InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Twist of Fate ❯ Here Comes the Calvary ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Ten: Here Comes the Calvary

Story: Twist Of Fate

By: Sky

A moment later, a few more dogs crashed into the clearing; not nearly as big as the second, and bigger then the first. InuYasha really hopped he didn't have new opponents to face, but with Guthrow and Karamina coming with them, they were probably allies.

"Father!" Kagome cried from behind him, and InuYasha watched as the biggest dog turned his head quickly their direction. It narrowed its eyes at InuYasha, and the crescent-marked dog growled loudly at him.

"The first two are my father and brother," Kagome explained to InuYasha in a whisper. InuYasha nodded quickly, then turned his attention back to slash at a diving velkir; the pride had suddenly seemed to increase in numbers. They now filled the sky.

"Damn it. Where'd they all come from?"

0o0o0o0o0o0

InuTaisho had been running quickly once Guthrow had come to warn them of the pups danger. How had he not noticed his daughter had gotten so far from home? And how had she gotten past the guards? He would never forgive himself if she got hurt.

"Look! Up ahead!" Guthrow called, as they saw a pride of about 50 velkir hovering in the air. "That must be where they are!" The seven of them; consisting of himself, his son, Karamina, Guthrow, and three pack-mates that had been helping him search for his missing daughter; crashed into the clearing, disturbing a whole new set of velkir into hovering in the air. He was intent on the velkir when he heard his daughter calling his name.

InuTaisho whipped his head around to find Kagome pinned against a rock behind a black-haired human boy, holding a bloody wrist to her chest. He felt his fur bristling at the thought that this creature could have hurt his daughter. When he saw Kagome lean in and whisper to the boy however, he suddenly saw it for what it was; the boy was protecting her; shielding her with his own body. InuTaisho suddenly felt very grateful to the boy for protecting her, and even more so when the boy finished nodding to whatever his daughter had to say, and turned back and slashed at a diving velkir. He was quick, InuTaisho could give him that, but even though it was his first time seeing the boy, he could tell that he was tiring.

"Karamina, Guthrow," he barked. "Get the pups out of here. We'll yell at them later. Right now, just get them to safety."

"Right," both replied instantly, moving to protect the pups from the thousands of creatures flying in the air.

"You three know exactly what to do." The three pack-members nodded, and started attacking the velkir, drawing the attention away from the two extracting the pups.

"Come on!" shouted Karamina over the din of battle, darting past a few attackers as she headed for the rocks.

"You get them! I'll cover your back!" Karamina nodded to show that she heard, and darted past another attacker, to skid in a crouch with her side to the pinned-down pair.

"Get on." InuYasha deftly turned, grabbing Kagome and throwing her onto Karamina's back, with her scrambling for a hold on the shoulder fur. While she was settling herself, InuYasha wiped the blade off on his pants, placed it into its sheath, and when Kagome was settled, set himself to the task of getting onto Karamina's back behind her. As soon as he was firmly in place, Karamina sprung to her feet, with Guthrow close by. However, there were so many velkir, InuYasha was forced to draw his blade again to defend he and Kagome, while Guthrow spent much of his time protecting Karamina from too much harm.

"Time to go," Guthrow remarked, watching Karamina nod, as they found a clear path and dashed out of the clearing.

The pair ran swiftly and silently, covering their tracks as best they could as they went. At some point, the pair Karamina carried fell asleep; Kagome resting against InuYasha, and InuYasha resting against Kagome, with blade still firmly in hand. She decided she would leave them to sleep. They had had an exhausting day. And she agreed with InuTaisho; make sure they were alright first, and kill them later. Karamina knew that she was furious with both, but at the same time, she was kind-of proud.

"Well, I at least know she's learning something," Karamina said to Guthrow, who was pacing beside her.

"Like what?"

"She would have had to use the skills I've been teaching her to slip out of the palace."

"Well, she certainly knew I was gone. InuYasha's scent says that he went back to the cave like he was supposed to. And then, of course, Kagomes scent was there, for longer then InuYashas, and the rest is history."

"I bet she goaded him."

"And I bet you're right. I was pretty sure I was starting to get along with the boy pretty well. I started playing with him; normal games you play with younger males. Territorial games you know. And he started to get good at it too. This was the first time he's really pulled something exceptionally stupid."

"Well, as I said, Kagome probably goaded him, and he has a young male pride. It probably got stung, and he had to show her that he was truly a 'man'."

