InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love and Vengence ❯ More People ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
DISCALIMER: Inuyasha does not belong to us, and never will, sadly. :(
Guys P.O.V
“Holy hell,” Inuyasha groaned, lifting himself up, off from the fallen tree. Blood was running down his face, and he lifted his hand to the back of his head, to feel the wet stickiness of what he knew all too well. He put his hand in font of his face, his eyes narrowing at the blood. He had bled so easy, why?
The girls had ran away quickly after the incident, and left all three men to groan over their soar bodies. “Inuyasha, you're an idiot! You're a stupid idiot!” Kouga hissed, moving his hand to touch his backside. He too had hit the tree hard. The only one who had gone unharmed was Bankotsu, who carried Banryuu on his back, preventing the pain that the rest were feeling. “Stupid! Who falls from a rock?”
Inuyasha visibly grit his teeth and walked up to Kouga his face only inches a part from the wolf-demon. “I wasn't paying attention, okay?” He shoved Kouga, and he turned on his heels, his arms crossing. “If that damn cat demon hadn't of thrown that rock, maybe we would have gotten that shard.” Kouga looked at him briefly, but averted his eyes to where the girls had been. His eyes drawn to the spot where the raven-haired girl had been; her dog ears were prominent, obviously not human.
“We underestimated them. We weren't paying close enough attention; their features were simply too close to that of a human.”
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, “Obviously, otherwise we wouldn't be in this mess. Stupid cat-demon.” He muttered.
“Wait just one second!” Kouga barked, his eyes once again returning to Inuyasha. “If you realized what they were, why didn't you alert the rest of us?” Kouga punched Inuyasha in the arm. Inuyasha then promptly grabbed his shoulder, glaring at Kouga.
“Well excuse me! You have a nose too, ya stupid wolf.” Inuyasha shot back.
Kouga averted his eyes, this time almost in embarrassment. “W-well...I was too busy focusing on the shard!” He offered, but his argument was weak. Inuyasha scoffed, and looked at Bankotsu who was taking his Banryuu off his back, and looked at it.
“We really shouldn't be arguing. The best way to catch them off guard is to quickly make our way back to their camp. But, before we leave, how about we clarify what type of species they were in our society? Obviously the girl that hit Inuyasha was a cat-demon.”
“Half-cat demon,” Inuyasha corrected.
Bankotsu shot him a look, “Whatever. What were the other two?”
Inuyasha stood there for a moment and he pointed to where Kouga had been looking before. “The girl—ya know the one— with the dog ears? She was Half-dog demon. I'm not sure about the other girl, she smelled like human, but obviously she wasn't.” Inuyasha touched the back of his head. The bleeding had stopped, but the soreness was still there.
“Maybe she was a priestess?” Kouga offered.
Inuyasha looked up quickly. His thoughts rushing back to a certain woman. A woman of long ago; his eyes glazed over. He visualized this specific woman, with long, black, flowing hair. She had sharp eyes and was the speaker of the angels—for him anyway. Inuyasha quickly shook his head, “No...Not a priestess.” He mumbled to himself. He took off quickly, not wanting anything to do other than hurry and get the shard. It was the most important thing right now. He needed it. Bankotsu and Kouga looked at one another, exchanged glances, and followed him. They both knew about Inuyasha, and the woman who had been a priestess, but he never mentioned the type of relationship they had; only that she was very beautiful, very mature, and had died many years ago.
Girls P.O.V
Anessa was nearly in tears as she was running. She obviously never had this type of attention, nor intrusion before. “Those sick guys, they were so...disgusting!” She cried out, her legs never stopping her relentless run, until Hope grabbed her.
“It's good, Anessa. We're good. But, if we keep running around in just a towel, I don't doubt that we'll draw more attention, or possibly run into those guys again.”
Eden nodded her head, “I don't doubt they wanted something. It's beyond me what exactly it was, but it was most certainly something. But yes, Anessa, I do agree, those guys were such perverts.” The girls continued to bad mouth the men as far as they could while they redressed. All of them hung tightly to their weapons, Anessa gripping hold of her amulet. It tingled at her fingertips. Eden ran her fingertips over the blades on her fan until she could feel the slight paper-cut it caused over her fingertip. Hope had Heruken out of its sheath. It dragged slightly on the floor causing a line in the dirt. To show off her skills, she would sometimes spin it around in circles in her hand. The other two girls would slink away from her; afraid it would slip out of her hand and hit them.
