InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unnamed ❯ Chapter 2

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

Kagome looked from behind her hiding spot in the bushes to confirm the sight that she had only seen in her worst nightmares. In the clearing, there stood Inuyasha and his past love, Kikyou, the priestess that had died more than five centuries ago only to be reincarnated as Kagome, giving her the sacred jewel in the process.

Five and a half centuries ago, Inuyasha and Kikyou had been enamored with each other, and were getting ready to start a life together. All Kikyou wanted was for Inuyasha to use the Shikon no Tama, or jewel of four souls, to become fully human. Inuyasha and Kikyou had arranged to meet in their favorite spot in the forest and Inuyasha would use the jewel to wish himself human. The Jewel would then have ceased to exist and Kikyou could relinquish her duty as the jewel's guardian.

But a wrench was thrown into the works when a man named Onigumo had let demons devour his paralyzed, charred body in return for mobility and strength. Onigumo now had the ability to impersonate others and used his power for malignant ends. He shot arrows at Inuyasha in the guise of Kikyou, sending Inuyasha to Kikyou's village, instead of their meeting place, to steal the jewel for himself and become a full demon.

On the other side of the woods, in the clearing where Inuyasha and Kikyou were supposed to truly begin their new life, Onigumo slashed Kikyou and nearly killed her. Onigumo had forced Inuyasha and Kikyou to think they had betrayed one another and set them at battle.

Kikyou found Inuyasha in the village and there she sealed him to the Goshinboku. Kikyou died of her wounds later and was cremated along with the sacred jewel. Kikyou had believed Inuyasha would follow her into the depths of hell for the rest of eternity together, but Inuyasha had merely been put under an enchanted sleep until Kagome would come through the well fifty years later and free him from his eternal slumber.

The miko who stood in the glade, walked by the grace of borrowed souls of the dead which sustained her very being. Kikyou had been resurrected by a necromancer through demon sorcery.

Kikyou bore an almost china-like face. Her body, now made of clay and bones, fired in a demon kiln, was clothed in a priestess's attire. The miko's normally stoic facade wore an aggravated expression.

“What are you saying, Inuyasha?” Kikyou asked, her voice quivering in disbelief.

“I'm saying that . . . I'm saying that I no longer am going to go to hell with you,” Inuyasha replied, his voice laden with an unfamiliar tint to it, fear.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat when she heard Inuyasha say that he would no longer be going to hell with Kikyou. Her worst nightmare abolished, she turned to leave and to let Inuyasha and Kikyou finish their conversation privately. Her curiosity spiked, however, at Kikyou's next statement, causing her to turn and re-eavesdrop on the conversation.

“But, why? What has brought around this change in your soul? Your soul and heart used to be in constant turmoil. Now,” Kikyou paused as the realization dawned on her, “now your soul is calm and your heart is serene.”

“Now, Kikyou,” Inuyasha pleaded.

“How could this change happen so quickly? It's almost as if . . . as if you've fallen in love,” Kikyou said, the edge of her voice becoming dangerously sharp.

“Please, Kikyou, you must understand,”

“Understand? Understand what?! That you've fallen in love with that little girl,” Kikyou sneered.

“It's not like that. I don't love her,” Inuyasha lied. “At least I don't think I do. Yes she's attractive and I am becoming very fond of her, but I wouldn't say love, not yet anyways.”

Kagome nearly blew her cover in the bushes as she fidgeted causing the leaves to rustle. Inuyasha, his ears as alert as ever, turned and was about to investigate the rustling when Kikyou called him back to her.

“I see how it is. The second you lose your love for me, you go searching for a replacement. And of course who better than that reincarnation of mine?” Kikyou snapped, her voice only slightly tinged with jealousy.

Inuyasha turned on his heel and confronted Kikyou. “That's it! It's time I get a few things straight around here,” he growled, his voice conveying every emotion he felt. “First off, Kagome is not a replacement. Don't you ever refer to her in that way. She may only be half the miko you are, but she's ten times the person you ever were. She doesn't ask that I change in order to make her happy. She is not upset with the fact that I am hanyou. She accepts me for who I am.”

