InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kikyo's lonely journey ❯ Time is up ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the actual work of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own them in any way.

 

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Chapter 10: Time is up

 

Four pair of eyes watched from a safe distance as Miroku led Susune inside the hut for her spiritual training. Once the pair was safely inside, they all went out of their hiding place and turned to Sango with mischievous looks in their eyes.

 

"Now then, Sango, it's up to you now," said Kagome, smiling evilly.

 

"Yeah!" piped in Shippo. "Go for it Sango!"

 

"Just make sure that his 'one track mind' gets what it deserves," added Kikyo.

 

"Don't worry, I guarantee you that by the end of his lesson, houshi-sama's going to be seeing stars," answered the demon slayer with an evil smirk dancing on her lips.

 

With that said, she turned on her heels and headed toward the hut where Miroku was training Susune.

 

"What I wouldn't give to be in there right now," said Kagome as she watched the demon slayer's retreating form.

 

"Me too," agreed the undead miko. "But still... I wonder what she has in mind."

 

"What do you mean?" asked the schoolgirl, suddenly puzzled.

 

"She has been preparing this 'lesson' for two days now. I cannot help but be curious as to what she could have in store for our perverted houshi," she explained, shooting the hut a rather envious look.

 

"Well, I do know one thing," said Shippo. "If she's planned this out so carefully... it can't be good."

 

There was a second of silence before the three remaining people broke into evil grins and returned to watching the hut with added interest. They were so focused in fact that they never noticed a traveler passing a short distance behind them and shooting them very interested looks.

 

******

 

Now then, Susune, close your eyes and empty your head. Open your senses, feel your surroundings. Feel the spirits that surround you and let them deliver their messages to you.

 

Obediently, the girl did as she was told. Not that she needed any pointers, her lessons were always starting in the same way, so she kind of got the hang of doing what Miroku was asking after repeating it for more than seven days now. When she had successfully completed the preparation ritual, she opened her eyes and focused them on the monk in front of her.

 

"Good now..." but Miroku trailed off as a shape outlined itself in the door.

 

"Is there anything we can do to help you, Sango?" he asked.

 

"Actually, I've just started feeling faint, I was wondering if I could borrow a corner of the hut for a while?" asked the demon slayer.

 

"By all means, please do so!" exclaimed the monk.

 

"Thank you houshi-sama," said the woman with a grateful bow.

 

Susune watched the woman go with a slight frown of puzzlement. Even though trying to read Miroku's aura had proved to be less than useful in her training, she had to admit that not everything he had taught her was meaningless. Her "seeing" ability had developed considerably. What she used to see as an indistinct cloud around a person was now a very precise pattern of constantly shifting currents that, if read properly, could lead her to determine a person's mood. Now the reason she was so confused by Sango's behavior was because the way she acted did not match the general feel of her aura at all.

 

The woman was walking on unsteady legs with shoulders hunched and clouded eyes. Outwardly, she gave every sign of a woman who was sick. Yet, her aura was pulsing with strength. The only explanation she could come up with was that the demon slayer was faking... but why?

 

Before she could search further though, Miroku decided to continue his lesson.

 

"Okay, now let's do our first exercise, shall we. Prepare to close off your sense as I will expand my aura," warned the monk.

 

Focusing once again, she prepared herself. That was one of the first thing Miroku had showed her and she had to admit that it was quite useful. With so many people around, seeing an aura around everyone all the time was beginning to be a little mind boggling, so she had mastered it very quickly. She could now open and close her "eyes" at will and Miroku was using it as a sort of warm up.

 

This time though, instead of expanding, the aura simply flared. Confused, Susune shifted her focus on Miroku's face and noticed that he wasn't even looking at her anymore, but at something on her left. Turning her head slightly, she immediately spotted what had diverted the monk's attention. Sango was currently bent in half and fiddling unsuccessfully with the lace of her sandals to try and remove them. While this would look nothing out of the ordinary, the woman had chosen to face away from them, thus displaying her wiggling backside in a rather obvious manner, which explained Miroku's abrupt shift of attention.

