InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shikigami ❯ Chapter two ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

If I don't get this out now, then I never will-- hopefully the next chapter, where we get into the fun stuff, will be quicker. And longer

Disclaimer: disclaimed.



Inuyasha sat on the edge of the well. He was, as usual, looking down into the darkening pit with one leg propped up on the lip. The setting sun lightly frosted the surrounding forest with gold, gilding trees and turning the long grass gossamer. As his soft red haori absorbed the heat, a crisp breeze wafted by. Angled rays bathed his hair and warmed his shoulders. His ears, illuminated from behind, glowed pink against the lavender sky as he cocked his head.
The evening was incomparably lovely. It was also entirely lost on Inuyasha. Instead, his attention kept drifting inexorably to thoughts about a certain black-haired girl, despite his best intentions.
Kagome wasn't there. But she should be. She should be right here, helping me.
It wasn't like they needed her, exactly. But still, she should be here. It just wasn't right if she wasn't.
Inyasha's Y chromosome kept him from delving deeper into this concept, but his behind knew better and was firmly planted on the lip of the well and had been since early afternoon. His head and his heart had gone three rounds and decided to take a few days off.
His thoughts, as they were, were interrupted by that certain tingling suddenly wrapped around his spine. Something was using power, and nearby, too. Frowning down at the well, he was puzzled by the small rush of power he felt. It didn't feel right for this stupid hole in the ground. And Kagome wasn't coming until tomorrow morning. Late morning, probably. Just when they'd gotten a good lead, too. So why was he sitting here?
Again his Y chromosome snapped certain synapses open in Inuyasha's brain, derailing that train of thought. He glanced, frustrated, at the dimming light, and then glared down the well one last time.
Kagome squealed up at him, eyes wide. He started, and crossed his arms defensively. "'Bout time." Nobody got the jump on ol' Inuyasha. He had known she was coming the whole time. Pointing at something on his head, she smiled incandescently. Pink ears. Inuyasha couldn't help but to grin back. "Well, c'mon up."
As he helped her over the lip of the well, his stomach noticed another odd occurence. "Where's your bag?" And the ramen therein? "And your bow?"
She simply shrugged at him, still staring at his ears, and stood up on the rim with her arms hanging loosely at her sides. He tried very hard not to notice he was nose-to-thigh with the unwitting object of his interest. An early firefly twinkled briefly above the grass, and she shreiked, pointed, and then was off after it.
"Kagome!" No response. She was spinning in a circle, trying to spot the flash of light. Then she darted into the forest with another delighted squeal. The little idiot sounds like a pig at a porcupine festival. "KaGOME! We don't have time for this!" He heard a giggle somewhere to the left. Muttering words his mother would disapprove of, he started after her.

