InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Knight Errant ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of the other inhabitants of the fine story of Rumiko's that we all know and love. Kiyoshi, Aikiko, and Sashiko are mine, and I hope you enjoy them as they are encountered. Thank you for all the lovely reviews (and cookies!)

 

 

 

“I have no doubts that you will do all you have promised me you will.”

 

 

 

As they prepared for the upcoming battle Sango felt something she had not felt in years, had not felt since her very first real demon slaying. She felt nervous, though really it was more than that and less at the same time. She checked her Hiraikotsu again to make sure the strap was set perfectly, she checked her katana and her poison mask that would keep any demonic miasma from reaching her lungs, but she knew that her equipment was more ready than she was, apparently.

 

 

 

Perhaps it was that she was worried about her younger brother Kohaku, who had confided in her his own fear of failure and while she had told him to trust in his Kusari-Gama skills to keep the demons at bay she had promised herself to keep an eye on her little brother. It had been a small white lie that her father the Head Exterminator had told to Lord Kagewaki, in saying that his son was one of the finest exterminators since this would be his very first battle against real demons, though Kohaku's skills truly were exceptional with his weapon of choice.

 

 

 

She had fully intended to speak with her father about her misgivings, that feeling of dread that grew in the pit of her belly, but as she moved up the formation of slayers towards where her father stood the attack began. The demons that were haunting the castle and oppressing the lands around it were giant spiders, nightmare worthy creatures indeed but as Sango and the other slayers moved through them something seemed wrong about the battle. As she let her weapon slice through the demons and return to her hand over and over she realized just what it was.

 

 

 

It was too easy. These demons while large in size were hardly as strong as other demons that Sango had faced in the past nor nearly as fearsome as she and her fellow exterminators had been led to believe. Even when the leader of the spiders came forward with the body of Lord Kagewaki's father in front of him as a puppet he proved to be easily defeated. Yet at the moment of their triumph, tragedy struck. Remembering it now while she was in the depths of a fever from her infected wound, it was more like a dream than a memory.

 

 

 

They had never expected it, nor could they have ever believed it could happen. He moved among them like a wraith, with speed unnatural for a human and he slew them where they stood. Every slayer that had come with them for this `important task' dropped where they stood by the youngest of them, the screams of pain cut short as he struck again and again with his weapon. He was grace, he was death, and Sango screamed as he struck their father down.

 

 

 

“FATHER! Kohaku no!”

 

 

 

She had been the only one that had seen his eyes. Kohaku's once warm toned eyes which were gentle and full of life were dull and blank, void of true color and full of only shadows and death. She drew her katana, intent on merely defending herself until she could figure out what happened, and she saw it then, the silken spider thread attached to Kohaku's neck. He was being controlled! She saw the true Spider Master then in the shadows and she took the risk to leap past her brother and bury her katana in that shadowy form, only to feel the most intense pain she had ever felt in her life erupt in her back.

 

 

 

She had killed the Spider, but Kohaku … he had killed her.

 

 

 

Of course she had not actually died, though it had been a very close thing. When her fever from the infected wounds had finally broken she was left weak and heartbroken, knowing that all those that had come with her had died. That was not the end of her bad news however, even now she lay in her healing bed numb with disbelief. The young Lord Kagewaki had come to her himself with the news that apparently all in her village had perished, that a group of demons had come and managed to overwhelm all those that were there from the elders to the smallest babes in arms. Sango was now the sole survivor of her village of taijiya, and she was unable to truly grasp the scope of that fact.

 

 

 

She had barely begun to recover her strength when the advisor of Lord Kagewaki came to her with more news about who had been responsible for the deaths of those in the village, he had come to her with a name and told her where this demonic group might be found. Her voice was soft when she thanked him, thanked him for the information and for the Sacred Jewel Shard which would give her the strength to exact her revenge on those responsible for slaughtering her people and destroying her life.

 

 

 

“Thank you Advisor Naraku. I promise you that he will pay, he and all those that aid him. InuYasha will die.”

