InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Circumstances ❯ Atoshi and Micharata ( Chapter 8 )

He could feel its energy; it was fast, very fast. It may have even been faster than him, not that he would admit it. The one that Kagura had called Micharata had disappeared right before his eyes and now she could be anywhere. With Tokijin drawn, Sesshoumaru prepared himself for the unexpected. There, right behind him! He brought his sword behind him quickly, narrowly avoiding a strike to his back.

 

“Oooh, you're quick demon lord, this should prove most interesting,” Micharata whispered in his ear. Sesshoumaru swung his claws around hoping to catch her off guard, but the incarnation was anticipating his move and dodged easily. She once again vanished and Sesshoumaru concentrated on her energy to pinpoint her location. She was watching him, he could tell, as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. To the left! He gracefully swung his sword to the left of him just as she appeared. The sword made contact with her shoulder and sliced her skin with no resistance. Micharata recovered quickly and disappeared, only to appear right in front of him and land a punch to his stomach knocking him back.

 

Sesshoumaru slid to a stop with his sword embedded in the ground. `This creature is strong, but her moves are slowing. It is only a matter of time before she succumbs to my claws.'

 

Kagome was between watching Sesshoumaru battle and watching the second incarnation. The one called Atoshi had yet to move, but his eyes were scanning the surrounding area. He set eyes upon the half demon in red and made his move.

 

Inuyasha had carved into another demon and was about to do the same to an unsuspecting cat demon when he caught sight of something in his peripheral vision. He turned his head to the side and saw, who thought was Kagome, standing there looking at him.

 

“Kagome, what are you doing? Quit standing there lookin' stupid and kill somethin' will ya?” Inuyasha shouted. He then turned his gaze back towards the cat demon that had yet to discover that it was a target. When he started to move for it he was hit in the side with a large stick which made him buckle over. He looked up to find `Kagome' standing over him, ready to take another swing. Inuyasha leapt out of the way just before the stick struck him again.

 

“Kagome? What the hell ya doin'?”

 

Atoshi, acting as Kagome, continued his way forward with the stick in his hand. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he then jumped again to avoid being hit.

 

“Kagome, snap out of it! What happened?!” When no answer for forthcoming from who he thought was Kagome, he knew that there was something definitely wrong. He reached for the stick that `Kagome' was holding and yanked it from her hands. Inuyasha took her into his arms, this event seemed déjà vu to the first time she was possessed through a tainted jewel shard; he just knew that he would be able to get through to her. He was unaware of the small dagger that was hidden just beneath `Kagome's' shirt.

 

Kikyo looked upon the seen with suspicious eyes, something was not right. The aura surrounding what looked to be Kagome was completely different than what it usually is. This aura held malice and hatred, not the pureness that was usually found with Kagome. Kikyo strung her bow and took aim; this was not the young girl!

“Inuyasha!” she screamed just before she let loose the arrow. Atoshi pushed away from Inuyasha seconds before the arrow hit. With the break of concentration, Atoshi reverted back to his true form and moved swiftly to his next target.

 

“What the fuck was that?! Where did he come from?!” Inuyasha was thoroughly confused; one minute he is looking at Kagome, or what he thought was Kagome, and the next minute, he's looking at some creepy little kid. He shook trying to rid himself of the uncomfortable goose bumps that were crawling over his skin. With a smile towards Kikyo he went back to his original target, that damned cat demon.

 

Atoshi punched his own hand, `Damn that woman, he was so close to stabbing that stupid half demon!' He shrugged his shoulders, there would always be next time, there were still plenty of people's minds to mess with.

 

__________________________

 

Kagura looked over the scene in front of her, it seemed the two other incarnations were keeping themselves busy. She looked toward Sesshoumaru and Micharata, currently at a standoff, it seems that Micharata was no longer able to evaporate, but her strength was still intact. Kagura let her eyes move about the courtyard when they fell upon the miko Kagome. Kagura's eyes enlarged when she saw the smirk on Kagome's face when she fired her arrow. Kagura fell backwards on her rear just missing being shot.

