InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Half Demon Child ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, the show InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own any of the characters that includes InuYasha, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Kirara etc... Got it? I don't any of that! However, the characters I made up like Tani and Larina belong to me: Naema Dag-Ellams ^_^

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Kagura had followed Naraku's exact instructions and taken both Tani and Kohaku back to his castle. It was still nightfall and Tani was still in her human state. No matter, Kagura had landed and made it back to the ominous castle to where the demon, her master, Naraku lived. They had entered the castle and Kagura had presented the half demon child to Naraku who was sitting where he always sat with the ghost like demon, Kanna standing there with her mirror.

“Excellent work Kagura,” Naraku said, “you weren't followed,”

“No, Naraku, I wasn't,” Kagura responded, “believe me, I would never let such a thing happen, I flew very high so that mutt InuYasha cannot track my scent. Although I did bring the girl, the boy and the jewel as you asked, Naraku,”

Naraku nodded as he waved both Kagura and Kohaku off, meaning that he wanted to be alone with Tani. Kanna already took the hint and walked backwards and disappeared into the darkness. As of Kagura and Kohaku, they just simply walked out of the room.

Tani stood before Naraku and gulped.

“I see,” he spoke.

“Hmm?” Tani was very confused with what Naraku had just murmured, “p-pardon?” she soon thought quick and took a hold of the jewel she had and presented to Naraku.

Naraku smiled and then chuckled, “I see, you're in your human state.”

“O-oh… yes…” Tani said as she held onto her arm and began to scratch it not giving him eye contact because of her embarrassment. “I-I'm sorry, I lost ahead of time, I forgot that the night of the full moon was near. I couldn't have killed Kikyo in time. But… I don't even remember ever attacking Kikyo, but when I became human, I saw her in pain, she seemed injured and InuYasha-,” Tani's eyes grew dark with rage, “InuYasha…” she growled. “Him and his friend's were there and that girl with the strange clothing seemed injured too.”

“The way you say his name… do you despise InuYasha?” Naraku asked.

“Yes, I do… from what I saw, it seemed as if he and his friends were trying to protect Kikyo. Even though she killed my… mother, I thought InuYasha was myfriend. He helped me out before… when those… kids bullied me…” Tani said as she thought back to when the village kids picked on her and InuYasha defended her. “It's just not fair; I just don't understand why he would do that to me, him and his friends…”

“Do you wish to get back at Kikyoand InuYasha?”

Tani wanted to say yes but… she couldn't… for some reason… it seemed difficult to try and get back at them. Was it because of her human emotions? When Naraku asked the same thing in her half demon state she immediately said yes but… for some reason now that she was human… it was different. When she turned to human, she couldn't take on InuYasha. Not only was she weak but she was afraid and she was also still a child, so innocent and fragile and guilty… and her mother… what would she think?

Naraku noticed that Tani was deep in thought, so he asked again, “Tani?”

Tani lifted her head, “I-I don't know if I can, I'm human now a-and…”

“And how long are you human for?”

“For a full day, I become a half demon again tomorrow night.”

“I suppose you can take the time to gather up your strength. It had been I heck of a battle for you, I can tell by your clothes.”

Tani looked down at her clothes and noticed that her clothes were tattered and ripped. “I guess you're right.” She brought the jewel again and presented to Tani. “Here, the sacred jewel.”

Naraku took a glimpse at the sacred jewel and then smiled at Tani. Little did she know that the sacred jewel was tainted black. Her hatred towards Kikyo, InuYasha and his friends had influenced the jewel to glow so dark and grow more evil. But, Tani didn't notice a thing even though she should've since her mother was a priestess.

Tani at that moment began to cough in a raspy way, the toxic miasma was becoming too much for the girl as she went down to her knees.

“Are you aright Tani?” Naraku asked with a lot of concern in his voice.

Tani continued to cough, “I'm fine,” she began, “it's the atmosphere, it's just too much for me. Now that I'm human, I don't think my body can take it all that well now then when it was able too when I was in my half demon state.” She explained as she continued to cough.

“My apologies,” Naraku apologized, “you'll be staying in a certain room where you can breath in. I'm sure that the atmosphere is safe and healthy for your body,” he reassured.

Tani smiled, “thank you,” she said as she bowed her head.

“Now then,” Naraku began, “Kohaku will take you too your room.”

As if right on cue, Kohaku had entered the room. “This way,” he said.

Tani nodded her head as she bowed once more to Naraku and followed Kohaku out the room. As Tani continued to follow Kohaku down the hallway Tani began to feel her pocket and her neck and realized that the two most important things to remember her family by were missing.

