InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Circumstances ❯ The Return of Atoshi ( Chapter 13 )

CHAPTER THIRTEEN- THE RETURN OF ATOSHI

 

 

After a run-in with a panther demon, the small group of traveling warriors found a nice sunny spot to rest. Kagome had been training in the village for about a month now and they had been trying desperately to keep themselves busy while attempting to find Naraku.

 

Shippou took the time of rest to do just that…rest. Not a day went by when he did not ask to go and see Kagome, but his request was always denied, usually by Inuyasha who would tell him that she needed to be left alone in order to concentrate. Today however, Inuyasha had told him that they were going to finally see her because he needed to give her mother an update on her well-being.

 

So with a smile on his face, Shippou gladly took this time to bask in the sunlight, knowing soon that he would get to see Kagome again. Since she had left them to train he had been rather lonely. Sure, Inuyasha was fun to pick on, but without Kagome to subdue the hanyou, Shippou received some rather nasty blows to the head. Needless to say, his torturing of Inuyasha had decreased dramatically.

 

Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha set to work making lunch, after their little battle with the demon they felt they deserved a nice meal; it was not as good as ramen, but hey, it would work. Sango had just put the water on when the heard a familiar voice call to them from far away.

 

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he lifted his head to see if he had just imagined it. He looked on in confusion as the figure of Kagome jogged toward them while waving her hand in the air. The rest of the group joined in his confusion as the young miko they were headed to see made her way towards them, her ever loving smile plastered on her face. The group smiled and waved back each one of them with many questions floating through their head.

 

 

****

 

 

After Naraku had fled the battle that he was so sure was going to be successful, he took refuge among the mountains in the higher eastern territory. He had become a master at cloaking his presence to those around him ever since his time on Mount Hakurei, and had used his skills yet again to aid him this time around as well.

 

He had been disappointed to learn of his creation, Micharata's, demise though he couldn't say that he was surprised. He was sure when Inuyasha and his friends had learnt of his escape they had been less than pleased and were going to out their aggressions on his incarnations. Kagura had managed to at least save his other `child' Atoshi, although even he had proved to be less than beneficial. While Naraku was in hiding he planned on upgrading his new incarnation, maybe then the persons seeking him out would have a big enough distraction to stop looking for him for a while.

 

One thing that had been on Naraku's mind lately however, was the absence of the miko, Kagome, as of late. He knew she often left for certain lengths of time, but this time she had been gone for quite a while. Naraku knew she was his biggest threat, and not having the knowledge of where she was made him uneasy. What were they planning?

 

With these thoughts running through his head, he devised a way to gain some information. Atoshi would work best in this case, with some minor adjustments of course. Atoshi already had the gift of shape-shifting, perhaps if he added voice mimicking into that equation he could give Inuyasha a run for his money.

 

Naraku laughed at his own brilliance. If he could find the young miko and take her out of the equation, the threat on his life would be greatly diminished.

 

“Kagura,” Naraku called out.

 

Kagura, who had been leaning against a far wall within the same room, stood to her full height and walked a few steps towards him. She did not answer, but waited for him to continue.

 

“Gather Atoshi and bring him to me. Tell him I have a new task for him to undertake.”

 

Kagura nodded and left the room, but did not miss the chilling smile that swept across Naraku's face.

 

 

****

 

 

After Kagome's talk with Megumi, which was significantly easier to get through without all her sniffing, she set off to find the one person who was sure to be able to help her with her training.

 

She found Takahiro hard at work in one of the fields near the village. The sweat gleamed off his body, seemingly making him shine, and she found it hard to pull her eyes away. When she finally did, she noticed that she was not the only one enjoying the, ahem, scenery. A few of the younger village women were smiling and giggling to themselves as Takahiro worked his way through the soil; seems he had his own little fan club.

 

Kagome smiled to herself and casually made her way towards him; she was on a mission and just because his muscles rippled with every single move he made, did not mean that she was going to get distracted. Nope, not distracted at all. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Kagome turned back around and started to walk away from the fields, bus she stopped short when she heard him call for her.

 

“Hey Kagome! What are you doing out here?” Takahiro asked as he brought her in for a hug.

 

She blushed prettily and hugged him back, not missing the sour looks on the village women's faces as she did so.

 

“Umm, well, I actually came here to ask you for a huge favor,” Kagome began.

 

“Kagome, you know you can ask me for anything. I'll do my best to help you in any way I can,” Takahiro assured her as he wiped a bit of sweat off his brow.

 

Kagome's mouth opened but no sound came out. What was with her? She felt like a little girl with a crush! This was definitely not something she needed right now. Kagome opened and closed her mouth a couple more time to try and form the words she so desperately needed to say. When Takahiro started chuckling at her that effectively brought her out of her stupor.