 

As she looked at the display, the conversation that had taken place two days ago right after she had complained about her lessons with Miroku came back to her.

 

"Then we'll just have Sango assist to one of your lessons. That ought to... alter his mood," snickered Shippo mischievously.

 

At this, Kikyo's smile which had been rather playful until now, turned downright evil. "A most excellent idea Shippo. I shall see to the arrangements right away," she said, her tone low and almost menacing.

 

It took everything she had not to burst out laughing right then and there. This explained Sango's earlier lie about being sick rather obviously. The woman was playing an elaborate trick on Miroku... and she was willing to bet that all of her friends were standing outside the hut, eagerly waiting for a detailed report of the event. Shifting her eyes back to the monk who was still lost in contemplation, she decided to play along with Sango's little scheme.

 

"Miroku-sama? Is anything the matter? Your aura seems... strange," she asked innocently.

 

The way he jerked back into focus and the currents of his aura accelerated their rhythm stretched Susune's control to its limit. God, the face he made was absolutely priceless. But she had to keep her innocent act or everything would blow over.

 

"N... No everything's fine! Sorry," he stammered and took a few deep and steadying breath.

 

The monk then started to expand his aura, but his distraction was so obvious that it took once again everything Susune had not to burst out laughing. It took considerably longer than usual, but the exercise was eventually completed. By this time, her teacher seemed to have returned somewhat to normal as Sango had finished removing her shoes and had settled down in a "harmless" sitting position.

 

"Okay, now we're going to try the scanning technique," announced Miroku. "Close your real eyes and open yourself to your surroundings. Focus on your environment and try to discern the auras in your immediate vicinity."

 

Yet another neat trick taught by the monk, though this one still needed quite a lot of work. Thanks to the his guidance, she had discovered that she did not need to actually see a person to read his aura. She could sense it with her eyes closed just like a person could sense heat or cold without needing to see the source.

 

Obeying the monk's instructions, she opened her special sense and her perception of her environment immediately shifted. Miroku and Sango's aura presented themselves to her just like they would have in reality. For the first time in days, Susune was able to note a difference in the monk's aura. While they still flowed in pretty much the same way that indicated his perverted nature, something was subtly different. It was so subtle in fact that she couldn't tell exactly what was the difference, only that it was there.

 

Before she could reflect much on this though, there was a drastic change in Miroku's aura. The flows accelerated like never before while at the same time, they seemed to move... inward. She didn't really have to open her eyes to realize Sango was once up to no good, but she simply couldn't resist. When her gaze refocused on the physical realm, she wasn't disappointed in the least. Miroku was desperately trying to keep his cool exterior while shooting the demon slayer furtive looks.

 

Shifting her eyes discreetly, she noticed that Sango was fanning herself with her hand while at the same time loosening the straps of her kimono slightly to cool herself. While it was nothing extraordinarily indecent, the slackening of the straps did have the effect of showing a bit of cleavage, much to her teacher's interest, it seemed. Having one hell of a hard time keeping a straight face, she decided to once again play the part of the innocent child who knew absolutely nothing.

 

"Miroku-sama, what's the matter, your aura is acting strange again?" she questioned.

 

The poor monk jerked violently and he couldn't help the blush of embarrassment that crept on his cheeks at having been caught staring not once but twice.

 

"That's right, she can read auras," he berated himself mentally. "Still, it's fortunate that she didn't know the meaning of what she saw," he added with a bit of relief.

 

But of course, not only did the girl knew exactly the meaning of what she had seen, with Sango's help, she was about to make very good use of her knowledge.

 

"Susune, what do you mean his aura is acting strange?" asked the woman suspiciously.

 

"Well, I don't know what it means but... when you took off your sandals and now... it sort of behaved differently," she explained.

 

This seemed to be what the demon slayer had been waiting for because she suddenly stood up, her eyes burning with anger. In a very slow and deliberate way, she made her way to the cowering monk and, once she had reached him, she bent forward so as to bring her face not two inches from his own.

