InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Journey to the East ❯ Chapter02- A new companion (part 1) ( Chapter 2 )

Mhh... I´ve got clothes to change, fresh underwear, my sleepingbag, food... anything missing? Ah! My mathsbook. ´K got it all! Kagome had just checked her backpack, preparing to leave to the feudal area. Although her eagerness was all fake. Actually she was not in the mood to return now. The recent fights with Inu Yasha tired her out and although she respected his decision including Kikyou, she still couldn´t comprehend it utterly and it still hurt watching him day in and day out.

She flipped the heavy package over her shoulder, and started to leave the house. She was quite in a hurry. So it was small wonder that in her haste, she didn´t notice her mothers crawling on the floor and almost tripped over her.

"Come here little boy. I´ve got somthing special for you. Now where is my little baby?" Her mother shooed.

Kagomes eyes widened in confusion.

"Oka-san*. What are you doing?"

Her mother looked at her daughter with little irritation.

"Uh.. never mind. I don´t want to know." Kagome sputtered, remembering she had no time for interceptions.

Just as she was about to hurry outside, her mothers voice called her back.

"Kagome... Be careful will you?"

"Of course!" Kagome smiled turning around "Love you mum."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled back before returning to her task at hand.

"Now come here stupid cat!" Kagome heard her mothers frustration behind her back.

She reached for the doorknob stiffling a laugh. As she opened the door in one forceful swing, she almost screamed in shock as another person was standing outside, just about to enter the house.

The reason for her haste just arrived.

"KAGOME!" Inu Yasha was boiling in rage, seemingly unsurprised of the sudden encounter "Your late." His eyes fixed the lightly nervous Kagome, until his gaze met the stuffed backpack. "Hope at least you packed enough ramen. Let me carry that!"

Without so much as glancing at her a second time, Inu yasha took her backpack and hurried back to the well. Perplexed Kagome followed him inside the little cottage on the temple grounds.

"This stupid thing get´s heavier everytime you return. What have you put inside, wench, stones?" Inu Yasha grouched before he positioned himself at the well.

"Nothing that concerns you." Kagome replied on edge.

"Keh, bitch!" the Hanyou* snarled before jumping inside and travelling back in time to Sengoku Jidai. Leaving her no choice but to follow.

____________

Sango, Miroko and Shippou couldn´t help but being a little nervous. The Hanyou had furious for hours. First he had only grumbled a bit, but after some time he fastly came back to his sweet little nicknames, as Miroko called them secretly. muttering things about wenches who never knew responsibility, and bitches without a sense for time. Although it was quiet amusing first, they had all got tired of the routine between Inu Yasha and Kagome when she was leaving their time, or came back late. It wasn´t funny anymore, it was disturbing.

So now the three sat together waiting for an enraged dog to go and fetch his shard detector.

WHOAM! a load crash made their attention turn back to the well.

WHAT THE HELL? they thought simultaneous. Shippous eyes widened in pleasant anticipation. In less than a second he started to reach the well, when an allknown voice made it´s way up to her friends.

"Inu Yasha. Osuwari!"

BAMM!! Inu Yasha was slammed head over heals onto the ground, again.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" he asked his anger raging.

Kagome heard nothing of that, "never call me stupid names again, InuYasha".

"Fine, I apologize, but I only said it once, why sitting me twice, you..." he stopped abruptly after seeing her eyes flashing up.

"´Cause I knew you´re never going to learn." and with that she left him to his own devices, making her way out of the well and greeting her friends.

"Kagome-sama don´t take Inu Yashas ramblings to heart. We all know something isn´t right with his conections between mouth and brain. He doesn´t mean it." she heard the caring voice of the monk being a considerate friend.

"I heard that!" a voice mumbled from inside the well, before the figure of the Hanyou appeared on the wells border.

"But his sense of hearing is marvelous." chuckled Miroku.

"Kagomeee?" Shippou sounded distressed as he jumped onto his surrogate mother "I missed you so!"

"Ah, I missed you too Shippou-chan." she cuddled the little pup.

The little Kitsune* huged her tighter, before raising his haid and looking adoringly in her eyes.

"What´s wrong with you?" Kagome jested "By the way your behaving one would think you´d doubted I´d ever come back."

As if inu Yasha ever let me... Huh, what´s wrong with them now? why are they looking so glum?

And really, everyone looked a little bit guilty, not one of them allowing their eyes to meet with hers. Shippou was deeply interested with fumbling the seam of his vest, Sango studied the ground, as if the grass was growing with highly interesting rate, Inu Yashas head made the strangest circles in his desperate effort to look everywhere but her face, and Miroko even dared to look as if deep in meditation. Considerate friend my ass. It was Sango who dropped the cheap pretences first.

"Well truthfully we doubted you´d agree."

"Agree on what?" Kagome felt as if missing an important piece of information.

"Agree on the thing we decided someone should have told you while fetching you in your time, and who has CLEARLY NOT!"

