InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Vicissitude ❯ Divergence ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

 

Divergence

 

 

“Pick it up!”

 

“Pick it up yourself, wench.”

 

“It's not my mess!”

 

“Keh,” the hanyou scoffed, folding his arms inside the sleeves of his haori as he pouted. “Is too, not like I bought it.”

 

Kagome's jaw dropped as she didn't know what to say to that. Shippou's forceful cough diverted her attention as she turned to see the kitsune choking on his ramen, Miroku patting his back, smirking at her. Sango stared intensely into her Styrofoam cup, but the fact that she was biting her lip, trying not to laugh, completely gave away her amusement.

 

`I knew it. He's trying to make me mad!' Still unable to speak, she turned and gawked at the pouting hanyou as he continued to glower at her. A spark of satisfaction lit his golden eyes, quickly bringing her back to reality. He'd been a jerk all night, even more then usual, and she'd had enough. “Fine, I won't buy it anymore,” she said, picking up his cup from the floor of the hut before tossing it in the fire. The scowl on his face as he watched the Styrofoam burn almost made Kagome laugh.

 

“Whatever, you guys just want to lounge around and rest. I would rather be out there,” he growled, pointing out the window of the hut. “So what if we've got a dead end? We gotta do what we always do--”

 

“Some of us need sleep, InuYasha.” Miroku sighed, tossing his cup into the fire before turning to face the hanyou. “We are merely human and need sleep. If you are so set on finding a new lead tonight, be my guest. We will stay here, get some rest and you can return for us in the morning.”

 

“I'm not human.” Shippou protested; his mouth full of ramen again.

 

“Good, then you can go with InuYasha,” Sango laughed.

 

“Oi! I ain't taking the runt!”

 

“I'm not a runt!”

 

Kagome blocked out whatever response InuYasha made, letting the two of them burn off steam. Over the past year she'd realized that Shippou could defend himself against the hanyou. Kagome only stepped in when damage to property or innocent bystanders was inevitable, not to mention InuYasha needed a stress relief tonight, though Kagome understood his frustration. By the time they reached the nearby village, darkness had fallen. They searched the whole surrounding area, questioned everyone they came across… No one had seen or heard of any youkai attacks in several weeks.

 

Either the rumors were false or they'd ended up in the wrong town.

 

Too late to return to Kaede's; the headman had offered them hospitality for the evening, which they, for the most part, had readily agreed to. Although they were frustrated at the dead end they had come to, InuYasha refused to admit that their lead had proven false. He wanted to continue on to the next village: no rest, no breaks, and most definitely no sleeping.

 

Sighing, Kagome flopped down against the wall next to the hanyou as he pouted, rubbing a slightly singed ear. Figuring the ear was the product of Shippou, she glanced at the kitsune as she pulled her backpack on her lap. He was sporting a massive knot on his head and a scowl on his face, not that it surprised her. Even if one was to do any real damage to the other, which they rarely did, they'd be normal by morning anyway.

 

Undoing the zipper, she dug into the bag for a few moments before pulling out a green handled hairbrush and placing the bag on the floor next to her. Carefully pulling it through her hair, she concentrated on brushing out the snarls and grime that had accumulated on the road. It was next to impossible to keep it in good condition without the assistance of shampoo and conditioner; she wasn't sure how people lived before it was invented. It was a luxury her friends had become accustomed to during the past three years: Sango most of all.

 

Satisfied that her hair was at least detangled since brushing it was the closest she'd get to washing it that night. Turning to pull the bag back onto her lap, she found herself staring at her companion--- or more precisely, the mass of silver hair. An uncontrollable urge assaulted her, one that she refused to fight. Holding her breath, she slowly reached out, brush in hand, and pulled it through the hanyou's hair.

 

“What the fuck do you think you're doing, wench?” he growled, turning to scowl at the brush that she quickly removed from his hair.

 

“Nothing,” she smiled. “It just looked like it wanted some attention.”

 

He didn't comment, just glared at the brush in her hand for another moment before scowling at her as he jumped to his feet and stormed out of the hut. Blushing scarlet, Kagome didn't dare look at any of her remaining companions and frankly she knew them well enough to know exactly what sort of expressions they would have anyway. Watching them doing their best to not laugh at her wasn't what she wanted to spend the rest of the night doing, especially about something she frequently did for the hanyou.

 

Not like they knew that, though.