Tani almost began to panic, “My necklace and my ocarina have been stolen!”

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After Kagura had left with Tani and Kohaku the InuYasha and his friends had followed the direction to where Kagura had flown off. Fortunately for the gang, they had managed to find a small hut that didn't seem to belong to anyone it seemed more of an abandoned hut. So now the gang was all sitting in the hut around the fire keeping themselves warm, it was a cold night.

“Damnit! They got away again!” InuYasha cursed. “If only Tani didn't have the jewel, I would've gotten a hold her...”

“And this time Tani is with them.” Miroku stated as he was feeding the fire with a log that he had and threw it in.

“Along with the jewel…” Sango said, “And Kohaku…” she added silently as she was helping Kagome with her wound. Sango continued to apply gauze on the wound which the teenager had got from Tani when she was in her demon state.

“Naraku is unforgivably cruel,” Kagome began, “he's using Tani for his own purpose, to kill Kikyo, since Tani hate's Kikyo, the jewel is becoming tainted. Naraku's using Tani's hatred to influence the jewel to become more evil,” Kagome then winced from the pain to when Sango was applying the gauze and ointment.

“Sorry,” Sango apologized, “does that hurt?”

“I'm fine, don't worry about me,” Kagome reassured.

“And you say that Kikyo left after I went out to get Tani?” InuYasha asked.

“She floated away with her soul collectors the moment you left,” Shippo replied.

InuYasha felt sad that he didn't see Kikyo one last time before her departure but decided to let that one go, since Kagome was here… but still. It bothered him that Kikyo just left without saying good bye to him but he shook it off and tried to focus the fact that Naraku had the audacity to send a child to do his dirty work.

InuYasha then turned to Kagome, “And you're okay?” he asked Kagome trying to get off the awkward moment of even mentioning about Kikyo's where abouts.

Kagome nodded, “yes I am, I shouldn't have been so careless to when we got closer to Tani.”

“It's not your fault Kagome,” InuYasha said, “I should've been there to protect you,”

“It's no one's fault,” Miroku decided, “Tani was just too fast for us to react.”

Kirara meowed in agreement.

“Yeah, but now, Kagura has gone off with them,” Sango stated. By them she meant both her brother Kohaku and Tani.

“And to think, I could've gotten Tani back sooner…” InuYasha said.

“I thought I would be easier for you to get Tani back now that she was human,” Shippo said. “I thought you could've told her what was really going on.”

“No… she hates me.” InuYasha replied, solemnly.

Everyone lifted their head up at the same time and looked at InuYasha, “Hate?” they all asked in unison.

InuYasha nodded, “…yeah…”

“But I thought she was fond of you, since you helped her out back in the village,” Sango stated.

“So did I,” Kagome said, “what made her hate you so much?”

“… Kikyo,” he said as he looked down at the fire. “She thinks that I betrayed her to defend Kikyo. Tani believes that Kikyo killed her mother.”

“Naraku,” Miroku growled.

“Yeah… Naraku most likely told Tani that Kikyo killed her mother even though he's the one that did it. So then when Tani tried to attack her until we came into the picture at defend her. At the time she was in her demon state…” InuYasha explained.

“So then… she couldn't have remembered that she was attacking Kikyo at the time, since she was a full demon,” Kagome said, “so then…”

“She's like you,” Sango finished, “She can't remember anything when she is at her demon state.”

“That also means she doesn't remember being to terrifying either.” Shippo said.

“So then when she became human, she saw us in a defensive state with Kikyo and Kagome, so then at that moment,” InuYasha trailed on.

“She figured that we betrayed her,” Miroku finished.

InuYasha nodded, getting angry.

“That's so terrible,” Sango said.

“Not to mention she is just a little girl,” Kagome said. “And yet you can't blame her, she doesn't have a clue that Naraku is behind all of this, since she hates us and saw us with Kikyo, she didn't know who else to trust…”

It was quiet now… the sound which filled the air was the sound of the fire crackling while it was burning the log the Miroku continuously threw in. Kagome then at that moment, then remembered something that she had picked up earlier after Tani left with Kagura. She then when into her pocket and brought out something shiny which caught everyone's attention.

“What's that you got Kagome?” Miroku asked noticing it along with Sango and Shippo.

“I'm not sure, it's what I found when we were leaving the battlefield, when we last saw Tani.” Kagome said rotating the strange thing.

“It looks like some sort of instrument,” Sango said as she was now carefully wrapping the bandages over the wound that was treated.

Shippo went on Kagome's knee to look at it, “that's because it is an instrument.”

“It is?” Kagome, Miroku, Sango asked in unison.

Shippo nodded, “of course, it's called an ocarina.” He said.