It took Inuyasha the better part of the evening to herd Kagome into Kaede's village. He was confused, not an unusual condition for him, but certainly an unwelcome one. Kagome was not herself. Not that she didn't have her moments, but this was too strange, even for her. For one thing, she was darting off after some night-blooming flower or unfortunate animal every five minutes. Once she had hugged a particularly short and fuzzy tree. And those girly noises! They stung his ears, not to mention the headache he had just from keeping track of her, by scent, sight, and especially sound, in the twilight. He certainly didn't want to be around for the guaranteed squealing when she saw Shippo.
Something had to be wrong. He glanced sideways at her, not an easy trick considering he was looking almost directly away from her as he walked, nose tilted up and hands tucked into his sleeves. She had tired herself out, and was now sticking to the trail, thankfully. She looked normal enough. But she hadn't really said anything to him. For someone as talkative as Kagome, that was beyond strange. As she walked-- and skipped-- next to him, pointing and sighing to the emerging stars, he gave a surreptitious sniff. She smelled like Kagome, nothing more. Well, that was the extent of his skills in this area. He scowled. He'd better ask Kaede if she noticed anything.
As they entered the village outskirts, Shippo scented them and darted from under the flap to Kaede's hut, shouting a bright, "Kagome!" Sango lifted the hanging leather more sedately, but with curiosity in her eyes. Kagome threatened to collapse in a delighted heap on top of the kitsune, but Inuyasha ignored the kit dancing around a squealing Kagome's feet and grabbed the girl's hand to keep her moving. Rapidly dragging Kagome past a half-articulate Sango, who Kagome had attempted to hug, and past Miroku, who attempted to hug Kagome, a very frayed hanyou stormed into the hut. He plopped her down in front of Kaede.
"Fix her."
Kaede, sitting as composed as always on the opposite side of the fire, looked up at the still standing Inuyasha. Flushing slightly, he folded his hands inside his sleeves and lowered himself on one leg into a lotus position. The old hag could reprimand with just one eye. How did she do that?
Kaede returned to stirring whatever was in the pot over the flames. Smelled like radishes. Where was that bag-- and the ramen? Behind him, he heard Miroku and Sango settle themselves into their customary defensive positions between the door and the fire, not quite facing either one. Or each other. Feh.
"What, pray tell, is wrong with our Kagome?" Kaede didn't bother looking up from her radishes.
"Look at her!"
Kaede complied. Kagome stared back at Kaede with clear, if empty, eyes. "I see nothing amiss."
He heard Sango shift. "Why is she wearing her old clothes?"
"Huh?" How had he missed that? Inuyasha looked Kagome over. “What’re ya wearing that for?”
She looked at him. Then she looked down at her green skirt, fingering a pleat. She picked up one shoe and stared curiously at the brown sole. Then she looked back at Inuyasha. “Mmmm?”
Taking advantage of the hanyou's distraction, Shippo made an impressive horizontal leap across Inuyasha and into Kagome's arms. Snuffling up under her chin, he queried, “Yeah, Kagome, I thought you graduated.”
She smiled innocently and nodded.
Inuyasha glared at Kaede and flung one arm at the girl. "You see?!"
Kaede rolled her eye at the hanyou, rose with a soft grunt and walked around the fire, while Kagome made little cooing noises to the kitsune. The kit was eating it up. Inuyasha ground his teeth, but showed rare restraint. As Kaede knelt next to the girl, Miroku came up beside Inuyasha. "What, exactly, has she been doing?"
"That!" Kagome was giggling at Kaede and poked timidly at the eyepatch. Kaede intercepted the small hand and folded it between her own.
"She does seem a bit... distracted." Miroku kept his voice low in deference to the concentrating miko, but moved closer to the trio as he tried to get a better look. Sango scooted closer to the group as well, leaning in. She'd better be careful, Inuyasha thought, or she was going to tempt the monk. Or was that the idea? One never knew with Sango. She was deep. Kirara, he'd noticed, had made herself scarce ever since the first squeal.
Shippo looked at the four from his hideout under Kagome's chin. "She sure is acting funny. She almost never does that baby cooing thing anymore, not since I've grown up." Inuyasha snorted.
Kaede released the girl's hand, which dove straight back to Shippo. As she made her way back to her cushion by the fire she said, "I sense nothing wrong with the girl. She may yet be overtired. Perhaps a night's sleep will restore her." Inuyasha noticed the old woman grunt as she settled herself. Her joints were bothering her again.
His ear twitched as he heard a kiss-- a kiss that started off with 'mmmmmm-wha' and ended with a soft lip smack.
Somebody was going to get something smacked besides their lips. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and glanced from Kaede to the others. Just because Sango had agreed to bear his children didn't mean--
But it was Shippo, not Sango, who looked stunned-- one small paw rubbing his cheek. The cheek that Kagome had planted one on. Inuyasha stared at the kit. Kagome, as far as he could remember, had never kissed Shippo. Never kissed anyone, really. Except him, and that hadn't really counted. Really.
Someone was growling, softly, and Inuyasha was surprised to realize it was him. He stopped.
Poked. Caressed. Shoved. Hugged. Slapped. But not kissed.
Sango, ever watchful, glanced appraisingly from Inuyasha to the errant Kagome, who had practially rolled up in a ball around the now-glowing kit. A calculating gleam came into the slayer's eyes. She quickly took the uncertainty of their situation, added the stress the hanyou was under, multiplied by Kagome's odd behaviour, and disregarded common sense. Then she took a long draw on the air and said, "Maybe she's in love."
Inuyasha turned on her so quickly that Miroku's staff twitched. "What'd you say?"
Miroku intervened smoothly, rings jingling. "I'm sure she's just tired and distracted from her higher schooling. Or perhaps she's doing it to annoy you." As the hanyou looked back at the odd girl, a very loud look was exchanged between the two humans. Things, the look said, will be discussed later.
“Feh. Never mind. Those tests must’ve broke something in her head.” He tapped her skull softly. She simply smiled up at him, eyes frightenengly vacant. Something, Inuyasha thought, was definitely wrong here. But if old grandma said to wait until morning, well...
"I still don't see why she wore these clothes," Shippo had just enough breath to squeak. Inuyasha couldn't see his eyes, not with Kagome wrapped so tightly around the kit. A faint scent of desperation was beginning to trace through the air. Inuyasha grinned, and felt his shoulders unwind a bit. At the rate the girl was going, Inuyasha'd have a nice fox-fur hakama by morning.
“Old habits die hard, my friend," Miroku said, with a certain air of sage purity. "Let us be thankful Kagome returned early, and take advantage of this opport--"
Miroku was interrupted by the sound of his own face meeting solid flesh. Kagome, Kaede, and Inuyahsa all jumped at the noise. Sango, hand still raised from a smooth backswing, had her eyes downcast demurely. "Some habits die harder than others, apparently," she muttered. Miroku tucked his lecherous hand back into his opposing sleeve and sighed, eyes closed.
Sango gave an unladylike snort, rose with a decidedly ladylike huff, and retired to her sleeping mat.

