InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ties of Blood and Honor ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

 

 

Chapter Two

 

 

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I appreciate the interest in this story. I was rather pleased to see a review from TouchOfPixieDust. I have been thoroughly enjoying her most recent story, 'Kagome's Baby'. Give it a read. It is very amusing. And now, on to the next exciting chapter in this tale. Well, I hope you think it is exciting. Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or his friends. I would like to but my finances just aren't up to that kind of strain.

 

Akela had believed that he would defuse the situation by revealing his true self. It didn't quite work out that way. On seeing his true form, the young hanyou in front of him swore and quickly drew his sword which transformed into an enormous fang. That's when things really got confused as several things happened at once.

 

The teenage girl behind the inu-youki hanyou said, “Inuyasha!” `That couldn't actually be the boy's name?' Akela thought. “The boy has a jewel shard!” She indicated Akiak.

 

Akiak moved backwards to get out of the violent looking hanyou's scrutiny, when he stumbled over the low wall that surrounded the well and fell backwards into it! His scream was cut off by a flash of blue light. At the same time, Akela felt the same surge of power that he had felt earlier.

 

“Akiak!” screamed Kagome, as she dropped the old man and ran to the well.

 

“The boy!” screamed the teenage girl, as she pushed past the inu hanyou and ran to the well.

 

“Kagome!” Inuyasha and Akela both yelled, at the same time. The women didn't pay any attention to the men, and they looked at each other somewhat stupidly.

 

The elder Kagome was rapidly losing it. She was looking down the well, pacing back and forth rapidly, whining. Akela's heart ached to join his mate but he was unsure of this hanyou. He hadn't put away his sword, though he did have an uncertain look on his face. The younger Kagome decided to take matters into her own hands.

 

“Inuyasha!” she shouted. “Will you put Tetsaiga away and get over here? I think the boy went through the well.”

 

“Damn it, Kagome! We don't know what these demons are up to. Besides, they're wolves.”

 

“So what if they're wolves! Put Tetsaiga away!”

 

“She was threatening the old man!”

 

During this interchange, Akela had backed up slowly until he was within arms reach of his mate. She was still pacing the edge of the well, whining in a heartbreaking manner. Suddenly, she threw back her head and howled, “My cubs! Where are my cubs!?”

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened. “Oh, shit!“ he exclaimed. He suddenly shouted at the girl. “Kagome! Get away from her!”

 

The teenage girl just looked at the inu hanyou. “She's just worried about her children, Inuyasha!”

 

Inuyasha slammed his sword back into it's sheath and made a sudden dash for the girl. “Damn it, Kagome! That's the problem!” He reached the girl, picked her up and turned, making a dash for the door.

 

“Inuyasha?” the girl questioned, “What are you babbling about? She's just worried about her kids.” she repeated.

 

The elder Kagome suddenly vaulted the well wall and dropped to the bottom of the well. “Where are they?” she could be heard wailing. The sound of a fist slamming into the wooden wall of the well could be heard. “Damn it, what did you do with my cubs?” She howled again.

 

Akela took a chance that the teenage girl could control the hanyou. He turned and prepared to leap down into the well to try and calm his mate. Before he could move, however, he was met with a flash of fur. Kagome had transformed into her wolf state and was stalking the old man. Her growl was low and ominous. ~Where are my cubs?~

 

“Calm down, Kagome!” Akela called to her. “He can't understand you when you are in this form!” he reminded her.

 

Without taking her eyes off ji-chan, she sent a snarl in Akela's direction. ~Then translate for him, because he is going to tell me where our cubs are or I am going to rip his throat out!~

 

Before Akela could answer, a figure of silver and red appeared between Kagome and the old man. “Don't waste your time with him. He doesn't know anything about that well accept that his granddaughter and I can go through it. So stop wasting your time threatening a tired old man and try threatening me!” Inuyasha lifted his clawed hand. “But I can tell you, I don't threaten easy!”

 

“INUYASHA!”

 

Inuyasha flinched.

 

“Don't you dare threaten her! She just wants her children back!” The teenage Kagome came back down the stairs where Inuyasha had left her when he had picked her up earlier. “Now, offer to help. I'm sure that she will calm down and let us explain where her cubs have gone.”

 

Kagome in wolf form turned and looked at teenage Kagome. She sat back on her haunches and cocked her head quizzically. ~Alright girl. Explain yourself and you had better make it good or else.~

 

Inuyasha growled. “Don't threaten her or I will skin you alive, I don't care what Kagome says she will do to me.”

 

Akela growled at that. “Don't threaten my mate!”

 

“Well don't threaten mine!” Inuyasha yelled back. Then he gulped and got a strange look on his face. “Uhh …I mean don't threaten Kagome!”

