InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Freedom ❯ Four ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The pair left first thing in the morning.

Kagome watched his back in silence as they were both caught up in their own thoughts. He hadn’t spoken to her ever since they left Jinenji’s village and she wondered what was on his mind.  

She noticed that he was more thoughtful than usual, stopping and setting up camp whenever she showed signs of exhaustion, allowing her to indulge in a hot bath, and making sure that she was fed. His small gestures pleased her, but his silence began to trouble her, and she wondered if she did something wrong.

Kagome sighed as she wondered about the half demon lord’s life. She wondered what he did besides patrol the old country and slay rogue demons who had stepped out of bounds. Now that they were alone, she was curious to know what his childhood was like. She felt silly asking him these things, but it had been such a long time since she had a companion and she couldn’t help her growing interest.

She had tried to get him to talk about his past as the evening wore on, when they had set up camp earlier than usual because Inuyasha wanted to scout the area. When he came back with a string of fish over his shoulder and some fruit, she knew that it was now or never.

“Inuyasha?” He grunted in acknowledgment as he quickly cleaned, and gutted the fish and she scooted closer to him, he seemed to tense at her nearness and she raised a sharp brow. Am I imagining things?

“What’s it like beyond these borders that you work so hard to patrol?” She leaned in to the fire and inhaled the scent of cooking fish that made her stomach rumble. Inuyasha lightly scoffed and wondered what the woman was up to and why she would ask him such a stupid thing.

“Chaotic.” He replied curtly, and she sighed audibly as he handed her a piece of fruit that she bit into with gusto. She hadn’t expected him to go over battle plans, or even sound that enthusiastic but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“You must be away a lot from your family.” He shrugged noncommittally as he turned the skewers over in the flames.

“Don’t have much family, except for a half-brother.” She seemed to latch onto that as her expression brightened.

“What’s he like?

“Most of the time he’s a giant prick with an icicle up his ass.” Kagome frowned and audibly sighed to herself at the unforthcoming half demon lord. When he handed her a skewer she found that she didn’t have much of an appetite.

She missed her family.

“A brother is better than no one. You don’t realize what you take for granted until it’s gone.” She chuckled without humor, and it was Inuyasha’s turn to frown. The wench had been moody all day and he discreetly searched her scent to see if it was that time of the month. He had gone out of his way to be nice to her, extra nice given his proclivity to lose his temper and he couldn’t for the life of him figure her out.

“Did you end up taking someone for granted?” He found himself being drawn in by the woman’s spell.

“Yes…my grandfather. He wasn’t the easiest man to get along with, but he was always there for me.” Kagome surprised herself as she freely talked about her deceased loved one, at the end of her story her cheeks were flushed and Inuyasha hid a smile at the image she painted of the quirky old man.

“I didn’t grow up with any of my grandparents,” He thought somberly as he fed the fire with pieces of dry wood before continuing, “Although, from the stories that my old man shared, I’m not sure I would’ve liked them. I grew up with my mother in the countryside. In fact, we’re not too far from my mother’s old village and she was good friends with the crone.” He finished referring to Jinenji’s mother. Kagome’s eyes widened, and she smiled to herself, pleased that she had finally gotten the half demon lord to divulge.

They both stayed up for most of the night swapping stories from their youth until she began to lightly doze off. Inuyasha looked down at the woman who began softly snoring as she leaned heavily on his shoulder and he traced her golden skin gleaming in the firelight until his eyes fell on her mouth.

Inuyasha forcibly tore his eyes away and looked up at the canopy of stars as he felt the fight leave him. He had been distant with the woman, hoping that he could quickly deliver on his end of the promise because he gave her his word.

Something about the woman unsettled him, and it was not just the emotions that she drew out from his normally reserved bearing. He mulled on the events leading up to their meeting, and when he came up against the same dead ends, he sighed in frustration and told himself that it had to be a trap.   

Inuyasha felt himself becoming ensnared and suddenly he didn’t care. He brushed a clawed hand across her cheek and admired her sleeping countenance.

Suddenly, something bit his neck and he slapped the annoying insect and was about to flicker the bug into the flames when he saw a familiar face.

“Lord Inuyasha!” The flattened bug squeaked as he scowled down at the pesky demon.

“Myouga, you better have a good reason for why you’re interrupting me.” The flea demon looked up at the young lord, to the human woman sleeping on his shoulder and he began to apologize profusely.

“My Lord, I didn’t know you had it in you. I’ll leave right away and come back in the morning.”

