InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth About Cats and Dogs ❯ Kirara's Escape ( Chapter 9 )

Recap: Kirara became trapped in the tea party from hell, trying and failing several times to get back to her friends.

 

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Chapter 9 - Kirara's Escape

 

The small fire had died away to nothing more than a few deep red, smouldering embers, and Rin and Jaken had fallen asleep long ago. The sky was filled with stars, but as it was the night of the new moon, the land was exceptionally dark.

 

`I need to get back to Sango,' Kirara thought to herself. `This is the night that Inuyasha takes mortal form, the night when he is at his weakest. He cannot use the Tetsusaiga, and he no longer has his claws and fangs to fight with. I can't stay here, I must go.'

 

Kirara looked across the remains of the fire, a small part of her screaming inwardly as she found a pair of unrelenting golden eyes still staring at her.

 

`Doesn't he ever go to sleep?' she thought irritably. `What does he want with me anyway?'

 

Kirara smiled as an idea occurred to her, an action that did not go unnoticed by the ever-alert demon lord.

 

“I hope you are not scheming to betray Rin,” he said coldly.

 

“Not at all,” Kirara calmly replied. “I was merely wondering what the dog demon dignitaries of the Northern Lands would think of you if they saw you camping with a lowly fire-cat demon, a weak little toad demon and a mortal female child.”

 

“You seek reasoning to leave?” Sesshomaru simply responded.

 

“If you do not let me leave soon, my friends will find me here with you,” Kirara said, deciding that since all her attempts to talk her way out of trouble were so transparent, she might as well just be honest with him. “Is that what you want? You know how headstrong Inuyasha is, do you wish to engage in battle with him in full-view of the girl?”

 

“I understand Inuyasha is impetuous. I also know that there is no moon tonight, and so my brother is of little threat to me. He will not venture anywhere near me when he is in his mortal form.”

 

“Why are you doing this to me?” Kirara hissed.

 

“You would betray the wishes of a mortal girl?”

 

“You would fulfil the wishes of a mortal girl?”

 

“For a mere woman, you talk far too much.”

 

“Don't change the subject. If you would fulfil her every wish, would you “marry” me?”

 

“I know not what that word means.”

 

“You are not stupid, I know you understand the human concept of marriage.”

 

“Are you saying you wish to be my “wife”?”

 

“I said no such thing.”

 

“You implied it.”

 

“I did not.”

 

“I am a highly regarded demon lord, you are nothing more than a mortal's pet cat.”

 

“Then how painful it must be for you to be in my company. Did you not say that Inuyasha shamed your family name just by associating with me? If that truly is how you feel, you will let me go.”

 

“You will stay until morning.”

 

Kirara sighed softly, her exhaustion making it harder for her to argue with him any longer. She knew it was pointless to try to run away, she was so tired after the events of the day she would never make it; and of course, Sesshomaru could move a lot faster than she could even when she was fully awake and refreshed. And, since she was unable to reason with him, Kirara decided she had no other choice but to comply with his wishes.

 

With a soft moan of defeat, Kirara curled around on the ground and closed her eyes, praying that Sango and the others would be safe that night.

 

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Kirara awoke slowly, groaning and blinking to clear the sleep from her eyes. When she saw that the land around her was bright, she panicked, sitting up abruptly. Jaken and Rin had both gone, but Sesshomaru was still sitting in exactly the same position he had been in the night before; and - much to Kirara's chagrin - he was still staring right at her.

 

“I have to go,” she said, standing up slowly.

 

Kirara groaned quietly as Sesshomaru stood opposite her.

 

“My friends will be waiting for me, I really must go,” she insisted.

 

“You will stay until Rin returns,” Sesshomaru told her.

 

“No, you must apologise to her for me, I really must go, and I must go now.”

 

Kirara started to walk into the forest, stopping after a few steps as she realised that Sesshomaru was walking parallel to her. She turning to face him fully, finding him staring back at her, as expressionless as ever.

 

“You will stay,” he said calmly.

 

“No, I will go,” Kirara replied, trying to make her tone match his.

 

“You will stay.”