 

“Bitch! You almost hit me!” she sneered.

 

“Kinda the point Kagura, or did you forget that you sent me to the afterlife?” Kagome retorted. She knocked another arrow into her bow and took aim once again. Kagura regained her footing and started to reach for her fan.

 

“Don't even think about it Kagura,” Kagome stated calmly. She knew that the wind sorceress was going to go for her fan, but she was not about to let that happen. However, being the gentle person that she is, Kagome could not decide what to do with her now. She didn't want to kill her, that just wasn't in her nature.

 

“I don't have time for this miko, I've got more pressing matters to tend to.” With that Kagura snatched a feather from her hair and jumped upon it when it grew. The winds took her away from the castle grounds and to a safer distance in the sky to continue her oversight of the two newest `children' of Naraku.

 

Kagome let out a breath that she had been holding. `I just couldn't do it, even though she literally killed me, I still couldn't bring myself to take her life.' She looked around to find where she was needed. Kouga was relentless in his kicks and punches, it didn't even look like he had a scratch on him. She shook her head and smiled when she saw the deep concentration lines on his face, he just really loved to brawl. She moved her eyes to Ginta, Hakkaku, and Miroku. The three of them made a really good team and each brought something else to the fight. Ginta's punches were quite accurate, Hakkaku's kicks were strong, and Miroku wielded his staff like a professional fighter instead of a holy man.

 

Kagome looked just behind them to where Shippou was holding his barrier. She noticed a demon bird pecking at the barrier and although his barrier was strong, she could sense his unease at the situation. With practiced ease, Kagome shot her arrow at the offending demon and watched it turn to dust within her pink purifying energy. Shippou looked towards her and smiled in thanks and Kagome in turn, nodded her head.

 

She continued her scan of the courtyard and rested her eyes on Sango. The demon slayer's moves were calculated and smooth. She was graceful and held a fierce look in her eyes while she attacked her opponent. Kagome then turned her eyes slightly to take in what was fighting her friend and was utterly shocked to see her crossing weapons with Miroku. She did a double take and rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her. She then turned her head to the right to where she thought she had just seen Miroku with the wolf brothers and found that he was still there. Scratching her head she looked back to Sango and then back to the wolf brothers, taking in both of the Miroku forms.

 

Coming out of her stupor, Kagome grabbed for another arrow and aimed for the Miroku that was fighting Sango; it didn't take a super genus to figure out which one was the real one. She pulled the bowstring back tight and prepared to fire.

 

“There you are you bastard! You can't fool me this time!” screamed Inuyasha. He'd been watching from a distance as Kagome, who he thinks is that little brat Atoshi, take aim for Sango. At the time he did not take notice that there were two Miroku's, and he could not see who Sango was fighting with; all that mattered was that that little twerp had taken Kagome's form again and was about to shoot his friend.

 

“Inu-” Kagome started but halted her words when she saw the deadly glint in Inuyasha's eyes. She was confused at first and looked behind her to see if there was a demon that she had not noticed, but quickly turned back when she realized he was talking to her! Kagome `eeped!' as she dove for the ground just seconds before Inuyasha's claws swept over her. `What the heck is he thinking?! He almost took my head off!' She quickly rose to her feet and rolled out of the way just as Inuyasha's feet landed hard on the ground she had just occupied.

 

Inuyasha was getting frustrated with all of dodging this kid was doing. “Hold still ya little monster!”

 

Enough was enough! “SIT BOY!” Kagome commanded as Inuyasha rounded another attack on her. He was cut short and plummeted to the ground face first when the subjugation beads' spell worked its magic.

 

“Inuyasha what is your problem?! How dare you attack me like that!” berated Kagome as she watched him struggle out of his body shaped hole. “What were you thinking?!”

 

“I thought you were that damned kid with the red hair!” shouted Inuyasha.

 

“Um, Inuyasha, if you haven't noticed…I have BLACK HAIR!”

 

“Damn it wench I know that! That thing looked like you when it attacked me!”

