InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ New Moon Fever ❯ The Hunt ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer - No, no, I do not own IY.

A/N- Wow! Thanks everyone for your encouraging reviews! They make me blush ^o^

They make me work harder, too. If you see any inconsistency in the characters, or there is something you'd like to comment on, I'm open to your viewpoints (of course, mindless flames won't make me change anything……). For right now, it's taking a while for some of my reviews to actually show up on mediaminer, but I'm definitely waiting to read them. Enjoy this chapter, and keep the comments coming!

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Last time: The group ponders ways in which to keep Inuyasha out of trouble during the new moon. Just as they think they hit a break with Kagome faking illness, Inuyasha comes barging in, and Kagome senses a shard traveling rapidly in their direction.

Now……

Inuyasha was in front of Kagome in a flash. His fingers flexed again, his knuckles popping soundly in their trademark manner. A dark look flew across Inuyasha's face, and a hint of glee glinted in his golden eyes. "Heh! I've needed this all day!" Baring his fangs once again, he glanced at the monk and the demon exterminator, nodding at them to rise and join him on the hunt.

The two fighters did join him, but not in the way he had expected. The dog demon had not been prepared for the monk's staff to connect solidly to the top of his head. A short whine and long growl followed the hit, as Inuyasha clutched his skull where a bump had popped up. "SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR, BOUZU? THERE'S A SHARD OUT THERE!" This exclamation was followed by a string of muttered curses.

Putting the hanyou in his place again, with his slow and patient drawl, Miroku towered over the slumped figure of the half-demon. "You're not going anywhere, Inuyasha. We can't risk you being injured at all. Who knows how long it will take to subdue this unknown carrier of the shard. You wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of a fight in your human form, would you?" The only reply he got was a clipped growl that hissed from between Inuyasha's clenched jaws.

Miroku made a quick motion towards Sango, and she immediately hefted her bone boomerang across her shoulder, and positioned herself atop Kirara's back. Kagome quickly settled herself behind Sango, gripping with one hand the thick fur of the two-tailed demon, and she secured Shippo next to her body with the other.

And before Inuyasha could make another move, the ringed staff was sent down in another rampage upon Inuyasha's forehead. "Stay there, Inuyasha! Don't follow us. There's no use, so don't be an imbecile." The demon's face twisted in a sour growl. He made to spit out an insult to the houshi, but Miroku had a ready retort. "And we're not telling you what direction the shard is in."

Inuyasha could feel the humorless laughter bubbling up in his throat, as his eyes shined deviously once more. "KEH! Direction?! Complete idiot! I'll just follow you, asshole!" he snarled.

Miroku smiled again, but this time, his lips were forced into somewhat of a grim line. Sighing, he turned to the cat. "Kirara…." The fiery demon was apt to oblige, and rose nimbly into the air. Inuyasha pushed himself up on his haunches, his muscles tensed for a sprint.

"….Kagome….."

Before Inuyasha could even react to the strange quietness in the clearing, a sharp "Osuwari!" rose above the treetops.

"OOMPF!" The figure in red plummeted to the dirt, his face slamming unceremoniously into the ground, while a strain of purple light showed the effect of the prayer beads.

"Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwair! OSUWARIIIIIIIII!"

The three had been moderately quiet since they had left Inuyasha, only conversing about the direction of the shard.

Kagome had pointed out to the west, and Kirara sped in the direction of a high-cliffed mountain, miles off. Her paws cut easily through the clouds, the flames whipping and swaying in the wind.

The fresh wind rushed steadily through Kagome's dark hair, causing it to flutter and whip around her face, and making it hard to see the scenery below. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry that she had to subdue Inuyasha in such a manner, but memories of him trying to kill her, calling her a bitch, and kissing Kikyo flooded into her mind as if they were water into an open channel……maybe she got a little satisfaction from it.

"..Kagome-sama…?" Kagome was startled from her thoughts by Miroku's clear voice. She focused her eyes to the kind monk's face, which was poised in a question. "Is the shard closer? Is it moving fast?"

Within a second, Kagome had channeled that beating, pulsing feeling within her veins that signaled the proximity of a shard of the Jewel of Four Souls. "It…..it's stopped moving. It's at the base of the cliff over there."

Miroku nodded, and Kirara increased her speed. As the monk turned to face the direction of their travel, Kagome noticed how he sat with his legs nearly hugging Sango's, and his arms practically wrapping around her waist as he clung to his staff. She was very glad for Sango that, in times of hunting shards, the houshi seemed to temporarily set aside his lust for a woman's body.

Kagome couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly to herself, as Miroku's hand slid beneath the line of Sango's waist. Temporarily…….

Inuyasha dug his fingers deep into the wet ground, cursing at the sickening feeling of the soft-packed dirt that lodged itself under his claws, matted against his silver locks, and clung to his cheeks. It took minutes for the stiffness of Kagome's `attack' to wear off, and still he felt broken. His limbs and head ached from being slammed over and over into a piece of earth that would not budge to soften the blow. He crankily dug out a chip of rock that had stuck itself in his skin, and stood up slowly and painfully.

That Kagome would pay! The nerve! He could handle himself on his own, and it wasn't any of their business whether he got hurt or not! A small nagging doubt crept into his mind, whispering that maybe his friends had done this for his own good…..

He growled that thought away, and finished struggling to his feet.

…But….which direction had they gone? Unfortunately, his face had been buried in the ground when the cat demon had sped off, and he had not watched them leave. He sniffed the air ferociously. The ground all around him was littered with their scents, and the ever-changing wind was making his task a little challenging. It didn't help that his powers had faded ever-so-slightly, and his nose was not up to it's usual abilities.

Luckily catching a whiff of the four scents trailing off to the west, Inuyasha bounded towards the forest, and his feet worked against the soil, his toes seemed not even to graze the ground. The sun glared high above him with the rays of early afternoon, and a smirk flitted across his mouth in a wave. He would prove them wrong. Tonight Kagome would be safe, he would not be touched by injury, and they would have another shard in their possession.

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Whew. That one was fun to write. OK, I KNOW…still kind of short….but I felt that it was the right place to end it, especially considering what's coming up next ^_^

Oooh…I promise you, the next chapter is being written RIGHT NOW! Don't fret. I'll post it as soon as humanly possible. Or….demonly possible. :p

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