 

 

 

:Elsewhere:

 

 

 

Miroku found it hard to believe that he and InuYasha had finally found some common ground beyond their desire to seek the Shards of the Sacred Jewel. Yet it had indeed happened, and while Miroku's expression seemed to be the height of enlightenment and calm, inwardly he was fighting as hard as he could to keep his fingers from once again creeping towards the sacred sutras hidden in his sash. The neko had met back up with them again after their brief stay at Kaede's village and had been with them ever since. Miroku had been incorrect in thinking that Kaede had been the one to train Kagome in her priestess powers, in fact he had been extremely surprised to find out that she had absolutely no formal training whatsoever. It made him wonder again if Kagome were aware of her potential, and what it might take to bring her to that potential. His thoughts on this were interrupted once more as Kiyoshi made some comment that made Kagome chuckle, and Miroku thought perhaps the sutras might not be enough. Perhaps the neko would like a closer look at his Kazaana?

 

 

 

Though he did have to smile when he heard InuYasha growl under his breath something about `when is that damn neko going to leave' and his muttering seemed to somehow lighten Miroku's mood. At least he wasn't alone in his dislike of the neko youkai. It wasn't that he wasn't for now at least being respectful towards Kagome, he was. It was just something about him that rubbed Miroku the wrong way. Violet gaze met golden across the fire and then both looked towards Kouga. Really it lay with Kouga to dismiss the neko if he didn't like how he was acting towards Kagome, and InuYasha knew the Wolf Prince better than Miroku. Maybe he could gauge how close the Yourouzoku was to blowing his cool.

 

 

 

The Prince who was the sudden subject of the attention of hanyou and houshi seemed outwardly very calm. He seemed aloof and indifferent to Kiyoshi, after their initial greeting of each other. But despite that seeming aloofness Kouga was hyper aware of the neko that was sitting around their campfire with them as if they were old dear friends that had happened to meet on the road. He had been smart enough to figure out that the cat demon had been following Kagome and her companions, and he was not sure that he liked that idea. Though Kiyoshi seemed predisposed to protect her and she did seem fond of him with her “Kiyoshi-kun”, it just … bothered Kouga.

 

 

 

Blue eyes narrowed just a bit, and he was a step away from doing to Kiyoshi what he often had done to InuYasha, stare a hole clean through him, when he felt a light touch on his arm. His attention was immediately drawn to his mate sitting next to him, and he could not help the smile that came to his lips and the way he almost immediately relaxed. Only his mate had such an affect on him and he'd have it no other way. His hand lifted to cup her cheek and he leaned forward to nuzzle her, and then almost whimsically brushed the tip of her nose with his own. She giggled happily, her chocolate eyes sparkling and she leaned against his side with a soft sigh of happiness. Her armor lay nearby, she'd taken it and her furs off when she'd bathed in a nearby stream and she now wore that soft kimono that Sashiko had given her.

 

 

 

The colors complimented her so well, and Kouga was glad she'd decided to wear it for him. Well, perhaps she was just taking advantage of the chance to be comfortable since doubtless there were few things that would attack a camp that was composed of a miko, a houshi, two full youkai - well, three if you counted Shippou and a very strong hanyou, but Kouga liked to pretend she'd done it solely for him. His hand moved from her cheek to run his fingers through her ebon dark hair, and he loved the silky feel of it against the calloused pads of his fingertips. Tomorrow would be soon enough to discuss certain issues, tonight he simply wished to relax with his mate and allow her scent to fill his senses. Those issues weren't simply going to go away, of course.

 

 

 

As much as he wanted to truly just push them aside for the night he found his thoughts returning there again and again. What was he to do with this Miroku and more importantly Kiyoshi? He certainly did not trust the neko around his pack, and the monk was too new to Kagome's company for him to honestly trust as well. Perhaps he might leave the monk to guard the youkai while he took Kagome home for a bit? That thought had appeal, because he knew that the cubs and many of the females would not forgive him for having Kagome so near home and not bringing her in to visit. Sashiko's wrath alone was worth avoiding though she had been saying some strange things lately about how Kouga had better take extra good care of his mate.

