InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nightwalker ❯ Questions ( Chapter 16 )

There are two things I really want right now. One is for Kefka of Final Fantasy Six to DIE! The other is for you to enjoy this chapter since to I rushed to complete it.

 

Two hundred! ^_^ Yay, I feel loved! Sweet! I love you all! A million thanks! 100 more and it'll be 300! THIS IS SPAAARTAAAA! ^_^ I'm total geek, can't you tell? My favorite word is in this chapter! I love you Jade Curtis, master of all sarcasm!

 

I was listening to Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin while writing this one. Oh the corniness is so unbearable! Did I really write this? GAH!

 

Happy Valentines. I don't know why I would say that. I don't believe in Valentines, since I know where it really originated.

 

On another note, please enjoy this chapter. The wording, it made my brain bleed!

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, nor had the brilliance to come with him like that of Romiko Takahashi.

 

Narek=MINE!

 

Yep, it's official, after those last reviews, it seems that Claire is really popular. Or should I say the most popular Nightwalker in the story. I know there are some of you that like Rukiya, one that likes Lilliana (Which makes me so happy!), and a few that like Narek. I just don't know how much. Anyway, on with the show!

 

 

 

 

 

Part Sixteen: Questions

 

 

 

 

 

To Kagome's surprise, there was no contact from the five nightwalkers for another four days. Kagome, alone with Sango and Miroku, kept busy by sightseeing in the park and gathering information about what was happening in the world from the tourists that came and went. It didn't shock them to know that news of the “incident” in Tokyo had already spread.

 

Kagome was glad that she had learned English as a second language back home. Of course it would be better if she could lighten her accent a little bit. She sometimes wondered if people in the family were multilingual since they had to travel so much.

 

On the morning of the fifth day, Kagome, Sango and Miroku were relieved to see Claire, Bill, Christiano, Albier and Lilliana return unscathed, along with another nightwalker that made Kagome's heart skip a beat on sight. Of course she didn't get a chance to talk to Inuyasha. He had just walked passed her that morning without a word, his face forlorn, and went straight to bed. Oddly enough, he wasn't the only one who had acted strangely. Lilliana hadn't given Kagome her customary glare. She seemed as though her thoughts were elsewhere.

 

When the sun went down that evening, the rest of the family appeared. It was quite a relief to see that no one was injured in any way, but Kagome couldn't help feeling anxious. Part of it was because she was dreading when Inuyasha would have to bite her again. Another reason for her insecurity was the fact that she still seemed upset about leaving her home behind. The last thing that plagued her was wondering about what happened now. For the time being they were safe, and there shouldn't be too many battles for a while, but eventually, she had no doubt, enemies would appear again. Luckily for Kagome, she didn't have to wait long to get answers. When she had awakened after midnight the day after the entire family reunited, she heard voices from one of the larger rooms she had passed by. From the hall, she leaned next to the door to listen.

 

“He's close.” Came Natalia's voice.

 

“What super mega bummer and just when we think we are safe.” Claire huffed.

 

“Are you sure that you got the information right? He could have been tricked to think that way?” Lilliana asked.

 

“I'm afraid not. When I looked into his mind, I knew that his knowledge was true. The nightwalker king is close by and he's not alone. Luckily, according to what I could see in the enemy nightwalker's mind, it doesn't seem that Narek is near.” Rukiya answered.

 

“I wonder why the nightwalker king's favorite isn't around.” Christiano sounded smug.

 

“It seems as though our traitor has been sent to carry out a certain task.” Rukiya huffed.

 

“What about Fenrir and Hakudoshi?” Said Bill's voice.

 

“No news about their whereabouts. Right now they are the least of our worries. The ten of us alone won't be able to go against the king's army of nightwalkers. We would need allies. Am I right to assume that's why you led us here?” Kagura asked.

