InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost World ❯ Chapter Nineteen ( Chapter 19 )

Lost World

 

By: OtakuSailorV

 

Chapter Nineteen - Magic

 

She stared at the patch of earth where Jiro had been seated only moment before, her thoughts frozen in place. Presently, she came back to herself and a touch of frustration rippled through her. It wasn't like her to become angry though, and she disliked herself when she did, but she couldn't help but be annoyed like any of human being at times.

 

Jiro always seemed to run off and appear again at the most random of times. Then again, he was just an animal, and she couldn't blame him for not wanting to be around her all the time. She smiled sadly to herself at this thought and shrugged her shoulders with a sigh.

 

The dragon, still nursing his bruised pride and rubbing his muzzle, stared at her in curious wariness. Her sudden change in breathing patterns had startled the reptile, for it had sounded like a hiss of challenge to his ears, but her posture gave no hint of any sort of hostility. The two heads glanced about in either direction uncertainly, unable to sense any sort of disturbance that might have provoked the girl to utter a challenge but remain unguarded. They found nothing, nor did the dragon sense that she planned to advance on him.

 

Cautiously, he nosed forward, sniffing at her as he glanced up and around with his other head.

 

Rin turned, scuffing the dirt as she dragged her feet wearily. Startled, the dragon backed away, keeping both heads low to the ground, grumbling deep in his throat as he kicked up a cloud of dirt and grass in Rin's direction. Similarly startled, Rin started back, eyes wide in shock. Despite her earlier loss of composure, the fight had gone out of her completely now.

 

For a moment the two of them stared at each other, watching to see what the other would do next. Slowly, Rin lowered her arms, which she'd crossed over herself defensively when the dragon had startled her. Sighing again, she turned away from the dragon and walked off, looking around herself carefully in case she should find some sign that Jiro had passed by.

 

* * *

 

“Why are you following me?” Rin mumbled, glancing over her shoulder at the two-headed dragon quizzically. It had not even been twenty minutes since she'd started walking again, and the dragon had plodded along behind her at a safe distance the entire time.

 

Rin was confounded, not sure if she should be frightened by the vicious-looking beast or frustrated that it was following her around after she'd given its snout a good boxing earlier. In truth, she was inwardly elated that she had a companion and was eager to pet and cuddle the mythical beast. What an unheard of circumstance- she'd have to be crazy not to take advantage of being able to study such a creature. Frowning, she chastised herself for not having her sketchbook with her once again.

 

“I mean, it's ok that you're following me, I just don't understand why,” Rin said, knowing that the dragon probably didn't understand and was not likely to respond.

 

Rin paused, her attention caught by a curious thing that she'd barely seen out of the corner of her eye. She turned slightly, surprised by a sign that appeared to be attached to a mossy vine that was stretched between two trees a good twenty-five yards apart. In sharp, complex letters, the sign read something that she couldn't make out from her stand point. The words appeared to be English, but she couldn't be sure since many western cultures used the English alphabet. Drawing closer, she squinted her eyes in concentration, trying to recall her lessons on pronunciation and understanding the word.

 

“M-Ma…n…ti…core, Manticore.” Rin swelled, proud of herself for figuring out such a complicated word when she'd been away from school for so long. `And I've never even heard of this before either,' she praised inwardly.

 

Even as she praised herself, her spirits dwindled again. If she had no idea what the word was, then how was she supposed to know what the sign meant? Not about to give up though, she set about figuring it out, her mind working furiously as she read the word over and over again to herself.

 

“Manticore,” she mumbled, and an itchy sort of suspicion prodded at her teasingly from the back of her mind. Try as she might though, the thought would not come forward; teasing her all the more with subtle hints of familiarity as it mockingly evaded her mental grasp. What could it be? The word was clearly written in the English alphabet, so it had to be a word of western origin and despite nagging doubts, she was sure that the word was associated with Britain somehow, or that area thereabouts.

 

Looking back up, she saw that a strange bulk had situated itself among the foliage beyond the sign without even the slightest sound. She didn't recall the dark mass being there earlier, but the dragon seemed interested, for his rounded ears had perked forward and both heads snaked back and forth cautiously as they eyed the thing before them. So, she hadn't overlooked it, then?

 

It moved, a lumbering motion that in actuality made little noise at all, but caused one to imagine that they heard the yawning of wood and the creak and pop of old bones and joints as the creature rose.