For the most part, it was quiet. There were no odd movements that made the girls uneasy. They paid much more close attention then they had been for awhile, but there was nothing suspicious besides the feeling of being watched from every direction. But that feeling had always been there. Demons had always been drawn to them, even before they met one another. When they finally arrived in camp, they all froze. They sucked in a breath and held it. Hope made the first move and approached the fire.
“The bastards came into our camp,” she whispered turning abruptly towards the other two. There was something in her eyes that wanted to make the girls shrink back in fear, but they stood still waiting for her. “I'll kill them, I swear it.” She muttered and kicked the bucket of water into the fire. It sizzled out with a hiss. The flames of the fire were killing themselves by licking the remains of the wet wood. Eden gritted her teeth about to rush forward, but Anessa caught her arm. Eden looked at Anessa who was shaking her head, as if telling her to let it go. Eden's muscles flexed and then relaxed; a sign that she was, indeed, letting it go. “They're probably gone.” Hope said, her eyes finally softening.
“I think so too.” Anessa agreed, but still stepped out cautiously into the camp. Anessa bent down by the fire and picked the bucket up from the ashes of wood. “I doubt they'd still be here.”
Eden shook her head, “I don't think so. It doesn't seem right. Those guys honestly didn't look like the type to spy on girls. I think they wanted something.”
Hope rolled her eyes, “What do we have that they could want? If they wanted something other then their sick pleasure then to watch us bathe, wouldn't they have came after us? They must have stumbled on this place first, and then came to look for us.”
“That's true but...” Eden turned around quickly, every one of the girls stood up as a yell ripped through the silence.
“WIND SCAR!” A sudden light appeared, and the all three girls dodged.
Hope turned on her heels facing where the attack had come, her sword up in front, her knees bent, ready to attack. “What the hell?” She questioned.
A wicked laugh came from the man with the pony tail. “Scare ya, did we?” He smiled smugly.
“Now, give us the Jewel Shard and there won't be any need for blood.” The man with his silver hair came out. He had his sword on his shoulder. Anessa stared at him. Her eyes searched for the smaller sword that had been in its sheath earlier when she had seen him out from the bush, but the only thing left was an empty sheath.
That couldn't be the sword, could it? She asked herself.
“What are you talking about?” Eden asked, placing her hands behind her back ready to pull out her fans at any moment.
The braided hair man stuck his larger sword into the ground. “Don't act stupid.” He said indignantly, “We all saw that girl holding it. Showing it to you guys, as if it were some kind of toy.” He jutted out his chin in the direction of Anessa.
“A toy is right!” The wolf demon yelled, “So how's you give it to some people who actually know the worth of that thing, aye?” He grinned stepping closer in the direction of Anessa.
“How about you stop where you are?” Eden pulled out her fans, holding them out in front of her. She could see his eyes widen, but she thought only because it was in fear. She smiled smugly.
The half-dog demon lifted his sword up in the air and slammed into the ground, simultaneously calling out his Wind Scar. It was aimed directly at Anessa who jumped away easily, but away from both Hope and Eden.
“Anessa!” Hope called out in horror as the silver-haired man slid his sword back into the sheath that Anessa had thought it to be too small, and ran towards her. He grabbed her arm, and twisted it around to her back. She screamed in pain and turned her head to look at him sharply.
She struggled, “Let me go!” She tugged and pulled, but the steel grip on her wrist was relentless, and only tightened at her fruitless attempts.
“I will,” the half-demon whispered into her ear, “but only if you give us what we want.” He twisted harder, and she pulled forward, her legs shaking as they threatened to give out.
Hope ran forward, ready to attack, but the braided hair man swung his sword, at her, and it hit her stomach on the flat side of it. She flew back, flipping, and landing on her knees. She held her stomach, shaking only slightly. “Damn you.” She winced at the pain.
Eden watched Hope closely, but did not attempt to help her up. “You alright?” She asked, her eyes staring to the death with the wolf demon in front of her.
“Yeah,” Hope gasped, and smiled slightly, “Why wouldn't I be?” Eden nodded.
Anessa had watched all this with distant eyes, feeling helpless again. “I'll give it to you, if you let go of my arm.” She finally spoke towards the amber-eyed half-breed behind her.
“Hah!” He laughed, “Good decision.” He let go of her arm, and she fell forward. She sat crouched on the floor for the longest while.
“Thanks.” She tilted her head to the side, and placed her hand out, her magic stirring up in the palm of her hand. Yet, she saw the half-demon back up. Her only thought was how could that help him now? She saw him throw up his sword again just like before as her power shot out from her hand, but the same words never left his mouth.