 

"You'd better have a perfectly good explanation for this houshi-sama," she growled.

 

"Well... I... hum," he stammered, trying desperately to keep his eyes from venturing toward the inviting cleavage she had unwittingly exposed with her movement.

 

He lasted a respectful ten seconds before his will crumbled and his gaze shifted downward... and it took less than one second for Sango to notice this.

 

"HOOOOUUUUSHHIIIIIII-SAAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAA!!!!"

 

And at this moment, Miroku knew he was dead.

 

******

 

"Come on! How long can it take to play a stupid joke!?" exclaimed a very impatient Shippo.

 

"Don't rush things Shippo. It took her two days to come up with her scheme so it's unlikely that her plot will play out in such a short amount of time," countered Kikyo.

 

Their conversation was cut short by an angry scream coming from inside.

 

"HOOOOUUUUSHHIIIIIII-SAAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAA!!!!"

 

"Then again..." began Kikyo before one of the loudest slapping sound she had ever heard made her wince. "... I might be mistaken."

 

"... Ouch!" said Kagome, rubbing her cheek in sympathy. "That... gotta hurt."

 

"I'll say... I wonder what Miroku did this time though," agreed the kitsune with a slight grimace.

 

"I do believe that we shall know shortly," answered the undead miko as she spotted Sango exiting the hut followed a few seconds later by Susune who had the demon slayer's sandals in her hands.

 

As the pair reached them, they abruptly burst out laughing so hard that in no time at all, they were doubling over.

 

"Oh god Sango-san... your..." uttered Susune between two laughs.

 

"And you... playing... innocent... that was..." replied the demon slayer before they both exploded in a whole new wave of mirth.

 

By the time they had recovered enough to speak, Kagome, Kikyo and Shippo had successfully cornered them and were eagerly awaiting their promised explanations.

 

"So..." coughed Sango to clear her throat. "I suppose you want to know what happened?" she asked wryly.

 

"Do you even need to ask?" replied Kagome with an evil smile on her face.

 

And so, the demon slayer proceeded to relate everything that had happened in the hut. From her entrance to the sandal episode, to Susune unexpected but greatly appreciated assistance to the final blow with her slightly opened up kimono. By the end of the tale, everyone was bent over in laughter.

 

"Sango... that was positively... evil!" exclaimed the schoolgirl while wiping a tear from the corner of her eyes.

 

"Well, what's a sweet and innocent woman like me to do when confronted with a hopeless pervert like Miroku?" she asked in a falsely aggravated tone that made everybody giggle.

 

"I think that the 'sweet and innocent' girl should learn to pay attention to her surroundings when she speaks," said a voice that made everybody jump out of their skin.

 

"Miroku!" they all exclaimed at once.

 

And indeed, there was the monk, sporting one huge red hand print on his right cheek and looking positively peeved.

 

"So, now that you all had your fun at my expense..." he began while looking pointedly at Sango who simply decided to look innocent. "... I believe that I am now entitled to some form of explanation."

 

"Well, it can hardly be considered our fault if you have a 'one track mind' as Susune so kindly put it," answered Kikyo wryly.

 

"One track mind?" repeated the monk, looking at Susune this time.

 

"Well, considering that, whenever you're with a woman, your aura acts the same way... it didn't take a genius to figure out what it meant," answered the young girl in a tone that hovered between amused and embarrassed.

 

At this retort, Miroku's face paled visibly. He almost looked like a child who had been caught playing a bad trick on someone.

 

"You were able... to see?" he asked in a haunted voice, though it was more to the empty air than to Susune herself.

 

"Well, wasn't that the whole point of my training?" she inquired wryly.

 

"Y... Yes, but..." he stuttered.

 

"What's wrong Miroku, aren't you glad that your student is progressing faster that expected?" questioned Kagome a little too innocently.

