InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Vengeance ❯ Chapter Eleven: Vow ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter Eleven (Vow)

Hakkaku had been sunning himself on a nicely mossy rock, drowsily contented to let the afternoon wander idly by. He was supposed to be on watch, but now that the troublesome Birds of Paradise had been decimated to a few scant vultures hugging the barren crags of the upper mountains, he didn't really have to worry all that much. The supremacy of the Yorozoku had long been established in the mountains. And, besides, his wolves would let him know in advance if anything was truly threatening the caverns the Wolf-Tribe claimed as their own.

Why waste such a beautiful day on needless watch? It was only that Koga, the young leader of the Wolf-Tribe, was so punctilious about such things. But, luckily, Koga wasn't here to growl and snap at him. Yawning broadly, and distractedly scratching at a bug bite on his arm, the wolf-youkai contentedly closed his eyes...

"HEEYAH!"

Startled awake by the yell, Hakkaku barely rolled off his warm rock in time to avoid the sharp spear point aimed at him. Scrambling for his own weapon, he narrowly missed thrusting his own spear through his wolf-brother. Scowling angrily, he thrust the point into the ground by Ginta, who laughed all the harder at Hakkaku's expression as he rolled to and fro on the ground like a frisking pup.

"Are you stupid?" Hakkaku glared. "I could have killed you!"

Ginta grinned toothily. "And I could have killed you!" Whistling his own pair of wolves to his side, he fondly scratched their ears before using them as a prop to stand up. Laughter dying, he drew himself up and gave his wolf-brother a haughty glare.

"And what were you doing, sleeping on watch, huh?"

Hakkaku scrubbed at the sleep in his eyes, tousling the white spikes on his otherwise shaved head, flushing. "It's not as if we really need to stand guard..."

"If Koga knew you were sleeping on watch, he'd break your arm." Ginta scolded.

"Ha! And who was the one he last found sleeping off guard duty, huh? Who then got night-soil duty, huh? Who had to clean out the midden for the last two weeks?" Hakkaku taunted.

"Well, if you hadn't pushed me into the pool, then I wouldn't have splashed you..."

"And Koga!" Hakkaku grinned.

Ginta's answering scowl was cut off as his wolves whined, looking toward the forest below their watch-post. Both wolf youkai turned to stare at the dark forests as the wolves raised their noses and sniffed. One looked back at the wolf-brothers and wuffed.

"What is it?" Ginta asked in a hoarse whisper. He automatically reached for his spear, Hakkaku following suit. Both youkai heard a faint howl on the breeze.

"The Birds of Paradise?" Hakkaku asked, suddenly fearful. The vultures were fierce aerial fighters, and had taken their toll on the Wolf-Tribe.

Ginta listened carefully as the faint howl was repeated. "No..." He whispered. "They've found something. Come on." He gestured for their four-legged brethren to go ahead. With a bark of understanding, the pair of brown-red wolves vanished into the dark forest.

Hakkaku, as young and inexperienced as the nervous Ginta, shifted sweaty palms on his spear haft. Gripping it tightly with determination, he followed the grey-haired wolf-youkai into the shadowed forest below them.

*~*~*~*~*

"What is it?" Hakkaku leaned over the crouching Ginta, trying to get a look. Ginta yelped, nearly falling over and sliding down the sharp incline below them. Scrabbling for the nearest hold---which happened to be Hakkaku---both youkai overbalanced and fell head over tail down the steep hillside. Their anxious companions fish-tailed after them, sending a shower of dirt and dead leaves cascading down with them.

"Oof!" Ginta let out a grunt as Hakkaku landed on him. Eyes crossed at the weight of his wolf-brother, he jerked and gasped. "Get off!"

"Ack!" Hakkaku spat out a mouthful of dirt. Rolling off Ginta, he stayed on his hands and knees, gagging and spitting the mud out. One of their wolves helpfully licked at his face with a long, wet tongue. "GAH!"

A groan came from beside him. "You weigh as much as cow, Hakkaku! You've broken my back." The other wolves pressed in around Ginta, pawing and nosing anxiously at the grey-haired youkai. One of them whined significantly, and glanced to the right as more wolves came bounding out of the brush, joyful at seeing their two-legged brethren.

Hakkaku was knocked off balance by the welcome, and started laughing as half a dozen tongues gave him a drooling welcome, tickling him with wet noses and rough paws.

Ginta, not wanting a repeat of Hakkaku's wet greeting, pushed the excited wolves aside. Looking around for his spear, he saw some of the wolves turn to the right and whine anxiously. Turning their yellow-brown eyes back to the youkai, they wuffed low in their throats.

"What is it? What have you found?" Ginta grabbed at his spear, which had followed his slide down the hill, and poked---not too gently---a giggling Hakkaku with a fur-clad foot.

"Hey!" Hakkaku glared at the youkai, and then, seeing Ginta's attention directed at the brush, suddenly remembered that they had come there to investigate what had made their wolfish minions summon them. Hastily scrambling to his feet, he pushed furry bodies out of the way. He looked wildly around for his own spear, and couldn't find it. "Ginta..."

Ginta made a sharp gesture of silence, and stalked to the brush, wolves hugging his legs. Shrugging, Hakkaku followed the youkai further into the forest. Here, the brush and trees grew close together, and they had to part the reaching branches to get through. The only sound in the sudden silence was the panting of the wolves, who urged them further into the shadows.

Two of the wolves sprang forward into a small clearing, and growled significantly. Ginta paused at the edge of the clearing, and Hakkaku had to catch himself from plowing into the youkai. His retort was cut off as he caught sight of the small, huddled figure lying unconscious on the ground in front of them. Eyes widening, he said incredulously,

"A woman?"