 

“Yes.” Sesshoumaru answered. “That was part of the reason. I am sending Rukiya, Natalia and Claire to do some investigation and continue the search for the bloodstone. For the time being, Christiano, Albier and Bill should keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary in the area; if an enemy makes a move, I want to know about it.”

 

“So we're headed to see our old friends?” Kagome cringed. That was Inuyasha.

 

“You, Kagura, Lilliana, and I will travel there to ask for their aid. It would be a good idea to bring the humans as well.” The elder brother mused.

 

By this time, Kagome had been leaning against the door of the room. She could hear footprints and the next thing she knew, the door swung open and Kagome was flailing her arms to try and regain some balance, but she never hit the floor. The soft and burning arm around her middle pushed her back on her feet and Kagome blushed at being caught, by the one nightwalker she had been hoping to avoid no less.

 

“Still eavesdropping?” Inuyasha asked, his eyes distant.

 

“Uh well…” Kagome stuttered, looking about the room. The rest of the family didn't seem surprised. Lilliana, Sesshoumaru and Kagura shook their heads out of exasperation.

 

“Oh, go easy on her. She was just passing by when she heard us talking.” Rukiya defended. Kagome mimed a thank you her way.

 

“So we're moving around again?” She asked when she gathered enough courage.

 

“Not too far this time. I'm guessing from what you heard you know who is in the area.” Inuyasha answered her.

 

“Then can I ask,” Kagome said, “where we are going?”

 

Sesshoumaru gave an annoyed sigh. “I tire of repeating myself, and I would like to rest before the journey. You two explain.” He looked at his brother and Natalia before placing his arm around Kagura's waist and leaving the room with Rukiya, Claire, Bill, Christiano, Albier and Lilliana following.

 

With them gone, Kagome turned to Inuyasha expectedly. He shrugged and began to elaborate. “Let's just say that the nightwalker king has a lot of flunkies on his side. Two of which are royal pains in the ass.”

 

Kagome tilted her head to the side. “He means Narek and Fenrir.” Natalia said from across the room.

 

“Oh.” Kagome smiled at her.

 

“Since there's only ten of us and a whole lot of them, we need to get help. There's a nightwalker village close by and…”

 

“Wait a minute,” Kagome cut across him, “There are nightwalker villages? I thought they all moved around like you did.”

 

“No, there are very few villages. The nightwalker families that live in those places come and go as they please but they will always call that place their home. They do come down often to feed. As for our family, we have different houses in different places. We all don't like being in one place for too long.” Natalia answered her.

 

“Nightwalker villages are in places that humans can hardly reach, mostly in thick mountain ranges or forests. And if a human does come close to it, they will be driven off by the aura's the nightwalkers put around their homes to keep people away. It's almost impossible to take humans there.” Inuyasha continued.

 

“Then how do you expect to take Sango, Miroku and me there?” Kagome gave him a distrustful look.

 

“There are ways to get there, but you would need a guide.” Inuyasha said. He looked at her for a moment, but it seemed to Kagome that even though his eyes were on her, he wasn't really seeing her. She didn't have time to ponder further though. Inuyasha turned his head away from her and said, “We're going to leave tomorrow at sundown. You'd better get some rest.” Slightly unnerved by his strange behavior, Kagome nodded and decided that it would be best to listen to him for once and go to bed; she was really tired. Yawning and stretching, she left the room.

 

Inuyasha breathed in deeply, listening to her footsteps and then the sound of her bedroom door closing. It would be a long night tomorrow. “So, how have you been these last few days?” He looked up at the other nightwalker in the room. It had been so long since he spoke with the other nightwalker he had brought into the family. “Decent.” He answered her.

 

“Mind if I ask what you were doing since you couldn't join the hunt?”

 

“I had gone to look for more information on the bloodstone. I didn't find any. This search is getting more and more annoying.” He huffed.

 

“Are you sure we can't find the real heir to the throne without the Asrealine bloodstone?” Natalia tucked a piece of gold hair behind her ear.