"More then likely. But I'm still going to sit him down."

"We both will. You can get him later on, in a male-to-male session. I'm glad to hear though, that he's started to open up to you. I have a sense that he's a good pup, when you get past the rough exterior."

"Agreed. So am I to suspect that Kagome will also be getting a sit-down after you've made sure she's really alive and breathing?"

"Of course. Though I'm going to make sure to cover the don't-goad-males-unless-you-have-to speech." Guthrow chuckled.

"Oh boy. I'm glad I have the male instead. I wouldn't want to stay around for that speech if you threatened me." Karamina chortled, and they continued running in silence.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Are they alright?" asked InuTaisho, padding into the clearing where Guthrow and Karamina had decided to stop.

"Nothing major. Kagome's healing well, though she might just wear a scar from this adventure. The boy we've patched and potioned. They should both be fine after a good nights rest." InuTaisho looked over at the two youths, who were both lying on separate grass and leaf beds. The human boy had his shirt removed, and had leaves pressed to several of his wounds; the blade still firmly in his hand. Kagome had a matching wrap on her wrist, tied down with long strips of grass.

InuTaisho transformed back to his human-like form, and walked over and knelt between the two beds. With gentle fingers, he removed a lock of hair from Kagome's face.

"This is my fault," he remarked quietly to no one in particular.

"What makes you say that?" answered Karamina just as quietly, coming in to sit several paces behind him.

"I tried to keep her safe and protected, like a prized doll. But the more I tried to keep her close, the more confined she felt, which lead to her sneaking out and getting hurt."

"Well, the intentions were good. And if she had followed them, she wouldn't be in this situation now. But she is young. They both are. And sometimes, the young must make their own decisions. Even though many times we do not support nor like them. It is how they grow and learn. Pups always leave the den at some point. Kagome's stretching her legs now, though she is not anywhere near ready to leave yet. We were just lucky that she had a good defense on her side." InuTaisho turned to the unconscious boy, and put a hand on his unwounded shoulder.

"I will forever be indebted to this boy for saving my daughters life." Karamina couldn't help but grin.

"Just be sure to remember that when he wakes up." InuTaisho heard a certain tone in her voice, and turned to face her; one eyebrow raised.

"What does that mean?"

"It means InuYasha is a little rough around the edges," Karamina replied in a wryly tone, looking down at the boy. "So, you can't exactly say he's polite when he's awake. But he has a good heart. You just have to dig down, sometimes very deeply, to find it."

"Much like my son?"

"Yes. A bit too much for my liking. But I know with this boy, a sharp tone and a quick warning will get him back in line. I at least don't have to use my claws on him."

"Sesshomaru has never forgotten that by the way," InuTaisho told her in an amused tone.

"Good. And I hope he doesn't. I hope he thinks about it every time he thinks about forgetting that particular lesson again. I hope he thinks on it long and hard."

"I am sure he does. He may still be stubborn, but when you get a lesson into his head, it stays there for the rest of his life."

"Since the problem is getting it into his head, I hope it does stay there." InuTaisho looked back down at the boy, and gently rubbed his shoulder with the tips of his fingers, being careful with his claws.

"We can't be too mad at them you know," Karamina said after a time. InuTaisho smiled.

"Why? Because we were once their age? We once did such stupid things, that they naturally had to do something themselves?"

"Well, that. But also the fact that they defended themselves quite well."

"But they were hurt."

"As would others have been, even older ages, should they have met such numbers. And it doesn't help that things are growing out of proportion. And even though in the end, we still had to save them, the fact is, they were alive to be saved. And in relatively good condition too, might I add."

InuTaisho looked back at his daughter, then back to the boy.

"He's a bit outgoing for a human, isn't he?"

"Well, I can safely say, if he did this when the Exterminator was passing through, I can see where she would pick him up. I would have picked him up as well."

"He's going to be a great Exterminator one day."

"Yes, but at least we know that he's going to be generally friendly towards us."

"How did I ever manage to find a friend like you Karamina?" InuTaisho asked suddenly.

"Me? Friendly? Perish the thought."

"I know. I have to keep it quiet. I might ruin your reputation." Karamina padded forward, and placed a muzzle to his cheek.

"I'm lucky to, you know." InuTaisho raised a hand to her muzzle, and gently stroked it.