 

“Yeah?! Well now it's attacking Sango so stop interfering!” She picked up her arrow that lay discarded on the ground and turned back towards Sango. The demon slayer was keeping up with the skilled incarnation who had now reverted to his true form. Kagome took aim once again and then let her arrow fly. The arrow cut through the air with a bright pink streak of light and went straight for her intended target. The incarnation felt the power moments before it struck him and only had time to move back to prevent himself from being purified completely. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't fast enough and his right arm was purified to dust.

 

Kagura, who had been watching from above, could not hide the smile that came across her face when the small incarnation lost his right arm. A smooth buzzing noise caught her attention and she cringed, `Naraku will be upset with me if I don't save his spawn, and I would rather not have my heart squeezed today.' The wind witch quickly swooped down and grabbed Atoshi just before the demon slayer could hit him with her sword. Hastily retreating back to her aerial vantage point, Kagura looked for the other incarnation to map her progress while the small group of warriors returned to fighting the remaining demons.

 

Micharata was tiring; her moves were slow and her strength was giving out on her. The demon lord in front of her proved to be more of a fight than she thought; he never tired! She had gotten a couple of punches and kicks in, but it only seemed to add fuel to his fire.

 

Sesshoumaru could not say that he was not impressed, the incarnate held her own and even managed to strike him. However, she was slowing and he was just getting warmed up. Pity, he really could've used a good spar.

 

Micharata made her move at him; she used the last ounce of her strength to summon one more good disappearance, she would have to make this one count. If her plan was successful she could pop up behind him and strike a hole through his heart and he would be none the wiser. She evaporated once more and focused her strength into one final punch that was aimed for the demon lord's heart through his back.

 

Sesshoumaru was not expecting her to disappear again, but he did not let it throw off his senses. He focused once more on her energy, from the back, came his warning. He spun around and thrust his hand forward at the air only to come in contact with his target. Sesshoumaru tightened his hand around Micharata's neck and narrowed his eyes at her. She did not expect him to know where she was and was now having to come to terms with her own demise. If she had to die, then she wouldn't have it any other way; this demon had been a most formidable opponent.

 

“You will tell this Sesshoumaru where Naraku is,” the demon lord demanded.

 

Micharata regarded him with hatred and awe. Never had she felt so much power emitting off of one being, it was astounding. She thought about his demand for a moment; she was going to die at any rate so she could not see the harm in telling him what he wanted to know. Like most of his incarnations, Micharata held nothing but loathing for her creator; he was malevolent and conniving and always sent her or her siblings to do his dirty work. For him to die would be nothing short of marvelous.

 

“Alright, I'll tell you whe-ugh!” Micharata never got to finish her confession. Kagura had been watching from her safe distance and witnessed the transition. She almost hoped that Micharata would not say anything and allow Sesshoumaru to end her life, but now she had to be the one to do it. Just as Micharata was about to release Naraku's whereabouts, Kagura sent her dance of blades towards her back and effectively ended the incarnations existence. With a sigh, she and Atoshi took their leave of the battle grounds to return to Naraku; he would not be happy.

 

Sesshoumaru was holding the incarnation's body as Kagura killed her. He tossed the lifeless carcass away and sneered in the direction in which the wind sorceress stole away. `Damn her, she and Naraku cannot hide from this Sesshoumaru forever.' The demon lord swiped his claws free from the blood that had accumulated there. With one last look toward the miko and her group of fighters, Sesshoumaru took to his demon cloud and left the scene; what little demons were left the group was more than capable of handling. Besides, he had a ward to check up on. `I will be seeing you again soon, miko.'

 

The rag-tag group of warriors huddled back to back in the middle of the courtyard, each of them ready to finally finish this organized battle that Naraku had set up. The sun was well passed its zenith and working its way behind the mountain range, signaling the end of the second day of this fight. The group took up their combat stances for one last go and let loose their battle cries. Inuyasha swung his Tessaiga without abandon and slashed through his challengers. The wolf brothers and Kouga worked their way skillfully through the small crowd of demons while the two priestesses' arrows struck true. Sango sliced through the airborne opponents with her sword while atop Kirara who was also contributing to the fight.