 

As she looked at him, Kirara began to feel herself becoming dragged into Sesshomaru's eyes again, a sensation that sent her defences into over-drive.

 

“You cannot, and you will not, hold me against my will!” she said defiantly.

 

“You will stay,” Sesshomaru warned, taking a step towards her.

 

Despite the subtle change in Sesshomaru's tone suggesting that he was now threatening her, Kirara remained strong.

 

“Good bye, Lord Sesshomaru,” she said decisively.

 

Kirara turned her back on him and ran into the forest. She expected to feel his claws tearing through her in a matter of seconds, but the blow never came. As she ran, Kirara became increasingly conscious that Sesshomaru's aura appeared to be getting further and further away from her. Skidding to a halt, she turned around, looking back through the trees.

 

To her absolute shock, Sesshomaru was still standing where she had left him, his head turned in her direction, his eyes watching her leave.

 

As confused as she was, Kirara did not wait to see why he had allowed her to go. She ran through the trees, not daring to leap or fly, something inside of her enjoying the sensation of running as hard and as fast as she possibly could.

 

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Inuyasha stood up with a smile, shaking out his silver mane. Kagome stood by his side, facing the now fully risen sun.

 

“Another night over,” he commented.

 

“Inuyasha, can you sense Kirara yet?” Sango asked, approaching the duo.

 

“You mean she didn't come back last night?” Kagome asked in disbelief.

 

“I knew I should have gone!” Inuyasha said. “Even Shippo would have been back by now!”

 

“Hey!” Shippo protested from a safe distance.

 

“I hope she's alright,” Miroku added. “There are many demons out there, they have all resurfaced since Naraku's disappearance there is a chance she happened across a very powerful demon.”

 

“I'm going back to look for her,” Sango said decisively.

 

“No you're not, you're too slow!” Inuyasha snapped. “I'll go look for her. You all carry on. She can't be too far behind us, I won't be long.”

 

“Let me come with you, Inuyasha,” Kagome pleaded.

 

“No, you all carry on, we'll catch you up,” Inuyasha insisted.

 

Kagome pouted at Inuyasha, but he ignored her, setting off back in the direction they had come. Behind him he heard Sango arguing with the others to allow her to go back, but their voices soon faded as he quickly put a large amount of distance between himself and the others.

 

Inuyasha did not need to run for long before he caught the faint trace of Kirara's scent. He adjusted his direction slightly, aiming directly for it. However, as Inuyasha grew closer to Kirara's scent he began to grow concerned. Her scent was weak, as if she were unconscious, or even dead. Other scents reached his nose, as he got closer still, including Kirara's own blood.

 

Slowing down in his confusion, Inuyasha began to sense a small demonic aura. Just as he was trying to figure out what was happening, he sighted two smaller figures moving through the trees. Speeding up again, Inuyasha ran straight up to them, grunting in confusion at what he found.

 

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” he asked.

 

Jaken scowled up at him, gripping both his hands around his staff possessively.

 

“Look Master Jaken, it's that man with the dog ears who looks like Lord Sesshomaru!” Rin whispered loudly to Jaken.

 

“Where's my brother?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“Far away from you!” Jaken shot back, pointing a finger at Inuyasha.

 

“Right…” Inuyasha replied slowly, sniffing at the air around Jaken. “Why can I smell Kirara's blood on you?”

 

Jaken paused thoughtfully, before a slimy smile appeared on his face.

 

“I ate her,” he said. “She didn't taste very good, but I ate her anyway.”

 

“You ate Kirara?” Rin squealed. “But Master Jaken, she was my friend!”

 

“Huh?” Inuyasha grunted, frowning at Rin.

 

“Stupid girl!” Jaken sneered at her. “What did you think that was that we all ate for lunch? It was cat meat! We all ate it, and you said you enjoyed it!”

 

“You fed Kirara to the little girl?” Inuyasha roared.

 

“It was my Lord's wishes,” Jaken plainly replied. “He ordered me to roast her over the fire and serve her for lunch.”

