InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Plain Sight ❯ The Silver Paw ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Salami 
A young woman is looking for some assistance to get back to her home, but gets more than she bargained for
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.26.2004 | Updated On: 03.26.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 208 | Status: Completed
A young woman is looking for some assistance to get back to her home, but gets more than she bargained for
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.26.2004 | Updated On: 03.26.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 208 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I said it in the first chappy, I'm saying it in this one. I am taking lots and lots of aspects from the book Wild Magic and stuffing them in my story. Let me list them for you. Her ability to talk to animals, the dream sequence, the silver paw, the scene where she gets hired....um....I think that's it. Damn I took a lot...am I just rewriting the book? No, I don't think so...okay, this is the longest discliamer I've ever written in my life.
AN: Time to put water to the flame. When I first posted this story, losts of people were leaving reviews that I should deviate from the Immortal's storyline. Let me say right now, don't send me any emails like that. I have a plot already and it is nothing like "Wild Magic"
My plot will be NOTHING like the book, so don't worry. Put your fears to rest because once I get into the real plot of my story you'll see what I'm talking about.
In fact, it really only starts out the same way, by chapter five it's completely different.
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Plain Sight
The Silver Paw
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Every year, the unusually large village of Unachi held a fair. This annual event's greatest purpose was to display merchants newest goods to a wide array of customers. Citizens from all over the land would come simply for the fair. Taking up lodging for one or two days, they would catch the show that would always take place on the first day of the fair then spend the rest of their time browsing around the market and buying goods that would last them until the next annual fair.
Sango also had business at the fair: she had to buy a herd of horses to bring back to her employer. Why did they send her on odd jobs such as this if she was just the royal assistant? This was just the kind of thing that the "royal assistant" had to do. Or in other words, her job title was just a cover for her actual job title. She was the go-to girl, the gopher. It was her duty to something that everyone else was either to scared, lazy or simply didn't have the connections to do. For example, rounding up a bunch of rowdy horses that would sooner kick square in the face that let you comb their hair.
No matter. She had managed to get all the horses together without causing herself serious injury by simply luring thm into the gates and running out before any of the animals realized what had happened. Now all she had to do was lead them out of the village and down the path to.....okay, this could get difficult. Especially when they reached their destination. She was definitely going to need someone who could calm down a horse in a hurry.
She just had to find an assistant.....perferrably one that could actually keep up with the strenuous journey ahead of her. Most of the village men would be busy with the fair, selling items and helping the travelling merchants, and she doubted that many women in these parts would actually know how to handle a horse properly, let alone a wild one. She refused to take children with her, she didn't want to be seperating a small child from their family. That left only one solution; she'd have to ask some of the male adolscents if they wanted a job.
She strode up to one such young man, trying her best to ignore the flash of interest that had ran through his eyes at her approach and the leering smile he gave her as he greeted her. "Hello, I'm looking for someone to help me herd all these horses,"
"Well, I'd love to help you, sweety, but I'm not gonna do it fo' free," he replied
"Well, then, let's discuss payment. How much do you want for your services?"
Now he flashed her a broad grin and said, "I'll offer you my services if you offer me yours," while wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
When Sango walked away from him a moment later, a clump of his dark brown hair lay on the floor next to his unconscious body. She asked all the young men she could find, but she always got one of three results. 1) a proposition, subtle and innocent or otherwise 2)they were afraid of getting beaten up by the horses or 3) they were afraid of getting beaten up by her.
She was ready to just take her chances and take the horses herself when a girl, not much younger than herself approached her. She was dressed in a forest green yukata, her calfs poking out of the bottom as she strode forward and her hair pressed back with a scarf, letting the sunlight beat down on her face. She was quite pretty, and she looked unusually.....clean, for a peasant. Not that peasants weren't clean, just that they didn't look they had just gotten out of the bath.
"Hello, my lady. I was watching you early and I overheard you saying that you need someone to help you with the horses.
My lady? No one outside of the palace had ever addressed her as 'my lady' and even then it was only servants and those in lower class than herself. Sure, this girl was a peasant, but so was everyone else here, and no one had so much as acknowledged her as a living being that deserved respect.
"My lady? Are you alright? You haven't spoken in quite awhile," the girl said.