 

 

 

As if he wouldn't! A frown set his lips and his jaw tightened at the thought. He would do anything it took to keep Kagome safe and happy, and he didn't like it that anyone might think he would neglect her. As much as he wanted to simply insist that she stay with the pack at their home den he knew he couldn't, she had her honor and her promise to keep and he had his pack to run or he'd have been at her side every waking moment. He had had to learn to trust the hanyou to protect his mate when he wasn't there, but then InuYasha had proven himself worthy of Kouga's trust. Kagome's soft voice brought him back to the now, though she had to repeat herself at Kouga's inelegant answer of …

 

 

 

“Hn?”

 

 

 

She sighed, Kagome knew something was bothering her mate even if he wouldn't just come out and say the words. She moved so that rather than sitting next to him she was kneeling and both her hands had captured one of his. He looked down, for a moment marveling at how delicate her hands seemed, yet how strong they must be for they had the power to subdue him, and her question made the tension in him drain away.

 

 

 

“I said, would you like to walk with me for awhile, away from the campfire?”

 

 

 

His smile answered her as he rose and offered his hands to her to lift her to her feet. He did not miss the expressions on the faces of their companions and it was all he could do not to snicker. Shippou of course lay peacefully asleep on Kagome's furs, he had truly missed her and her scent had lulled him with its sense of safety. Kouga would tell her of how good he had been while she was away, and he was sure it would make her smile considering the maternal feelings she held for the kit. Kouga did almost feel sorry for InuYasha though, he sat with his shoulders hunched and his ears half back, protective of the kit blissfully snoozing nearby and overly aware of Kiyoshi just across from him over the fire.

 

 

 

He couldn't help the smirk that rose to his lips as he settled his hand on Kagome's lower back as they walked towards the forest and he turned that smirk to Kiyoshi. The neko tried for an expression as inscrutable as any holy monk but his golden green eyes betrayed him. Kouga wasn't certain of what emotion fueled that look, or rather emotions because there seemed to be more than one, but there was at the least sadness surprisingly and calm acceptance and Kouga was surprised to see either there. With a stunning bit of insight he realized that the look was not because of Kagome, but because of himself with Kagome. He would have to question him later because there was a story there that Kouga had the feeling that it would be best for him to know.

 

 

 

As the mates left the clearing the campfire was in, Kiyoshi let out an almost imperceptible sigh. Miroku had not heard it, but InuYasha did and it made one of his ears flicker forward for a moment. He was not prepared for the haunted expression that flitted across the handsome neko youkai's features, nor the sudden sound of his words over the popping and hissing of the fire.

 

 

 

“It is rare, to see something like that. A demon who loves a ningen so deeply, and is loved in return.”

 

 

 

That got Miroku's attention as well, for a moment surprise showing in his violet eyes as he shifted where he sat, gaze going to InuYasha as well. His eyes shone golden and glowing in the darkness, brighter than the fire and suddenly he ground out the words to match what Kiyoshi had said.

 

 

 

“My … my father loved my mother that way.”

 

 

 

It was true. Kiyoshi had heard the tales, of how the great dog demon of the West had loved a mortal woman, a princess no less who was supposed to have been a graceful and demure beauty. Yet within her lay a heart that had been able to love a youkai unconditionally and he had loved her enough to die to protect her. Quite possibly one of the most powerful youkai to ever exist had gone without hesitation from a fight in which he had almost perished, his blood spattering the ground as he came, simply to protect the fragile life of one human woman. He had saved her at the cost of his own life, the battle with Takemara of Setsuna taking them both to the afterlife in an inferno of death.

 

 

 

Kiyoshi's arms came up to rest on his knees close to his chest. He gave his words thought as the firelight sparkled on his auburn hair, glittering in the golden green of his eyes and burnishing the crimson of his haori. InuYasha could not have told who was more surprised at his tale, he or Miroku, and not just because of the words but the absolute sincerity behind them.

 

 

 

“Her name was Yukiko. I was younger then but I remember the first time I laid eyes upon her, she was walking through the deep snow and slipped. Before she could fall I caught her. I do not know why I felt moved to do it, but I did. Rather than fear me because I was a youkai, she thanked me.”