 

Akela took in the look on Inuyasha's face and chanced a look at the teenage Kagome. She had a blush on her face. Even given the seriousness of the situation, he still found young love amusing. “Kagome, huh?” He smiled. “I would never hurt someone named Kagome.” He smiled at his mate who whined at him. “Change back, darling.” He looked at the two young people who had moved together, the hanyou protectively in front of the girl. “I think that they want to help.” He moved over to stand beside his mate as she resumed her human form. He put an arm around her shoulders and then glared at the hanyou and girl. “At least, they had better be ready to help.”

 

“Feh!” exclaimed Inuyasha. “I just want to know how your pups went through the well.”

 

“Cubs!” corrected Kagome.

 

“Pups, cubs, whatever! I just want to know how they got through the well.”

 

“All I want to know is where this well leads and where my cubs are.” replied Kagome.

 

“From everything that I have seen, I think that they have gone back to Inuyasha's time.” answered the younger Kagome.

 

Akela's eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by `Inuyasha's time'?”

 

Teenage Kagome took a deep breath. “Inuyasha is from the Sengoku Jidai, about 500 years in the past.”

 

“Kagome!” hissed Inuyasha.

 

“Look, they needed to know where and when their kids are.” snapped Kagome.

 

The elder Kagome barked out a harsh laugh. “Ha! You expect us to believe that.” She pointed at Inuyasha. “He can't be that old. He's probably around 150, so there is no way that he could have been born in the Sengoku Jidai.”

 

“You don't listen very good, do you?” Inuyasha snapped back at her. “She didn't say I was born then, she said I was from then.”

 

Akela quickly put what he had seen and the power surges he had felt, together. “The well is a portal then, a gateway through time.” he stated.

 

Young Kagome looked at him in surprise and smiled. “Why, yes! That's it exactly!” Then the smile left her face. “But, I don't understand why it let those kids through.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” asked Akela in alarm.

 

“Well, so far, it has only let me and Inuyasha come through it. No one else has ever been able to come through.” Kagome thought about it for a moment. “Maybe it was the jewel shard that he was wearing.” She looked at Akela. “Did your other child have a jewel shard, too?”

 

“I don't know what you're talking about.” replied Akela. “What do you mean when you say `jewel shard'?”

 

“Don't play dumb with us, wolf.” answered Inuyasha. “The boy had a shard of the Shikon No Tama on him. Did your other kid have one or not?”

 

“Inuyasha, be nice.” scolded teenage Kagome. “Your son was wearing it around his neck, like a pendant.”

 

“Yes, yes! Takani had one, too. They were gifts to them from my mother.” Kagome exclaimed. “All she ever said about them was that they were from her home, here in Japan. They were supposed to be for good luck and for granting wishes.”

 

Inuyasha grew impatient with all the talk. “Look. Why don't I just hop down the well, grab your cubs and bring them back?” Everyone turned to look at him in astonishment. “What? It's the easiest solution to this whole mess.”

 

The younger Kagome beamed at him. “Inuyasha, you're a genius!”

 

The inu-hanyou huffed. “I've been telling you that for months now. You should listen to me more often.” He turned and glared at the wolf demon and the wolf hanyou. “Are you two going to get out of my way?”

 

Akela gently pulled his Kagome to one side and nodded at the inu-hanyou. “You'll need our safety word.”

 

“'Safety word'?” asked Inuyasha, in confusion. `What's that?”

 

“It takes too long to explain.” said Akela. “It just let's the cubs know that you know us and are a friend.”

 

Inuyasha looked thoughtful for a second. “Not a bad idea. So what's the word?”

 

“Nanaki.”

 

“Weird word.” Inuyasha shrugged, and started toward the well.

 

The elder Kagome put her hand on Inuyasha's sleeve as he passed. He turned his head to look into her eyes. “Please bring my cubs back.” She ducked her head slightly. “I'm sorry about earlier, but I'm a mother and …” She didn't get to finish as Inuyasha held up his hand and interrupted her.

 

“Feh!” he said, gruffly. “I know better than to get between a bitch and her pups. I'll bring them back to you.” He stepped past the two worried parents and placed his hand on the top of the low wall. “I'll be right back.” he said, as he vaulted it and dropped into the depths of the well.

 

Akela felt the now familiar surge of power and saw the flash of blue light. He turned back with his mate to face the teenage girl and the old man who now stood together.

 

The old man was staring at the two of them with a strange look on his face. Then, he sighed. “More demons in the house and on the shrine grounds. This is most irregular.” He turned to face the girl. “Kagome, I need to go to the house and look at my scrolls. The wards on the shrine must have worn off. I'm going to have to replace them.” The old man turned to glare at the two demons in his well house. “I won't put them up until you have recovered your children. But, the minute you do, I expect you to be off the shrine grounds, never to return.” With that last statement, he turned his back to them and stomped off up the stairs and into the yard, muttering something about inu youki and their interference in his life.