 

A distinguishable head appeared, and the rest of the creature's body slowly followed. Rin's eyes widened her heart pounding with excitement and fright as she whispered a soft `oh' to herself. The taunting knowledge from the back of her mind leapt forward at that moment, realization flooding her as she recalled why the word had seemed so familiar.

 

Uncurling completely, the Manticore stood at last, turning towards Rin slowly.

 

It was an unsightly beast, with the withered face of an old man and a scraggly mane that could have been the face's hair. A well-muscled body, like that of a lion, made the head all the more gruesome in appearance. The mighty paws, as big around as Rin's head, were well-groomed and deadly. The knife-sharp black claws stood out brilliantly from the lush red fur on the beast's body. Most dangerous of all, though, was a thick, black scorpion's tail that curled up and was positioned to strike over the Manticore's back. The point of the deadly weapon was hooked and shone as if it had been newly polished.

 

Despite the ugliness of the Manticore's face, there seemed to be a dangerous sort of intelligence hidden behind its yellowed eyes. Sly, cunning, to approach the creature unprepared would be folly; all of this ran through her mind as she looked the monster over.

 

The two-headed dragon gave a whimpering growl and backed away, gnashing its fangs at the Manticore, which seemed not to notice in the slightest.

 

The Manticore came forward and for a moment Rin expected it to speak; but no, she thought to herself, despite the sly intelligence of this creature, she somehow already knew that it was incapable of speech. And even if it could speak, it would not speak to her.

 

Stopping just five feet short of her, the wretched face watched her as intently as she was watching it, though it showed no fascination or interest in what it saw. The old man's face was lined with age and almost seemed as if it were made of dust; a single touch would cause it to crumble, and when she thought of this, her mental image of the creature suddenly collapsed inward. For a moment the Manticore looked defenseless, like it were nothing but a frail old man, but she blinked and swept that notion away immediately. A trick conjured by the beast's magic, perhaps?

 

“You can't come past here,” Rin said softly, indicating the sign with the carved sign on it.

 

The creature made no show of having understood her, or even seemed conscience of her small movement. Despite this, Rin knew that her realization was not false; it all made sense now as she pieced it together.

 

The two trees with the vine stretched between them acted as a sort of barrier that the Manticore could not cross. As far as she could see, there were no other such obstructions, so the Manticore had freedom of movement in practically all directions.

 

Investigating further, Rin noticed that she was standing on an overgrown - but still noticeable - pathway. Or at least it appeared that way because the ground had been stomped flat and had all the familiarity of a hiker's trail in a forest. Perhaps it was even the trail used by creatures in the wood; she knew deer and other such animals had such habits of following the same paths.

 

Curious, she pondered this as her eyes followed the trail in either direction. Was this what Inutaishou had meant by `the stalls?'

 

The two-headed dragon snorted aggressively, shocking her out of her thoughts.

 

“Uh?” she mumbled, looking about.

 

The Manticore was retreating, seemingly disinterested, with a slow but steady gait that made it appear old and tired. The further away it went, the more brittle the vine that held the sign became. The beast had disappeared amongst the foliage by the time the vine had completely withered away and the carved sign became a budding sapling.

 

Although she was dismayed that the Manticore had left, Rin's attention was drawn away by the strange occurrence with the vine. She stared at the sapling in wonder, completely captivated by the whole proceeding. She knelt down carefully, her fingers twittering towards the plant slowly. Though she seemed fearful of harming it, there was an eager fascination in her eyes that begged to be quenched.

 

Stopping, she chewed on her bottom lip, her index finger only an inch away from the nearest leaf. Suppose the tree were dangerous to touch? Her curiosity was nearly brimming over though, not allowing her to deny it; besides, just a little touch couldn't hurt, could it?

 

Lightly, she tapped the leaf, and then waited expectantly, but nothing happened. Relieved, she traced along the thin branches delicately, afraid to touch the tree with any of her other fingers.

 

Twisting, twirling, the budding little branch reached up and wrapped about her forefinger as she stroked it. Startled, she held herself very still, staring at her finger in amazement.

 

It was so strange- everything in this world was just one puzzlement after another. Almost like Alice's Wonderland, there seemed to be little rhyme or reason to the things about her, but underneath was a complex and intricate system to which everything adhered. She fleetingly wondered if she could deny gravity and thus float in this world- but a gripping anxiety forced her to abandon that notion altogether. She liked the idea of flying - or free-floating as it would be - but being able to get back down might prove to be quite the predicament.