 

“Yes, unfortunately. This would be so much easier if I wasn't so weak.” He said more to himself then to her, but Natalia caught it nonetheless.

 

“I'm curious, Inuyasha. Why do you think you formed an addiction to Kagome just by biting her once.” She asked.

 

Inuyasha sent her a glare. She didn't seem fazed in the slightest. One thing about Natalia was her ability to ask things without fear of the answer. He began to reply. “Who knows? Rukiya is fascinated by it. She thinks Kagome and I are one hundred percent blood compatible and she's been doing research for a little while.”

 

“So do you believe you two are one hundred percent compatible?”

 

Inuyasha ran in fingers through his bangs. “No. It's just a myth among nightwalkers. `In every nightwalker's lifetime, there is but a single human being who's blood calls out to them. This person's blood is ideal for this one nightwalker in every way.' What a bunch of bullshit. I've been alive for seven hundred and seventy five years, what are the odds that I would find the one person, out of millions, in the years I've lived, who's blood is exactly what I need?”

 

“Maybe you were just lucky. I think it's quite romantic.” Natalia chuckled.

 

Inuyasha glowered at her again. “Maybe it would be if it was true.”

 

She shrugged. “How else do you explain the sudden dependency on her blood?”

 

“Bad luck. It's been one thing after another with her! She drives me nuts and has the uncanny ability to make me feel like shit.” He covered his eyes with his long fingers, vexed.

 

It was true. After Kagome lashed out at him several days ago, he'd been feeling nothing but utter, and painfully annoying, guilt. It's not like he hadn't put some thought into what she was going through. He knew full well that she wouldn't be pleased with leaving her life behind, but he didn't know how powerful her emotions were. He had feared her reaction when he was supposed to tell her that they were going to leave her home. How ironic that when she learned, she gave him a much worse response then he had anticipated. He hated himself for feeling horrible. The sadness and rage she had directed at him had been so great it was almost tangible. She couldn't do any damage to him physically, but in the emotional department, it had been a fatal blow. It irked him to the point of bitter resentment that she had that effect on him. No one had ever made him feel so much regret.

 

Not to mention that her scent was so sweet and alluring that it made him go out of his mind. Years of control and she could rip it apart just by inhaling. It was hard enough not to jump her when she comes into a room. Why her blood had such a strong call to him, he didn't know, and there was no way in hell he was going to believe that she was made for him.

 

“I'm sorry to hear that.” Natalia replied after a short pause. “Maybe it would be a good idea if I leave you to your thoughts. I have to go prepare Claire and Rukiya anyway.” Natalia left the room, leaving Inuyasha to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

Morning came sooner then Kagome wished it would. She spent almost a half hour lying in her bed just staring at the ceiling. There were a lot of things to worry about. She wondered if her teachers had failed her out of classes by now. She wondered if her friends were beginning to worry, but what frightened her most was the reaction her family would have when they found out about her disappearance. She rolled out of bed and walked toward the window after pulling some clothes on.

 

The house was quiet. Frowning, Kagome slowly walked out of her room and into the hall. No one answered her when she called. Maybe the family was still sleeping, but Sango and Miroku would be well awake by now, Kagome thought. However, when she searched through the house, she didn't find them, or the rest of the family for that matter. Biting her lip out of nervousness, Kagome went through the house room by room to find no one.

 

Had she been her older self, she would have made plans for escaping. Of course now she realized that it wasn't much of a rational thought for she had no money, she was in another country, and had no means to reach an airport. Life with the nightwalkers wasn't horrible, but Kagome hated feeling like she depended on them. She'd always liked to take care of herself. She refused to let her parents help pay for college, lived alone while working and going to school, and had never asked anyone for protection. Now it felt like every shred of independence she had established was taken over.

