InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Settle the Score ❯ Follow me ( Chapter 2 )

Settle the Score
by Chri

Disclaimer : I'm just borrowing Inuyasha. No piracy intended.

Special thanks to :
Kat Morning again. My comma placement was really awful in the earlier chapters, 'cause I didn't know better.
Daniel had quite an impact on the inspection scene.

Chapter 2

Hate - Memories tear me apart
Live - Never thought it'd be that hard

Follow me

"We make money catching youkai. We sell them for various pur..." The rest was cut off when Inuyasha attacked faster than the eye could follow and slashed at the tall one's carotids. Inuyasha lifted the small human up by the throat, before his mortally wounded partner even started to collapse. The floating human tried to free himself, but froze when he looked into the blood-red eyes of his captor.

Inuyasha watched his mother lying on the floor of the small hut. He was quite pleased with himself, knowing that he had carried her here. She hadn't been able to move much in the last few days, but this evening she had been able to walk around a bit. The burns on her legs were finally getting better. ´The ointment mother taught me to make is working great. I hope she won't have any scars. If I had only woken up earlier...´

Ayako noticed that her son still wasn't talking about the incident. "Inuyasha, I'm very proud of you! I don't think that other seven-year-old children could take care of their mother so well. It's supposed to be the other way round." She smiled at him, trying to cheer him up.

Little Inuyasha grinned at the praise. "Yes, I carried you all the way. Until I found this deserted hut. And I made the ointment just like you told me! Does it work? Did I make it right?"

´He is looking really sweet when he is happy. It's sad that so few people notice that,´ Ayako thought with a sad smile. "Yes, Inuyasha, it's helping me very much. I think I should be able to get up tomorrow. Then we will go to town and buy some supplies."

Inuyasha didn't look too happy now. "I don't want to go to town. Nobody has to know we are here." He thought for a few seconds. "We don't need supplies. I can go hunt another rabbit. Do you want rabbit?" He looked at his mother. "I can catch a boar if you don't like rabbit. I just have to be really silent." He started to demonstrate how he would approach his prey.

Ayako gave him an encouraging smile. "We can't live on boar alone. We also need rice, vegetables, fish. I need a new kimono since the old one has burned spots and still smells of smoke." She took Inuyasha into her arms. "Something like the fire won't happen here. You don't have to be afraid."

Inuyasha relaxed into her embrace. "Really?"

"We won't stay here for long, anyhow. We have to get back to Sesshoumaru's land. We'll just stay until I'm well enough to make the journey back," Ayako tried to reassure him.

"I don't really like him. He was always so cold and distant. And he always called me hanyou, as if I had some kind of disease."

Inuyasha's mother pushed her son away a bit to look him in the eyes. "There's nothing wrong with you. I am a human, you are a hanyou, Sesshoumaru is a youkai. You mustn't be ashamed for what you are. In the end we are all living, thinking beings. Do you see me feel sorry when he calls me human?"

She started to imitate Sesshoumaru's voice, "Don't think that this Sesshoumaru cares for you, human." Inuyasha started to giggle, so she continued in her normal voice. "I simply don't feel offended by being called human because it's just what I am. So you don't have to get angry for being called hanyou, because you are one. Instead of being ashamed, rather be proud about it."

Inuyasha liked that thought. Still, he wasn't convinced about town. In his old village most adults had either ignored him or been outright aggressive. There were a few people who would sometimes give him a toy or joke around with him. Maybe because there were more people in a town than a village, there would also be more people who liked him.

* * * * *

The next day Inuyasha got up late. He hadn't slept well that night, having nightmares, but couldn't really recall what they had been about, just that they had been really weird. He looked over to his mother's place to find that she wasn't there. He sniffed and relaxed after he caught her scent.

Inuyasha exited the hut, finding his mother outside, resting in the sun. "Good Morning, Haha-ue! Is your leg healed?" he asked, staring at her bandaged leg.

"Inuyasha! It's not polite to stare at other people's wounds!" Ayako told him, but continued with a smile. "And yes, my leg is better. I think I will buy you some honey to express my gratitude."

"I love honey! When do we go buy it?" Inuyasha tugged at the sleeve of his mother's kimono, his fear of the town forgotten.

"I was only waiting for you to get up," she answered, standing up. Testing her leg, she decided she should be able to make it. She gave Inuyasha a small smile, telling him she would be alright.

They sat out in a comfortable pace. Ayako seemed to have small problems walking, but she managed quite well. Unlike usual, Inuyasha was staying near his mother, although his attention was still easily distracted. He even went to hunt after a rabbit one time, but returned when he didn't catch it immediately, not wanting to leave her alone.

They arrived at the town at noon. It was really big, compared to the old village. Inuyasha looked at the houses, he had never seen ones so big. The people they passed stopped conversation and stared at Inuyasha, who looked like he wanted to sink into the ground. He hated people whispering in his presence. Inuyasha gave the people a small smile, hoping that they wouldn't be afraid of him.

When his mother spotted a beekeeper, she bought him some honey. His thoughts fixed on the present, Inuyasha soon forgot to worry about other people. He saw that there were a lot of people gathered at the marketplace. He wanted to explore, but his mother dragged him in the other direction. Inuyasha looked back, and noticed the strange looks people were shooting him.