 

Teenage Kagome watched the old man go and then turned to look at Akela and Kagome. “Heh, heh, heh!” she laughed, nervously. “Please forgive ji-chan. He's all bark and no bite.”

 

Akela smiled a wolves grin at Kagome. “Don't worry. I noticed that he didn't have any powers to speak of.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “You, on the other hand, would be quite formidable.”

 

“I'm not that strong.” Kagome protested. “I can't seem to do anything except purifying arrows.”

 

“You are undisciplined,” corrected Akela, “not weak.” He heard his mate groan next to him. “What's wrong?” he asked.

 

“Only you could take someone we were fighting with two minutes ago and try to turn them into one of your students.”

 

Akela shrugged and then smiled at his mate. “That's just the teacher in me. I can't stand to see wasted potential.”

 

Teenage Kagome gaped at Akela. “Wait a minute! Are you telling me that you can tell my skill level just by looking at me? I've never met a demon that could do that just by looking at me. They have always had to see me in action first.”

 

Akela raised his eyebrows in interest. “You fight a lot of demons, then?”

 

“Well, Inuyasha does most of the fighting. Though Sango and Miroku do a lot, too.” explained Kagome.

 

Akela snorted. “I'm not surprised at that.” He smiled a wolves smile, mouth gaped open slightly with the tip of his tongue showing. “He seems to be rather hot tempered.”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.” She paused for a second and then looked at Akela with a quizzical look in her eyes. “You are a sensei?” she asked. “What do you teach?”

 

Akela folded his arms over his chest. “You tell me.” he challenged.

 

“Huh?” teenage Kagome asked intelligently.

 

Akela smiled, slightly, then let his face go impassive. “Center yourself. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and look into yourself. Take inventory of your senses. See if anything `feels' different.”

 

Kagome did as she was told. Suddenly, her eyes popped open. “Your aura! It's different from a regular demon's.”

 

Akela was pleased. “And what does that tell you?” he prompted.

 

Kagome was incredulous. “You have spiritual powers! Very strong ones.” Kagome looked at him in a mix of awe and wonder. “What are you?”

 

Akela laughed at the expressions on her face. “I am what you get when a shaman of the way mates with a spirit wolf. I have the powers of both.” He looked at her again. “So, what do I teach?”

 

“You teach others how to use their spiritual energy.” Kagome said, in excitement. “Oh, wow! Could I ever use your help! Most of what I do is by instinct or when I'm mad.”

 

“Instinct can be a good starting point.” That was as far as he got before a throat clearing sound was heard. They turned their heads to look at the elder Kagome.

 

“Sorry to break up this little teaching session, but hasn't your boyfriend been gone long enough to bring back my children?” the older woman asked, in some frustration.

 

“He has been gone for longer than I would have thought it would have taken him.” mused Kagome. She smiled brightly. “I know. I'll just jump through right quick and see what's keeping him.” She put her hand on the edge of the well. “I'll be right back.” she called as she vaulted the wall.

 

Akela and Kagome waited, patiently. After a few minutes, though, they began to fidget. Kagome started to pace again. Suddenly, Akela's head came up. “Someone is coming back.” he said, as he felt the energy build in the well. He looked down into the well and saw Kagome appear out of thin air, to land lightly on the floor of the well. She was alone. “Something has gone wrong.” he said as he vaulted the wall and dropped down next to Kagome. Quickly, he scooped the girl up and leaped out of the well. When he landed on the well house floor, he let her down. “Alright, girl. Where are our cubs?” he demanded.

 

Teenage Kagome had a stricken look on her face. “I'm sorry. I don't know how else to tell you this, but something has taken your children.”

 

“What!?”

 

“That's why Inuyasha hasn't come back. He got there just in time to see whatever it was take off with the kids. He took off after it. As he was chasing it, our friends came up and he told them to wait for me and tell me what was going on so that I could tell you. He said not to worry. He had promised to bring those pups back to their mother and he wouldn't fail.” Kagome looked at the older Kagome and her mate. “I'm sorry that you are going through this, but don't worry. If Inuyasha says that he will get your children back, he will. He never breaks his word.”

 

Akela's mind was racing. “We have to get back there.” he stated.

 

Teenage Kagome was startled. “It's impossible! No one else can use the well but Inuyasha and myself!”

 

“Nothing's impossible, young lady.” he reprimanded her. “Need I remind you that my children just went through that well, so there must be a way through. And I intend to find it!”

 

A/N: This is as good a place to stop as any. Sorry for the delay, but I have had a killer sinus headache for the past week and a half. It's very hard to concentrate when your head won't stop throbbing. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. Next chapter will deal with the kids and Inuyasha's chase. See you soon.