InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jewel of my Heart ❯ Armed ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: Armed

“Damn!” Kagome exclaimed in a most unladylike way. “I am terrible at this Kaede! I cannot hit the target at all.”

Her arrow stood proof of this where it jutted out of the ground several paces behind and to the left of the target.

“Your release is not smooth enough, Kagome,” Kaede said. “You must be careful not to jerk the string or it will spoil your aim.”

Kagome lowered the bow with a frown. She glanced at Inuyasha, who was seated on the ground behind them, leaning against a tree. He was watching with an amused expression. Kagome couldn't decide if she was annoyed by his amusement at her ineptitude or relieved that he wasn't angry because they weren't moving.

They had arrived at the town Inuyasha had smelled in fairly good time, taking only two days. Now that she understood what was wrong with her, or rather that nothing was wrong at all, really, Kagome had found it much easier to pace herself. She found that if she stuck to a slower pace, she could walk much further without resting, and they ultimately made better time. Inuyasha seemed pleased about that and he was much more patient with her.

The town was fairly large, and although many people looked at Inuyasha's obviously half-demon features with contempt, no one seemed inclined to run them out of town. They stayed overnight at a small inn, where a few coins bought them a room and a meal. In the morning, they purchased two bows and two quivers of ten arrows each from the local blacksmith, who apparently doubled as the town's principle weapon-maker.

Now, half a day's walk beyond the town and more or less back on course toward the faint pull of the Shikon Jewel, they had stopped for archery practice. Inuyasha had dug up a chunk of sod for them and propped it against a fallen tree to serve as a target

Kagome knocked another arrow and slowly raised the bow into position. She sighted along the arrow toward the target, keeping both eyes open, and slowly unfolded her fingers. The arrow leaped from the bow and sped toward the target, plunging into the square of sod with a solid thunk.

“I hit it!” Kagome shouted.

“Well done!” Kaede said approvingly.

“And after only seven tries,” Inuyasha added dryly.

Kagome rounded on him. “I'd like to see you try,” she said huffily. “I bet you've never shot a bow in your life.”

“I haven't,” he replied with a shrug, “but bows aren't designed for people with claws.” He looked at his fingers. “It's more fun slashing the demons to bits anyway.”

“I am not learning to shoot for fun,” Kagome said haughtily.

“Shouldn't you try that a few more times to make sure you know what you're doing?”

“Hmph!” Kagome turned her back on him and drew another arrow.

After a dozen or so more shots, Kagome was comfortable that she understood what she was doing.

“One thing you must remember, Kagome,” Kaede cautioned her. “It is quite different when you must shoot at a moving target. You must account for the flight time of the arrow to your target and shoot ahead of it along its path.”

Kagome nodded. “It sounds difficult.”

“You will likely miss the first few times you try it, but you will learn. We can practice for a time again tomorrow and let Inuyasha throw clumps of grass for us to shoot at.”

“I'm not standing in front of her while she shoots!” Inuyasha said promptly.

Kagome smacked him with her bow.

“Ow!”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It seemed like they were making pretty good progress on their journey, so Inuyasha did not begrudge the time they spent each day having archery practice. They were stopping at midday for lunch everyday anyway, so it didn't make that much difference if they spent an extra hour letting Kagome practice with her bow. Inuyasha had to admit that she was getting better at it, so the time was well-spent.

But they could only judge their progress toward their goal by how strong the pull of the Shikon Jewel felt to Kagome. Inuyasha wished there was a more definitive way to tell, but it was all they had. He might have been more upset about that, but Kagome seemed almost as frustrated as he was.

Every morning, she would sit quietly after breakfast, “listening for the Jewel”, she said, to make sure they were still on course. Some mornings, though, her listening time would be interrupted by the return of her breakfast, an occurrence which Kaede assured him was perfectly normal for expectant women in the early term of their pregnancy.

“That's normal?” Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome stood bent over several paces away, emptying her stomach of its contents behind a tree.

“Of course,” Kaede said. She poured water into a small wooden cup and took it to Kagome. “Drink this slowly, dear.”

“Thank you,” Kagome whispered. She sipped the water carefully. “How long does this go on? I can't keep my strength up if I can't eat.” She glanced in Inuyasha's direction nervously.

“You'll manage, dear,” Kaede said reassuringly. “You just need to watch what you eat first thing in the morning.”

Kagome finished the water and started packing their supplies.

“You should eat something else,” Inuyasha said. “You can't walk on an empty stomach.”

Kagome kept her eyes down. “I don't know if I can eat anything else. I still feel a little queasy.”

“Eat some bread,” Inuyasha ordered.

“I'll try.” Kagome tore a small chunk off one of their loaves of flat brown bread and nibbled at it.

Inuyasha was sure he'd seen rabbits take larger bites, but he held his tongue and watched her slowly consume the tiny piece of bread. When she had it all down, he nodded. “That's better,” he said. “Be sure to let me know when you get hungry. We'll stop so you can eat.”

“Thank you.” Kagome sounded surprised.

Inuyasha frowned. Did she really think him such a monster that he'd let a pregnant woman go hungry? He shouldered the knapsack. “Same direction?”