 

"I'm very glad that Susune is progressing," answered the monk darkly. "However, I'd be even happier if she actually told me she was progressing."

 

"So you could hide your feelings a little better?" piped in Shippo, making everyone smile and Miroku frown.

 

"Face it houshi-sama, with all of us here against you... you never stood a chance in the first place," giggled Sango.

 

"That may be so, but I believe that there's one thing you haven't thought about when you played your little trick," replied the monk with a suggestive smile.

 

"Oh? And what might that be houshi-sama?" shot back Sango, puzzled this time.

 

"Whether it was a trick or not, I still got to see down your kimono and I can safely say that it was well worth the pain," he answered and watched with immense satisfaction the demon slayer's cheeks turn bright crimson.

 

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than bicker with 'innocent girls' like you," he concluded before walking away.

 

"Now that was an unexpected turn of events," said Kikyo once Miroku was a safe distance away.

 

"I'll say," agreed Kagome. "But you know Sango-chan, now that I think about it, that was pretty bold of you," she added mischievously.

 

"W... what?" stuttered the demon slayer, her already deep blush darkening even more if it was possible.

 

"You're right Kagome, a woman showing bosom to a man... that is not only bold, but downright indecent," added the undead miko, her dark smile returning.

 

"N... Now wait a minute you two, what are you implying?" questioned the demon slayer, growing increasingly uncomfortable in her present company.

 

"Well... we've known Miroku for quite some time now so... maybe his behavior's beginning to rub off on you," answered the schoolgirl playfully.

 

Her retort had the desired effect because at this, the demon slayer's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

 

"WHAT!?" she exclaimed in outrage.

 

"But Sango-san, even without my ability, it was easy to see that you enjoyed yourself," cut in Susune.

 

A split second of stunned silence followed the child's declaration before both Kikyo and Kagome broke into victorious grins, while Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously in anger.

 

"Why you little... TRAITOR!" exclaimed the demon slayer while advancing menacingly toward the ten year old.

 

Not waiting to see what the woman had in store for her, Susune abruptly darted off in a fit of giggle.

 

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!" screamed the demon slayer while taking off after the girl.

 

The two mikos were about to burst out laughing when something strange happened. Susune abruptly stopped dead in her track not thirty paces from where they stood and started looking left and right. Puzzled by this strange behavior, they both frowned and headed toward her.

 

"What happened?" asked Kikyo once they had reached the demon slayer.

 

"I don't know, she just... stopped," answered the woman, visibly as confused as they were.

 

"Susune... What's wrong?" questioned the schoolgirl.

 

"I'm not sure... something's... different here," she replied.

 

"Different?... I don't feel anything peculiar," piped in Shippo.

 

"Could this be?" murmured Kikyo as an idea struck her. "Susune, use your powers!"

 

The child simply nodded, but in truth, she hadn't waited for the miko's permission, she had already opened her special sense as wide as it would go, but so far, to no avail. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and concentrated, letting the outside world fade away until she was all alone in her own bubble. She then reopened her eyes and looked around once again.

 

She was a bit surprised at first to notice that, instead of bringing things into focus, her little exercise had done quite the opposite. The trees, the houses, everything looked as if it was basked in a light fog that blurred the details together.

 

"What is this?" she thought, confused.

 

As she tried to puzzle out what she was seeing, her eyes fell on a villager that was passing nearby. The aura surrounding him appeared to her more clearly than she had ever seen so far, though the constantly shifting currents betrayed nothing really worth mentioning. What caught the girl's attention was that, as he walked, small tendrils of his aura would be simply left behind and they would almost immediately blend with the surrounding fog.

 

"This is... the village's aura!" she mused, astonished by her discovery.

 

As interesting as her discovery was, it still didn't explain why the place felt so different from the rest of the vicinity. Frowning in concentration, she looked again and suddenly, she saw it. A sort of tunnel where there was not a speck of fog... and she was standing right in the middle of it.

 

"I wonder if..." she murmured and took a few steps sideway, thus reentering the mist.

