InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love, Interrupted ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Ryouya paced the forest clearing nervously. He had never been the strong one of the family ... in fact, quite the opposite. He hated his life and was determined that he would change his fate. His mother was still the sister of Sesshoumaru's mother and the daughter of a proud clan of demon dogs. Just because the great Inu No Taisho chose her over his mother didn't make it right that his grandfather then chose to ignore his mother. If his grandfather hadn't ignored the young inu princess she may not have fallen for the rogue inu prince of the Southern Lands. Sure his father was a rogue and not in line to inheirit much, but his father was dashing, brave and sincere. And, at least, his whole family was full-blooded demon! The great, legendary Inu No Taisho destroyed himself by falling for a mere mortal woman and producing a disgusting half-breed! And this same half-breed had destroyed, in his mind's eye, the powerful Sesshoumaru, by hacking off his left arm!
Ryouya's brothers and sisters accepted their lot in life as the sons and daughters of a "low-count" demon dog - the youngest brother of the great Southern Land Prince, Lord Tsukikimo. Once the heir is born, any other sons are destined to a life of priviledge without power, unless the eldest son fails to defeat his father. Should the eldest die, then the next one can attack and take over the pack. His father, being 18th in line, never stood a chance at going up against his father and ruling the pack and the Southern Lands.
But, the Western Lands were up for grabs. No inu youkai ruled in the West since the death of the dog general. Sesshoumaru, having been unable to challenge and defeat his father, was now destined to fight and build his empire from scratch, in hopes of becoming supreme ruler of those lands. This included facing challenges from rogue inu youkai. Ryouya knew that Sesshoumaru had no mate since he had no land to offer her. Ryouya had an intended, a young inu youkai princess from another, small, "low-count" clan. Both of them desired power to escape from their pitiful lives. He would rule the Western Lands, set up his palace for his bride to produce high-ranking sons, and then set up the conquest of the other lands of Japan!
Sesshoumaru would be enough of a challenge for him, but, right now he needed to concentrate on those do-gooding troublemakers.
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Sango and Miroku sat in a meadow of wildflowers in bliss. Holding onto each other, they enjoyed the tranquility of it all. The light breeze, the signing birds, and warm sun made for the perfect atmosphere. All seemed idyllic, until,
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" screamed Sango, in pain, as she slumped forward.
Miroku jumped in surprise as to what would cause Sango to scream so. As he took in the sight, his blood raced. Sticking out of Sango's back was an arrow! Miroku searched the surrounding area to see who had fired it, but saw no one. Panicked, he scooped up his intended and raced back to Kaede's village, screaming,
"LADY KAEDE! LADY KAEDE! HELP!"
The elderly priestess exited her hut, followed by the young kitsune. Seeing the tajiya laying limp in the monk's arms, Shippou screamed in fear as Kaede attempted to assess the situation,
"Bring her in, Lord Monk. What happened here?"
"I ... I .. don't know, Lady Kaede. We were sitting at the edge of the meadow when suddenly she screamed and fell over. Someone shot her with an arrow!" he cried frantically.
Kaede looked at the arrow before speaking,
"Shippou, where is Kagome?"
"I left her with Inuyasha by the lake, why?"
"Go find her, please. Miroku, please fetch me some water while I prepare some herbs. Rush now."
The two did as instructed as the miko laid the demon slayer on her stomach. She did not like the look of that arrow.
Miroku returned with a bucket of water. Kaede added it to the heb mixture she had prepared. Applying it around the wound, Kaede applied pressure to free the arrow from Sango's body. Removing the arrow, Kaede placed it on the ground as she rubbed the herb mixture into the wound,
"That will do for now." she said, then picking up the arrow, "I do not like the looks of this." she spoke.
"Lady Kaede, what is it?" asked a worried Miroku.
"This ... this is a demon's arrow though I know not which type of demon. And I am afraid the arrow's tip has been covered in poison." she spoke softly.
"Poison? Will ... will she live, Lady Kaede?" asked Miroku, just as quietly.
"That I do not know. She is a strong girl, but while I can recognize that it is poison from the smell, I do not recognize what kind of poison it is. And because of that, I do not know with what herbs I should treat it with, if I even have an herb in my garden that can treat it."
Miroku looked sadly at Sango as his mind raced. Jineji, the herb garden half-demon horse, would probably have an antidote, but the distance was great, and he did not feel right leaving Sango alone when she needed him the most. Inuyasha and Kagome would be the better choices to visit Jineji, using Kirara to get there.
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Inuyasha and Kagome quietly walked through a cleared, wooded path. Kagome and slipped her hand inside of Inuyasha's, who seemed surprised at first, but quickly closed his hand around hers. His tried to clear his mind, willing his body to stop acting so strangely, with no success. At least it seemed that Kagome hadn't noticed his dirty needs.
Coming to a clearing in the woods, they looked over a beautiful field of peonies in full bloom. Inuyasha smiled to himself at the sight, knowing Kagome's reaction. Sure enough, she "ooooooooooh" at the sight. The two stood their silently for a moment. Kagome's mind raced,
'Now this is atmosphere!' she thought.
Kagome turned to face Inuyasha, who looked at her somewhat surprised. Taking a quick chance, Kagome stood on her tiptoes and leaned in, lightly pressing her lips against his in a chaste, butterfly kiss. Inuyasha just stared,
"Why ... why did you do that?" he gulped out.
She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I dunno." as she leaned in again,
'GO GIRL!' she thought, as her lips touched Inuyasha's again, but this time she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips into him harder. She quietly thanked the Kami when Inuyasha actually started kissing her back. Then,
"NO! NO Kagome! Don't do this!" he said, his voice barely a whisper as he pushed her away from him violently and she fell to the ground on her buttocks. His eyes met hers and he saw the look of hurt register in them. His body ached terribly and his member felt like it would explode. His demon blood boiled to the surface and he could feel his demon begin to take charge,
"I'm sorry, Kagome!" he said, as he turned and ran as fast as his legs would take him. He would not disgrace Kagome!
Kagome stared at the spot where Inuyasha had been just a moment before. Tears welled up in her eyes,
"He doesn't want me! He doesn't desire me!" she sobbed into her hands.
A young voice broke through her tears,
"Kagome! Inuyasha! Where are you?" she heard,
"Shippou!" she yelled through her tears, watching the pink bubble appear before her, then transform into the kitsune cub,
"Kagome! What's wrong? Where's Inuyasha?" he asked.
"It's nothing Shippou, really. And Inuyasha ran off that way. What's wrong?"
"Kaede needs your help. Sango's been struck by an arrow!"