Inu Yasha gulped as the Demon Huntress glared openly at him with a look that clearly declared him as an dying out race. Well, except Sesshoumaru that is. Lucky him Miroku just found his strong sympathy with endangered species, and stepped in between.

"What lovely Sango wishes to say is..." but Inu Yasha interrupted

"Kagome, we better move to the village first, as you may require to sit down."

"Mh.. yes, that to." the monk continued.

Kagome only responded with a quick nod, as the brewing feeling of forboding invaded her body. Her stomach tightend uncomfortable.

_______________

The little cabin Kaede called her home looked more than a little crowded, as Inu Yasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippou and Kirara gathered around a large bowl of soup, already filling their stomages, while the old miko* rummaged in one corner in search of an old scroll containing an important legend.

The abnormal extremly heavy backpack lay -again forgotten- at another angle, and Kagome watched Kaedes little movements absent-minded, totally lost in thoughts. The Soup had been good. Pleasant warm and rich flavoured it filled the nasty hole which had consumed her after learning what exactly Inu Yasha should have told her. She still couldn´t believe what they asked her to do, replaying the scene time and time again.

"You know with the upcoming fights with Naraku and his minions, we have a lot of trouble to complete the Shikon no Tama." Miroku explained,"and although we all do our best, the incidents in which he beats us to collecting shards increase." He paused for effect and stared at Kagome to ensure her undivided attention. "If we continue at this rate, not only will the final decision about the destiny of the Shikon no Tama be made in our last confrontation with Naraku, but also will it be our sure death, as he will draw power off more than half of the Shikon Shards and likely become allmighty."

"So, what´s new? It´s always seemed impossible and highly dangerous, we knew that before. What changed your attitude?" Kagome argued.

"Our situation is a lot more serious now. We are not only fighting for ourselves, but possibly for whole humankind. So even IF the case we managed to complete the Jewel by ourselves, who confirmes that we´ll be able to wield it´s power? i don´t want to say that we just lay down and wait until the sun rise no more, but I want to emphasize that we know to little about the Shikon no Tama."

"It´s not as if we had another chance."

"Actually," a new voice countered "your wrong there, Kagome-sama. I probably should have told you sooner, but I was afraid of the dangers lying ahead this road."

"What are you talking about, Kaede?"

"Long before the Priestress Midoriko shaped the shikon no tama, a similar force excisted. Like the jewel, it´s said to increase it´s wielders power tenthousandfolds and was created to serve Youkai perposes only. But contrariwise it´s power had been bounded to one Youkai bloodline, making everyone outside the family unable to touch let alone use it."

"You mean there is a power as potent as the Shikon Jewel and you never told me?"

"No. The power of Tsuin-choken became lost long ago, along with the death of its creator. Although a lot succeeded in copying, even if most of the times they seemed reminded more fleeting shadows of it´s original." here the old woman smirked "your father had been the only one with an remarkable achievment, Inu Yasha."

"Stop babbling and get to the core of the matter, Kaede-baba." the Inu Youkai growled at the mention of his father.

"Your and your brothers swords Tetsaiga and Tenseiga. Their origin undoubtly lies with Tsuin-choken, the legendary twin blades of the very last Youkai Lord of the Eastern Lands, Nekota-sama. Seems like your father had been inspired."

"If the swords are lost, and it´s creator too, why are you suddenly so interested in this legend?" Kagomes voice erupted.

"Because Kagome-sama, your wrong again. The power of Tsuin-choken may be extinct, but that doesn´t result in the swords gotten lost. In truth they are still very much real. You see, child, I want you to take leave off your family for a while, and start the burdensome journey to the East, its dangers, its power, its mysteries. If you manage to learn the secret about those swords Nekota-sama hid so well, I´m sure you´ll lift the last secrets about the Shikon no Tama, too. And as heavens desire, I just happen to have the map you´ll need to take you there..."

It had been that statement which resulted at the older womens searching for the scroll, some minutes ago. Kagome already doubted Kaedes appreciation. If the Tsuin-choken where of such high value, why risking to misplace the map which leads to them. Maybe she lost it, and is to ashamed to admit it.

Just as Kagome started to ponder whether Alzheimer´s disease was a possibility at the old Mikos age, Kaedes low voice finally triumphed.

"I found it."

No second after Kaede visually swayed the map in one hand, Kagomes backpack started to tremble and loud hissing noises erupted. After that, all hell broke free.

Oka-san = Mum

Hanyou = Half demon, half human

Kitsune = Fox

Miko = Priestress

Second done, and I´m already up for the next.

Well, this one was kinda hard. Although I´d published this story once before, it had been a lot differently. I got rid of some of my characters, and it´s troublesome to rerwrite the scenes without them. Hope you liked it nevertheless! Personally I enjoy the new version a lot more.

Please review ^-~

In the next chapter Sesshoumaru will make his appearance. Be prepared!!