Well, she didn't look like much, and Sango doubted she would be able to handle the task. But it wouldn't be fair until she gave her a chance, let her mess up, and then told her it wouldn't work out. "What's your name?" she said finally
"Kagome," she said holding out her hand, which Sango promptly shook.
"Sango." Pulling her hand back, she eyed the girl with a new interest. "How old are you, Kagome?"
"Eightteen," she said flatly. Another rehearsed lie. And Sango saw it for the blatant lie that it was. Not that she didn't sound convincing, but the girl looked about fifteen, sixteen at the most. But skillfully, Sango chose to keep her mouth shut.
"Have you any experience with horses?"
"Oh, yes, I use to assist in the management of a stable,"
"Alright, let's see what you can do," she said, opening the gate to the pen all her horses where waiting to be tied up and closed it behind Kagome before setting herself on the wooden pen to see the girl's progress. It was, of course, a dirty trick. These were mountain ponies, infamous for their brute strength and willful behaviours. Sango knew that she, herself, wouldn't be able to tame these creatures on her own. Surely a dainty-looking girl younger than herself wouldn't be able to.
She watched as Kagome made her way through the horses, each one watching her critically but moving out of her way nonethelees, until the dominant stallion lumbered towards her. It had a dull brown coat, but it was magnificent nonetheless as it reared up on it's haunches, about to bring a hoof down on Kagome's head. Sango almost jumped from her spot to save the foolish girl, but was stopped when she heard a loud but calm voice yell, "Stop! Right now!" And, amazingly, the horse came back down to earth, but gave Kagome a contemptuous look.
Kagome approached the animal without hesitation and softly took a hold of the sides of it's head. Holding the animal as still as she could, ittrying to thrash out of her grasp, she stared intenty at it and it seemed to calm down somewhat, giving her time to acquaint herself with the animal. She blew into it's nostrils, allowing it to get use to her scent. It took a moment, examining Kagome to deem wether or not she was a threat, before rewarding her by blowing back into her face to show her that he recognized her.
She affectionately patted the horses mane and nuzzled it's face lightly. "Yeah, your just a big teddy bear, aren't you?"
The horse snorted and walked off and she lightly giggled at it's response to her comment. She walked over to Sango, whose jaw had effectively dropped to the floor. "H-How did you do that?"
"You just have to know how to handle them,"
"But, you just applied dominance over the whole lot!"
"It's really not a big deal,"
"Not a big deal....okay, okay. I'll tell you what. I'll hire you to help me bring them all to my home. Your responsibilities will be making sure they don't run off and keeping them under control. If the trip goes well, we'll talk about a permanent job,"
"Oh, thank you, you won't regret this,"
"One thing,"
"Yes?"
"Can you fight, or wield any type of weapon? Bandits, you know,"
"Oh, well, I know longbow, but I'm not very good. My aim is horrible,"
Sango jumped off the fence and walked toward a large crate on the floor, where she brought forth a long bow and a few strings. She handed the bow to Kagome and said, "String it." She hesitated, staring at the bow in her hand, and Sango took it as a sign that she had been lying, "Okay, what -can- you use?"
Kagome pulled a coiled string out of Sango's hand and turned the bow sideways before attaching one end of the string to the bow. She flipped the bow around, setting it against her foot, and attached the string to the other end in one fluid motion, taking Sango slightly by surprise. The bow strung, she straigthened the arm that held the bow and grabbed the middle of the string with two fingers before pulling it back to her ear. She let go and it left a resounding poing sound in the air. "I'd put up an arrow but," she gestured to the fair going on around them, "I might hit someone,"
"I must say, I'm impressed. Not many women can handle a longbow,"
"I know what you mean. Most of the girls in my village would probably faint at the sight of one,"
Sango giggled as she handed Kagome a quiver filled with arrows and said, "Come on. If we get all the horses tied up by noon, we can set out today and then make camp for the night,"
*
Kagome rode atop a steady pony, a light grey mare she had affectionately chosen to call Cloud, along side Sango, who was atop her own brown stallion by the name of Brute. All the horses were either tethered to her own pony or Sango's and she had even coaxed a few of them into carrying their packs. Sango was in the middle of explaining exactly where they were going.
"I work at the castle you see. The King's royal assistant, you know. I live there so that the king can assign me a job at anytime of the day. That's where we're going,"
"Do you know the royal family?"
"Why, yes. King Inu himself hired me."