 

Climbing to her feet, she refused to make eye contact with her friends as she headed after the hanyou. Stepping onto the porch, she inhaled the night wind as it brushed past, unable to find comfort within the fresh air this evening. Something cold and sinister danced among the breeze, as if it were crying, begging for her attention. The soft footfalls that landed behind her announced his arrival before the hand on her shoulder reached her, soothed her. “Something's not right, InuYasha,” she whispered, leaning back, taking the comfort he offered.

 

“Get your stuff together.”

 

Though his voice had been soft, it was filled with a mixture of strong emotions that forced her to respond to his request immediately. Once inside the hut, she found both Miroku and Sango frantically throwing everyone's belongings together. “What's going on Miroku?” she asked, throwing everything she could grasp into her backpack before dragging it onto her shoulders.

 

“I don't know, Kagome. I've never felt this before,” he yelled as the wind suddenly picked up to an almost deafening howl. Miroku had one hand on Sango as he pushed her out of the hut, dragging Shippou behind with his other. Kagome took one last look around, making sure they had gotten everything they needed before racing after them.

 

Dragged onto InuYasha's back before she'd even completely left the hut, she clung to him, buried her head into his neck as he fought the wind for both of them. “Hold on,” he growled, leaping onto the roof before springing into the nearest tree. “Don't fucking look up.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Just don't!”

 

`Kami, why did he have to tell me that? Now I have to look!' Daring to glance directly above them, she saw Kirara fighting the same storm as InuYasha, but directly above the firecat was something she wished she'd never seen. “Oh…my…”

 

“I fucking told you not to look, wench,” InuYasha yelled over his shoulder.

 

She hadn't expected him to hear over the riotous wind storm that they found themselves in the midst of, but apparently his hanyou hearing was stronger then she'd realized. She could barely hear his words, but knew he was screaming as loud as he could to be heard over the howling.

 

“You don't tell someone not to look; it makes it more likely that they will!”

 

“I told you not to!”

 

“But I did and there is thousands of youkai up there, InuYasha. Not just a couple, but thousands!”

 

“I know!”

 

Gripping his haori a little tighter, she watched as the sky slowly filled with more and more of the youkai with every leap they made. `They almost look like storm clouds, the way they slowly fill the sky. Even if the sun was out, it would still be this dark.'

 

Kirara moved closer to InuYasha, making sure they all traveled together in one group incase the youkai decided to attack, which strangely, it appeared they had no intention of doing.

 

“Are we following them?” Kagome asked, still yelling to be heard over the deafening wind the youkai were creating.

 

“I'm not trying to,” the hanyou growled, landing on a sturdy branch so he could watch the phenomenon for a few moments. “They're headed in the same direction.”

 

“I feared that,” Miroku shouted from his place behind Sango on the firecat. “We better hurry, they are moving substantially—”

 

The wind suddenly died, interrupting the monk before he finished his sentence. Instantly everyone looked up to the sky, watching as the last of the youkai passed them. The stars slowly emerged from amidst the darkness, sparkling down as if nothing had just occurred.

 

“InuYasha, where are they headed?” Kagome forced herself to ask, afraid to hear his answer.

 

“They're covered in Naraku's stench,” InuYasha growled, taking off again. “My guess is Kaede's.”

 

OoOoOoOoOoO

 

 

`We're still too far behind them,' he thought to himself, keeping an eye on the swarm of youkai directly in front of him. Intuition told him that the entire excursion to the neighboring village had been a diversion, someone or something—namely Naraku—wanted them away from Kaede's when he struck. `Keh, he knows whatever he's planned don't stand a chance if we're there.'

 

Leaping from tree to tree, he was just glad they were almost back to the village. He could handle whatever Naraku threw at them; he'd been doing it for the past three years.

 

Naraku had quickly figured out InuYasha's weakness: his friends—particularly Kagome. Time after time, Naraku had attempted to break the trust between them, thinking that was the key to the group's downfall.

 

`I'll give the bastard credit: he's got us there.' Tightening his hold on Kagome, he acknowledged the truth in Naraku's plan. She was the glue that held their group together, without her none of them would have lasted this long. With every attempt, Kagome held her ground, put her trust in each of them—with amazing results. Somehow her unwavering conviction in each of them reinforced all their bonds. She believed in all of them, therefore they believed in each other.

 

Slowly sounds from the village began to infiltrate his senses. Still too far away to know exactly what was happening, he knew the villagers were putting up a fight. InuYasha forced himself to push down the tension that quickly built up as the rest of his senses kicked into high gear, overwhelming him. Wanting to keep Kagome in the dark of the situation as long as possible, he glanced at the rest of their companions on the firecat. Shippou caught the hanyou's attention, his body tense, angry. Slowly shaking his head with disgust, his eyes narrowed…the kitsune's rage practically radiated from him.