Kagome's ego was rising with every tongue-lashing Inuyasha issued to Kikyou. Inuyasha wanted to be with her and not Kikyou. Kagome stopped reveling in her new discovery to turn back to Inuyasha and Kikyou. They were still there and every word Inuyasha said seemed to make Kikyou shrink a little more.

“Second, I realized I never truly loved you, nor you me. I mean, how much love could there have been if we were so easily set against each other. I know that Kagome would never turn her arrow on me and I likewise would never harm her. That's the reason I will not go to hell with you. She means more to me than you do, and I would rather have her happiness than yours. I will still kill Naraku out of a personal vendetta as well as for you and all the others. That shall be my last gift to you.” Inuyasha turned from Kikyou and decided to go back to the hut. He was called back from his retreat by Kikyou's parting remark.

“Inuyasha!” Kikyou cried, her soul collectors effortlessly lifting her into the air. “I hope she makes you happier than I did, because you better enjoy your short time together.”

“What do you mean, Kikyou?” Inuyasha asked, the fear returning to his voice.

“Inuyasha, I swear to you this night, I will get revenge on you, and I will do it by killing Kagome. Right in front of your eyes,” and with that, Kikyou ascended into the starry heavens leaving behind her a soul collector which wrapped itself around Inuyasha's neck before departing to rejoin its master.

Inuyasha just stared and watched as Kikyou departed, Kagome turned and stole silently away. `I have to get away and back to the hut before Inuyasha catches me,' Kagome thought as she broke into a full run until she was through the doorway of the hut. Kagome slipped into her sleeping bag, careful not to wake any of her friends.

Inuyasha slid into the hut, only making his presence known by the noise of the door flap swinging as he entered.

He walked over to inspect the marvelous creature that lay before him. No matter how many times he saw her, Kagome's radiant beauty always seemed to lighten his heart. And it was a good thing too, for now Inuyasha was worried more than ever about Kagome's safety. Kikyou said she was going to kill Kagome, and in front of his eyes. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Kikyou kidnaping and secretly killing Kagome. She would wait until they both were together before finally attacking.

Whispering into Kagome's ear, Inuyasha softly said, “I swear to you Kagome, I won't let anything happen to you. Neither Kikyou nor Naraku will ever lay their rotten hands on you. I will protect your life at any cost, even at the risk of my own life so that you can live in happiness, and I swear that I will tell you how I truly feel about you after Naraku is dead. But until then, I can only give you this.” Inuyasha moved away from her ear to lay a light kiss on her brow before moving over to his corner of the hut, falling asleep with his sword over his chest.

Kagome waited a few minutes before she stirred in her sleeping bag to check if the hanyou was still awake. Lucky for her, he was actually asleep, a rare occurrence for Inuyasha. Unknown to Inuyasha, Kagome had been awake the entire time and now her hair was standing on end. `Did Inuyasha actually just kiss me on my forehead?' Kagome wondered, mystified. `Today has been weird, first he lets me rub his ears and then he acts sweet, tells off Kikyou on my behalf, and then kisses me good night. This must all be a wonderful dream. Only tomorrow will tell if it all was real or but a silly dream.'

The next day, the Inuyasha gumi set off to the southeast following the rumors of a demon who was rampaging the area. Inuyasha was keeping his distance between him and Kagome because he had gotten a little too close to admitting how he felt for her.

He was currently at the head of the party, walking down the dirt path searching the wind for any scent of Naraku. Sango and Miroku walked behind Inuyasha, side-by-side. There was obvious tension between the two seeing as she used Kilala, now transformed into her battle-size, as a barrier between her and Miroku. It's funny how a large cat-demon baring saber-length teeth can make a guy's mind leave the gutter.

Kagome was bringing up the rear walking beside her basket. They had decided to leave Shippo behind under the guise that he needed to help Kaede pick herbs. He reluctantly stayed and Kagome felt a little guilty about deceiving the young fox demon.