“Yes.” Kagome pointed. “It's that way.”

Inuyasha set out and Kagome fell into step beside him.

“I wish I knew who took it,” she said after awhile. “My grandmother had the Shikon Jewel for over fifty years and no one ever tried to steal it.”

“But your grandmother used it. Anyone trying to take it from her would probably have been destroyed by the Jewel's power,” Inuyasha said.

“Oh!” Kagome exclaimed unhappily. She ducked her head.

Inuyasha stared at her. “Are you saying she didn't use it?”

Kagome looked away.

“You are saying she didn't use it!” Inuyasha stopped in surprise.

Kagome continued on for a few more steps before stopping, but she didn't turn around to face him. “Grandmother said it was too dangerous to awaken the Jewel's power. When people asked her for advice, she used her own judgment to answer them.”

“Everyone thought she was using the Jewel!” Inuyasha was stunned. How had the old woman gotten away with that all these years? He wondered if his father knew.

Kagome finally turned to look at him. There were tears in her eyes. “Please don't tell anyone! My family will be ostracized!”

Of course they would be, Inuyasha thought. But what better way to hide what the old woman had been doing than to get rid of the Jewel? Make it another family's problem if Kagome refused to use it. A low growl started in the back of Inuyasha's throat. He glared at Kagome and she dropped her eyes immediately. “Your mother used my family to hide your family's secret!” he snarled. “She used me!”

Kagome clasped her hands together in front of her breasts and bowed deeply. “Please forgive me for deceiving you, my husband! It was not my wish, but I did not want to disobey my mother.”

Inuyasha flexed his hands unconsciously, flaring his claws.

“It is not Kagome's fault, Inuyasha,” Kaede said from behind him. “She has been used as much as you.”

Inuyasha opened his mouth to respond, but then he snapped it closed as the stench of a demon filled his nostrils. He dumped the knapsack on the ground and whirled in the direction where the scent was strongest.

“What is it, Inuyasha?” Kaede asked worriedly. She had her bow out and was already knocking an arrow.

Seeing this, Kagome did the same thing.

“Demon!” Inuyasha answered sharply.

And then the demon was there. It flew toward them just skirting the tops of the trees, a long slender, sinuous body with large yellow eyes and a wide round mouth full of sharp fangs.

The double twang of both bows releasing sounded on either side of him. Kaede's arrow took the demon in one of its lidless eyes. Kagome's arrow missed. Inuyasha leaped into the air with a shout and slashed the demon just behind the head. His claws, extended by his demon power, ripped through the creature's body and beheaded it. He dropped to the ground as the demon's remains crashed into the trees.

“Inuyasha!” Kaede shouted. “More demons are coming!”

Inuyasha didn't need the warning. He could smell them. He leaped into the air again, slashing through the nearest demon without thinking. He heard the twang of the bows and an arrow whizzed by him, cutting through the neck of another demon. He saw the second arrow plunge into a demon's side. It was not a mortal wound and he slashed the demon into pieces quickly. There was no time to pay attention to where the women were shooting. He just hoped they wouldn't hit him.

The fight was over quickly. A dozen or so ordinary demons were really no match for him, and with Kaede's help, the fight had been fairly easy. He walked back toward the women through the gory remains of the dead demons, retrieving arrows as he went. Although most of the arrows that had caused fatal or disabling wounds were Kaede's, a few were Kagome's. Not all her shots had missed.

“Not bad, Kagome.” He held out the arrows he had retrieved. “You landed a few good shots. And you didn't hit me.”

Kagome wrinkled her nose at him. “You were just lucky. I did almost hit you once.” She said it with a smile, so he wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

“I told you it would become easier with practice,” Kaede said. “But we should get away from here quickly. All these dead demons will attract others to feed on the carcasses.”

“You're right,” Inuyasha agreed. He picked up the knapsack. “I can smell water that way. I want to wash up.”

They hurried away from the battlefield.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was past midday by the time they reached the stream Inuyasha had smelled. Since it had been several days since any of them had washed, Inuyasha decided they could spend the rest of the day there and bathe. They found a sheltered spot where the stream formed a nice pool near a grassy bank under a tree. Kaede and Kagome bathed first while Inuyasha kept watch from a discreet distance, and then he bathed while the two women kept watch.

“It seems silly that Inuyasha and I should be reluctant to watch each other bathe,” Kagome remarked as she munched on a rice ball. “We're married.”

“Modesty is a virtue,” Kaede replied solemnly, but her lips twitched.

Kagome chuckled. “But we have already seen each other unclothed.”

“True.” Kaede glanced toward the pond. “But Inuyasha's reluctance to accept your marriage may affect his attitude toward casual nudity.” Then she grinned at Kagome. “Still, he is a handsome man, for a half-demon.”

“He is handsome, isn't he?” Kagome replied thoughtfully. “Do you think our baby will be handsome, too?”

“I have no doubt of it, with such parents as the two of you. You are also an attractive young woman.”

Kagome sighed. “I just hope the baby's life is not as hard as Inuyasha's.”

