InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Centre ❯ A Force to Reckon with ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter 25: A Force to Reckon with

"Remind me why we are standing in the middle of a field, late at night shooting arrows," Inuyasha said as he followed Souta and Kagome.

"Never go into battle with an untried weapon," Kagome said. He could barely make out her form. Even his eyesight was poor in this darkness, the night after the new moon. Kagome seemed to know exactly where they were going.

"Is that why Sesshoumaru gave us another night? So you could practice?" Souta asked.

"Us? I don't recall you being a part of this? You're in high school," Kagome said dryly.

"Hey! Who got you digital photos and readouts of the youkai there? Who told you to go see an old dude….which was a tree and you gotta explain that one to me cause Sesshoumaru just gave me a look that made me feel like I was dirt not fit to grace his shoe." Souta stumbled a bit and was steadied by a clawed hand grabbing the back of his shirt.

"Pick up your feet," Inuyasha said.

"And look that stupid?" Souta argued.

"And who is going to see you?" the Hanyou retorted with a snort. "If there is an attractive female who can see you doing that in this dark you probably don't want her anyway."

Souta went grumbling ahead. Inuyasha couldn't see, but he was almost certain the youth was blushing. Souta 1; Kagome 1; Inuyasha 1.

"Here," Kagome said, suddenly stopping. Inuyasha peered into the darkness. He could see the slight silhouette of the trees and the stars. Not much else.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"478 steps from the door to here," she said calmly.

"You actually counted? Loser," Souta mumbled. Kagome ignored him.

"Inuyasha, hand me the arrows."

"Which ones? Midoriko's or the regular ones?"

"Regulars. I don't want to lose the other ones."

"Yeah, then the old dead witch might come back to life and bitch her out," Souta mumbled.

"Souta," Kagome said sweetly. "Keep up the high schooler attitude and you'll found out how commuting 4 hours every morning feels after I kick you out of my apartment!"

"Hormonal chicks," he mumbled this time, but acknowledged her words. Inuyasha looked between the two. Even though they pissed each other off on a regular basis they never once resorted to physical fighting. Was this how siblings were supposed to act? Well…maybe it was just humans. Youkai were different, right?

"Ok, let's see how this goes," Kagome said calmly, notching an arrow.

"Don't tell me you've never shot a bow before," Inuyasha stated, crossing his arms.

"Never shot a…..hahahahaha," Souta said, falling to the ground laughing while clutching his stomach. "Oh, that's good, oh my, I can't breathe!"

"Shut up you twit!" Kagome told her brother, bonking him on the head. So much for no physical fighting.

"Inu-niichan," Souta said, picking himself up. "Kagome has been shooting since she was five. For years she would SLEEP with an unstrung bow. She's won more competitions than we know what to do with. Mom has an entire room full of trophies! What's the count now, sis? Four or five world championships?"

"Six," Kagome said quietly. "Now shut up, I have to concentrate."

"If we are in the heat of battle you won't be able to concentrate," Inuyasha pointed out, wondering why she hadn't kept any of her archery championship stuff at her apartment. Was she ashamed?

"We won't be fighting in the dead of night. I'm trying to remember where the targets are." Kagome pulled the bow string back, the arrow beginning to glow a light pink. Inuyasha could now see not only her, but also the targets….several yards away. Hell, it looked like three hundred yards. No way she would make this shot.

"Just wait," Souta said. "She'll make you a believer. She still holds the world record for longest shot AND biggest hole."

Kagome tried to ignore her brother and concentrated on the target way ahead of her. She could feel the energy building and collecting, the strength of the bow evident as it strained against her pull. Only an amateur would not feel the power that pulsed from this bow. A powerful spiritual force that wrapped itself around the arrow. Her fingers calmly let got, back straight, letting the arrow fly forward.

It stopped about three feet in front of them. All three of them stared at it in disbelief.

"Sis," Souta said calmly, breaking the silence. "You sure that's Midoriko's bow? I mean, you got it from a tree."

Inuyasha bent to examine the arrow as Kagome snapped back at her brother. The arrow was twisted…like too much force had pushed it and it had not been able to move fast enough with the force. The arrow had been far too inferior.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said. Kagome didn't hear him. She was still yelling at her brother, bringing up every single time he'd done something less than exemplary right down to a neighborhood blackout when he was trying to make the house more efficient…at age seven. "Oi! BITCH!" he snapped, unhappy that he was being ignored.