Her mind wandered back to the day before and all that had happened concerning Inuyasha. Her thoughts were disrupted when the familiar tingle in her mind alerted her to the presence of a sacred jewel shard.

“Inuyasha, I sense a sacred jewel shard. No . . . wait there's two and they're heading for us from the northeast.” The group did an about-face as the surrounding trees rumbled and uprooted. The ground trembled and exploded with dirt and debris flying everywhere as a giant, mole demon popped out of the ground. It made its way for the gumi, leaving behind it a chasm that was once the path.

“The shards . . . they're in its front paws,” Kagome said, the light, rose glow shining with their almost eerie presence.

Sango jumped into action first, hopping onto Kilala and releasing her hiraikotsu. The demon exterminator's weapon flew through the air at the giant mole but it just batted it away with the huge, obelisk-sized claws. The weapon flew back and hit both Sango and Kilala. Miroku ran to her aid, checking to make sure that Sango wasn't injured, earning himself a slap in the process. “Inuyasha, it's up to you and Kagome. I'm injured and I think I just killed the houshi.”

“Gotcha, Sango.” Inuyasha unsheathed his Tetsuiga and attacked the monstrosity from the front, jumping as high as he could and sending forth his Wind Scar. The blast hit the demon but only served to topple it over. Inuyasha landed behind the demon and started the long climb up its back to its head.

The mole was in itself a mountain, one of the biggest demons any of the gumi had ever seen. This mole made Goshenki look like a bump in the path.

Kagome shot one of her sacred arrows at the demon. The arrow only half penetrated the demon's forehead, its sacred glow still blazing away. The demon turned its attention on Kagome and swiped its claw, clearing out a whole section of forest and revealing Kagome's location. The mole started its slow process of turning its body to attack its new antagonist.

Inuyasha could only dig in his claws and hang on for dear life as the giant beast turned its body. Inuyasha looked at the ground to see what the mole's new target was. He saw Kagome standing trembling and hurried up his quest to the demon's head.

“Kagome, you idiot, why are you just standing there? RUN!” Inuyasha yelled, causing Kagome to wake from her stupor. She turned on her heel and ran away from the demon.

`Lot of good running will do, look at the size of the thing,' Kagome thought to herself as she picked up her pace. As she looked back and saw Inuyasha clinging to the monster's back, she was reminded of what he often said about things such as this. `Don't worry, you know Inuyasha will protect you. And besides, it's like he always says, the bigger they are the harder they fall and that size doesn't matter.' Kagome paused a minute before thinking on, `I wonder why he always says that last one. I wonder if he's trying to defend something.' Kagome started giggling loud enough for Inuyasha's downy-soft ears to pick it up from his perch on the demon's head, just above where Kagome's arrow had hit it.

`Why is she giggling,' Inuyasha thought incredulously, `we're in the middle of a battle and she's giggling. I'll have to ask her later.' Inuyasha drove his Tetsuiga deep into the creature's brain before jumping off the demon. As he was falling, the demon faced him and Inuyasha focused on Kagome's arrow, using the Wind Scar. A powerful blast shot forth from the enlarged fang and hit the arrow, driving it and the Wind Scar into the demon's forehead. Inuyasha turned his attention from the demon to Kagome who was still running.

Kagome's mind was set on one track, `Run, run, breathe, run, run, I hope Inuyasha's ok, run, run some more . . .' She wasn't, however, expecting a body to drop from the sky and block her path. Thus she was surprised when she ran into a sturdy, strong obstacle in her way. The unexpected collision caused her to fall back, but just as she was afraid of hitting the ground, the body reached out a hand and stopped her fall.

“Maybe you should watch where you're going, silly,” Inuyasha grinned, both from the girl's clumsiness and the contact with her.

“Maybe you shouldn't drop from the sky in front of innocent people running from danger,” came Kagome's teasing response.

“Maybe, but it's more fun this way.”

Kagome looked at the happy grin on Inuyasha's face before commenting, “I guess this visit means the demon is dead.”