 

Where was everyone? By this time, Kagome had searched through the whole house. Maybe Sango and Miroku had gone outside? She thought as she opened the back door and walked out into the small clearing that eventually became a forest beyond. Her eyes scanned the area and she did find a figure. He was leaning against a tree trunk, his arms crossed, the shade covering him as he stared out into space. Kagome narrowed her eyes, but thought that if she was going to get answers for the reason almost all the household had vanished, she had to approach him.

 

As if sensing her presence, he turned his head toward her when she came close, briefly looking her over before physically turning back to his original position. “Good morning?” She said awkwardly.

 

“Morning.” Inuyasha answered. For some reason, his voice sounded forced to her.

 

Kagome fumbled about what to say. What could she say? She never really had an engaging conversation with him. There was a heavy air between them as they both stood, not saying anything to each other for a few moments, next to the tall trees. Although she'd hate to admit it, Kagome felt terrible for yelling at him days ago, which made it increasingly difficult to approach him. The words had just rolled out of her mouth before she could stop herself, but it didn't mean that they were all true. She did dispise him for putting her through all this nonsense, but she didn't mean it when she said she could care less about his death. It had been her indignation that had spurred such words. She wasn't going to apologize; it would mean revealing weakness in front of him.

 

“Where is everyone?” She asked.

 

Inuyasha's brow arched at her question. “Weren't you listening last night?”

 

“Oh right.” She said, recalling. “Then where are Sango and Miroku?”

 

“Lilliana decided that it would be best to get a head start. She left with them early this morning to go to the village. Sesshoumaru and Kagura had already gone. They should be there by sundown.”

 

“Then why didn't you leave?” Kagome asked quickly.

 

“I was waiting for you to wake up.” He answered.

 

Kagome stared at him for a few moments. “How long will it take to get there by foot?”

 

“About a day, depending how fast you can walk.” He said. “We can leave now if you're ready.”

 

For some reason, his responses sounded mechanical, as though he wasn't really answering her. It was as though he had prepared a series of messages to counter her questions. Slightly put off by his lack of characteristic speech, Kagome began breaking down the reasons for this sudden change in character. She compared him to his brother. The head of the family rarely showed signs of emotions. Was it a shared trait between the two of them? Or perhaps Inuyasha suddenly decided to act reserved toward her. Kagome immediately tied his behavior to her rant. Had she injured him emotionally, or was he taking a more offensive debonair toward her? The latter sounded more convincing, but for some reason, Kagome was sure that she had hurt his feelings, which sounded silly considering his tough exterior. It made the guilt even more irritating to bear.

 

“Could you give a few minutes?” She asked. He nodded and looked back out into the forest, ignoring her.

 

How ironic that it turns out he had a sensitive side, Kagome mused as she re-entered the house to gather some food and clothing into a small bag. Maybe there were a lot of things about Inuyasha that she had overlooked. Perhaps it was because she kept telling herself subconsciously that he was the reason her life and future had gone down the drain. Maybe she had never really thought of him as a person. He always seemed like an otherworldly creature to her. Kagome suddenly scowled at herself. She was being prejudiced, the very thing she stood against. The idea of starting over was ridiculously embarrassing after the way their previous relationship had been going but Kagome thought that she might give him another chance.

 

She slung her small backpack over her shoulder and headed toward the back yard to find that Inuyasha hadn't moved an inch, still in the exact same place. Kagome stood for a moment to look him over. He was holding so still, that he looked like a painted statue from a distance. She still didn't understand how such a handsome man would ever see interest in an ugly girl like herself.

 

He did not look at her when she came close. Was it her imagination, or was his skin paler then before. “Should we go?” She asked.

 

“Yeah.” He pushed against the tree and walked in between the trees, into the shade. Kagome followed, struggling to match his pace. He was so much taller then her, covering more ground. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Are you okay? You seem…different today?”

 

His eyes narrowed, but he said, “I'm fine.”

 

“Really?” Kagome sighed.