 

“Sorry,” Kagome said embarrassedly, “It's just that, I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight. You're the only person I really know in this village; I can't think of anyone I would trust more here to instruct me in combat. You also said that your dad taught you a few things, so I was just…” she trailed off.

 

Takahiro paled slightly at the thought of once again fighting; he thought he had left all of that behind. He was never one to enjoy the art of war; he had not wanted the lessons when his father gave them to him all those years ago. His father, until his passing, had drilled the lessons into Takahiro's head until he could perform each maneuver with practiced ease.

 

However, as much as he would have like to decline to teach Kagome, when he looked at her beautiful hopeful face that reminded him so much of his late wife's, he could not bring himself to say no. So, against his better judgment, he nodded.

 

“Sh-sure Kag-Kagome,” he began and then cleared his throat to make it stronger. “It would be my pleasure. Why don't you meet me tomorrow afternoon near the shrine and we can start then.”

 

Kagome had been sure he was going to deny her the lessons. When she had asked, she saw how deathly pale he had become; she almost regretted asking in the first place. So when he had relented and said yes, she couldn't hide her joy. Kagome graced him with a huge smile and flung herself in his arms. He was surprised, but caught her and returned the hug before she gently pushed him to arms length, all the while still grinning from ear to ear.

 

“Thank you so much Takahiro! He'll be so pleased to know I found someone! I promise you won't regret it! ” she exclaimed then kissed him lightly on the cheek. She smiled again and rushed happily back to her lessons with Megumi.

 

“I already do regret it,” Takahiro sighed as he watched her leave.

 

It did not seem right to Takahiro that someone like Kagome was being forced to learn combat to protect herself. He almost felt like he would be defiling her innocent nature with teaching her how to fight. He only hoped that he could help her with what she needed; otherwise he would never forgive himself if she were to be hurt. Whenever he looked at Kagome he could see his beloved Atsuko

 

He turned to continue with his work, but stopped in his tracks as he thought about what Kagome had said before she left. `Who's “he”?'

 

 

****

 

 

“Kagome, just what the hell do you think you're doing here?! We were on our way to see you,” Inuyasha said.

 

He watched as Kagome made her way to them, a smile still plastered on her face as she spoke.

 

“Oh well, you know, I just thought I'd come see you first,” Kagome replied. “I hope that was okay?”

 

The group looked at one another and shrugged.

“Of course Kagome, you know we're always happy to see you,” spoke Sango as she leaned against her hiraikotsu.

 

Miroku nodded in agreement and then continued on making lunch; no sense in going hungry now was there?

 

Shippou was overjoyed when he saw Kagome, now he did not have to wait a couple more days until they made it to the small village to visit her. Instead, she came to them!

 

Shippou sprinted towards her and excitedly threw himself into her arms. Kagome was so surprised at the movement that she almost dropped him. If he noticed, he did not say anything as he squeezed her in a tight hug before hopping up and settling on her shoulder. He felt her stiffen up a little which made Shippou look over to her and furrow his brows a little. Was she feeling okay?

 

“Are you alright Kagome?” asked a worried Shippou.

 

“Sure I am. Why wouldn't I be?” came her reply.

 

Shippou shrugged. “I don't know, you just seem different is all.”

 

“Well I have been away for a while, maybe that's why,” she tried to explain.

 

Shippou nodded his head in acceptance; it was a logical explanation after all. He continued to perch on her shoulder all the while looking at her from the corner of his eye. When he saw that she had finally looked back at him he smiled wide. She in turn gave a slight smile back; it wasn't her usual ear-splitting smile, but one nonetheless. Since Shippou loved her smiles who was he to complain? He had his Kagome back for a while and that was all that mattered.

 

Sango had been watching the small exchange from her position now next to the small cooking fire. Their friend seemed a little odd, but maybe it was just because of the training she was going through; she remembered when her father was training her and she had been exhausted.

 

“So how's your training going? Are you getting any better?” Sango politely asked, still a little surprised at their friend's abrupt visit.

 

“Oh…yeah, I am a lot better,” she said, not giving any details.

 

“How's Megumi treating you? That village was a bit…different, are you fitting in okay?” Miroku asked.

 

“Of course, everything's great! Megumi, yeah, is treating me just fine,” Kagome replied.

 

Something was off; all of them could feel it. They looked at each other from the corners of their eyes as they sent a silent message between themselves. Kagome was acting really strange and was being very vague with her details. Did something happen to her while she was away? What wasn't she telling them? Kagome was always so talkative and did not hesitate to tell them anything. Surely just one month of training had not changed her so much.