“BACKLASH WAVE!” Anessa was horror-stricken when she was hit back tenfold. She felt the deep gashes of this `wave' hit her, and she slid upon the floor. The dirt stung the deep gashes on her arms and legs.
Am I alive? Am I alive? She could feel the threat of her tears as they emerged to slip down her cheeks, but she held them back. She wanted to hold strong. Behind her, she could hear the screams of her fellow friends, and she turned on her side to see that Hell had indeed broken loose.
Hope ran past Anessa in her blind furry and struck the half-demon hard. Their swords clanging together in strikingly loud brushes of metal slid against one another. Eden was beside Anessa in moments after Hope had run after the dog. “C'mon.” Eden whispered as she helped her up off the floor. The wounds were amazingly not as bad as she thought. There was a pulsating on her chest, and she felt the surge of energy coming from her necklace. “Oh!” Anessa heard Eden gasp. Eden had watched the gashes close by themselves, healing them almost instantly. “How did you...?”
Eden's sentence was cut short when she was thrown back by the hit of the wolf-demon's legs. Anessa turned around ready to help her, but saw that Eden was telling her to get the other one.
“I'll kill you for killing my comrades!” The wolf-demon snarled, as he spun around and kicked Eden on the side of the stomach.
Eden fell on her side, gasping and grappling for her lost fan. “I don't know what you're talking about!” Grabbing hold of her only fan she swung at him, but he backed off quickly. He's fast. Eden thought, standing up grabbing the second one of her fans.
“You liar!” The wolf demon yelled, his battle cry, and he rushed forward. “You killed them all!” He yelled again. Eden had no idea what he was talking about. Only that she was dodging, and could get take a single attack in. He was far too fast for her.
Anessa stood in front of the man with the largest sword, her eyes watching him carefully as he took hold of his large sword. “I think that's a little unfair.” She smiled playfully.
He shrugged, “Everything's fair when you're fighting for something you want.” He swung at her, but Anessa was able to flip into the air and land on the top side of his sword and jump behind him, and then she promptly held out her hand letting fly more magic. He placed his sword in front of him, the magic pushing him back several feet.
“Why are you fighting us? Why is that stone so important to all of you?” Anessa called towards him.
He swung. “Because, that's the only thing we have that can defeat the demon we've journeyed this far for.” Anessa dodged. He grunted. “We can't defeat him without it.”
“Is he really that strong?” She stopped, standing in front of him.
The man stared at her, “Yes, he is.” He dropped his sword to his side.
Hope and the half-demon were fighting viciously with each other, both mocking the other's pride as well as their fighting styles. From the corner of Hope's eye, she could see Anessa approaching her. This distraction caused the sword to fly out of her hand and the half-demon to have his sword come down on her.
“Stop!” Anessa screamed, her hand being held out. Hope, whom had closed her eyes after seeing the sword coming on her, opened her eyes slowly. The half-demon stopped only inches from her head. Hope scrambled away by Anessa's side.
“Why did you stop us?” Hope asked, reaching down for her Heruken.
She sighed, “What we're fighting over is stupid.” She turned to see that the man she had been fighting had taken hold of his wolf demon friend. Eden look tired out. Anessa turned to look back at the half-breed standing in his same stance, and she let the source of her magic go, allowing him to fall forward. “I will not forgive you!” Anessa hissed towards the half-demon and took Hope by her arm and pulled her over towards the rest of the two men and Eden.
“What's going on?” Eden asked, placing her fans away cautiously.
“We're going to stop fighting.” Hope said, almost stunned.
Eden threw a disgusted look at all the guys, “We're stopping? After all that they did, we're stopping?”
“That's what I'm thinking here.” Hope shrugged.
Anessa cleared her voice, “The reason this fighting started was because I threw the first blow. I was clinging on to this rock,” she pulled it out from the pouch at her side, “because I liked it. This rock, or stone, or whatever it is, is important to them. If they need it, I'm not going to keep it for my own selfish needs.” The half-demon finally had made his way over here, and he was glaring at Anessa the entire time.
“What do you need the piece of the Shikon no Tama for?” Eden asked. She saw the stares of the other two girls.
“So you know about it?” The man with the braided hair asked.
She nodded her head, “I do. I've heard rumors about it, anyway. I always thought that the entire thing with the priestess and the Shikon no Tama was fake. I never thought that it was real, but after Anessa had shown me, I kind of had an idea of what it was. You just confirmed. I heard about a group of people who was searching for it in order to defeat the demon Naraku. I would have never expected it to be you guys.”