 

Inuyasha growled, lunging forwards and grabbing Jaken up by his clothing. However Inuyasha's anger subsided as Rin began to sob at his side. Inuyasha reluctantly lowered Jaken back to the ground, crouching down in front of Rin.

 

“Hey kid, how did you know Kirara?” he asked her gently.

 

“She was my friend,” Rin replied.

 

Inuyasha turned to Jaken expectantly. When the toad remained silent, Inuyasha began to lose his patience.

 

“What happened, Jaken?” he demanded.

 

“We ate her,” Jaken flatly replied.

 

Inuyasha paused, wondering if the toad was lying or not. He was not aware that his brother liked to eat other demons, but, he reminded himself, he knew so little about his older brother, he could not dismiss the idea entirely.

 

“Where's my brother?” he asked, hoping that at least Sesshomaru would give him a straight answer.

 

“He sent us away,” Jaken replied. “He has to kill the dragon demon, it's old and lame. He made me go away with the girl so she wouldn't get upset.”

 

“What?” Rin wailed, rounding on Jaken.

 

“Don't worry,” Jaken assured her. “We won't eat Ah-Un. Its far too old, the meat would be awful.”

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, growling in frustration.

 

“I don't have time for this!” he eventually said, standing up and turning back in the direction he had come.

 

Inuyasha began to run back towards the others.

 

`Damn,' he thought to himself. `If my brother really has eaten Kirara, what the hell am I going to tell Sango? She'll kill me!'

 

Inuyasha shuddered as he pictured Sango attacking him with her Hiraikotsu, her anger burning in her eyes.

 

“Damn!” he said aloud, before quickening his pace.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Inuyasha eventually rejoined the others, surprised and slightly annoyed to find them not much further on from where he had left them.

 

“Hey, where's Sango?” he asked, looking around the others.

 

“We tried to stop her,” Kagome said weakly.

 

“But she insisted on going back for Kirara,” Miroku finished for her.

 

“Damn!” Inuyasha groaned.

 

“You didn't find her?” Miroku asked.

 

“Well…” Inuyasha began, rolling his eyes to the sky as he tried to think of a polite way to tell the others what had become of Kirara.

 

“You weren't gone very long, are you sure you looked properly, Inuyasha?' Shippo asked, interrupting his thoughts.

 

“I came back already because my jackass brother has eaten Kirara!” Inuyasha yelled at him. “So unless you want me to go back and get her bones for you, there's not really much else I can do!”

 

“What?” Kagome squealed. “Sesshomaru ate Kirara?”

 

Shippo began to wail and sob, causing Inuyasha to growl.

 

“Are you serious, Inuyasha?” Miroku asked, stepping towards him.

 

“No, he was just playing a cruel joke on Shippo,” Kagome said. “It's okay Shippo, Kirara's alright.”

 

“Huh?” Inuyasha grunted, frowning at Kagome as she picked Shippo up and tried to console him.

 

“Behind you, Inuyasha,” Miroku explained, pointing beyond Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha spun around, suppressing a sigh of relief as he saw Sango slowly walking towards them, supporting Kirara at her side.

 

“Kirara, what happened to you?” Miroku asked, walking over to meet them.

 

“Damn dog…” Kirara replied weakly.

 

“She hasn't slept all night, I found her walking through the trees,” Sango explained. “And she's hurt.”

 

Kirara shook her head as Sango unhooked her arm from her shoulders and began showing her injuries to Miroku.

 

“It's nothing,” Kirara insisted.

 

Miroku frowned sceptically, rubbing his chin as he inspected the visible injuries Kirara had sustained. Her left forearm was bruised and swollen, her right arm had a series of small, bruised puncture-wounds around her bicep, and her hands and claws had traces of dried blood on them.

 

“What happened to her?” Miroku asked, turning to Sango.

 

“I don't know, she won't tell me,” Sango replied, casting a glance at Kirara as she spoke.

 

Inuyasha walked over towards Kirara, eying her over.

 

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked her.

 

“Of course,” Kirara tightly replied.

 

“What happened to you?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“I'm fine.”

 

Kirara took a step away from Sango, attempting to stand up straight, but only managing to stagger around for a bit before finally falling to the ground.