 

Inuyasha was between feeling glad that Kagome was here and confused at her behavior. He took a tentative sniff to check the scent of her. Nothing seemed off about it, although it seemed a little less prominent than it usually did. He shrugged and turned towards Sango to see if she was hurrying with lunch.

 

Miroku, on the other hand, still had his doubts that nothing was wrong. He steadily scrutinized Kagome who shifted nervously under his gaze. Miroku continued to stare hard at the person before him; he turned his head to see where Inuyasha and Sango where and when he looked over at Kagome again he caught a glimpse of red in her hair. He was a bit startled at that; Kagome never had red in her hair; if anything it had more of a bluish tint to it. Kagome saw that Miroku straightened his back in shock and then saw the small shifting of his feet as he looked at her. She turned her once blue eyes, now gray, towards him and Miroku's own eyes widened. This was not Kagome.

 

He immediately took a defensive stance at her and brought his staff up in front of him.

 

“Who are you and what do you want?” Miroku asked forcefully obtaining the attention of the others.

 

Sango and Inuyasha had been trying to keep the fire lit when they heard Miroku's claim. The two quickly looked up from their position on the ground and saw that Kagome's eyes and hair continued to flicker back and forth between colors. The two of them jumped to their feet and Sango grabbed her giant boomerang while Inuyasha unsheathed his Tessaiga.

 

The being that was posing as Kagome smirked evilly and grabbed the little fox kit on its shoulder, holding him out as a shield. Then the mask that had been in place dropped to reveal that who they thought was their friend was actually Atoshi, causing the group to take a tighter hold of their weapons instinctively.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Inuyasha yelled out.

 

The being carefully examined the group in front of him. Hopefully he had gotten enough information out of them for it to be of some use to Naraku; if not it would not be in his best interest to return to him.

 

“I came for information,” Atoshi started still holding a now whining Shippou in front of him. “It seems as if Naraku has taken an interest in your absent group member. It is unfortunate that I could not get much out of you; however, it will not stop Naraku from trying to find her.”

 

“Bastard! Tell me where Naraku is or I'll let you meet my Tessaiga up close and personal!” demanded Inuyasha.

 

“I think not,” Atoshi stated haughtily. “I will however, send him your greetings; he does miss you so.” Atoshi then threw Shippou towards the group as a small distraction and darted off into the trees. Inuyasha wasted no time in starting off after him, while Sango, Miroku, and Shippou climbed onto Kirara to join in the chase.

 

Atoshi led them on a wild chase through the surrounding trees, zigzagging his way among them. Since Naraku had given him his “upgrade” he was now able to disappear and reappear in random places, thus making it hard for Inuyasha to track him. Atoshi grinned maliciously as he looked behind him to see Inuyasha's haphazard movement trying to keep up with him.

 

Inuyasha stayed close behind the incarnate, matching his every move, although many times it was hard to do so. This stupid brat was toying with him, and he did not like it one bit. They were quickly coming close to a ravine and just as Inuyasha was about to make contact with him, Atoshi switched directions and jumped behind a group of closely set trees. Inuyasha skidded to a halt and was about to go after him when Miroku ran up to him, close to where Atoshi had hidden.

 

“Did you find him Inuyasha?” the monk asked.

 

Inuyasha eyed him wearily and flexed his claws. Was this the real Miroku or was it Atoshi acting as him?

 

“How do I know it's really you Miroku?” Inuyasha asked while slowly approaching him taking light sniffs of the monk.

 

Miroku was taken aback; did Inuyasha actually think he was Atoshi? By the looks of Inuyasha clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes, yes, he did think that he was Atoshi.

 

“Inuyasha, I assure you it is me. I can release my wind tunnel if you'd like proof,” suggested Miroku.

 

Just as Inuyasha was about to relent, a copy Miroku came from the same direction as the former.

 

“Don't believe him Inuyasha! He's a fake; he's trying to trick you. I am the real Miroku,” claimed the fake.

 

Inuyasha shifted his stance and was now eying both of the monks suspiciously. Which was the real one?

 

 

***

 

 

Somewhere far away from the events at hand, Naraku sat and chuckled heartily as he watched a confused Inuyasha try and differentiate the monk from his incarnation. There had been very little information gathered as to the whereabouts of the young priestess that had been absent from the group, but little information was better than no information. He would simply have to do some research work.

 

Naraku now knew that she was training somewhere in a strange village that was home to someone named Megumi. He knew of a general vicinity to where she might be considering the group was on their way to see her. They were north of their regular village in which the frequented; so putting the pieces of the puzzle together should not prove to be exceedingly challenging.

 

Although nothing popped out at him straight away, he was sure with some digging he would be able to find her. People had a tendency to talk loosely when their lives are being threatened.