 

Carefully, she pulled her finger out of the tight hold that the plant had on her, breathless at the way that the sapling had flourished at her touch. She'd seen a plant that would close its leaves if they were brushed, but never had she even heard of a plant that grew when it was touched. Just the idea seemed illogical!

 

“Amazing,” Rin breathed, staring at the tree in fascination. She'd have to remember every detail of this moment, for she was determined to record it all now. Such a spectacular find!

 

Standing, she nodded to herself, still staring at the tree with glowing wonderment. Yes, she'd have to find her way back soon, before she forgot any of the details.

 

“Alright then, time to go,” Rin said to herself cheerily, turning about.

 

A light blue-black face stared back into hers with large eyes that seemed to contain no pupil at all. Rin cried out in surprise, jumping back. It was the white monkey from earlier.

 

“Oh, just you,” Rin breathed, her muscles stiff. `A lot of animals in this world have white fur, that's odd.' She thought to herself at the same time.

 

The world around her was black, the plants had faded away, even the two-headed dragon was gone; all that remained was Rin and the monkey.

 

“Ah?!” Rin gasped, clutching her arms to her chest as she pulled back uncertainly. Now what?

 

“You are very well guarded, girl,” a sultry voice seemed to come from every direction, a hint of annoyance in the tone.

 

Rin froze, knowing the voice all too well; but what was he doing here? Wasn't this area within the castle walls? She'd supposed that the forest was an illusion at first, but perhaps it wasn't. In the back of her mind, she screamed for help, her mental pleas crying out for Sesshoumaru, but she was too stubborn to do so. What obligation did he have to her anyway; what right did she have to call for his aid? Wasn't this her problem in the first place?

 

The white monkey cackled loudly and scampered off, disappearing into the darkness.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama cannot reach you in this place,” he seemed to be laughing at her as she quaked. “Are you frightened without him near?”

 

Silky fabric brushed against her and she jumped away, terrified of what would befall her if she should let herself be captured. What did this man want with her? For what purpose was he tormenting her so?

 

* * *

 

“A…friend of Rin's?” Kagome stared at the bespectacled girl, dumbfounded. “From school?”

 

Kagome could hardly believe what she was hearing; there was no way that this could be true. Rin had never mentioned any friends from school, had barely even talked of her school days at all. She knew that her sister had never been the social type either, and it seemed odd that a friend would appear out of the blue after Rin had disappeared.

 

The girl standing before her did not react or explain herself though, simply waiting patiently to be asked inside. Her quick black eyes found the red blossom that Kagome held suddenly and her brows stitched together. Reaching up, she quickly knocked the flower out of Kagome's hand, being careful not to touch it and ground it beneath her heel with a grumble of spite.

 

“You shouldn't have touched that, it's dangerous,” she advised Kagome, who was staring in shock at her opened hand.

 

“Hey you,” she began aggressively, starting forward. How dare this girl come to her house and then slap her hands and crush Rin's flower!

 

The girl shouldered past her, however, and walked on inside, seemingly unconcerned. She looked about carefully, studying the room as she took off her shoes and lowered her school bag.

 

Kagome was furious now and whirled around, stomping towards the intruder angrily. “What do you think you're doing, you-”

 

The stranger cut her short, holding up her hand for silence as she set her bag down and readjusted her glasses. “Excuse me,” she said in a monotone but with a polite attitude. “I am Takahashi Rumiko, I believe I can bring back Rin-chan.”

 

Kagome stared at her again, dumbstruck. `What? Bring her back?'

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Ah, sorry about the wait again everyone, school has been a monster and I was busy over Spring Break as well, but I was able to pull this out for you!

 

Rin meets again with Naraku, and Kagome is met by someone who claims they know how to get Rin back?! Woah! Haha, well, things should start to come together much more nicely by the next chapter and the big secret as to why Sesshoumaru keeps changing into Jiro at such random times will be explained! (I hope.) Some definite affection between the two should start to show as well soon too, which is what I know everyone had been waiting for. Sorry!!! It's so hard to create a relationship with Sesshoumaru, he just refuses to cooperate! (Hmph!)

 

Heh and yes, I named the strange girl “Rumiko” for a reason. I started thinking about the character herself and thought: `Hey, Rumiko-sensei should make an appearance, and that would be a perfect role for her as well.' And thus Rumi-chan was named, though I don't plan to base her personality on Rumiko-sensei's. (If I knew much about Rumiko-sensei's personality anyway….)

 

With that I must bid you adieu, much to do still and little time to do it in! See ya next chapter!

 

Review Please.