InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Side ❯ Utopia? ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything about Inu Yasha. I just poke fun.



Chapter 01: Utopia?

It had been three weeks since Naraku tricked them, and still they had no sign of him or his minions. Kagome's feet were still very raw from the acid burns and she had to be carried by Inuyasha most of the time, which he complained about. Arguing that she should just get one of her contraptions from her world again. "Oh, you mean the 'contraption' that you turned into modern art?”

"Humph" he scowled. She knew that this was mostly Inuyasha being himself, a.k.a. anal-retentive. It was mostly just an act though. Although he seemed angry at the inconvenience, Kagome had been noticing that he really blamed himself for what happened. He spent a lot of time sulking lately and hid himself up in the trees even more so now. But why? It was her own stupid self that sloshed out into the acid puddle, burning the shit out of her feet, not him.

Inuyasha jumped high enough that they were square with Kirara and the rest of the gang. Sango gave the up coming village another glance then turned to Kagome. "Are you picking up anything Kagome?"

"No, nothing. Not even a flicker," She sighed, looking defeated. Inuyasha slowed down at her confession, with an agitated look. "Then why did you say to head this way?"

Kirara landed and Miroku and Sango disembarked to walk into the village while Kagome pulled at Inuyasha’s ear. "Hey, you said to go off any feeling I had, even a tingle, so I did! Miroku agreed too, you know."

Inuyasha mumbled un-audible words then lightly put Kagome down as they walked up to the market section of the village. Miroku scanned the village with his hand shielding his eyes from the sun. "Strange, this village seems to be doing quite well, compared to the others we have visited." Kagome searched with her own eyes, it was true.

She wanted to sigh with relief, but things had become so disastrous lately that the sight of a perfectly healthy village was almost unnerving to her and the others. They had seen everything ranging from hoards of demons to relentless plagues ravaging the countryside as they traveled in their search. But no, not a single thing seemed out of place in this small village hidden between the mountains, Kagome noted. Small children ran and played without fear, people went about their daily business in the fields with ease, and there were more smiles to be seen than worried faces…

"And not a single dark cloud of demonic aura in sight.” Miroku stated as if he had read Kagome’s mind and finished her thoughts. Scary how he did that sometimes.

“I wonder why we sensed anything at all?" Kagome asked herself out loud. Her face turned to a hopeful smile. “It’s a refreshing site though, isn’t it?”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh please. The fact that there's nothing wrong makes this place even more suspicious." Inuyasha lifted his chin to sniff the air in his usual manner, then wrinkled his nose.

“Anything, Inuyasha?” Sango asked.

“Yea.” They all stopped and stared expectantly at him, thinking he would perhaps point a direction to travel towards. He wrinkled his nose again. “It’s fertilizing season in the fields.”

Kagome narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “Sit.”

And down Inuyasha went, with an echoing thud, as the rest of the group walked toward the village in annoyance. Inuyasha finally got the strength to stand, his face red with dirt on it. “Kagome! What the hell what that for?”

Kagome turned around while the others kept walking. “Don’t get us all worked up like that! We thought you were serious!”

Kagome heard Inuyasha growling as she turned around to join Sango who was walking toward the nearest shop. Kirara meowed as she caught up to them and Shippo hopped up and fastened himself to Kagome's shoulder.

# # #

Inuyasha followed Kagome with his eyes as she walked off, still grumbling about the un-called-for ‘sit’. But seeing the way Shippo leaped up to Kagome’s shoulder, as if afraid she would disappear, cooled his demon blood.

Shippo had been a lot clingier since there last bout with Naraku, not that he wasn’t before. But there wasn’t fear there before. Inuyasha knew how he felt. The fact that Kagome was so badly hurt in the attempt to save everyone scared him as much as Shippo; she was so selfless when it came to them. Stupid woman. She was too weak to be doing things like that.

Inuyasha then felt a twinge of guilt as he saw Kagome wince at the pain in her feet as she walked. The truth was he was utterly pissed at himself for getting them in the position that she had to help him. //She was hurt because of me. All my fault. I was so stupid...//

Inuyasha's self loathing was interrupted by a strong clap on his shoulder. Miroku must have turned around to come talk to him and was now looking at him with a soft smile; almost as if he knew what Inuyasha was thinking and trying to comfort him. His hand then left Inuyasha's shoulder. For once, comforting words sounded nice from Miroku, but he was hoping for too much.

"Don’t worry Inuyasha…” Miroku’s head then turned toward a gaggle of the local girls. “I'm going to ask around."