 

They walked in silence for a moment, with Kagome's breathing increasing to keep up. She noticed he slowed down twice for her to match his pace. Inwardly smiling at the rare act of chivalry, Kagome tried to start a discussion. If she were lucky, she could ask him a few questions about his kind, and actually get answers this time.

 

“Can I ask you a few things about nightwalkers? Or will you shrug it off as authorized information?” Kagome began.

 

He spared a brief glance over his shoulder saying, “Ask away but I won't guarantee that I will answer every question.”

 

“Why do you guys have a heartbeat? The stories say that vampires were dead.”

 

Inuyasha huffed. “That's just it. We're not vampires. And how can something be living without a heartbeat?”

 

That made perfect sense. “Okay. So what about weaknesses?”

 

Inuyasha turned toward her, an eyebrow raised. “Don't give that look. I just want to know what's myth and what's real.”

 

He turned back to look ahead. “Fine.”

 

“Does garlic bother you?”

 

He made a face. “It stinks, but it won't kill me.”

 

“Water doesn't hurt you either?”

 

“No.” Was his curt reply.

 

“The sun?” Inuyasha gave her a look that stated he wasn't going to answer that one.

 

“Fine.” Kagome snapped. “What about a wooden stake through the heart.”

 

“How barbaric.” He said. “Luckily for us, our hearts have a little room to move and it's not possible for a human to get close enough to stab us.”

 

How confident. “You do sleep, just not in coffins.”

 

“NO!” He glared at her. “That's just ridiculous!”

 

“Okay, sorry.” When he stopped glaring at her, Kagome decided it was okay to continue. “Is mind reading a power all nightwalkers having?”

 

“No. Nightwalkers have a lot of different abilities. Rukiya is the only one in our family that can read minds. It's rare.”

 

“What about sensing emotions?”

 

“All nightwalkers can do that.”

 

“Controlling people?”

 

“That's a rare one too.”

 

“So nightwalker venom is dangerous for nightwalkers but not for humans, right?”

 

“Right.”

 

“And abou-” Kagome gasped suddenly, feeling her stomach churn as her toe stung from the impact. She flailed her arms to regain her balance but failed, landing on something burning soft and warm.

 

“Maybe you're not so balanced on the virtical plane.” Inuyasha huffed; he sounded annoyed, but there was an edge of amusement in his voice and…almost one of pain. Kagome breathed in a sharp sigh of relief that she hadn't hit the ground. She flexed her ankle, glad that it wasn't sprained. The thought was whipped from her mind when she realized that she was surrounded by Inuyasha's burning heat. Why was he so warm? She never really had the chance to ask. Kagome hadn't really noticed before, but he smelled really nice. Like the forest, only better. There was something entirely masculine about his scent.

 

Though it was only a few seconds she was in his arms, she could still feel her skin tingling from where he held her. Inuyasha turned and began walking again. Kagome, slightly flushed, tried to catch up with him again. She looked back briefly at the rock that she had tripped over.

 

“Um, what was I asking?” She said, trying to restart their talk.

 

“I can't read your mind.” His reply sounded forced to her.

 

“Can…” She gulped, her face heating even more, “Can I ask, why are nightwalkers so burning warm?”

 

Inuyasha paused in his step so suddenly that Kagome had a tough time halting in her fast walk. She could see the corners of his mouth were lifted slightly and Kagome hoped that he wasn't thinking what she was. The witty and discomforting remark she thought he would say never came and he began walking again. “You probably believed that we would be cold as ice and as pale a sheet right?” He said, and Kagome had the sneaking suspicion that he was still smirking; she didn't have the guts to look at him.

 

“Nightwalkers aren't all pale and cold. Some nightwalkers, like the ones in our family, burn. There are nightwalkers that are cold too, but not freezing. Their skin just reaches ninety degrees, minimum.”

 

“What about yours?”

 

“One hundred and one to one hundred and five. It's like a really high fever.”

 

“Doesn't the heat bother you?”