 

 

 

He was pensive then, not wanting to finish his story because of course once the words were spoken it made them real and so much harder to deny.

 

 

 

“She had a strong spirit, and defied her father to be with me. I promised to provide for her and keep her safe. But I did not understand the rumors I had overheard, about a hanyou that was gathering power, who did not care what stood in his way. I had taken our daughter to meet my great father, Yukiko had not wanted to come, she was expecting our second child. But I think it was more, she did not want to face the censure that she felt would be the same in my father's face as it had been in her father's face at the sight of our daughter. Tomoe was precious to her, our beautiful hanyou daughter.”

 

 

 

He rose then, turning away from the fire, and away from the expressions of surprise on InuYasha's face and the sudden understanding on the face of the houshi Miroku.

 

 

 

“When I returned, most of the villagers had been slain. Yukiko … I found her in our home, and her last whispered words to me were of Naraku, and that I must protect the hanyou child. I thought she meant Tomoe at the time. Now, I am not sure.”

 

 

 

The very lines of him were pensive, and he turned back towards the pair. He knew they disliked him, and that his tale was unlikely to change that. But now perhaps they might understand him just a little more. When the dawn broke he would be back to the capricious neko that they knew so much better, and it would be easier to hate him then. He knew they'd be unable to help themselves, and after all he was insufferable at times. Well, to be honest, more often than not.

 

 

 

He smoothed his crimson robes and sat back down, he knew that they might not believe his story despite how honest he had been with the pair. It was important though that they got his message, that they understood what lay beneath his tale of personal pain. Naraku was destroying lives and growing more powerful by the day, by each shard he managed to gather. Someone had to stop him, be it this group or another and it must be soon. Kiyoshi was uncertain of what Naraku's true goals were but the path he'd chosen to take to that goal was littered with the bodies of innocent ningen and youkai alike and for that if nothing else he deserved to fail.

 

 

 

Some distance away Kagome and Kouga had come upon a clearing that overlooked the stream that she'd bathed in earlier and found a nice spot to sit down together. The quiet of the place made Kagome smile, her fingers laced with those of her mate's. She always missed him so much when they were apart and what she wanted more than anything was to simply stay with him. His love was what gave her the strength to do what she must do, but the price for that was often being absent from each other. She had agreed after a bit of hesitation to leave Kiyoshi in Miroku's care when they went home to the den, she trusted the neko but she understood that the safety of their pack had to come first.

 

 

 

And she missed her pack, she missed them deeply and did not want to pass up the chance to see them. She told Kouga that, watching the pride grow in his blue eyes as she spoke of where her heart lay. The pride warmed to something deeper as her deft fingers undid the buckles of his armor and moved it aside so that her hands could touch his bare skin. She had craved that, her lips pressed to the spots her fingertips had so recently brushed over and she loved that catch of his breath as she did so. Her scent was heady to him, full of her body's need for his and her sweetness fueled his own desire for her. Before they had mated he was sure that his woman would have been too shy to even perhaps think of doing something like this, seducing her mate under the starlight in a semi secluded clearing.

 

 

 

How love and confidence had changed her! His own strong hands were soon beneath her kimono though she had pouted a bit, she had wanted to do everything this time but then he soon had her breathless enough to forget what she'd originally had in mind. In the end though did it matter whose idea it had been when the love between them was so sweet? She lay in his arms afterwards, her cheek pressed against his chest and her eyes gently and trustingly closed. Nothing could harm her while she was with Kouga, her heart refused to believe that it could happen. Here if nowhere else in the world she was safe, his fingers smoothing over her dewy skin and through her slightly damp silken locks.

 

 

 

He drew her up to kiss her again, and his deep voice told her the words she had longed to hear from the moment they had last parted and they were the words that would make it harder and harder for her to leave him.

 

 

 

“I love you, Kagome. My beautiful mate.”

 

 

 

She smiled, the joy reflected in her chocolate eyes as she looked down at him, her hands up to brush over his features and she kissed him again before answering him as he deserved.