 

Sure enough, the strange feeling vanished as soon as she came in contact with the fog. Retracing her steps, the strange sensation returned as soon as she was back in the clear area.

 

"Why aren't there any auras here?" she asked herself and jerked as the truth came to her.

 

"Fuyouheki..." she whispered. "A trail with no auras... it's fuyouheki! Someone's here with a fuyouheki stone!" she exclaimed with rising alarm.

 

"Are you sure?" questioned Kikyo firmly.

 

"Positive, I can see his trail," answered Susune.

 

"I'll go and get our weapons," said Sango before taking off at full speed.

 

"Shippo, go and warn Inuyasha okay... hurry," added Kagome and the kitsune nodded before darting away too.

 

It took less than a minute for Sango to return with her hiraikotsu slung on her back and bows in her hand.

 

"Should we wait for Inuyasha?" asked Kikyo as she took hold of her weapon.

 

"The trail's growing fainter, if we don't go now, we'll lose it," said Susune, thus closing the debate.

 

"Then lead the way Susune," shot back Kagome, jaw set in determination.

 

The girl nodded before shooting off as fast as she could. The trail passed through the entire village and headed straight toward the forest on the outskirt of town. Once they exited the town though, Susune started hesitating.

 

"Damn, the fog is thinner here, I can hardly see the path anymore," she cursed mentally.

 

Still, after a bit of searching, she was able to spot it once again. It led them this time to a small clearing where a person was standing, apparently talking to the empty air.

 

"... Yes, I'll keep an eye on them, you can count on me," said the figure about a second before he spotted their forms emerging from the forest.

 

Surprise flashed briefly on his face before he smiled openly at them.

 

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

 

"You can cut the act, we know you have a fuyouheki stone on you," snapped Kikyo acidly.

 

"Oh well, this disguise was beginning to feel cramped anyway," snickered the spy as he tore off a small bracelet from his wrist.

 

He was then surrounded by a white glow and, when it vanished, his features had morphed to reveal his youkai nature. His mop of disheveled black hair was held back from his face by a small ribbon. His eyes were a dark green and were burning with malice and the sensation was only heightened by the feral smile he was shooting them.

 

"A black kitsune!" exclaimed Sango as she recognized the type of youkai they were facing. "Be careful everyone he can..."

 

But the warning came too late. Before anyone could react, the youkai disappeared from his position, only to reappear behind a completely baffled Susune. Grabbing her by the throat, he lifted her off the ground and brought her to eye-level.

 

"I was merely supposed to watch you... but seeing as though you already found me, I suppose no one's going to mind my little insubordination," he snarled.

 

"Let her go!" ordered Kikyo icily.

 

"Or else what?" taunted the youkai cruelly. "You're going to shoot me?"

 

"Go ahead then, you're welcome to try, just make sure you don't accidentally hit poor little Susune here," he added and burst out in a fit of sadistic laugher.

 

It quickly turned into a scream of pain as he felt something tear into his arm and slice mercilessly from the elbow all the way to his hand. He looked down in time to see that the girl he was holding had used his lapse of attention to draw her sword and was currently using it to split his arm open.

 

"You... talk... too... much," wheezed his captive before giving her katana a firm jerk to the side and slicing his entire muscle neatly in half.

 

Thus not being able to hold his hand closed anymore, he was forced to let his captive fall to the ground. The minute she was out of the line of fire, two purification arrows slammed into his chest and begun tearing him apart.

 

"You may have won this battle mikos, but the war is just beginning!" he howled. "Soon all will bow before the great Kuro!"

 

And then he said no more as his entire body evaporated into nothingness under the merciless action of the purification energy. As soon as the youkai was dead, Kikyo dropped her bow and hurried to the girl who was currently looking at her hands with a haunted expression on her face.

 

"Susune! Look at me!" ordered the miko firmly.

 

"Kikyo-sama... I... I..." stuttered Susune, before her eyes rolled to the back her head and she collapsed in the miko's arms.