"WHAT?" she snapped back, making him recoil a step.

"It's not you, it's the arrow," he said. "If you'd pay attention you'd know that." He held up the arrow for her to inspect. Kagome gave him an annoyed look.

"I can't see it," she said, hands on her hips. Opps. Inuyasha could still see everything from the glow earlier. Guess human eyes expanded slower.

"Try one of Midoriko's arrows," he suggested.

"I only have five, Inuyasha. Five! According to the satellite photos there are a great deal more than five enemies. I can't afford to lose one."

"You won't lose it. Rub your hands on it. If you lose it I'll be able to smell it."

"But-" she protested.

"Shoot the god dammed arrow, bitch!" he snarled. Her bottom lip began to quiver. Oh shit, he made her cry.

"You're kind of abusive, ya know that?" Souta said. "And you're a wuss," he added, looking at his sister. "In most cases this would be a recipe for disaster…but somehow you two make it work. Makes my head spin."

"If you don't stop your psychological bullshit I'm going to ram an arrow up your ass," Kagome hissed through clenched teeth. A warm arm came around her waist, pulling her back.

"Kagome, listen to me. Just try one arrow. We won't lose it, trust me," Inuyasha whispered into her ear.

It was those last two words that did it. Trust. Something she'd had so precious little of lately. Kagome took a ragged breath and nodded.

Midoriko's arrows were wooden, like the bow. How they would withstand the pressure a modern day one had not was beyond her, but Kagome did as Inuyasha asked. As she notched an arrow the bow seemed to come alive. A warmth spread through it and the draw back was far smoother than it had been. The arrow began to glow a deep pink, stronger this time. Not only were her powers going into it, but something else about the arrow was giving it strength.

Trust.

That was the last word in her mind as she let loose the arrow.

*************************************************************** *********

"Kouga?" Ginta asked from the floor he was sitting on. The wolf prince was pacing furiously, murder in his eyes.

"Damn that dog-turd!" he snarled.

"Inuyasha marked Kagome-chan," another wolf told the ignorant Ginta. "I think he's mad cause his didn't stay."

Kouga turned, snarling at the wolf who had dared to comment. They all shrank back, fearful of incurring more wrath.

"A Hanyou! A fucking Hanyou! Stronger than me!? I don't believe it! It has to be some sort of Hanyou trick!"

"No one knows anything about Hanyous and marking," Ginta offered. "It could work differently from youkai marking. The mating ceremony is different."

Kouga stopped and looked down at the younger tribe member, interest flicking in his eyes.

"Is it now?" Ginta gulped, wishing he had not gotten Kouga's attention.

"Well they can't transform, so that part is different. And they have to mate only at the peak of their youkai cycle or it doesn't work."

"Peak of their cycle huh?" Kouga said aloud. If dog-turd is human on the new moon of every month, that means the peak would be the full moon. So all I have to do is keep Kagome away on the full moon. Hmm.

"Why don't we just kill him? If Inuyasha is dead then the mark will disappear," someone else suggested.

Kouga's smile got wider. Yes, that was a good idea. After all, they'd be going into a rather dangerous complex. No telling who would survive. And Kagome would never know. She would be grief stricken. And he would be there with a comforting shoulder and sympathetic ear.

Perfect.

*************************************************************** ********

"Here," Sango said, handing something small and black to Kagome. "An ear piece, for communication. We may not be able to stick together all the time."

"What about Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. The Hanyou looked startled.

"Feh! You kidding me? If you put one of those things in my ears I wouldn't hear anything else!"

"Youkai hearing is far superior," Sesshoumaru said calmly. "If there was any electronic interference we might go deaf."

"Oh," Kagome replied, feeling very much like a child who'd been explained something very trivial. Sesshoumaru had that effect on people.

"So who is going to be on the radio end?" Sango asked. "We could draw lots."

"Electronics? And me? Bad idea," Kagome said.

"We need a miko anyway," Inuyasha said. "Obviously we can't leave Sesshoumaru out here."

"As if I would let you," the taller demon snarled at his brother.

"Sango is a demon exterminator, she should be in there," Miroku said. "My hand isn't all that useful but I've been out of the loop for several decades. I can handle computers, but not radios."

"Who did electronics before?" Sango asked.

"Rin," everyone else answered.