 

The final demon fell to Inuyasha's sword and the group heaved a great sigh of relief.

 

“Allow me to take care of clean-up,” said Miroku. “Stand behind me everyone, don't want to get sucked up now.” He removed his prayer beads when everyone was at a safe distance away. Soon, the carnage that was left on the battlegrounds was all but a memory and he even took special pleasure in watching Naraku's most recent castle being sucked into the air void. With a nod of his head, he covered up his hand once again and returned to his friends' side.

 

“So Kagome, you ready to leave dog breath and become my woman yet?” asked the ever cocky Kouga. He raced over towards Kagome and took hold of both of her hands. She blushed at the contact and averted her eyes to the ground.

 

“She ain't goin' with you shit for brains,” Inuyasha answered.

 

“Look Kouga, thank you so much for helping, and Ginta and Hakkaku as well,” Kagome started, “but I think I'll stay with Inuyasha.” She ended with one of her award winning smiles that made Kouga putty in her hands every time.

 

“Well, alright Kagome. But all you have to do is say the word and I'll send this puppy packing,” Kouga said as he thrust his thumb toward Inuyasha. The half demon growled low in his throat and Kouga took that as his queue to leave. “Come on boys, we got work to do, Naraku isn't gonna find himself!” Ginta and Hakkaku said goodbye to their `sister' and took off after Kouga who was already a whirlwind in the distance.

 

“Good riddance,” spat Inuyasha. The others waved good bye and proceeded to pack up what was left of their belongings.

 

“Hey, where did Sesshoumaru go?” asked Kagome.

 

“Keh! Who cares,” Inuyasha started, “just one person less to have to deal with. Probably went off to find his toad servant so he could have something to kick around.”

 

“Inuyasha, come with me,” Kikyo requested suddenly. He nodded dumbly and she took Inuyasha's hand and led him away from the group. The others looked at Kagome who was fighting back tears while trying to pack her bag.

 

“It's alright guys, really. He's made his choice and I'm going to honor that,” stated Kagome proudly. She continued gathering her things into her yellow backpack and soon the group set out on their way, knowing that Inuyasha would be more than capable of finding his way back to them.

 

“Inuyasha's such a baka,” stated Shippou.

 

“Yes indeed he is,” Miroku replied, “but lady Kagome has already made it clear that she's going to stand by his side no matter what, and I will follow her decision.”

 

The group continued into the forest to find a suitable place to rest for the night. It had been a very long and hard couple of days and they were all more than ready to sleep off their exhaustion. A short distance later they find a prime spot to make camp. The trees canopied just enough to give them shelter but still let the stars shine through, and one of the many hot springs that littered Japan's country side was close at hand.

 

After a quick meal and some casual banter, Kagome, Sango, and Shippou head for the much awaited water for a bath. The steam cleansed their troubles away, and shampoo felt wonderful after being covered in demon entrails. When they felt that they had rubbed their skin raw they left their wonderful bath and returned to camp.

 

The group found themselves in conversation, talking of recent events and future lines of attack should they happen upon Naraku soon. Their talks took a solemn turn when it came to Kagome's disappearance and the sudden shock that had set over them when they saw Kagome lying lifeless in the courtyard.

 

“Kagome, you don't know how worried we were about you. It just wasn't the same without you being near us,” Sango stated. “When I thought we had lost you, I…I…” She couldn't finish her sentence as she broke down into tears. Kagome was immediately by her side, giving her friend, that was more like a sister, as much comfort as she possible could.

 

Sango choked back a couple of tears and hiccupped as she tried to continue. “If it hadn't have been for Sesshoumaru, we would have lost you for good. Kami Kagome, I'm so sorry I didn't fight harder to help you, if I'd have just been faster, none of this would have ever happened!”

 

“That's where you're wrong Sango,” Miroku spoke up. “It was entirely my fault that any of this came to pass. I was put in charge of keeping watch over the group and I failed. Please forgive me Kagome, if I would have been diligent, you would have never found yourself in the clutches of Naraku.”