When Inuyasha joined them, he stretched out in the sun with a long sigh. “It feels good to be clean,” he announced. “I wouldn't mind taking a nap right now.”

“Why don't you?” Kagome offered. “Kaede and I will keep watch for a while.”

Inuyasha closed his eyes and in a moment he was sound asleep.

Kagome studied his face. “He looks so young when he's asleep.”

“He is young,” Kaede replied. “He may act like he's much older than you, but he is only a few years your senior.”

“Really?”

“Yes. His brother, Sesshomaru, is ancient, but Inuyasha is still quite a young man.”

Kagome was silent for several minutes. “When my mother first told me I was to be married, I didn't want to do it. I especially didn't want to after she told me which suitor she had accepted for me. I still felt that way when I first met Inuyasha. But I have since thought that it might not be such a bad thing to be wed to him. I just wish I knew better how to be a wife to him. It seems like I am always making him angry.”

“Inuyasha has a short temper, Kagome. He tends to get angry very easily. But I do not believe he dislikes you. I think in time, your marriage can be successful.”

Kagome gazed at Inuyasha. “He told me he didn't want to be married. I wonder if he might ever change his mind.”

“Change it for him,” Kaede said with a chuckle. “Inuyasha may be a half-demon, but he's still a man, and I know of few men who can withstand a woman's determination.”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Late the next morning, they came upon a village in ruins. Bodies still lay among the burned out huts, where the few survivors had not yet gotten to them for burial. Rows of fresh graves lay in a field that had once held ripening grain, but only burned stubble remained. Inuyasha growled deep in his throat as he looked at the sight.

“Was it demons?” Kagome whispered, sickened. She had never seen such slaughter before.

“No,” Inuyasha snarled. “Men did this.” He stalked forward angrily.

Kagome followed him reluctantly.

The few remaining villagers panicked when they saw Inuyasha and his companions. They dropped the bodies they were carrying and fled to hover behind the village's small well fearfully. Inuyasha stopped a good distance away.

“We won't harm you!” he called out. “We want to help!”

After a moment, someone stepped from behind the well and reluctantly approached them. It was an old man. He shuffled toward them, using a crutch to walk.

“Who are you?” he asked in a voice that quavered with fear.

“My name is Inuyasha. This is my wife, Kagome, and her maid, Kaede. What happened here?”

“We were attacked by bandits,” the old man said. “They came to steal the sacred bones of our patron saint. But they were not content to steal. They slaughtered our people indiscriminately. They cared not whether it was man, woman or child on the ends of their swords.” The old man wiped his face with a shaking hand. “And then they set fire to everything, even our crops. It would have been better if they'd killed us all.”

The other villagers had started to creep out from behind the well.

“Why would bandits want sacred bones?” Inuyasha asked. “They usually steal food or money or women.”

“I heard one say that their master, Naraku, collects artifacts of power to increase his own power.”

“Naraku?!” Kagome exclaimed.

“Yes, I think that's the name he said.” The old man peered at her. “Do you know this Naraku?”

“No,” Kagome said quickly. “We will help you bury your dead.”

The old man bowed. “You are very kind.”

Inuyasha dug the graves while everyone else collected the bodies and brought them to the field. Kagome wept as she helped. Many of the dead were children and it made her ache for the child inside her.

Once the dead were buried, Inuyasha instructed them to search all the houses and salvage whatever they could. Although most of the huts had burned, they still ended up with a decent supply of food, clothing, cooking utensils and other essentials. The villagers packed the supplies into two small handcarts and prepared to set off for the next nearest village.

“You have been most kind to us, Master Inuyasha,” the old man said. “Please accept our deepest gratitude.” He and the other villagers bowed low.

“You're welcome,” Inuyasha replied. “Be careful on the road.”

“We will.” The villagers departed.

“What power could old bones have that someone would steal them?” Kagome asked angrily when the villagers were out of earshot. “And why kill all the people?”

“It does not matter what power they have, so long as the power is there,” Kaede said.

“They killed the people so no one would know what they were after,” Inuyasha growled. “But they were mighty damn sloppy about it, leaving all those people alive.”

“And saying their master's name in front of them was foolish as well,” Kaede added. She glanced at Kagome. “You recognized Naraku's name.”

“Yes,” Kagome said with a frown. “He was the other suitor my mother considered for my hand. She rejected him in favor of Lord Sesshomaru.”

Kaede's eyes opened wide. “Naraku was one of your suitors?!”

“Yes.”

“Of all the foolish…” Kaede began harshly. “Prince Naraku is a sorcerer. He covets the power of the demons and he seeks out items of power which he can absorb to enhance his own strength. I am certain now it was he who stole the Shikon Jewel. He dared not go after it while it was in your grandmother's possession because, like everyone else, he believed she was utilizing its power. And when his attempt to obtain the Jewel through marriage to you failed, he stole it. No doubt those demons that attacked us were sent by him.”

“But that means he knows where we are!” Kagome exclaimed.

“It also means the attack on this village was a warning for us,” Inuyasha said. Fierce anger burned in his golden eyes. “Those bandits will come after us next time.”