InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trust ❯ Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The two fighters faced off, the morning sun glinting from their weapons. At a signal unknown to their observers, they both sprang forward. Blades flashed in the old familiar rhythm of combat. All of a sudden, one pressed harder, and the other was caught off balance, landing on one knee in the dust.

As the watchers gasped, the broadsword was raised for an overhand slash that would surely decide the fight. However, it was held a second too long before beginning its descent. Taking advantage of the other's lapse, the grounded fighter slid a dagger from its sheathe and thrust upward into the other's midsection. The fight was done.

All that was heard for a good minute was the gasps as the fighters tried to recover. The defeated fighter looked up.

"Not bad, Kagome. Your swordsmanship keeps improving. I'm glad you finally realized you can't always depend on your bow." Sango felt her stomach and winced. The hilt of Kagome's dagger was going to leave a mark.

Kagome looked over from her seat in the dust and grinned. "Thanks…although we both know I wouldn't have won if you weren't distracted." She stood up, brushing off her tunic and leggings. "Damn…the bath is bound to be crowded at this point in the morning…so I guess I`ll just have to put up with my own stench until I can get in."

"Distracted? I have no idea what you mean." Sango busied herself with brushing off her own clothing, finally meeting her friend's amused gaze.

"Mmmm…" was her only response.

"Look, I don't care what that idiot says."

"Good, because you shouldn't. He is an idiot."

"It's just…he's not the only person to say it…if you hear something enough times you start to wonder if it's true." The other girl sounded glum.

"Sango." Sango looked up, surprised; it wasn't like Kagome to use that irritated tone of voice with her. "You have a mirror, and you're not stupid. You in no way resemble a man."

"I don't think so, but…"

"But nothing. There are plenty of men who try to catch your attention."

Sango made a face at the thought of some of those men. They either wanted to be known as having broken a known warrior, or had some fascination with being dominated by a woman. She didn't know which was worse. "I suppose you're right. In any case, you really are getting better, you know."

Kagome allowed the subject change, but knew it would come up again. Poor Sango…she was so self-conscious about being thought too manly due to her fighting skills. Not too many men liked the idea of a highly skilled female warrior, but what really gave them pause was the enormous boomerang she carried slung across her back. It was virtually one of a kind. Sango herself had never seen another one as large, although smaller ones were used as weapons.

In fact, when faced with the fact that a beautiful woman was not only uninterested in their advances, but was quite capable of backing up her verbal "No" with a physical one, they tended to retreat, but not without calling out a few choice insults to try and save face. Sango shrugged them off for the most part, but she did have some feminine pride.

Sango really had nothing to worry about in that department. Years of training had left her trim and strong, but still curved where she was supposed to be. Add to that a heart shaped face with large brown eyes, and she attracted more than her share of male attention.

"Well, it's thanks to all your training. I'm glad you talked me into it. It hasn't cut into my archery practice as much as I thought it might." Kagome stood up and offered a hand to Sango. "Come on. Let's try to get to the baths before it's too crowded."

Sango made a face. "Right. I really don't want to have to smell myself the rest of the morning."

"Hah! I was thinking that too. I can't stand when that…" A shout cut off the rest of her sentence. Both girls turned in the direction of the castle gate. The guard on the tower was pointing towards the west, where one could barely see a cloud of dust on the horizon.

"Hmm…friend or foe, I wonder." Kagome mused. "Well, they won't get here for at least another few hours. Let's get to the baths."

"Right behind you." Sango's matter of fact tone belied the worried gaze she gave the horizon before following Kagome into the castle.

"They should be able to see us by now." Violet eyes scanned the surrounding area, lingering on the castle in the distance. " I'm sure an advance party will meet us soon."

The only response from his companion was a grunt. Miroku looked down with a sigh. All that was visible of his cousin was his white hair streaming behind him as he ran.

"You know," he raised his voice to be heard over the noise of his horse's feet, "if we had sent a messenger ahead, it would have saved them some needless worry and trouble at the castle. They would at least know to expect us. Right now they don't know if we're friend or foe."

A growl was the only response this time. "Inu Yasha…"

"Shut up! Have I told you I wish we weren't related?"

Miroku grinned. "You mean today?"

"Well, dirty monk, since you seem unable to let this go, I'll remind you that we would have had a chance to send advance word if we hadn't had to leave so suddenly."

Miroku cleared his throat. "Well…"

"And we wouldn't have had to leave suddenly if someone hadn't been caught in bed with the chief's sister.

"It's not like I forced her…"

"And it's not like you didn't fucking know what would happen if you were caught! How many times has this happened now? Dirty fucking monk. Keh!" Inu Yasha tossed his head and sped up, outpacing his cousin's horse, a clear sign that the conversation was over.

Miroku never one to take a hint, continued to protest his innocence. "Well, it's not like I'm sworn to celibacy or anything…" in an injured tone. He didn't bother raising his voice, knowing that his cousin's would catch anything over a whisper, even over the horse's hoofbeats.

He looked up and saw his cousin looking back at him, amber eyes blazing with irritation. His fangs bared as his growl increased in volume.