They bought a kimono and some other things in the town before they walked back to the hut. Inuyasha looked at his mother, finally voicing his concern, "The people in this town are really strange. They just kept whispering."

Ayako had noticed the people too. They had seemed like they were... plotting? "Yes, you are right. I think we should stay here as short as possible." She subconsciously quickened the pace. "But I'm not fit enough to make the journey back to Sesshoumaru's territory now. I hope that one or two days will be enough."

"Why do we have to go back there?" Inuyasha wanted as much space between his brother and himself as possible. The first few times he met him he had tried to befriend his half-brother, but when he had only received annoyance and indifference he had stopped his attempts. To tell the truth, he had hoped that at least a relative would accept him, only to have had his hope shattered. ´At least Sesshoumaru doesn't pick on me. But he could be a bit friendlier! I haven't done him any wrong.´

"Because no youkai would dare to attack us in Sesshoumaru's domain, but outside we aren't safe." The explanation made sense to Inuyasha; not that he liked to depend on his brother.

After they had arrived at the hut, Ayako told Inuyasha to catch some fish in the nearby river, while she would prepare some rice. Inuyasha left, heading for the river. After a small walk he arrived, seeing that no one else was fishing at this spot. He went down the small slope and, after pushing up his trousers, stepped into the water.

Inuyasha walked into the middle of the river and waited for a fish. When he finally noticed one swimming in the knee-deep water, he gripped for the fish, but didn't catch it. It was quite difficult, as his nose and his ears didn't help him at all, but at least his claws would not let a captured fish escape.

He didn't let himself be discouraged and continued his tries. After his fourth failed attempt Inuyasha got lucky and caught one. ´About time! Stupid fishes with their damn luck.´ When he had caught another one, Inuyasha decided he had enough for him and his mother and went back to the hut. He contemplated to descale the fish on the way, but decided with a grin to leave the work to his mother.

When he arrived at the hut, he saw a man approaching. Inuyasha went inside and told his mother, "Haha-ue, there is a stranger headed for the hut. Maybe he is the owner?"

"We will see. If he is, we will invite him for dinner and apologize." They didn't have to wait for long until the man finally arrived. Ayako bowed and greeted him. "Good afternoon. What can we do for you?"

He gave them an arrogant smirk. "You will follow me. I just bought you from the town elders."

"Nobody will own me, human!" Inuyasha hissed and threw the man towards a tree. The red eyes were the last thing he should ever see, as his neck broke when he collided with the tree. The lifeless form fell to the ground.

Meanwhile the other human had fallen unconscious from the loss of blood, instinctively clenching his hands around the throat to stop the bleeding.

Kagome watched in horror. It reminded her of the day Inuyasha had transformed and killed bandits that had attacked a village. She noticed Inuyasha's quick intakes of breath. He still was standing with his back towards them, the dead human lying next to him. His breath slowly got more even. His hands were hanging down next to him, forming fists.

´It's good he has Tetsusaiga with him, or he would, most likely, have transformed.´ Kagome looked towards Sango and Miroku, who had equally shocked expressions. It looked like it was up to her to break the silence.

"Inuyasha?" She waited for some time. When she didn't get an answer, she walked towards him. "Inuyasha?" He started to turn around. She couldn't decipher the look he was giving her. Anger, sadness, hope, confusion, everything was mixed in it.

"Let's go," he said in a neutral voice. He started to walk back to the path. "We have to get back your bike." With these words he walked into the wood.

Kagome shot a questioning glance at Miroku, who just shrugged.

Sango looked at the dead bodies. She couldn't say that they hadn't earned death. They most likely had been slave hunters or something like that. ´I don't even want to know how many girls they have sold to brothels.´ What disturbed her was the way the hunters had died. Inuyasha had killed them out of hate, although he hadn't known them. The hanyou was quite quick to anger, but you didn't earn his hate that quick. "That was weird," she commented, not knowing what else to say.

"Definitely," the monk agreed. "I think we should go after him."

Kagome and Miroku turned to follow Inuyasha, but Sango told them to wait a minute. She walked over to the corpses, examining each of them. "They could have been ronin, who had taken up bounty hunter business," she explained her friends. Their cloths seemed to be of normal quality, although she wondered why they didn't wear any armor. "A lot of masterless samurais are trying to survive in these chaotic times, and some don't care how they earn money."

She didn't want to turn the dead humans, as touching them would bring bad luck. ´Definitely don't need it right now,´ she thought with a grimace, also thinking that their backs wouldn't provide any additional information. She sighed, aggravated that she couldn't find any clues why Inuyasha had killed them. Watching out to not touch the corpses, she picked up the enchanted blades. ´Better than nothing.´ She joined her friends, telling them she hadn't found any valuable information.

* * * * *

It was late evening. Inuyasha had stayed away from them the whole day. Now he was sitting in a tree, quite some distance between him and the group. Kagome looked into the fire they were sitting around, not knowing what to think. She noticed that all of her comrades were also staring into the fire that provided some light in the darkness.