"Wow, I've heard stories of what a wonderful king he is. Are they true?"
"Strict but fair. That's how I would describe him. His sons, however, are another story,"
"Oh?"
"Especially Prince Sesshoumaru. He has got to be the coldest person I've ever met. Sometimes I think that if someone where running around infront of him on fire screaming their head of, his expression wouldn't falter abit." She shuddered slightly at the thought of the prince. "Thankfully, he doesn't even live in the land, let alone the castle."
"What about his other son?"
"Inuyasha? Well, he's....well, it's a little hard to put into words what he is. He's definitely unique. And he definitely has the shortest temper I've ever seen, and an even shorter attention span. He's a sweety really, but if you get on his bad side....well, it isn't pretty,"
"Sounds like someone I know,"
"Really?"
"Yeah, this guy I met on the road to Unachi, he was quite a character,"
Sango looked over at her companion. Wouldn't Inuyasha be passing through that road soon? Could it be.... "Does this man have a name?"
"Barnabus," she said without faltering, though she was quite aware of the fact that she didn't know his real name.
Sango let out a small sigh of relief that Kagome failed to catch and went back to watching the road. It wasn't until Kagome broke the comfortable silence that she took her eyes off it.
"What about the Queen?"
"Huh?"
"I heard she died a few years ago. Did you know her?"
"I-yes, actually. My mother was her lady-in-waiting. She was a wonderful woman. Her death was quite a loss to the kingdom,"
"Oh, I'm sorry,"
"Don't be. You didn't kill her. Besides, she was the type of woman that wouldn't want people to be sad over her. Even her death,"
"She sounds like quite a woman,"
"She was," was her simply reply and they delved into a somber silence. That is, until....
"Put your hands in the air!" cried a young man that seemed to appear out of nowhere. In reality, he and his companion probably just came out of the trees, but still. The horses they were mounted on where obviously of high pedigree and Kagome thought she recognized them as she raised her arms high into the air. However, most of her attention was on the crossbow his companion had aimed at her neck. "Give us all your loot!"
How were they suppose to do that with their arms up in the air?
The one holding the crossbow's horse started to back up and Kagome, after putting her attention on it, finally recognized the two of them. They were the horses she had been robbed of the other day! She immediately dropped her arms and cried out, "You have got to be kidding me!"
"Kagome!" hissed Sango, wary of the katana pointed at her neck, "Now is not the time!"
"I can't beleive you!" she cried to the bandits, ignoring Sango completely. "Your going to rob me twice!" True, the horses behind her and supplies weren't hers, but it was really the principle of the thing.
The one holding the sword put her attention on her, his greasy red hair wiping into his eyes, and said, "Do I know you?"
"You've got to be kidding me! That's MY horse your sitting on! You know, the one you STOLE!"
"Oh yeah! I remember you. Hey, Kei! Remember the girl we robbed a few days ago?"
"Yeah," called back the other theif.
"That's her,"
"Really?"
"This is so ridiculous," said Sango under her breath.
"Imagine how I feel," she said as she descreetly pulled an arrow from her quiver as the two men chatted. When the bandit with the cross bow turned back to look at Kagome, he was surprised to find that she had an arrow pointed at him. "See, here's the thing," said, rather casually considering the situation, "I REALLY don't like getting robbed. Once is more than enough, but getting robbed by the same two creeps twice in the span of a few days was never high on my 'Things To Do Before I Die' list. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll be taking back what's mine."
She whistled a very low whistle and the horse the man that had his sword pointed at Sango backed up. He tried to get the horse to stop, but Kagome let out a second louder, more shrill whistle and both horses reared up violently, throwing off their riders and riding back into the trees. When the horses were gone, she shot her arrow, knocking the straw hat off the man's head as he dropped the crossbow in shock.
After Sango got off her initial shock, she pulled a large bone boomerang from her horse's side and flung it at the first man. It really only tapped him, but it still sent him flying back before it flinged itself back into Sango's grasp and she clasped it back to the side of the horse. When the man stood up, him and his associate took off into the woods, apparently attempting to find the horses that had just run off.
As soon as they were out of sight, Sango turned to Kagome and said, "I thought you said you had terrible aim?"
"I do. I was aiming for the crossbow in his hand." Kagome tuned away from Sango's stunned face and called out, "Koishii! Sinkhole!" to call back the horses.