“Idiot, you better start talking, and fast.”

Sensing the young lords growing ire, Myouga cleared his throat.

“I have news from the Hyoga clan and the invading human army that was last seen near the northern borders.”

“Spit it out.” Inuyasha ordered, and when Kagome shifted besides him he remembered that he had to lower his voice.

“As you know the Hyoga have been your fathers sworn enemies for centuries. Both sides have appeared to form a pact, and that’s not all my Lord.” Myouga sighed, as he folded his limbs across his chest and closed his eyes in resignation. “There’s been an attack on the wolf’s stronghold. Whispers abound that its tied with some old territorial claims, but it’s too soon to say for certain. Your brother wants you to go and investigate.”

Inuyasha pinched the bridge of his nose and his head began to pound at the mention of the wolves. He wasn’t surprised by the turn of events. Things had been too quiet, and he was almost glad for the reprieve.

“Is that all?” Inuyasha exhaled wearily, and the flea demon seemed to fidget under his lord’s gaze.

“Er…yes, Lord Inuyasha. But I’ve been meaning to ask, who’s this lovely young lady?”

“No one that you’d know. I promised to escort her back to her village, but I’m afraid that we’re going to have to take a slight detour” He decided to close the matter until he could answer that question with more confidence. Inuyasha was wary of revealing too much because of the flea demon’s partiality to gossip, even if he was Inuyasha’s best informant.

 

 

The first grey streaks of dawn were illuminating the horizon when he decided to move out. Inuyasha was surprised that she took the news so well.

“Well I guess it can’t be helped.” She simply shrugged as she picked through her breakfast. If she was honest with him, she would admit that the closer she got to home, the more anxious she became.

Kagome was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t even realize that he had stopped, and she bumped into his back with a soft oof.

“Inuyasha, what is it?” She said in a small voice that she didn’t recognize as her own.

“Wolves, and human blood, lots of it.” He let out a low growl. He was hoping that by taking the more mountainous path that they would avoid trouble, but he gathered that it was now or never given the flea demons report. But what the hell are wolves doing so far out here, damn mongrels.

 “Get on.” He crouched low and she stared incredulously at the back of his head as she gingerly got on his back. He adjusted her and was careful of her wounds and soon he launched up the rocky hills. Kagome sucked in a frightened scream and pressed her face in the side of his neck as her heart pounded in her chest.

Inuyasha skidded to a stop and Kagome slid of his back, momentarily thanking the gods for solid ground and when she gathered her bearings she felt a faint brush of yoki that made her edgy.

“Come on.” Inuyasha ordered, not waiting for her to stand as he already began making his way up the winding path. Dread filled her, as a site of carnage greeted them in the village and she suppressed a shudder.

There were still a few wolf yokai feasting on slain humans and Inuyasha made quick work of them, with a disgusted snarl.

Such things were not uncommon, but when she saw a young child’s bloated body split open she began to silently cry to herself. Inuyasha turned to her with an incredulous frown. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary but a common razing.

“Hey, it’s okay.” It was a lousy attempt to comfort her, he couldn’t stand the sight of a woman crying. Somehow his efforts made her shoulders shake more and her muffled cries grew louder as he sighed. He awkwardly wound his hands around her shoulder and patted her back every now and again.

“I’m sorry. I sometimes forget how brief our lives are.” Kagome wiped her face with the back of her hand and she didn’t know what came over her. She managed a watery smile. “Thank You.”

 “I’d like to bury them and say a prayer.” He snorted but did not deny her and watched her struggle to dig graves before he sighed in resignation and helped her to do most of the heavy work. She stood over each unmarked grave, and closed her eyes, uttering a few choice words that he had remembered in religious funerals from when his mother was alive.

“That’s the last of them.” She let out a sigh and dusted her hands. “Hopefully their souls can find peace. I sometimes forget how unforgiving this world can be.”

“This place is a warzone, humans have no business building these settlements with no guaranteed protection.” He said offhand, not really thinking.

“It’s easy for you to see us that way, isn’t it?” He wasn’t expecting her bitter tone, and he shrugged not really wanting to pick a fight.

“Haven’t really given it much thought. But we gotta keep moving, these parts are not safe especially if these little shits were feeding in broad daylight.” Inuyasha finished darkly.

 He chanced a glance at the woman as she held her eyes downcast, and she looked like she wanted to get away from him. He could sense that she wanted to say something more to him, but she didn’t. She simply dusted herself off to search the rubble for supplies while he kept watch.