 

“Keh,” Inuyasha snorted.

 

“Do you know what happened, Inuyasha?” Sango asked him.

 

“Jaken told me Sesshomaru ate her,” Inuyasha bluntly replied. “But she's still alive, so obviously he was lying again.”

 

“Sesshomaru?” Sango echoed.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Sango paused, before tugging at her haori.

 

“What are you doing?” Inuyasha yelled at her.

 

“I'm going after Sesshomaru,” Sango replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to do. “And when I return, I will be carrying his head.”

 

“Wait,” Miroku intercepted, jumping into Sango's path as she tried to leave in her demon-slayer's attire, clutching her Hiraikotsu at her shoulder. “I think before any of us over-react, we should as least hear Kirara's side of the story.”

 

“Who's over-reacting?” Sango asked, her anger burning in her eyes.

 

“I agree with Miroku,” Inuyasha said.

 

“What?” Sango yelped, rounding on Inuyasha.

 

“We don't have time to worry about my jackass brother right now,” Inuyasha explained. “Kirara's alive, and we have to keep moving, we have to find Naraku.”

 

“What about Kirara?” Sango asked. “She's not fit to walk!”

 

“I'll carry her,” Inuyasha replied. “Just help me get her up onto my back.”

 

“That's ironic, huh?” Kagome said nervously as Sango eased Kirara's limp form onto Inuyasha's back. “All those times she carried you, and now you're carrying her…”

 

Miroku narrowed his eyes as he caught an expression of hurt flicker over Kagome's features, but she turned away from the others before he could question it.

 

“Alright, let's get moving,” Miroku said.

 

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“You will stay.”

 

As she looked at him, Kirara began to feel herself becoming dragged into Sesshomaru's eyes again, a sensation that sent her defences into over-drive.

 

“You cannot, and you will not, hold me against my will!” she said defiantly.

 

“You will stay,” Sesshomaru warned, taking a step towards her.

 

Despite the subtle change in Sesshomaru's tone suggesting that he was now threatening her, Kirara remained strong.

 

“Good bye, Lord Sesshomaru,” she said decisively.

 

Kirara turned her back on him and ran into the forest. She expected to feel his claws tearing through her in a matter of seconds, but the blow never came. As she ran, Kirara became increasingly conscious that Sedsshomaru's aura appeared to be getting further and further away from her. Skidding to a halt, she turned around, looking back through the trees.

 

To her absolute shock, Sesshomaru was still standing where she had left him, his head turned in her direction, his eyes watching her leave. From under the shade of the trees Kirara did not immediately notice the change in Sesshomaru. His demonic aura suddenly spiked to an all-time high, and Kirara saw his eyes glow red.

 

Kirara knew she only had a matter of seconds before he would be fully transformed, and he would surely kill her. She had to do something, and fast.

 

Kirara turned her back on him, and she ran.

 

“Come back and fight me, you coward,” he voice said, sounding suddenly as though he was right next to her.

 

Kirara jinxed to one side, hoping that if she could not out-run Sesshomaru, she could at least out-smart or out-manoeuvre him. For a brief moment, Kirara lost all traces of his scent and aura, her confidence slowly rising as she came to the conclusion that she had finally managed to escape him.

 

“Coward!” his voice said suddenly.

 

Kirara skidded to a halt, almost running right into Sesshomaru in her haste. As she looked up at his face she saw something for more frightening than the red glow of his eyes as his demon form threatened to take over; he was smiling. And not just smiling, he was grinning. She could see almost every tooth in his mouth, but they were not the teeth of his human form, but rather the teeth she had been confronted with the night she had met him in his full demon form.

 

The thought of fighting back did not even enter Kirara's mind, all she could think about was running away from him and how she was going to do it. Although she was very conscious that she was behaving like a complete coward, Kirara could not stop herself from running, trying her best to escape.

 

Jumping to one side, she took off at an angle, running away from him again. As she looked up ahead, she saw that she was running back towards the fire they had slept around the previous night, back in the direction she was trying to flee from in the first place. Escaping him was impossible, there was nowhere for her to go, but she could not let him catch her.

