok. I know these last couple of chapters have been mostly talk, but hopefully, things will pick up from here on in. Anyway. Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!