 

Naraku chuckled again; the group was quite amusing to watch in their fruitless attempts to locate him. No one could find him once he chose to abscond; he was found when he wanted to be found and no sooner. Some may see his hiding as cowardly; he saw it as a strategic maneuver. Soon, they would become frustrated with all of this hiding and they would grow careless. That's when he would strike, and he would strike hard. He nearly had all of the Shikon no Tama and he would not give up now, not when he was so close.

 

Kanna's mirror in which Naraku had been watching Inuyasha and his small group so closely suddenly went blank. Naraku frowned. Someone must have seen his insects and killed them. No matter, he had all the information he wanted and needed anyway.

 

 

***

 

As soon as they caught sight of Inuyasha and Atoshi, Miroku hopped off Kirara and took off after them in case Inuyasha would need his help. He told Sango to fly ahead and try and cut Atoshi off just in case he was to get through them.

 

Sango had agreed and so she, Kirara, and Shippou continued on without him. They flew just under a mile before Sango caught sight of Naraku's poisonous insects. They were no doubt there to inform Naraku of all that was going on, so she quickly made the decision to get rid of them.

 

Sango hurled her boomerang at them and easily killed the small hoard of insects before directing Kirara to land.

 

A few minutes passed by and there was still no sign of anyone; and it was quiet.

 

“Kirara, I think we should move towards them and be sure they're alright,” Sango said as she continued to scan the area with her eyes.

 

Kirara and Shippou both agreed so they headed off in Inuyasha and Miroku's direction. They came across Inuyasha and, surprisingly, two Miroku's a short while afterwards.

 

Inuyasha was still debating on who to believe; perhaps if he waited long enough Atoshi would get impatient and show himself?

 

“Inuyasha what are you waiting for?” Sango asked the hanyou.

 

“Um hello, there are two Miroku's! Maybe you would like to put in your opinion?!” Inuyasha yelled.

 

“No problem it's obviously the…one…hm,” Sango trailed off.

 

“You see! Not so fucking easy is it?!” Inuyasha said triumphantly.

 

Sango glared at Inuyasha and looked back at the two Miroku's. She felt really horrible now that she could not tell the real Miroku from a fake one.

 

“Uh-” she began.

 

A bright arrow flew past Inuyasha and Sango and lodged itself in the unsuspecting chest of one of the Miroku's. Right before their eyes, the one that was struck returned to his true self. Atoshi, with red hair and pale gray eyes had a look of pure shock on him just before his body turned to dust.

 

The group turned in the direction from which the arrow was shot and watched as Kikyo dropped her stance, obviously having fired the arrow.

 

“Kikyo…” Inuyasha whispered. He walked over to her and pulled her in for a tight hug. Her body was stiff at first before she relaxed slightly in his hold.

 

“Thank you, but how did you know which one to shoot?” he asked her in her ear.

 

“The aura around the monk was recognizable. The other was not and it was tainted with a dark cloud; it was easily distinguished,” Kikyo answered him in a bored tone.

 

Sango looked on as the two remained in their embrace. As much as she still was weary of Kikyo, she was grateful to her for helping them out. She always seemed to show up when they needed her most. Was it coincidence?

 

Miroku cleared his throat behind Sango and she whipped around quickly. She had to take a step back because of how close he actually was to her. When she looked him in the eyes, she could see nothing but humor within their depths.

 

“And what do you think is so funny?” Sango asked heatedly.

 

Miroku then smiled a brilliant smile at her. He took her hands in his and closed his eyes as he spoke.

 

“Dearest Sango,” he said with mock hurt, “am I really not easy to spot among a fake?”

 

“What? No! It's just that in the moment I couldn't…you were…and Atoshi-” she rambled.

 

He opened his eyes again to her flustered face and nearly laughed aloud. His shoulders jumped with his silent laughter and Sango looked at him with all the fury she could manage.

 

“It's not funny Miroku! I feel really bad that I couldn't tell you apart!” Sango screeched.

 

By now Miroku was laughing outward and Inuyasha and Kikyo had parted from their embrace to watch the two. Inuyasha shook his head and sighed and Kikyo remained impassive to the goings on between the members of the group.

 

A loud smack was heard throughout the forest which seemed to echo within the ravine. Sango called on Kirara and she and Shippou took off back towards their forgotten camp as well as their forgotten lunch.

 

Miroku picked himself up off the forest floor and trudged back as well. Inuyasha looked back to Kikyo who was still within his grasp.

 

“Kikyo-” he began.

 

“I have done what I needed here. I have heard rumor that Naraku is somewhere southeast of here; that is where I will be going,” she said. Kikyo turned out of Inuyasha's arms and began walking off. Before she was completely out of sight, Inuyasha saw her soul collectors gather her up and then she was gone again.