"Two old fools with the same ideals. We understand each other far too well."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome groaned as she awoke. Everything hurt, and she knew if she wanted to limber back up she had to move and work them out. If she didn't, Karamina would run her around and work her hard until they were worked out, and that was always painful. Kagome instantly recognized her room, and relaxed. She was safely home. There was a throat that cleared itself by the entrance of her room, and she propped herself on her elbows to look that direction. She met the silver eyes of her father.

"Kagome. I think it's time we had a talk."

Kagome involuntarily gulped. Last time her father had used those words, she had been in so much trouble, she was surprised she had lived through the experience. Now, she wasn't so sure she was going to live through this one. Especially when the door opened, and Karamina padded into the room. She was dead now.

"I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"Using the skills I have taught you to sneak out of the palace, deliberately bypassing the guards, and leaving when you were strictly forbidden too," stated Karamina, setting down on her back paws. Kagome involuntarily gulped again.

"And you saw what breaking the rules can get you. You got into trouble, and could have gotten you and the boy killed. What were you thinking dragging him into it? You know he was a human, and wouldn't have been able to protect himself in the forest."

"I was sure I could protect him," Kagome replied meekly.

"You're not a young pup anymore Kagome. You have to start using your head," InuTaisho told her, not moving from his spot.

"Yes sir," she replied, dipping her head in shame; her tail still and tucked to her body, and her ears flat to her head.

"Never going to do it again right young lady?"

"No sir. Never again."

"Good. I leave you in Karamina's capable paws." Kagome inwardly winced. Her father hadn't done anything more then scold her. However, her mentor was probably going to do much worse.

There was absolute silence in the room for a time; Kagome not looking up from where her eyes were lowered, and Karamina not moving the slightest bit. After what seemed like an eternity, Karamina spoke.

"That was foolish, to sneak out of the palace when your father told you there was a unknown danger lurking in the forest."

"I know. But I was so tired of being penned, I just had to get out."

"And why did you take the boy?"

"I heard that he had been confined to his cave, so I thought he might be getting tired of being penned too. When I first got to him though, he was coming back from doing something with Guthrow. I was sure he'd just leave with me if I said I was going, but he actually seemed a bit hesitant, so I…"

"Goaded him?" Karamina finished where Kagome had trailed off.

"I knew, from listening to some of the servants and pack-mates, that young males have great amounts of pride in their bodies, and they hate when it's hurt. So, I prodded him a bit in his pride." And now that Kagome was thinking about it, she felt a bit more guilty and ashamed.

"It's easy to do isn't it? It helps bend them to your ways when you poke them this way in the pride, to turn them that way; to make them do what you want to. It gives you a sense of power, knowing you made them do it anyway. But what would you have done if he had gotten seriously hurt, or even killed? How do you feel now that he was hurt?"

"I didn't think we would run into any trouble out there. The forest has always been a safe place to play in, for me at least. And velkir have never before attacked. They were always shy. He tried to tell me, when we heard their cry, that we should find cover. I didn't believe him, and kept walking. If I had done what he wanted me to do, we wouldn't have ended up in the bad situation we did, and he probably wouldn't have gotten hurt as badly as he did."

"Just, don't do it again. Though it is an experience to get the males to do what we want, if you try it too much, the power will get to your head, and then you'll turn out to be another Sesshomaru. I don't want to have to train you as my colleges had to train him."

"Was Sesshomaru really so bad?"

"He wanted to wipe out entire villages when an Exterminator passed through, by them, or spent the night in one, because they might decide to follow the Exterminator way, and the Exterminator might recruit villagers. Entire villages Kagome, because of a hatred of Exterminators that turned into a hatred for humans."

"I guess I can never introduce InuYasha to him then," sighed Kagome, closing her eyes. Karamina gave the girl a puzzled look, and then padded over to the foot of the bed.

"Kagome. How much do you actually like this boy?" Kagome opened her eyes, and diverted them away from the spot Karamina had occupied. However, the kitsune saw the slant of her ears turn embarrassed, and a blush cover her cheaks. 'Uh oh,' thought Karamina, watching the signs. 'This isn't just an infatuation. Kagome actually likes that human boy. Things are about to get seriously complicated. Especially should Sesshomaru finds out.'

"You won't tell Father or Sesshomaru, will you?" asked Kagome, silver eyes finally meeting Karaminas blue.

"No, I wont," Karamina replied. 'Tell your brother that is,' she thought. 'Your father however, needs to know exactly what is going on. I was right in my previous statement; things are going to get very complicated.'