*~*~*~*~*

Miroku added another branch to the fire, sending sparks snapping into the air. The red and yellow lights winked out as they flew upwards, like tiny fireflies. Shrugging tired muscles loose, the monk settled himself by the fire, the rings of his staff tingling slightly as he laid it down carefully beside him. He stared thoughtfully into the flames, as silent as the rest of their exhausted, despondent group.

Sango sat, knees akimbo, across from him, an exhausted kitsune in her lap. The fox cub had cried himself to sleep, his nose red and his cheeks tear-stained. Kirara also slept, curled into a little ball of fluff, her two tails twitching occaisionally as she growled in her sleep. Miroku wondered idly what demons the neko chased in her sleep.

InuYasha had taken to the tree limbs above earlier in the evening. The hanyou had refused to talk about it, and Miroku had not pressed him. It was obvious that he had some pain to deal with, and Miroku was not one to intrude---at least when it was important. A faint smile touched his lips, and then departed. The group of friends had had the heart knocked out of them with SesshouMaru's abduction of Kagome.

He sighed wearily.

Sango looked up at the sound, her eyes dark and mysterious in the flickering shadows of the fire. Her midnight hair became one with the night around her. One hand slipped out to pet the cub in her lap, who gave his own little sigh and burrowed further into her skirt. Miroku watched the hand, thinking about the contrasts. So small and feminine, and yet so strong and able, the calluses of war hiding the softness beneath. It was much like the beautiful taijiya.

"I..." Sango began, and then let the thought die.

"Yes. I know." Miroku replied. "We are all missing Kagome, and feeling we have failed the trust she had in us."

"Poor InuYasha." The whisper was soft and full of understood pain and regret. The small hand continued to pet the sleeping kitsune.

*~*~*~*~*

InuYasha heard the soft whisper...how could he not, with his demon-enhanced hearing? Flattening his ears, he growled low in his throat. He didn't want to hear the others talking about him. He didn't want to acknowledge their sorrow and pity.

*Damn it, anyway.*

Standing abruptly, he caught a hold of the tree bark beside him as the branch swayed under his sudden movement. Exhaustion tugged at his aching muscles. He still hadn't recovered from the battle earlier. He probably wouldn't for a few days. He desperately needed to rest, but his turbulent thoughts wouldn't let him. Gathering his weakened strength, he sprang for the next tree, and the next. The wind of his passage ruffled the sleeves of his red haori and lifted the ends of his long silver hair, but nary a whisper passed down to the ningen below.

He didn't want to hear it and he didn't want to face it. He hated their pity, their concern for him. He was hanyou. He didn't need anybody.

Finding a thick oak tree some distance from the others, InuYasha slumped down in the crook of a large branch. With his back against the tree bole, he let one foot dangle down into the darkness. He unbuckled the Tetsusaiga's sheath and held it protectively to him, though he still felt angry at the fang for betraying him.

*Why did the Tetsusaiga not transform?*

The thought had repeatedly whorled through his mind, over and over. If the Tetsusaiga had transformed back into the white-fired fang, he was certain he could have staved off SesshouMaru's attack, and then Kagome...

Growling, he cut the thought off. He didn't want to think about the stupid girl right now. He didn't want to think about what his cold-hearted, blood-thirsty older brother was doing to the poor, innocent twit.

And yet...

And yet, Kagome had said she loved him. Shouted it at him, in fact, like one of her piercing arrows, calling him a stupid jerk.

And he had failed her.

Closing his eyes, the hanyou tried to ignore the thought, but his claws tightened on the sheath of the sword he cradled. Hot anger flared through him, making his tired muscles spasm in clenched rage. Anger at the girl, anger at his cursed youkai brother, anger at himself.

He had failed her. Failed Kagome, who wore her heart on her sleeve and looked at him with such starry-eyed confidence. He had taken her belief and love for him for granted, and now that it was lost...

Another thought intruded, bringing with it all the feelings of haunting self-doubt that he had always hidden and denied behind a barrier of brash anger and self-defense toward the cruel world around him. He had failed her.

*Just like Kikyo.*

Images of the dead miko swam through his mind, mixing with his memories of the strange girl from the future. They were so different from each other, and yet...so much the same. He could see what Kikyo might have been in Kagome, if her duties as a shrine priestess and guardian of the Shikon no Tama had allowed her the freedom of a normal, somewhat carefree existence.

Except that Kikyo's actions of late had sent sharp daggers of doubt through the hanyou's faith. Stealing the souls of the dead to feed her own vengeance was not something his Kikyo, the Kikyo of the past, would have done. Her actions on behalf of Naraku were causing turmoil within him. He was running out of reasons to defend the vengeful miko, which, in turn, tainted his memories of his almost worshipful love of the sad-eyed priestess.

But if he was bitterly honest with himself, it was his actions that had driven Kikyo to the hard, revengeful woman she had become. The betrayal of Naraku had turned them against each other, but if their love had been so trusting and pure as he desperately tried to believe, they would not have succumbed so easily to such obvious manipulation from Naraku.

Sango, herself, had proven that when she had refused to kill her possessed brother.

With an irritated twitch of his shoulders, InuYasha swept the bitter thoughts aside. He could only hold onto one thought, and that was that Kagome, like Kikyo before her, had been betrayed by his own failures as a hanyou. He was only half of what he could be, and only the Jewel could make him more powerful. But Naraku's power over the Jewel grew day by day, and there were times that he felt he could do nothing to stop it.

But he could and would do something. He might not have been able to save Kikyo from death over fifty years ago, but he could save Kagome. Claws clenching on the cradled sheath of the Tetsusaiga, he made a bitter vow.

*Kagome will not suffer like Kikyo. I will save her, I swear it.*