“Dead as a doornail,” was Inuyasha's arrogant response.

Suddenly a chilling, otherworldly voice echoed through the surrounding woods. “Than doornails are pretty lively creatures. Half-demon, Inuyasha was it? I am not dead and nowhere near it. You cannot kill me. I, Shuikotsu, have killed and devoured ninety-nine victims, human and demon alike. What better way to reach one hundred than by devouring a half-breed?” The demon's eerie chuckle was heard throughout the forest.

“One hundred? Really that much? Ooh, now I'm scared,” Inuyasha said with as much sarcasm as he could laden his voice with.

“Why do you mock me, Inuyasha? How many have you killed?”

Inuyasha let out his loudest laugh. “Let me see,” Inuyasha started counting his fingers and toes. “Add the two, subtract the four . . . from the nearest I can gather, about nineteen-”

“Nineteen. That's it. I am more than five times the demon you are,” said Shuikotsu, reassured by his foes supposed limited battle experience.

Inuyasha was starting to become irritated. “Shuikotsu, was it? Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners? You shouldn't interrupt others. I was going to say nineteen-hundred before you disrupted me.” Inuyasha finished with a smug smile, revealing one of his fangs.

“What, that's impossible. There's no way a puny hanyou like you could kill so many demons.”

“I can and did with this Tetsuiga. Tell you what, you can ask all of them when I send you to hell in a couple of seconds.” With that Inuyasha started charging Shuikotsu, his Tetsuiga held at the ready.

“I hope you're ready to die because here goes my best attack,” Shuikotsu yelled crossing his clawed paws and lining up the jewel shards. “Araishin no tama!”

A violet blast started heading for Inuyasha, encompassing the entire area in light. The blast tore toward Inuyasha, destroying everything in its path.

“Go to hell, Shuikotsu.” Inuyasha said as he launched himself into the air. “Backlash Wave!” The Tetsuiga roared to life and released the Wind Scar. The Backlash Wave engulfed the demon's attack and shot it straight back at him. The violent tornadoes struck and slashed into Shuikotsu with such force, his entire body was turned into nothing more than dust in the wind.

Kagome, who had been hiding safely behind a big rock this whole time, ran forward and checked Inuyasha for injuries, without announcing it to him.

“What are you doing?” Inuyasha asked, a surprised pitch in his voice. From his vantage point, it looked like Kagome was trying to undress him.

“I'm checking your body for injuries,” Kagome smoothly replied.

“No need. This demon didn't even scratch me,” Inuyasha said with more arrogance than normal.

“Ok Mister incredible, whatever.”

“What's that? In case you haven't noticed, I am incredible.”

Kagome couldn't hold back a giggle from the hurt look on Inuyasha's face. “I know, I'm teasing you.”

Something about Kagome's look brought back a question. “Kagome why were you giggling earlier as you were running from Shuikotsu?”

Kagome's mind went back as she remembered her little fit over the size concerning Inuyasha and broke into uncontrollable laughter.

“What's so funny? What are you thinking, wench?”

“Nothing, Inuyasha. I'll find out some day if I ever get lucky enough. And Inuyasha,”

“Yes, Kagome,” Inuyasha said, slightly afraid of what was coming next.

“Sit! I thought I told you not to call me a wench.”

From his position in the dirt Inuyasha mumbled apologetically, “Sorry. Force of habit, wen-,” Inuyasha caught himself as he saw Kagome's eyebrow rise dangerously high. “Kagome.”

“Good, and don't you forget it, or else you'll end up down there again.” Kagome sighed, knowing it was going to take a couple hundred more sits to get it through Inuyasha's dense head. “Now get up so we can get the jewel shards.”

Inuyasha grumbled something about being a horse as he got off the ground and turned for Kagome to get on his back piggyback style. “Thank you, Inuyasha,” Kagome said as she tweaked one of his ears, earning herself a half-purr, half-threatening growl. With that, Inuyasha took to the trees to gather their two well-earned jewel shards.