Inuyasha scowled as the monk wondered off. "Ask around my ass!" Inuyasha yelled after him. “Stupid lecherous monk.” He grumbled under his breath. He might ask around, but it won't have anything to do with Naraku.

Although he had to confess, Miroku had lightened up a bit on the womanizing since his scene with Sango by the riverside. Miroku had practically proposed, it was pretty surprising…Until it turned ugly when Sango asked him to stop his usual gestures to women and he couldn't promise such. Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk at the memory of Miroku trying to talk his way out of it. Honestly, the monk digs his own grave every time they reach a village.

Shaking his head at Miroku, Inuyasha started looking around the village himself. People did seem really happy here, he admitted. But something was a miss; people didn’t seem intimidated by the hanyo. In fact, they weren’t even looking at him strangely. Not that he missed the attention, but what the hell gives?

Even Kirara seemed accepted by the village, as Inuyasha watched the neko run over to a group of giggling children. One of the little girls even presented a small fish to the two-tail, who meowed in appreciation. Inuyasha quirked a smile as he watched them, then turned to where the girls had walked off to.

Kagome was making light talk with the old hag that ran a vegetable stand while Sango listened. Inuyasha then saw Sango scowl at the mansion at the head of the village as the old woman pointed to it. Maybe something was going on. Sango broke off; obviously looking for the idiot monk, while Kagome and Shippo purchased some supplies. Inuyasha then waited for them to be done before walking up to Kagome.

# # #


"Your village seems very prosperous." Kagome smiled at the vegetable vender. The old woman was all smiles as well, her eyes squinted and her aged hair held back by a bandanna.

The old woman’s grim widened. "Oh yes, my dear. Ever since Lord Yoshikawa took up residence in the old lords home," she motioned to the large estate at the head of the village, "we have seen nothing but prosperity. Such a kind man."

"He must be," Sango added, not taking her eyes of the mansion. Kagome knew that look, the 'something's not right here' glare that she would get when things seemed odd. Kagome hoped it was just her being paranoid; she hated the idea that maybe this village’s fortunes were because of any type of evil.

Sango was still in a bit of a trance staring at the mansion until Kirara returned and lightly jumped up on her head. She smiled and turned to Kagome, “I’m going to go get Miroku, and then we can take a look at that mansion.”

“Right.” Kagome then purchased a few things from the old woman out of kindness for the information, even though Inuyasha always said it wasn’t necessary. It was just common courtesy in her time. She then set off toward where Inuyasha was standing.

"Do you think something's up with that lord, Kagome?" Shippo inquired, perched on her shoulder.

"I'm not sure, but I think Sango does."

"What about Sango?" Inuyasha asked as they met.

Shippo then jumped over to Inuyasha's shoulder. "The veggie lady said they've had nothing but good luck ever since the new lord showed up."

Inuyasha then gave a thoughtful look and sniff toward the mansion up the road. Kagome still thought, well, more like hoped this was all just paranoia. "Still, if this place is doing so well, maybe we should just let it be. You know, don't fix what's not broken?"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Miroku said while he and Sango walked up to them. Miroku was sporting a brand new red slap mark on his face. Kagome was starting to think that Miroku purposely egged Sango on to get slapped, considering the look of contradicting bliss he always seemed to have afterward. "Perhaps we were right to come here."

"I say we go up and meet this lord." Sango looked towards the mansion yet again. Inuyasha then snorted. "Why? A prosperous village isn't exactly on the list of Naraku's calling cards.”

"Still, something just doesn't seem right."

"Oh fine. Whatever"

They set off toward the estate, with Kagome lagging behind. She just didn't see the point. Most likely they would just be doing more harm that good. How come all of her old sayings were always ignored? Or maybe her old sayings just hadn't been invented yet and that's why? Whatever the case, Kagome didn't really agree with the meddling, but followed anyway.

# # #

The mansion grounds where beautiful and well kept, with two large rock gardens on each side as you passed through the gates. The building itself was etched beautifully with green roofs and golden trim, strong wooden beams, and polished walkways. This was exactly the place Miroku would usually see an ‘ominous aura’ around to win them a free meal ticket.

Guards were posted on either side of the entrance to the castle and eyed the newcomers wearily, strengthening their grip on their spears. "What business have you here?" The guard demanded, narrowing his eyes and scanning the group.

"Please, be more courteous of our guests," a light, young voice said from behind the curtain of the mansion. The guards then bowed and retreated from their respected sides as the young lord revealed himself, smiling. "My name is Yoshikawa, a pleasure." The young lord scanned the group and eyes stopped on Kagome. "You are a miko, are you not, young woman?"