"Sinkhole?"
"He liked playing in them when he was a foal. It was always such a hassle to pull him out, so I thought it was appropriate. Besides, he seems to like it," she explained as the horses trotted back to her.
"Those are some beautiful horse's," she said, admiring the soft gleam to each horses coat, "Where'd you get them?"
"That stable I use to work in. This was the payment I got for helping out," she said as she greeted both horses.
Sango continued to stare at the girl from atop her horse. "How long did you work there?"
"Six or so years,"
"And all you got was two horses?"
"Yeah..." perhaps she hadn't thought that lie through.
"Some people can be so cheap. Anyway, that was some fast thinking back there. But I can't beleive they would be stupid enough to rob the same person twice,"
"Well, they are bandits. Hey, do you mind if I tether these two to the rest of the horses?"
"No, go ahead,"
"Thanks," she said, jumping down from her mount. She greeted her friends: the strong brown stallion was Sinkhole and the well built yellow-tan mare was Koishii, her mother's horse. As she tied their reins in with the rest, she settled down the few horse's that had gotten in a bit of a frenzy from the incident that had just occured. She also made sure that every other tether was secure in it's place before taking up her mount on Cloud.
"Gi' up, Brute! Let's go!" said Sango to her stallion before they continued their journey.
*
Kagome turned over in her sleep under the blanket she had retreived from one of her packs that she had "stolen" back. She nuzzled her head into the warm pillow that lay on the sheet under her, trying to get warmer. She felt the warmth of the wildcat crawling under the blanket with her and allowed it to snuggle closer to her. She, however, didn't expect it to enter her dream.
~She sat on a tree stump, continually pushing a defiant lock of hair behind her ear as she watched the sunset far beyond the horizon. However, the sun didn't look quite right. For one thing, it was a bright blue colour. The wildcat was seated infront of her and when she looked down at it, she said, 'Well, hello'
'Hi Kagome,'
'How do you know my name?'
'Your father sent me'.
'D-Dad? But he's-"
'Dead, I know. But I don't exactly exist in this realm either. And it took me forever to find you,'
'Huh?'
'I lost track of time,' said the wildcat as it started to knaw at it's own paw. But what it was saying still reached her, even though it's mouth was busy at the moment, 'Time passes differently in the plane I exist in. It goes by much faster. I had to take the form of this forest creature to find you.'
'What are you doing?' she finally asked when the feline deposited it's chewed off paw into her lap.
'My limb will grow back. This is so that I don't lose track of you or time again. Just keep the paw with you and I'll always be able to find you,'
'Why would you need to find me?'
'You'll need someone's help when you start to come into your true powers. Who better than the spirit cat from another dimension?'
'That's a joke, right?'
'Who knew we spirits had a sense of humour, eh?'
Kagome's dream and physical self smiled before she asked, 'How do ou know my dad? How is he?'
'We're.....old aquintances. He's fine. You know, he talks about you and Souta all the time. He's rather annoying, actually,'
'Why couldn't he come to me himself?'
'Things don't work that way, Kagome. If you ever need me, just call. I'll be around,' the wildcat said before disappearing in a puff of marroon smoke.
Kagome looked back at the sunset, but found that it had already set and in the sky were a cluster of neon pink stars. 'Eww...'~
"Pink,"
Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she looked around her. It was dawn, the sun was just rising and there was no wildcat anywhere to be seen. She probably would have dismissed the dream as nothing more than an overactive imagination, if she hadn't found a solid silver wildcat's paw clutched tightly in her hand.
She heard a groggy voice call, "Kagome?" and she turned to see Sango shaking away the last of her sleep.
Kagome sat up under the blanket and said, "Good morning Sango,"
"Morning. You up for some breakfast?" she said as she got out of her sheets and walked toward the dwindling coals that had once been their fire.
"Yeah, that sounds great," she said brightly. Her glance moved back towards the paw in her hands and quickly said, "I have to go relieve myself. I'll be back," before she was asked a question she didn't even remotely know the answer to.
She shoved the paw into a small bag of toiletries, grabbing something out of another bag and all but ran out into the woods. Once far enough, she took out rosary beads and threaded it through one clenched caw before attaching it to her neck and tucking it into her yukata. She'd have to figure out what all this meant later, but right now, she needed to find a bush.