 

Kirara mewed in despair, trying to run faster in the vain hope that she could somehow escape with speed alone, but she hit a tree root and tripped over, flying forwards. She landed hard on the ground, where she felt Sesshomaru's clawed hand grab her and turn her roughly over. The overwhelming scent of dog demon caused Kirara's own demonic spirit to rise on instinct.

 

“Get away from me, you filthy dog!” she yelled, swiping a clawed hand as him.

 

“Hey, watch it, would ya Kirara?” a voice yelled back at her.

 

“No, let me go!” Kirara moaned.

 

“Kirara!” another voice called.

 

“Sango?” Kirara said, the cold damp forest and Sesshomaru's blood-red eyes fading from her mind at the sound of her best friend's voice.

 

“Kirara, wake up!” Sango said.

 

“Sango!”

 

Kirara opened her eyes, inhaling sharply. She frowned as she found herself lying on the ground on her back, Inuyasha hunched over her, pinning her arms down at either side of her head.

 

“Nightmares, Kirara?” Inuyasha sneered. “Next time your having a dream about fighting, watch where you're aiming your claws!”

 

Inuyasha released her arms, lowering his haori at one side to reveal where her claws had pierced through to his skin.

 

“I'm sorry, Inuyasha!” she hurriedly said, sitting up.

 

“Spare me,” Inuyasha grumbled. “So, you wanna tell us what happened to you? I thought you were going back to Kaede's hut to get some antidote.”

 

“I was,” Kirara agreed.

 

“So why have you come back without it?” Inuyasha asked. “And why did it take you so long to fail at such a simple task?”

 

“Inuyasha!” Sango yelled. “Leave her alone!”

 

“No, he's right,” Kirara admitted with a sigh. “I collected the antidotes, but I lost them on my way back, I got side-tracked by a demon.”

 

“We guessed as much,” Inuyasha grumbled.

 

“Oh,” Kirara muttered, hanging her head.

 

“So what happened this time?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“I found Rin, and I mistook her for a lost orphan in need of my help,” Kirara replied.

 

“What's a “rin”?” Inuyasha asked, scrunching up his nose in confusion.

 

“The little mortal girl who travels with Lord Sesshomaru?” Kirara said, lifting her head.

 

“Oh, right,” Inuyasha casually remarked.

 

“Hm,” Kirara muttered, lifting up her left wrist to look at the bedraggled flowers that still hung there.

 

“I wanted to go back and chop off his head Kirara, but the others wouldn't let me,” Sango interjected.

 

“Are you gonna tell us what happened or not, Kirara?” Inuyasha barked impatiently.

 

“I ran away from him again, and I lost the antidotes,” Kirara replied, deciding the exact details of her encounter with the dog demon were not really something she wished to share with anyone. “But there is still one bottle of antidote at Kaede's. I only took two. I left one in case of… In case someone was stupid enough to lose the other two…”

 

Kirara hung her head again.

 

“How did you get those injuries?” Sango asked, pointing at the bruising on Kirara's arms.

 

“Jaken,” Kirara flatly replied.

 

“You got beat up by that little toad?” Kagome blurted.

 

Kirara stood abruptly, glowering down at Kagome.

 

“Come on, let's just forget about it and move on,” Inuyasha said, standing up between them.

 

Kirara nodded slowly.

 

“Would you like me to transform so that I can carry you all?” she offered.

 

“Don't be stupid, Kirara,” Inuyasha answered before anyone else could.

 

“Thanks, Inuyasha,” Kirara said, seeing through the apparent insult to the compliment that lay beneath.

 

Kirara glanced over her shoulder to ensure Kagome was watching her before linking her arm through Inuyasha's and leading him on ahead of the others. Behind her she heard Kagome let out an indignant squeak, bringing a smirk to her face.

 

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Next Chapter: When Inuyasha and Kirara start to get very close, Kagome becomes jealous and threatens to leave the group. Why then does Kirara think Kagome's response is so amusing? Chapter 10 - Kagome's Lesson.