 

“Only when it's really hot, especially in the summer. If a member of our family gets too cold, it means they are either sick or dying.” His face darkened.

 

“You didn't answer my question.” Kagome said. “Why are some nightwalkers really warm.”

 

“Because the blood is thicker and hotter.”

 

“What about age?” Kagome said, unable to stop her curiosity.

 

“What about it?”

 

“How old are you really?” Kagome bit her lip. Half of her was afraid of knowing.

 

“Why don't you take a guess.” Inuyasha chuckled, finding her distress amusing.

 

“One hundred?”

 

“Cold.”

 

“Two hundred?”

 

“Still cold.”

 

“A thousand five hundred?”

 

“That's way too much!”

 

“Nine hundred.”

 

“Getting warmer.”

 

“Seven hundred.” Kagome gulped. There was no way.

 

“Close.”

 

“You know what, I don't want to know.” She frowned. She heard Inuyasha laugh at her. “So what are you in human years.”

 

“I'd be about twenty three or twenty four.” He said. Now that was a number she could live with.

 

The trail they'd been taking soon began to slope and Kagome found that she was struggling even more to keep herself balanced as they walked downhill. Maybe she wasn't as fit as she thought. She could feel her feet pounding as she took her steps, the steep hillside making her walk faster, but she still had a hard time keeping up with Inuyasha as he walked several paces ahead. She ignored him and put her concentration on staying on her feet.

 

She looked down at her shoes, sighing. Looking up, Kagome noticed, Inuyasha had dug his clawed hand into a tree, covering his eyes with the other and breathing in harshly. Kagome tilted her head to the side wondering if the walk was tough on him too.

 

 

 

 

 

He was deeply resisting the urge to tell her to stop breathing. He'd never been around her this long. “Hey, are you okay?” He listened intently to her voice, memorizing every breath, every syllable, and the sound of her heartbeat as it bounced. Pushing himself away from the tree, not looking at her, he said, “Let's go.”

 

Making sure to place a considerable amount of distance between them, he walked a few good paces ahead, but could still hear her delicious breathing as she fought to follow him. “Can you slow down?” She called indigently. No more questions! It was enough to answer without making his voice break.

 

Her heard her steps speed up. Don't run, he growled. Her heart rate increased again. How much blood pumped in that one short beat? What he wouldn't give to…he shook his head, biting his tongue. His could feel his fingertips spasm and twitch, and his heart was thumping faster then normal.

 

Kagome ran to reach him again and he took longer strides to avoid her. She was panting. He failed to stop the image of her lungs puffing up with air. Before he realized it, he was taking in deep breaths himself. He wondered how she tasted when she was tired. Inuyasha growled out of frustration. His upper fangs pulsed and ached, growing. Kagome groaned tiredly. Just how strong was her circulatory system? Maybe he should bite her and find o-stop that! Inuyasha growled, halting.

 

One more deep breath, one more loud heart pound and he would go out of his mind! Kagome hit him hard on the back, making him take a step forward. “I told you to wait!” She snapped. Ignore it. Ignore it. He chanted, closing his eyes.

 

“Are you sure, you're alright?” She asked again, coming to stand at his side, looking up into his pale face. He probably looked ill.

 

Inuyasha breathed in through his nose, trying to keep his voice even. “Are you tired?”

 

Kagome didn't answer right away and then said hesitantly, “A little.”

 

“We still have a ways to go. Do you want to rest?” He was amazed he could talk without growling from the strain.

 

“I think I can go a little further.” Was she being serious or stubborn? He was so occupied with not attacking her that he couldn't tell anymore.

 

“There's a cave up ahead. We'll be there after we go through it.” And hopefully without any fatalities, he thought.

 

“A cave?” Kagome said nervously.

 

That sounded so…enough! Inuyasha breathed in a deep sigh, bringing his hands up to his head. His skull was starting to throb, his fangs growing painfully long. He hoped that they could move through the cave before he completely lost it!