It wasn’t too long that she came back with a woman’s robe, a comb, a rare bar of soap and some rags, a cooking pot and a set of bow and quiver full of arrows. He raised a brow at the robe and she shrugged nonchalantly.

Kagome ignored his questioning gaze as she tied her supplies in a simple sack. She couldn’t wait to wash the grit out of her hair, and sighed as she ran her hands through the tangled ends. Inuyasha stretched his limbs and turned towards the road. 

Kagome froze mid step, as she felt a wave of malicious intent.

“Inuyasha.” She warned in a hushed whisper. The half demon stilled and gripped tessaiga as he glared at the horizon and begin to growl.

“Wolves.” Inuyasha spat in the dirt and Kagome gasped as a whirlwind of yoki was approaching fast and she instinctively whipped out her bow as a demon, skidded to a stop. She felt her hands tremble as the wolf demon smiled ferally.

“It’s one god damn thing after the next.” She heard Inuyasha curse under his breath.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here? I knew I smelled dog shit and it turns out that I was right.” His face changed when he smelled the blood of slain wolf demons, and he clenched his jaw in rage.

“And you’ve slain my kin, you’ll pay for that.”

“Issuing threats so soon Kouga?” Inuyasha sneered and cracked his knuckles, “You have 30 seconds to explain why you’re fucking wolves are prowling in unmarked territory and razing human villages.” Kagome could hear the control slip from his voice as the wolf threw his head back and laughed.

“Fuck you. My pack owed their loyalty to your late father. Not to you and your bastard brother and I’m not afraid of a pack of yapping dogs. As long as I’m around, my pack will do what it wants. Besides, where were you when my tribe was nearly slain by that Kagewaki bastard?” The wolf’s eyes glinted with resentment, and Inuyasha let out a snarl and charged with his claws outstretched and growled when the wolf twisted easily out of reach.

Did he just say Kagewaki? Her eyes widened a fraction as her mind began to race ahead of her. Kagewaki was alive. That didn’t surprise her, but what did he want with a bunch of wolf yokai?

 “You’ll pay, asshole. Human settlements are off limits and you’re way out of bounds” Inuyasha shouted and he unsheathed tessaiga, as the wolf scoffed.

“Don’t tell me you’ve warmed up to humans?” He cast a side eye to Kagome, and she suppressed a shuddered as his eyes roved over her face and trailed down her curves as the wolf demon whistled low in appreciation.

Kagome felt her face flush at the wolfish grin the demon sported as he was drawn back in battle, narrowly dodging a swipe from tessaiga and jumped behind his foe, and delivered a powerful kick in the half demons back that sent him sputtering to the ground.

“Although I don’t blame you. The human wench isn’t half bad looking.” He watched as Inuyasha raised to his feet, blood trickling from one corner of his mouth that he wiped away with the back of his hand and spat out a bloodied tooth nearly missing the wolf’s foot.

“If you want to keep your head, I’d suggest you leave her out of this.” Inuyasha’s voice hardened, and moments later he stared in disbelief as the wolf nearly dodged an arrow. He watched as Kouga touched his face, a trickle of blood ran down his cheek as his eyes widened in rage.

The human bitch had shot him. Kouga lunged at her as she readied another arrow, but the wolf was too fast. Inuyasha’s sword intercepted his blow, as he was blown back by the force of tessaiga, and he narrowly dodged having his arm sliced off.

Kouga knew that he was unmatched, he hated to lose and couldn’t walk away when his kin were unavenged. He straightened and regarded the woman over Inuyasha’s protective stance and gave a nasty smile.

“You know dog shit, I’m starting to see the light.” Kouga offered coyly, Inuyasha snarled and wondered what the wolf was up to and like clockwork he charged, instead of meeting his blow, the wolf launched himself over the half demons head towards the woman where she tried unsuccessfully to shoot him. That won’t work on me again, princess. Using his speed to his advantage, he silently apologized, as he cracked her across her jaw and grabbed her over his shoulders before making a speedy exit.

Inuyasha stood there in disbelief at the empty plateau and tried to get a grasp on the rage that was slowly boiling inside of him. On the ground was her sack, and the bow with her arrows spilling from the quiver on the cold ground.

 “I’m going to skin that wolf alive if it’s the last thing that I do.” He muttered darkly to himself as he slammed tessaiga in its scarab, and followed her scent trail.