Kagome woke, tired. Without opening her eyes, she stretched, rolled, and ground her face harder into her pillow. The harsh cotton was nothing like Inuyasha’s haori. Inuyasha smelled better, too. Not like pseudo-April-fresh dryer sheets. More like sunrise. And pines-- maybe all that tree-sitting had loaded his haori with sap. Not that she was comparing, though. Or fantasizing. She groaned, and wearily propped herself up. She felt drained, light-headed. So she did the only sensible thing to do, and flopped her head back on the pillow, hair trailing a half-beat later. She was asleep within seconds. The morning light was growing stale.

They travelled from first light, following the lead Inuyasha had gleaned from Myouga only days earlier. The flea, of course, had disappeared the moment Inuyasha had squeezed the information from the tiny demon. And he hadn't really squeezed that hard. Coward. Myouga never had enjoyed fighting. Inuyasha didn't know what was wrong with the blood-sucker.
Kagome, though, was no better than she had been last night. Whatever was affecting her, it was scary enough that Shippo had popped into a pink balloon and floated away. Kagome had run after him, giggling and skipping, until he was out of sight. Then, for a change of pace, she skipped and giggled.
That's all she ever did.
Inuyasha was seriously worried.
After travelling through the morning and into the early afternoon, they stopped to eat cold rice, dried fish, and boiled, crushed soybeans. The soybeans were supposed to be the good part of lunch. Inuyasha would never understand the odd cooking humans had. Except for rice. And ramen. Where was that bag? Inuyasha had foregone any food in favor of sulking off to one side, back to his companions, ear twitching at every squeal and giggle.
She had even eaten the soybeans. And hadn't complained.
After lunch, back on the road, Inuyasha had finally decided Kagome wasn't going to improve as Kaede had hoped. He slowed his pace until he was walking abreast of Miroku and just ahead of Sango. Kagome was walking behind Sango, staring into the bone boomerang at her own reflection. And making faces.
"So what's wrong with her?" he snapped to his companions
"Shush, Inuyasha," Sango said in a low voice, looking askance at the oblivious Kagome. "She'll hear you."
"She doesn't care. Watch." Inuyasha pushed in front of Kagome, pointed a talon, and shouted, "YOUR HAIR LOOKS LIKE A RAT'S NEST AND YOU SMELL EVEN WORSE." The venom in his voice vibrated among the surrounding trees, shook the undergrowth, and rattled the rocks.
Kagome giggled.
Inuyasha shrugged, irritated, and resumed walking. "You see? She didn't even blink. That was a two-sitter, at least. She just doesn't care!" Kagome caught sight of a butterfly ahead, in an open meadow layered with amber grasses. She ran after it. Inuyasha sighed. At least she's going in the right direction.
"If this were simply a spell, surely Kaede or I would have sensed it," Miroku said, slowly, staff slanting across one shoulder. "There is something else here. Kaede sensed a certain darkness to the air this morning."
"But not last night, " Sango pointed out. Miroku nodded, brows furrowed.
"True. However, we were distracted--"
"Like you are now!?" Shippo exploded from the trees to Inuyasha's left and tore through the group, heading toward the grassy clearing. "Kagome! RUN!"
Back in the trees, something roared. The torturous creak and groan of old-growth wood being bent until it snapped drifted over the golden meadow.
Downwind, Inuyasha thought. I didn't smell it. He had already leapt towards the meadow, claws tensed, teeth bared.
Miroku and Sango had already gone after Kagome as well, who had turned at the sound of Shippo's voice. She opened her arms to the kitsune with a wide smile. Something rose behind her, half the height of the trees. It was black, or grey, or brown. Inuyasha never quite saw it. His eyes were on Kagome. He lunged toward her. Stupid girl. She won't even skip away from--
Something thick and rope-like lashed out from the safety of the trees. It tore Kagome in half.
Miroku and Sango lurched to a halt, both with their weapons held in front as if to protect them from what they were witnessing. Still smiling, half of Kagome dropped to the ground in front of Shippo.
Shippo screamed.