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AN: The paw is...I guess you could say it's a sort of substitute for the Shikon, but the way I'm gonna use it is very different from the stuff I've seen and read (canon as well as fanfic) that it can do, so I didn't want to use the Shikon
The next chappy will be up soon. A few days, I think. One way to insure that the next chapter is up quicker is to press that little button at the bottom of the screen and leaving a review. You know you want to......
AN: Time to put water to the flame. When I first posted this story, losts of people were leaving reviews that I should deviate from the Immortal's storyline. Let me say right now, don't send me any emails like that. I have a plot already and it is nothing like "Wild Magic"
My plot will be NOTHING like the book, so don't worry. Put your fears to rest because once I get into the real plot of my story you'll see what I'm talking about.
In fact, it really only starts out the same way, by chapter five it's completely different.
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Plain Sight
The Silver Paw
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Every year, the unusually large village of Unachi held a fair. This annual event's greatest purpose was to display merchants newest goods to a wide array of customers. Citizens from all over the land would come simply for the fair. Taking up lodging for one or two days, they would catch the show that would always take place on the first day of the fair then spend the rest of their time browsing around the market and buying goods that would last them until the next annual fair.
Sango also had business at the fair: she had to buy a herd of horses to bring back to her employer. Why did they send her on odd jobs such as this if she was just the royal assistant? This was just the kind of thing that the "royal assistant" had to do. Or in other words, her job title was just a cover for her actual job title. She was the go-to girl, the gopher. It was her duty to something that everyone else was either to scared, lazy or simply didn't have the connections to do. For example, rounding up a bunch of rowdy horses that would sooner kick square in the face that let you comb their hair.
No matter. She had managed to get all the horses together without causing herself serious injury by simply luring thm into the gates and running out before any of the animals realized what had happened. Now all she had to do was lead them out of the village and down the path to.....okay, this could get difficult. Especially when they reached their destination. She was definitely going to need someone who could calm down a horse in a hurry.
She just had to find an assistant.....perferrably one that could actually keep up with the strenuous journey ahead of her. Most of the village men would be busy with the fair, selling items and helping the travelling merchants, and she doubted that many women in these parts would actually know how to handle a horse properly, let alone a wild one. She refused to take children with her, she didn't want to be seperating a small child from their family. That left only one solution; she'd have to ask some of the male adolscents if they wanted a job.
She strode up to one such young man, trying her best to ignore the flash of interest that had ran through his eyes at her approach and the leering smile he gave her as he greeted her. "Hello, I'm looking for someone to help me herd all these horses,"
"Well, I'd love to help you, sweety, but I'm not gonna do it fo' free," he replied
"Well, then, let's discuss payment. How much do you want for your services?"
Now he flashed her a broad grin and said, "I'll offer you my services if you offer me yours," while wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
When Sango walked away from him a moment later, a clump of his dark brown hair lay on the floor next to his unconscious body. She asked all the young men she could find, but she always got one of three results. 1) a proposition, subtle and innocent or otherwise 2)they were afraid of getting beaten up by the horses or 3) they were afraid of getting beaten up by her.
She was ready to just take her chances and take the horses herself when a girl, not much younger than herself approached her. She was dressed in a forest green yukata, her calfs poking out of the bottom as she strode forward and her hair pressed back with a scarf, letting the sunlight beat down on her face. She was quite pretty, and she looked unusually.....clean, for a peasant. Not that peasants weren't clean, just that they didn't look they had just gotten out of the bath.
"Hello, my lady. I was watching you early and I overheard you saying that you need someone to help you with the horses.
My lady? No one outside of the palace had ever addressed her as 'my lady' and even then it was only servants and those in lower class than herself. Sure, this girl was a peasant, but so was everyone else here, and no one had so much as acknowledged her as a living being that deserved respect.
"My lady? Are you alright? You haven't spoken in quite awhile," the girl said.
Well, she didn't look like much, and Sango doubted she would be able to handle the task. But it wouldn't be fair until she gave her a chance, let her mess up, and then told her it wouldn't work out. "What's your name?" she said finally
"Kagome," she said holding out her hand, which Sango promptly shook.
"Sango." Pulling her hand back, she eyed the girl with a new interest. "How old are you, Kagome?"