 

Kagome shuddered as she thought on her time she was held captive. Naraku had pushed her strength to the limit, at some points in time wishing that he would just kill her and get it over with. She had managed to zap him a couple of times with her miko powers, but all the same he still got the better of her. The entire time that she was there she never thought to blame her friends for her being taken, they did not mean for this to happen.

 

“If anyone is to blame it's Naraku!” Kagome shouted. “You guys are my best friends, I know that you didn't mean for this to happen, you all did your best to help me, and that's why I am here now, safe!”

 

“He'll pay for taking you Kagome, I'll make sure of it!” Shippou declared puffin out his chest. The group smiled at him, and little did he know, but Shippou's proud statement helped ease the thick tension that had settled over the group and gave them newfound encouragement to finally see Naraku fall.

 

“Yo!”

 

“Hello Inuyasha, it is nice to see you well,” Miroku said. To be quite honest, he was a bit upset at the actions of his hanyou friend. They had just fought a two-day long battle and been witness to Kagome's dead body being brought back to life, and the first thing he does when the battle was over was leave with Kikyo. He was shocked, to say the least, that Kagome hadn't `sat' him to hell and back.

 

“What's with the dirty looks?” Inuyasha said as he took in the glares coming from Sango, Miroku, and Shippou. “What the hell is wrong with you guys?”

 

“You really are dense sometimes you know that?” proceeded Sango. Her thoughts were along the same line as Miroku's; what was Inuyasha thinking running off with Kikyo?

 

“Feh! I don't know what the big deal is with you people, Kikyo and I just needed to talk,” barked Inuyasha.

 

“Ah, so you do know why we are upset. So tell me, why is it that you chose to ignore lady Kagome after the fight if you knew it would hurt her?” Miroku asked.

 

Inuyasha looked towards Kagome, but instead of seeing hurt in her eyes, he saw sympathy. Sympathy for what? He didn't need anyone's pity. “Look, Kagome knows that I'm happy she's not hurt, and she knows that I wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt her.”

 

“Yeah right,” three of them mumbled.

 

“Look guys, it's alright,” Kagome intervened. “Inuyasha, I'm happy for you. If you and Kikyo can work things out, then do it; you both deserve a second chance.”

 

Inuyasha blushed a bit and then turned, stuffing his hands into his sleeves. He would never admit it, but having Kagome's blessing meant more to him than anything. “Feh! If you guys are done with this little love fest, I'm getting some sleep.” He jumped into a tree not far from the fire at camp and settled in for the night.

 

Kagome smiled and turned back towards her friends. She rolled out her sleeping bag and climbed in for the first time in over two weeks. She smiled and sighed happily as she cuddled into the bag and looked up at the stars. `Sesshoumaru's not as bad as everyone thinks he is.' “Where the heck did that come from?” she asked herself quietly.

 

`That's all I need, to start thinking about Inuyasha's brother. Yes Kagome, make your life even more difficult. Still, he saved my life, MY life, a human! He even joked with me, that was something I definitely wasn't expecting. I can't believe I drooled on him, how embarrassing, it's not fair that he never loses face, he always looks regal with his pretty silver hair and those piercing eyes…' Kagome stopped herself right their.

 

“Yup, definitely thinking way too much about Sesshoumaru. That could be hazardous to my health if he ever found out,” she mused to herself. She quieted her thoughts when she felt Shippou crawl in next to her and curl up by her stomach. She patted his head and turned to his side to cuddle up with him and the two fell into a good night's sleep.

 

“Sango, if you want to get some sleep, I promise I will be extra attentive in my watch,” Miroku said.

 

“I know you will, but I'm just to worried to go to sleep. I trust you to watch over us, but I couldn't sleep right now even if I wanted to,” Sango replied.

 

Miroku nodded his understanding and took his place next to a tree trunk to rest. He took one last look at Sango before he closed his eyes for sleep.

 

The campsite was quiet and light snoring could be heard from a couple of the habitants. No one noticed the pair of amber eyes that watched over their camp that night, and no one noticed that the pair of eyes drifted mostly to the young women nestled in the bed roll.