Kagome was obviously a little taken aback by his insight; it was as good as Miroku's even. People usually just saw her as the strangely dressed girl, not as a miko. The others seemed surprised as well.

"And a monk. Welcome to my home," he said spreading his arms. "Please, come in."

The group kept looking at one another. The man was a little too perceptive for their liking, giving them even more a reason to believe something was wrong with this place. But ‘you never know until you check it out yourself’, as Miroku always said, so they followed the young lords invitation and walked up the steps, with Inuyasha in the lead and Miroku bringing up the rear.

They quietly walked down the corridor in a single file line. Miroku was lost in thought, why had Yoshikawa only addressed Kagome and himself? You would think that two youkai, a hanyo, and a youkai slayer would bring some attention. Let alone the fact that they were all traveling together. This utopia was becoming more and more confusing.

At the end of the corridor, they turned in to a large hosting room and sat down. Miroku's eyes wondered around the finely attired room, as if searching for any pulse of evil he could possibly detect. But he felt nothing of the sort. It seemed so pure in this mountain village, it reminded him of what Kagome felt like whenever she purified a jewel shard. //Strange, this place reminds me more of a shrine, then a castle or a village.//

“I'm sure you are wondering how I knew you were a miko," Yoshikawa asked as he sat across from them at the foot of a Buddhist sculpture. Miroku looked at the young lords stance and the surrounding atmosphere and knew how exactly. "You're a monk yourself," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Yoshikawa smiled at the monk and nodded his head. He seemed pleased at the fact that Miroku figured it out.

"How did a monk become lord of these lands? I thought that was against your code?" Kagome inquired. She and Sango seemed interested in the monk lord but Inuyasha looked as if he was going to die of boredom; following a moth with his eyes and twitching his ears in his usual irritated fashion.

Miroku was all but aware that the young lords eyes hadn't left Kagome. Miroku's eyes narrowed, pondering Yoshikawa's intentions. He knew why his own eyes always lingered, and if it’s the same reason, the young lord was in for a world of hurt. And after Kagome kicks his ass, Inuyasha would be sure to join in. But, it’s not like he could say much, considering his reaction to Kagome when he first met her. So far, the lord was acting better that he had.

Yoshikawa seemed happy to answer her question, as his eyes lit up, "Dire times call for dire measures. I was a monk, but abandoned the teachings to help this village. It was in horrible condition when I arrived. Their lord had died two years ago and there was no one to protect the village from youkai attacks, say a few miko. I rallied all the warriors I could and the miko who were already fighting and attacked the youkai stronghold. The miko and warriors fought brilliantly. However, their powers were limited, and the miko died protecting the warriors as they retreated. The village you see today was founded by their sacrifice."

"But if you had to retreat, then you didn't win the battle. Why do the youkai still not attack?" Sango seemed to be staring him down //not believing his story most likely//.

"Alone, the miko were not very powerful, but together they were able to put a barrier around the village, stopping any youkai attack."

"Stopping youkai? What the hell do you think I am?" Inuyasha growled at him as he sat up.

"I didn't say it stopped youkai, it only stops attacks. When you came here, did you have any intention of destroying the village?" Yoshikawa asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Well...no."

"Exactly," Yoshikawa smiled. “As long as the barrier doesn’t see you as a threat, you may enter the village.”

Inuyasha grumbled and sank back down, still staring at the monk lord. But Miroku wondered, was such a barrier even possible?

# # #

The cocky monk was really starting to get on Inuyasha’s nerves. Of all the things he hated, not being seen as a threat was high on the list. He could have let that slide, until he noticed that even though Yoshikawa was answering his question, he never took his eyes off Kagome. //Who is this ass hole? And why was he so interested in Kagome?//

Not only was that pissing him off, but this place didn’t smell right either. Sure, there was not a single youkai scent around, but there was some strange lingering scent of death that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. It was strange, it wasn’t very strong, or putrid, just the normal smell you would get at a graveyard or funeral.

This was a fucking waste of time. Nothing was wrong here, and if the Lord didn’t take his eyes off Kagome soon, Inuyasha was going to rip them out and had them to him.

They finally finished with the conversation and Yoshikawa asked them to stay the night, much to Inuyasha’s disapproval. “We should be moving on.”