“Naraku?” Anessa questioned. She noticed that the name had caused Hope to tense. “Is he the one both of you were searching for.”
“I was. I didn't know the cat was too.” Hope had clenched her jaw tightly.
The amber-eyed half-demon looked at Anessa, “Who were you searching for.”
Anessa turned her accusing eyes on him. “CobraExist. He returns in six months. I'm traveling to find the source of where he will return. I've gotten stronger. I'm sure I can defeat him for good instead of banishing him for a couple of years.” Anessa's hands were clutched by her side. Her eyes were burning with determination. “I know I can kill him, I know I can.” She nodded her head, as she mumbled the words to herself.
“Nonetheless, we obviously have the same intent.” The braided hair man spoke.
Kouga was standing there quietly, and for the first time, he spoke, drawing the eyes of everyone in his direction. “Can we have the shard and leave? I can't stand to be here anymore.” His voice was soft, but his eyes said different as he shot a look at Eden.
“What the hell's your problem?” Hope snapped. “After all the pain you've caused us, you think we're just going to hand the shard over towards you? Humph, I don't think so buddy.”
Eden nodded, “She's right. All of you have caused us a lot of grief. You never stated your reason until the end, when everyone had gotten hurt in some way or another. This is all your guys' fault.” There was a brief silence amongst everyone. The men had stopped, obviously re-thinking what they had done. Though, they were half-hearted about the idea. None of the men wanted to repay these girls in any way. They didn't want anything to do with them. They just wanted to take their leave. Especially Kouga, who had memories flooding in, and he wanted to escape them. Hope had been watching this wolf-demon carefully. To her, he looked unstable, as to why, she had no idea. But she was sure he might break any second. She was on edge, as were the rest of them.
“How do we repay you?” The amber-eyed half-demon spoke at last. “I hate owing people, it just holds me—us back.”
Anessa turned away from them, a light smile playing on her lips. “I know a...certain way to...repay us. I mean, that is, if you do want this?” She held the shard they were searching for, as if tantalizing the men with it. She felt all their muscles tense, but she continued. She threw it up in the air, catching it, and sticking it in her pouch. “If you want the jewel, all you have to do is travel with the rest of us.” Hope and Eden exchanged looks.
“No.” All of them said together, the exception being Anessa.
“C'mon!” Anessa cried, “We have nothing else to lose. You all are looking for the same guy, and I wouldn't mind knocking him off this earth either if it meant he was that bad of a person that he's grown so many enemies. The more the better, I say! If we stick together, I'm pretty sure that we can most likely defeat this guy Naraku.”
The amber-eyed dog watched Anessa, “What's in it for you?”
Anessa looked down briefly, a ghost of a smiling lasting on her lips, “Friendship.” She turned to face everyone again. “I know it sounds corny,” She laughed, “But I miss traveling with people. It gets pretty lonely by yourself after so long. You guys were lucky to have each other for awhile now. Hope, Eden, and I were alone for so long. Although they don't agree with each other, and sometimes we all fight, I think our strongest point is having one another to lean on.”
“You know, Anessa is right.” Eden agreed. “I hate to admit it, but I like it better when I have people. Beyond the bickering, I know I'm not alone. Although I hate each and every one of you guys, I can't say no to the facts that are there. Most of us are looking for the same man. I think you need us.” Hope stared at them, and crossed her arms. She obviously wasn't going to say anything. But there was a mutual line that was beginning to form between these girls, and they could all see the acceptance that came with traveling with these men.
“I'm in.” the braided man shrugged. “It's useless. We're not going to be able to go on if we don't get the shard. There's no use in trying to pull away now. I'm Bankotsu.”
“I'm in too.” The half-demon sighed. “The name's Inuyasha.” The last one was the wolf-demon who said nothing. “That's Kouga. He's in too.” Inuyasha glared, but Kouga still made no motion towards the prior agreement. He was still very emotionless.
“Well then,” Anessa smiled, “I guess that means this is yours.” She slipped out the shard and threw it into the air. Inuyasha caught it in his hand and pulled out a half filled part of the Shikon no Tama.
“Okay then, its settled. We should get to bed.” Eden said passing by the boys and bending down to fix the fire circle that had once had its perfect shape. As she did this, everyone began to fix up the camp. There was still a line that was visibly there. One that the group of men did not cross to go talk to the girls, nor vice versa. It was an awkward start, to a very strange presentation of meetings.