Miroku started to get nervous…not that Inu Yasha would hurt him…not badly, anyway, but he the last time he growled like that while Miroku was on a horse, the poor thing thought it was prey, and decided to bolt. It had taken Miroku a half hour to bring the horse under control again---once he regained consciousness.

Luckily, this time, his cousin contented himself with a warning growl and turned back around, making his way to the castle.

He sighed, not quite sure if it was relief or exasperation. Well, probably a bit of both.

He looked ahead at his cousin again, feeling a twinge of envy. Outpacing the horses, and has been since we started out at dawn. He chuckled to himself. He thought he had gotten over that when they were children. Oh, well, he mused, who ever really stops wanting to fly? Not that Inu Yasha could actually fly, but his greater leaps were close enough for most mere humans.

Miroku wrenched his mind back to the more immediate matter of their destination. The outpost fort at Kieran's Pass was responsible for defending this section of the Domain. Kieran's Pass was a craggy gap in the western mountain range; easily defensible due to its narrowness and high sides. You had to be insane or an idiot to attempt an attack through Kieran's Pass---that or supremely confident. No one had attempted an attack of any significance in years.

Unfortunately, that was all about to change, and Miroku did not look forward to having to break the news. It was his experience that people in these situations grew complacent, and did not want to believe there could be any danger. One had to be both well spoken and patient in these situations.

"Hey! Dirty monk! What the fuck are you waiting for? We're almost there!" Inu Yasha tossed back over his shoulder.

Miroku sighed. Obviously, it could not be his cousin. The last person in their group, Conn, was a large redhead. A great fighter, but no one's choice for spokesperson. So it would have to be the monk. He sighed again. Maybe there would be some pretty girls there…

Sango and Kagome watched from the top of the wall surrounding the fort. The group seen earlier that morning was almost to the fort, now. The advance scout was riding with them as an escort, so the earlier tension in the town had now given way to the buzz of anticipation as everyone wondered who the visitors would turn out to be.

Kagome sighed. "I know we'll find out soon enough, but…"

Sango gave her friend a wry smile. "I know what you mean. It doesn't make you any more patient, does it?"

"Exactly." She flashed the smile that had caused more than one training accident in the fort barracks and turned back to the small group of riders. One man was way out in front, but it didn't look like the escort from the fort. At first, she thought it might be an old man given the white hair streaming behind him, but what old man can outrun a horse? For that matter, what man, period?

As if her thought had drawn his attention, the man looked up and saw the two girls on the wall. Kagome found herself looking into the most intense pair of eyes she had ever seen in her life. She felt herself getting hot, and all background noise faded to a roar. Her whole awareness condensed to that pair of golden eyes. A sudden pain made her grab her chest and cry out. She felt as though she were falling towards those golden eyes…

"What…the…hell…?" was her last thought before passing out.

"What the hell?" was Sango's thought as she turned at Kagome's cry. She darted over to catch her before she hit her head on the ground. She looked around for any possible cause of her friend's collapse. There were no visible injuries, and Sango was totally confused.

"Kagome? Kagome! Answer me, please? What happened? Shit!" She looked around for anyone to help her when suddenly a shadow fell across them both.

The man who had been running at the head of the warband was suspended in midair above them, and seemed to be heading their way.

"How…?" was all she could think before he landed next to them.

He was tall, and slimly built, yet muscular. As they had seen from a distance, his hair was long and white. He had amber eyes, which were presently fixed on Kagome. Sango knew they had never met before, but he wasn't looking at her the way you would look at a stranger you had stopped to help.

"She," Sango swallowed and tried again, "She just grabbed her chest and passed out. I don't know what's wrong."

He crouched down and felt her forehead. "She'll be alright…physically." His brow creased in apparent discomfort as he rubbed his own chest.

"What does that mean?" Sango turned startled eyes to the stranger. "What's going to happen to her?"

"That depends on her. You're her friend, right?" Sango nodded. "Well, she'll need you for a while after this." He raised his voice as Sango made to interrupt. "I know what's wrong with her…but it's not my place to tell you. She needs to know first, then she can share it with whoever she wants."

He slid his arms under the unconscious girl and stood up. "Where is her room?"

"Huh?" Sango was still in shock, and wasn't quite sure of what to do. He seemed to know how to help, but he was a complete stranger…who could jump to the top of a fort wall…and he had white hair and dog ears…dog ears?

"You're…a shape-shifter?" Was all that came out of her mouth.

He seemed to tense. "Does that bother you?" His posture seemed wary.

"N-no. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend. Here, follow me, I'll take you to her room." Sango came out of her daze and concentrated on the immediate matter of helping her friend.

The man nodded, visibly relaxing. Sango passed him and led the way across the walkway to the inner building, which housed the kitchens, main hall and rooms for everyone. "My name is Sango, and this is my friend…"

"Kagome. I know." This said in a quiet, almost resigned voice.

Sango spun around to look him in the face. "How did you…" when a whisper cut her off.

"I-Inu Yasha?"

Both Sango and Inu Yasha stopped walking to look down at the girl who had just come out of her faint.

"I'm here." This served to reassure her, and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

One look at Inu Yasha's closed expression, and Sango knew better than to ask any questions. "Come on…it's not much further."