"Eightteen," she said flatly. Another rehearsed lie. And Sango saw it for the blatant lie that it was. Not that she didn't sound convincing, but the girl looked about fifteen, sixteen at the most. But skillfully, Sango chose to keep her mouth shut.
"Have you any experience with horses?"
"Oh, yes, I use to assist in the management of a stable,"
"Alright, let's see what you can do," she said, opening the gate to the pen all her horses where waiting to be tied up and closed it behind Kagome before setting herself on the wooden pen to see the girl's progress. It was, of course, a dirty trick. These were mountain ponies, infamous for their brute strength and willful behaviours. Sango knew that she, herself, wouldn't be able to tame these creatures on her own. Surely a dainty-looking girl younger than herself wouldn't be able to.
She watched as Kagome made her way through the horses, each one watching her critically but moving out of her way nonethelees, until the dominant stallion lumbered towards her. It had a dull brown coat, but it was magnificent nonetheless as it reared up on it's haunches, about to bring a hoof down on Kagome's head. Sango almost jumped from her spot to save the foolish girl, but was stopped when she heard a loud but calm voice yell, "Stop! Right now!" And, amazingly, the horse came back down to earth, but gave Kagome a contemptuous look.
Kagome approached the animal without hesitation and softly took a hold of the sides of it's head. Holding the animal as still as she could, ittrying to thrash out of her grasp, she stared intenty at it and it seemed to calm down somewhat, giving her time to acquaint herself with the animal. She blew into it's nostrils, allowing it to get use to her scent. It took a moment, examining Kagome to deem wether or not she was a threat, before rewarding her by blowing back into her face to show her that he recognized her.
She affectionately patted the horses mane and nuzzled it's face lightly. "Yeah, your just a big teddy bear, aren't you?"
The horse snorted and walked off and she lightly giggled at it's response to her comment. She walked over to Sango, whose jaw had effectively dropped to the floor. "H-How did you do that?"
"You just have to know how to handle them,"
"But, you just applied dominance over the whole lot!"
"It's really not a big deal,"
"Not a big deal....okay, okay. I'll tell you what. I'll hire you to help me bring them all to my home. Your responsibilities will be making sure they don't run off and keeping them under control. If the trip goes well, we'll talk about a permanent job,"
"Oh, thank you, you won't regret this,"
"One thing,"
"Yes?"
"Can you fight, or wield any type of weapon? Bandits, you know,"
"Oh, well, I know longbow, but I'm not very good. My aim is horrible,"
Sango jumped off the fence and walked toward a large crate on the floor, where she brought forth a long bow and a few strings. She handed the bow to Kagome and said, "String it." She hesitated, staring at the bow in her hand, and Sango took it as a sign that she had been lying, "Okay, what -can- you use?"
Kagome pulled a coiled string out of Sango's hand and turned the bow sideways before attaching one end of the string to the bow. She flipped the bow around, setting it against her foot, and attached the string to the other end in one fluid motion, taking Sango slightly by surprise. The bow strung, she straigthened the arm that held the bow and grabbed the middle of the string with two fingers before pulling it back to her ear. She let go and it left a resounding poing sound in the air. "I'd put up an arrow but," she gestured to the fair going on around them, "I might hit someone,"
"I must say, I'm impressed. Not many women can handle a longbow,"
"I know what you mean. Most of the girls in my village would probably faint at the sight of one,"
Sango giggled as she handed Kagome a quiver filled with arrows and said, "Come on. If we get all the horses tied up by noon, we can set out today and then make camp for the night,"
*
Kagome rode atop a steady pony, a light grey mare she had affectionately chosen to call Cloud, along side Sango, who was atop her own brown stallion by the name of Brute. All the horses were either tethered to her own pony or Sango's and she had even coaxed a few of them into carrying their packs. Sango was in the middle of explaining exactly where they were going.
"I work at the castle you see. The King's royal assistant, you know. I live there so that the king can assign me a job at anytime of the day. That's where we're going,"
"Do you know the royal family?"
"Why, yes. King Inu himself hired me."
"Wow, I've heard stories of what a wonderful king he is. Are they true?"
"Strict but fair. That's how I would describe him. His sons, however, are another story,"
"Oh?"
"Especially Prince Sesshoumaru. He has got to be the coldest person I've ever met. Sometimes I think that if someone where running around infront of him on fire screaming their head of, his expression wouldn't falter abit." She shuddered slightly at the thought of the prince. "Thankfully, he doesn't even live in the land, let alone the castle."