Kagome sighed. There was only one way out of this. Her mother was going to kill her if anything happened, but they had no other choice.

"Sesshoumaru, may I borrow your cell phone?" she asked nicely. The demon gave her a startled look, his curled lip signaling his distain toward the very thought of her touching something of his. All eyes were on him. With a curse and a discontented growl he tossed it to her. Kagome quickly punched in the number.

"Yeah?" a sleepy voice answered.

"Souta, I have a favor to ask."

"Who is it?" a sweet voice in the background asked, sounding equally sleepy. Kagome's face turned bright red.

"Souta Higurashi! ARE YOU IN BED WITH A GIRL???"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow twitched upward while Inuyasha tried not to snicker. Sango had a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing while Miroku made a rather profane gesture.

"Kagome," her brother's voice answered sleepily. "I am a fifteen year old computer geek with a tan from my monitor. It's Shippou you idiot. Hey Shippou, my sister thought you were a girl!"

"Kagome!" Shippou wailed in the background, obviously upset. Opps.

"I…We that is, have a favor to ask of you," Kagome said. Oh he would never let her down for this one.

"You want me to run the radio and communication gig Sesshoumaru had set up yesterday?"

"H-how did you know?" she asked.

"Cause I wired it for him. I doubt anyone short of NASA could figure it out."

"Souta, you are-"

"A god, I know."

"I was going to say prick!" she retorted. "Just make sure you're safe and secure. Mom would kill me otherwise."

"Don't worry! I have a handy dandy little fox demon. His tears are sure to bring down the fiercest of enemies."

"Tell him I'm sorry, would you?"

"And miss out on the guilt trip he'll put on you? No way."

"Ok, just tell me when you get there," she said.

"Dude, sis, you are dense. I'm here now. Want me to switch to radio?"

The earpiece suddenly came to life and Souta's voice rang loud and clear. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Relief you didn't do something like that time you-"

"I get the point. Sango, Miroku, can you two hear me?"

"Yep!" they replied.

"Ok, Shippou has you on visual. Everybody wave to the satellite!"

No one moved.

"Fine, be that way. Ok, first challenge."

"Challenge?" Kagome said dryly.

"Yeah, you know, like Xanth. Challenges to get into the Good Magician's castle."

"Xanth? Good Magician?" Inuyasha asked, bewildered.

"A piece human literature read for the simple enjoyment and fascination with fictional creations," Sesshoumaru supplied.

"Souta, this isn't a game," Kagome said calmly. "Some of us may not come out alive."

"Sis, lighten up. The best way to ensure survival is to believe you are going to survive. What do you want me to say? You're off to see the wizard?"

"Adversary," Sesshoumaru said, cutting in. He could hear Souta's replies a good twenty feet from Kagome.

"How about boogies? They use that term in the military," Souta offered.

"Can we just go?" Sango said irritably. "Who gives a shit what we call them as long as they end up dead, purified or sealed?"

"Somebody sounds frustrated," Souta commented. Sango blushed bright red.

"I don't think he meant that sort of frustrated," Kagome said which only made Sango blush more.

*************************************************************** *******

"Bankotsu, are they going to come today?" Jyakotsu whined. "Inuyasha is soooo pretty!" He sighed and looked down at the picture before him. A picture of Inuyasha topless, a cocky smile upon his face, but turned away from the camera. The dark collar was around his neck, but Naraku said now there was no collar. Nothing to mar that perfect neck and chest.

"Nothing on the radar. That little miko hasn't moved from her apartment. She must be one lazy bitch. That signal hasn't moved from the living room…."

"Sounds fishy to me," Renkotsu replied. "Women always have to go to the bathroom."

"Tricky little bitch," the oldest brother snarled. "Put up the barrier."

"But Bankotsu, it takes so much energy and that little Hanyou chick isn't very reliable," Mukotsu complained.

"Just do it! If those demons get through we're in big trouble!"

*************************************************************** ******

"Oh shit!" Souta cursed.

"What is it?"

"Either they figured out you're coming or they got smart. They have a barrier up," he said.

"So?" Kagome replied. "I'll take it down."

"Not that kind of barrier sis. It's a maintained one. There's a youkai controlling it. Unless you kill her it won't come down."

"So we kill her," Inuyasha said, cracking his knuckles.

"It's a Hanyou, Inuyasha," Souta said. "And she's just a kid."