“I've heard of that before,” Sango said looking at Miroku.

Miroku nodded, “so have I,”

“Me too,” Kagome said. “I wouldn't have figured that an ocarina would look like this.” She said examining it. The instrument to which she held was round and just didn't look normal.

InuYasha lifted his head to see the instrument himself, “I've seen that somewhere before…” He thought trying to think back.

“It may look weird but, I'm pretty sure that it sounds beautiful, it sorta sounds similar to a flute or something, here,” Shippo said as he gently took it out of Kagome's hands, “I'll demonstrate.”

Everyone moved closer to hear the sound. Nobody even made a sound. Shippo smiled as he licked his lips and made a note. The note to which he played was so soft and warm that it made everyone who seemed tense, relax, even InuYasha which caused his ear's to twitch with relaxation, he soon then recognized the note that Shippo had just played but he couldn't think back to where he heard the melody.

“That's a beautiful sound,” Sango said as she brought out a weak smile.

“Indeed so, it sorta relaxes me,” Miroku said.

Kagome even then brought out a weak smile, “Hmm…” she murmured with a smile. “It is beautiful.”

Without a warning, Kagome had felt a strong pulse in her pocket which caused her to gasp and get everyone around the fire to give her a worried glance.

“Kagome, are you alright?” InuYasha as he quickly went to her side.

“Did I hurt you when I put the bandages on?” Sango asked, beginning to feel guilty. “Is it on too tight?”

Kagome didn't answer as she dug into her right pocket and brought out the sacred jewel shards that she had. It wasn't the jewel shards that pulsed. Then Kagome dug into her left pocket and brought out Tani's half moon, half sun necklace. Soon the necklace began to glow.

“What on earth…?” Miroku said as he looked closer to the necklace that Kagome held.

“What is that Kagome?” Sango asked.

Of course, both Miroku and Sango weren't with InuYasha, Kagome and Shippo when they had found the necklace. Both the monk and the demon slayer were off in a different direction looking for Tani but ended up passing Kohaku so they they've never seen the necklace before.

“It's a necklace that we found when we were looking for Tani,” Kagome responded as she presented to Sango and Miroku. “But… I don't understand why it just pulsed like that. This necklace belongs to Tani, unless…” Kagome trailed off, “no…,” she stopped herself from thinking any negative thoughts; “I don't think that anything's happened to Tani.”

“I hope not,” Shippo said as he played another note on the ocarina.

The necklace pulsed again as it began to glow once more.

“What the hell…” InuYasha started as he looked closer to the necklace. And then it hit him, the ocarina that Shippo was carrying belong to Tani as well! He began to think back to when he had first met Tani. InuYasha was following the simusho but then the insect died out on him and then he heard Tani play a melody and it was interrupted when the village kids picked on her. “The instrument belongs to Tani too! She must have dropped to when she went off with Kagura.”

“That could be possible,” Miroku said, “but it's strange how it keeps pulsing when Shippo plays a note,”

“Maybe it's trying to tell us something,” Sango said.

“Maybe…” Kagome said staring at the ocarina.

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A priestess had been traveling on her own, recovering from an epic battle that she had with a young half demon which Naraku had sent after to kill her in the first place. She was in pretty bad shape after the half demon child had turned human. Once she had ran away, InuYasha went out to chase after her and once he had left so had done the priestess as she floated away with her soul collectors.

Now the priestess was alone once again with her soul collectors to complete her goal as to defeat Naraku for all he had done. The priestess had already sent one of her soul collectors to find anywhere abouts of Naraku or his castle or even his henchmen or incarnates.

“My body has been weakened by that half demon child who seemed to have been mislead by that Naraku…” Kikyo began to think. “Naraku had told her false information about the death of her mother when Naraku was obviously the culprit. Naraku is going through so much trouble as too trying to get rid of me that he has sent a child to do his work for him,since he can not even lay a hand of me because his heart-Onigumo. The heart to which belongs to Onigumo still yearns for me. So this is my advantage…”

One of Kikyo's soul collectors had come and given Kikyo the souls of the dead which replenished Kikyo's body from the battle that she had with the half demon child, Tani. Then another soul collector came and gave the soul to Kikyo. Soon another soul collector came to tell her what it had found out.

Kikyo nodded showing that she understood. “So it's true that Tani child is now part of Naraku's pack. She hates me along with InuYasha and wishes to put and end to us. Naraku is most likely going to raise this child and make her become evil like him. I'll personally see to it that Naraku will not corrupt this child and take away her innocence.” She said as she looked up at the full moon. “Sooner or later, I will confront you, Naraku.”

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End Chapter