"What about his other son?"
"Inuyasha? Well, he's....well, it's a little hard to put into words what he is. He's definitely unique. And he definitely has the shortest temper I've ever seen, and an even shorter attention span. He's a sweety really, but if you get on his bad side....well, it isn't pretty,"
"Sounds like someone I know,"
"Really?"
"Yeah, this guy I met on the road to Unachi, he was quite a character,"
Sango looked over at her companion. Wouldn't Inuyasha be passing through that road soon? Could it be.... "Does this man have a name?"
"Barnabus," she said without faltering, though she was quite aware of the fact that she didn't know his real name.
Sango let out a small sigh of relief that Kagome failed to catch and went back to watching the road. It wasn't until Kagome broke the comfortable silence that she took her eyes off it.
"What about the Queen?"
"Huh?"
"I heard she died a few years ago. Did you know her?"
"I-yes, actually. My mother was her lady-in-waiting. She was a wonderful woman. Her death was quite a loss to the kingdom,"
"Oh, I'm sorry,"
"Don't be. You didn't kill her. Besides, she was the type of woman that wouldn't want people to be sad over her. Even her death,"
"She sounds like quite a woman,"
"She was," was her simply reply and they delved into a somber silence. That is, until....
"Put your hands in the air!" cried a young man that seemed to appear out of nowhere. In reality, he and his companion probably just came out of the trees, but still. The horses they were mounted on where obviously of high pedigree and Kagome thought she recognized them as she raised her arms high into the air. However, most of her attention was on the crossbow his companion had aimed at her neck. "Give us all your loot!"
How were they suppose to do that with their arms up in the air?
The one holding the crossbow's horse started to back up and Kagome, after putting her attention on it, finally recognized the two of them. They were the horses she had been robbed of the other day! She immediately dropped her arms and cried out, "You have got to be kidding me!"
"Kagome!" hissed Sango, wary of the katana pointed at her neck, "Now is not the time!"
"I can't beleive you!" she cried to the bandits, ignoring Sango completely. "Your going to rob me twice!" True, the horses behind her and supplies weren't hers, but it was really the principle of the thing.
The one holding the sword put her attention on her, his greasy red hair wiping into his eyes, and said, "Do I know you?"
"You've got to be kidding me! That's MY horse your sitting on! You know, the one you STOLE!"
"Oh yeah! I remember you. Hey, Kei! Remember the girl we robbed a few days ago?"
"Yeah," called back the other theif.
"That's her,"
"Really?"
"This is so ridiculous," said Sango under her breath.
"Imagine how I feel," she said as she descreetly pulled an arrow from her quiver as the two men chatted. When the bandit with the cross bow turned back to look at Kagome, he was surprised to find that she had an arrow pointed at him. "See, here's the thing," said, rather casually considering the situation, "I REALLY don't like getting robbed. Once is more than enough, but getting robbed by the same two creeps twice in the span of a few days was never high on my 'Things To Do Before I Die' list. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll be taking back what's mine."
She whistled a very low whistle and the horse the man that had his sword pointed at Sango backed up. He tried to get the horse to stop, but Kagome let out a second louder, more shrill whistle and both horses reared up violently, throwing off their riders and riding back into the trees. When the horses were gone, she shot her arrow, knocking the straw hat off the man's head as he dropped the crossbow in shock.
After Sango got off her initial shock, she pulled a large bone boomerang from her horse's side and flung it at the first man. It really only tapped him, but it still sent him flying back before it flinged itself back into Sango's grasp and she clasped it back to the side of the horse. When the man stood up, him and his associate took off into the woods, apparently attempting to find the horses that had just run off.
As soon as they were out of sight, Sango turned to Kagome and said, "I thought you said you had terrible aim?"
"I do. I was aiming for the crossbow in his hand." Kagome tuned away from Sango's stunned face and called out, "Koishii! Sinkhole!" to call back the horses.
"Sinkhole?"
"He liked playing in them when he was a foal. It was always such a hassle to pull him out, so I thought it was appropriate. Besides, he seems to like it," she explained as the horses trotted back to her.
"Those are some beautiful horse's," she said, admiring the soft gleam to each horses coat, "Where'd you get them?"