 

 

 

“I love you, Kouga. My dearest.”

 

 

 

He smiled up at her, the light from the moon and stars overhead glimmering on the silver of the necklace he had given her and he knew then that he had been so right, that gleam of silver that had been a part of the happiest memories of his childhood was now a part of the happiest moments of his current life. His fingertips touched the charms and he loved to see how her lips curved upwards in that sweet open smile, she knew how much that necklace meant to him and now he knew how much it meant to her. She would never remove it of her own volition, it was special to her beyond belief.

 

 

 

She shifted so that she straddled him as she looked down at his face, her smile growing at the feeling of love swelling in her heart. He thought that she had never been quite so beautiful before, that her love of him made her even lovelier than he believed it would have been possible to be. His hands were up to touch her again and he would let her lead them this time as they made love. Indulging her would only make them both happy, and Kouga would never refuse his mate when she wanted him. Afterwards she slept, pleasantly and happily tired out and he drew her kimono back over her so that she would not take chill. Later they would rejoin the others at the campfire, but for now he wanted to bask in the feelings he felt now. Contentedness, rightness, and love were enough to push aside any concerns that he'd had about the next day.

 

 

 

After all she was enough. Enough to make him happy and make him be the kind of visionary leader that it would take to bring the Yourouzoku into the future as a force to be reckoned with, even if it was behind the scenes. That made him wonder as he gently pushed back a lock of her raven hair behind her ear if she knew just how important she was. His woman, his mate, she would bear him strong cubs and her love and acceptance would help all the cubs in the tribe grow to be worthwhile youkai. She was everything, if she only knew and understood that. As much as he would have liked to have stayed there and slept with her, he knew that sleeping could wait until he got back to the camp. Almost reluctantly he moved her and dressed her, her half waking protest making him smile. Gathering up his armor he carried her back to the others and quietly lay her down on her strange bedding.

 

 

 

He noticed that the tension was less in the camp than it had been when he left and he wondered at that, but was sure that InuYasha would tell him in the morning if something important had happened. Kouga put his armor with Kagome's and carefully dragged her furs closer to where they were sleeping so not to wake the sleeping Shippou. He then lay down close to Kagome and smiled when she turned over to snuggle against his chest. He would cherish these peaceful moments, no matter who was witness to them and that contentedness showed on his face as he closed those so blue eyes.

 

 

 

Kiyoshi watched the pair, watched how they were with each other and how protective Kouga was of Shippou. It made him miss Tomoe, but he had to be here now and he would see his daughter soon. He knew something was going to happen soon, and he knew he needed to be here when it happened. Apparently he was the only one in this group that knew Kagome needed protected more now than ever, and he gave a cat snort as he thought about it. Even Kagome didn't seem to know, and he found that hard to believe but he would not be the one to tell the rest of them. Let them figure out what he already knew, and he would make sure that no matter what he would carry out his wife's last wish, fueled by a vision of the future she had.

 

 

 

Somehow, it all tied together. What they didn't know was that soon more than one destiny would clash and it would remain to be seen when the dust cleared which was stronger.

 

 

 

:Elsewhere:

 

 

 

It amazed Sango how easy it was to track the demon InuYasha. He had made no secret of his path up till now, though she had been a little confused that the places her village of taijiya had traded with and were close enough to have been in the path of the destructive group gathered around him had not heard of him at all. Some of the things said about him made no sense either, but she could not afford to think of that now. Somewhere up ahead lay her quarry, the demon responsible for the death of her entire village while her father was away being slaughtered.

 

 

 

Somewhere up ahead lay her revenge, revenge for what had happened to the innocents at the village and for her family, because she could not bear to hunt down Kohaku. Even though Lord Kagewaki said he was dead, something in her heart told her that it was not yet over, this personal tragedy of hers. Only the blood of InuYasha could wash this pain from her, could avenge all those innocent deaths.

 

 

 

“You will die, InuYasha. And then I will be free.”

 

 

 

AN: Been having a bit of computer trouble so it might be a bit before the next update, so I thought I would get this chapter posted early. Hope you all enjoyed it!