"What do you think that was about?" Kagome asked. Maybe they could solve the riddle together.

"Inuyasha seemed to be very angry at the humans," Miroku offered.

"I would call it hate. But it didn't seem like he knew them," Sango told them her observations. "So I think it must have been their actions that upset him."

Kagome thought about Sango's opinion. "Maybe he did. He talked to the man he... threw against the tree. It was too quiet to understand but I'm sure he told him something before he killed him."

Miroku didn't let that count. "He could have told him anything. You know Inuyasha, he curses a lot when he is fighting. And Inuyasha has been pinned to the Goshinboku for fifty years and these guys didn't look old enough to know him from before. Kaede-sama was a child back then and now she is an old woman. Inuyasha has stayed with us since he awakened, we would have noticed if he met them anywhere."

Kagome had to agree. "Yes, they weren't more than thirty. Maybe it is because they wanted to capture us? He also wanted to know why."

"But they were not anywhere near hurting or capturing us. Although they had these blades," Sango gestured to the swords she had taken with her, "they wouldn't have been able to defeat us. Especially with one of them already wounded."

Shippou had formed an idea on his own. "I think Inuyasha didn't like it when one of them called Kagome pretty. You know how he reacts when Kouga is around."

Miroku made another guess. "Maybe it has to do with the blades. They excel at killing youkai just like Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga." He picked up one of the blades, examining the magic that surrounded the blades. "It is a rather weak enchantment. It just strengthens the blade to hurt youkai. No poison, no side effects." He concentrated more. "These blades wouldn't hurt stronger youkai like Sesshoumaru and I also doubt that they would cut Inuyasha's haori."

Miroku got up to kneel before Sango. "Dear Sango, I think you should take these blades. They aren't as good as Hiraikotsu, but are a better backup than the sword you own now," he said dramatically, bowing while offering her the blades.

"Thank you, Miroku. But I only need one of them, you can have the other one," Sango said, taking one of the swords.

Miroku looked up with a grin. "Sango, I'm very honored! You must really care for me to endow me with the sister blade of your sword!"

Sango turned red. ´This has been his plan all along. Think, girl, think! You can't let him win.´ "Houshi-sama," she began, seriousness filling her voice, "I offer you the brother of my sword because you have become like a brother to me."

Miroku's face fell. Only when Sango started to grin he noticed he had been fooled. "Point to Sango," Kagome cut in.

"That was cruel, Sango!" Miroku complained.

"At least it wasn't under the belt like your last point. The more the merrier, pah." Sango turned her head away.

Kagome had to agree. "It was totally legal, Miroku. She defeated you fair and square."

"I want you to apologize. You will not be able to grasp Buddha's mercy if you fool his monks," Miroku tried the religious approach.

"As long as you don't grasp my rear that's fine with me," Sango countered.

Silence.

"Point to Sango."

´Damned,´ Miroku cursed inwardly. "I can't feel Buddha's guidance in the presence of such blasphemy." He retreated, taking his new sword with him. Usually monks were not carrying such, but he was always bending the rules a bit, so this wouldn't restrain him. ´Desperate times, drastic measures.´ He didn't know how to fight with a sword anyway, so his staff would stay the weapon he would fight with. He sat down on his old place and brought up the original topic. "Anyway, I don't think that the swords are unique enough to capture Inuyasha's attention."

Kagome threw a log into the fire. "In the end, we can only guess. Sometimes I'm wondering if I really know Inuyasha, he tells me almost nothing about him and his past."

Shippou didn't agree. "Of course we know him. He's the stubborn jerk who will kick Naraku's butt. And he also told you about his past today."

"Really? What did he say?" Sango asked the fox youkai.

"Inuyasha told us that Sesshoumaru protected him when he was a child. Didn't make any sense to me." Shippou thought for a while. "I guessed for myself that Sesshoumaru hasn't tried to kill him when he was a child, because then he would be dead. But now I wonder why they hate each other that much."

"Maybe it's only sibling rivalry. Sesshoumaru even helped us out when Inuyasha was running amok," Sango guessed.

Miroku shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Sesshoumaru wouldn't impale Inuyasha if it were only that. You weren't there that time, Sango, they were fighting to the death," he explained.

"But still, Sesshoumaru let transformed Inuyasha live when he had knocked him out. I don't think that we could have stopped Inuyasha's brother," Sango substantiated her theory.

Kagome stood up. Having enough of taking wild guesses, she said, "I will go to Inuyasha. You stay here or he won't talk." The hanyou opened up more when the others weren't around. She walked over to Inuyasha.

That's it for the second chapter. Got it finished before Christmas :). Happy Christmas to everyone, I hope you like my present!
I also hope I didn't confuse you too much with Inuyasha's past. The next chapters will most likely also contain a cutback somewhere. Don't know if this end classifies as cliffhanger, but it's not as evil as the other one, is it? :)

I invite everybody to leave a review (it's Christmas, remember?) :)

The title originates from Angel Dust - Follow me (Part 2)

Wish you a merry Christmas!

December 24th, 2002 : Chapter 2 finished.

October 18th, 2003 : Last revision of the chapter.