"That stable I use to work in. This was the payment I got for helping out," she said as she greeted both horses.
Sango continued to stare at the girl from atop her horse. "How long did you work there?"
"Six or so years,"
"And all you got was two horses?"
"Yeah..." perhaps she hadn't thought that lie through.
"Some people can be so cheap. Anyway, that was some fast thinking back there. But I can't beleive they would be stupid enough to rob the same person twice,"
"Well, they are bandits. Hey, do you mind if I tether these two to the rest of the horses?"
"No, go ahead,"
"Thanks," she said, jumping down from her mount. She greeted her friends: the strong brown stallion was Sinkhole and the well built yellow-tan mare was Koishii, her mother's horse. As she tied their reins in with the rest, she settled down the few horse's that had gotten in a bit of a frenzy from the incident that had just occured. She also made sure that every other tether was secure in it's place before taking up her mount on Cloud.
"Gi' up, Brute! Let's go!" said Sango to her stallion before they continued their journey.
*
Kagome turned over in her sleep under the blanket she had retreived from one of her packs that she had "stolen" back. She nuzzled her head into the warm pillow that lay on the sheet under her, trying to get warmer. She felt the warmth of the wildcat crawling under the blanket with her and allowed it to snuggle closer to her. She, however, didn't expect it to enter her dream.
~She sat on a tree stump, continually pushing a defiant lock of hair behind her ear as she watched the sunset far beyond the horizon. However, the sun didn't look quite right. For one thing, it was a bright blue colour. The wildcat was seated infront of her and when she looked down at it, she said, 'Well, hello'
'Hi Kagome,'
'How do you know my name?'
'Your father sent me'.
'D-Dad? But he's-"
'Dead, I know. But I don't exactly exist in this realm either. And it took me forever to find you,'
'Huh?'
'I lost track of time,' said the wildcat as it started to knaw at it's own paw. But what it was saying still reached her, even though it's mouth was busy at the moment, 'Time passes differently in the plane I exist in. It goes by much faster. I had to take the form of this forest creature to find you.'
'What are you doing?' she finally asked when the feline deposited it's chewed off paw into her lap.
'My limb will grow back. This is so that I don't lose track of you or time again. Just keep the paw with you and I'll always be able to find you,'
'Why would you need to find me?'
'You'll need someone's help when you start to come into your true powers. Who better than the spirit cat from another dimension?'
'That's a joke, right?'
'Who knew we spirits had a sense of humour, eh?'
Kagome's dream and physical self smiled before she asked, 'How do ou know my dad? How is he?'
'We're.....old aquintances. He's fine. You know, he talks about you and Souta all the time. He's rather annoying, actually,'
'Why couldn't he come to me himself?'
'Things don't work that way, Kagome. If you ever need me, just call. I'll be around,' the wildcat said before disappearing in a puff of marroon smoke.
Kagome looked back at the sunset, but found that it had already set and in the sky were a cluster of neon pink stars. 'Eww...'~
"Pink,"
Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she looked around her. It was dawn, the sun was just rising and there was no wildcat anywhere to be seen. She probably would have dismissed the dream as nothing more than an overactive imagination, if she hadn't found a solid silver wildcat's paw clutched tightly in her hand.
She heard a groggy voice call, "Kagome?" and she turned to see Sango shaking away the last of her sleep.
Kagome sat up under the blanket and said, "Good morning Sango,"
"Morning. You up for some breakfast?" she said as she got out of her sheets and walked toward the dwindling coals that had once been their fire.
"Yeah, that sounds great," she said brightly. Her glance moved back towards the paw in her hands and quickly said, "I have to go relieve myself. I'll be back," before she was asked a question she didn't even remotely know the answer to.
She shoved the paw into a small bag of toiletries, grabbing something out of another bag and all but ran out into the woods. Once far enough, she took out rosary beads and threaded it through one clenched caw before attaching it to her neck and tucking it into her yukata. She'd have to figure out what all this meant later, but right now, she needed to find a bush.
*
AN: The paw is...I guess you could say it's a sort of substitute for the Shikon, but the way I'm gonna use it is very different from the stuff I've seen and read (canon as well as fanfic) that it can do, so I didn't want to use the Shikon
The next chappy will be up soon. A few days, I think. One way to insure that the next chapter is up quicker is to press that little button at the bottom of the screen and leaving a review. You know you want to......