“Oh come on, Inuyasha, It’s not like we’re in some huge hurry,” Kagome replied as she unpacked some of her backpack. The mansion had many rooms and Yoshikawa gave them two down the hall from each other to use for the night. Kagome was in one of them alone with Inuyasha. It was a simple four tatami pad room, with a futon already laid out. “Besides, now we have a nice place to stay for the night, and we don’t have to worry about youkai attacks.”

“I can’t believe you trust that guy.”

“Why not?”

“He’s just so…so…”

“What?” Kagome glared at him, waiting for a reply. It didn’t come. “See? You can’t even point out anything wrong about him.”

“Humph” Inuyasha growled as he set off to find a tree to sleep in for the night. This place was really starting to piss him off to the extreme. First the un-called-for ‘sit’ command, then the smug monk who kept ogling Kagome, and now, everyone wants to stay a useless night here, and did he mention the monk ogling Kagome? Inuyasha growled beside himself as he found a suitable tree.

Jumping up into it, he checked that there was a good view of the other’s rooms. Pleased with the optimum view, he settled down for the night.

# # #

Kagome shook her head as she watched Inuyasha storm off. Why was he so paranoid? The others seemed perfectly fine with staying here. Even the suspicious Sango agreed that it was a good idea.

Her and Sango even got a separate room from the monk, which was a rare treat. When Sango finally came in with Kirara trailing behind, she looked a bit flustered. ”What’s wrong Sango?” Kagome asked already knowing the answer. Miroku was getting too predictable.

“Nothing much but the usual,” She mumbled, blushing with her eyebrow twitching in an annoyed fashion. “Miroku was just be his usual self, I guess.”

“Tried to get you to sleep in his room?”

“In his futon to be specific.”

Kagome gave her a wry smile with a small chuckle behind it. Miroku had some balls, Kagome had to admit. Ordinarily he was happy with a grope or two, but he didn’t usually instigate sleeping together…when it came to Sango at least.

Sango irritably retrieved her futon from the closet and laid it next to Kagome’s. Kirara began circling the mat and then chose to lie down on Sango’s futon. Kagome looked around for her usual bedmate and came up short. “Where’s Shippo?”

“Said he was going to sleep with Miroku, to keep an eye on him.”

“Brave kid.” Kagome giggled. As they settled in for the night, Kagome couldn’t help but try to imagine the scene between Sango and Miroku and wondering how red the slap mark on Miroku’s cheek was. She would have to ask Shippo about it in the morning.

# # #

Miroku laid in his futon, staring up at the ceiling and sighing to himself. Turning his head to see if Shippo had at last fallen asleep, he winced at the red mark in his cheek. Damn, she had hit him hard this time. And he hadn’t even touched her. But he knew she hit him harder than usual because she was more embarrassed this time than just the usual annoyance.

Shippo was really starting to grow up, and when Miroku instigated sleeping together, Shippo asked them (well, he was looking at Sango, which was probably even worse) if they were going to ‘do it’.

“Of course we aren’t!” Sango yelled, face redder than ever. Miroku stared in awe at the young kitsune. He had never explained that to him, the others never let him. Where the hell had he picked that up?

Shippo was looking more and more confused. “But,” Shippo tilted his head at Sango, “I thought that’s what sleeping together meant?”

“We are not sleeping together!” She hoarsely whispered, as if the entire castle was listening in. As Shippo ruffled his brows in confusion, Sango walked the few feet over to Miroku, slapped him so hard that his head spun, walked over to the door, slid it open, walked through, then slid the door shut behind her as hard as she could without breaking it.

A few seconds later, the door slid back open and Sango peaked back through. “Shippo, keep an eye on Miroku tonight, okay?”

Shippo smiled. “Okay.”

The door slammed shut again, while Miroku was still in stunned silence. Why, oh why, did the kid have to say that? She seemed only a little taken aback at first. If only he hadn’t…Wait, where was the kid? Miroku shook himself out of the flashback as he noticed the kitsune’s absence.

Miroku sat up in his futon, scanning the room for the little demon, when hands came around his face and covered his mouth. Miroku reached for his staff when another set of hands grabbed his wrists and held them behind his back. He slammed his head back and heard a snap as he hit the man’s nose behind him. Using the shock, he twisted his wrists out of the man’s grasp and reached for his staff. Standing up, ready for anything, Miroku swung his staff, knocking the air out of his two attackers, then ran off in the direction of the girls’ room.

He had only gone a few steps when an attack came from nowhere. A hand hit him right below the skull on the back of his neck. The last thing Miroku heard was the footsteps of the men surrounding him, and then he was out.




TBC…

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Yoroushiku onegaishimasu!