 

 

****

 

Sesshoumaru had made it back to his small entourage just after the battle with no interruptions. He saw Rin dancing around his dragon Ah-Un and Jaken sound asleep next to a tree. He mentally sighed to himself, he had specifically told Jaken to watch her and here he was sleeping on the job.

 

The demon lord stealthily made his way toward his sleeping retainer and found a decent size rock; perfect for throwing. With accuracy any baseball player would envy, Sesshoumaru pitched the rock straight for Jaken's head, making perfect contact. The little toad squealed as he fell over from his nap and immediately started cursing for the culprit to show themselves. When Jaken caught sight of his master's form standing not five feet away from him, he immediately hit the ground, bowing his forgiveness.

 

“Jaken, your duties were to watch over Rin where they not?”

 

“Y-y-yes Lord Sesshoumaru.”

 

“And were you or where you not just sleeping, inadvertently disobeying orders?”

 

“Y-y-yes Lord Sesshoumaru,” Jaken confessed pitifully. He knew this day would come; they day when he would be cast from this world. He had fallen asleep while watching over his lord's ward, an act must punishable by death. Lucky for him, said ward was the one who saved him from his fate this day.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru how I missed you so!” yelled the little girl while she clung himself to his leg. He allowed himself to pat her head and glared towards Jaken.

 

“Jaken, see that you do not allow yourself to slacken on your duties to this Sesshoumaru.”

 

“Of course Lord Sesshoumaru, whatever you say Lord Sesshoumaru, this lowly Jaken is forever in your service Lord Sesshoumaru,” babbled the small toad quickly while bowing.

“Hn.”

 

“Rin, be ready to leave.”

 

“Yes Lord Sesshoumaru!” The little girl made her way back over to the two headed dragon and began packing her flowers that she had picked for her lord. She was glad that he was back, two days with Jaken was incredibly boring. He never wanted to play and when she decided to play with him regardless, he was forever yelling about “filthy human this” and “annoying child that”. Granted, Lord Sesshoumaru never was very talkative, but he at least kept her entertained by kicking Jaken every now and then and throwing the occasional rock his way.

 

When the small group was ready, they set off towards the West. The demon lord did not hold sentimentality in many things, but his home lands were one of the few things that made his very short list. The small company walked well into the night when Sesshoumaru finally allowed them to stop and make camp. Rin was fast asleep in a matter of seconds while Jaken continued to feed the fire. Every now and then he would look up to see his lord and master deep in thought; not that it wasn't unusual, his Lord Sesshoumaru was a very insightful person, but tonight it seemed as if he were somewhere else. The object of his own inner musing suddenly stood up and removed himself from beside the tree.

 

“Jaken, keep watch over Rin, I will return before sunrise,” Sesshoumaru stated.

 

“Yes milord.”

 

Sesshoumaru made his way through the forest with smooth calculated steps. Not a sound could be heard coming from him as he continued to walk quietly. Up ahead he saw the light of a small campfire and directed his path there. He strategically masked his scent and aura so as not to catch the attention of the group, and stealthily made his way closer.

 

He observed the group and listened to their conversation turn from idle chat to a torrent of emotions. The demon slayer broke down to tears and the miko and monk comforted her. He watched as his brother made his way into the camp and was slightly disgusted to hear that he had been with the undead priestess, and was shocked when the miko, Kagome, gave he and his former love her blessing.

 

Once again he caught himself fascinated with the young woman before him. She obviously held strong feelings for his half-brother, but pushed her own happiness aside for him. `Ridiculous,' thought Sesshoumaru.

 

He watched as the young miko slipped inside her bed roll and relax. `What is it about her that intrigues this Sesshoumaru so?' He continued to watch over her and almost lost his stoic façade when he heard her out loud confession. Almost. Sesshoumaru propped himself against a tree and remained their in quiet observance while the camp grew silent.

 

Only when he saw the first light of the morning did he take his leave and begin his trek back to his own camp.