 

Still just a kid, Shippou had spent the past three years in the village, it was his home. They'd seen enough death and suffering on their travels to last a lifetime and InuYasha had assumed the kitsune had become immune to it all. From the look in his eyes, InuYasha had been very wrong. The scent of blood surrounded them as he watched Shippou try to keep his rage and frustration inside by clenching his eyes shut and balling his hands into tight fists.

 

For the first time ever, InuYasha wished Shippou wasn't a youkai.

 

If Shippou was human, he wouldn't hear the fighting. He wouldn't smell the blood as another villager was attacked. He wouldn't know that the villagers were risking their lives for a battle that wasn't their own. He wouldn't know that the battle wasn't in the village, that people were dying as they protected the well.

 

When Shippou finally opened his eyes again, InuYasha gave him a slight nod of encouragement before focusing back on getting to the well as fast as they could go. He could see Goshinboku in the distance, meaning they would be there within moments.

 

“InuYasha, w-why aren't we going to the village?” Kagome asked, he didn't miss the catch in her voice and figured she could hear the fighting by now.

 

He was saved from having to answer as a deafening `crack' echoed around them. The violet light that followed lit up the night brighter then any firecracker could have before slowly fading. Several seconds later, all that remained was a streak of purple light that appeared to be shooting out straight from the ground. “Oh fuck,” he growled as Kagome suddenly tightened her grip around his neck, blocking any chance he had of breathing normally.

 

“W-what was that?”

 

“I don't know, and we won't find out if you strangle me first.”

 

“I'm not strangling you,” she yelled, loosening her hold on him.

 

“Keh, you afraid of a few youkai?”

 

“Of course not!”

 

“Not that you're any help, anyway,” he snorted, trying to get her attention from whatever she might see as he leapt into Goshinboku. He figured it was as good of a point to assess the situation as any. Reaching his feet out to land on the branch, he came up with only air. `What the…?'

 

He knew the tree by heart, or rather had known it. Pulling Kagome off his back as he pivoted mid-air before dragging her flush against his chest, he did everything he could to keep her above him as they fell. The look of shock on her face as she realized they were falling and there was nothing to stop them but the ground was enough to make him smile—if someone hadn't stolen a branch of his tree.

 

Bracing himself for the incoming impact, he cringed as Kagome released a frantic shriek as the ground quickly rose to meet them. `Damn, she had to be next to the ears,' he thought, flattening the appendages as close to his head as he possibly could. The horrendous noise stopped only when his back connected with the earth, knocking the wind out of him. Unable to breathe, he was thankful that Kagome has stopped screaming...distracted by their abrupt landing.

 

“InuYasha! Are you okay?” She bent forward, touching his face as he fought to breathe. When he didn't immediately respond, her eyes slowly welled with tears.

 

“What'd you have for dinner, wench—rocks?”

 

Although it was only for an instant, if he hadn't been watching her so close he would have missed the way her face fell in disappointment before her eyes narrowed into a cold glare that she directed toward him. She quickly scrambled off of him, turning away, refusing to look at him. “You're such a jerk,” he heard her mutter before adjusting the gigantic backpack and walking to the edge of Goshinboku.

 

Getting to his feet, he followed her to the tree to do some investigating of his own. Leaping into the branches, he got as close as he could to inspect the remains of the missing limb. `Why the fuck would someone steal a branch?'

 

“I bet it fell when the youkai storm hit,” Kagome said absently, making him wonder how she always seemed to have an answer for whatever he was thinking. He knew he hadn't spoken out loud, how did she always guess his thoughts?

 

“Keh, then where is it?”

 

She sighed, staring up at him from the base of Goshinboku, leaning against the trunk. “I don't know. It's just a tree, InuYasha.”

 

`Just a…' he glared at her, offended by her flippant comment. “My tree…” he muttered, going back to his investigative work. The branch had been sturdy enough the last time he'd been on it to just break from the force of the youkai storm. It shouldn't have sustained any damage. Something had to have removed it on purpose…he refused to believe any other explanation.

 

“InuYasha!”

 

The voice came from nearby, Miroku. “Oh fuck!” he growled, leaping from the tree. He didn't have time to mess with Goshinboku; he'd forgotten about the well. Grabbing Kagome, he threw her on his back as he ran, suddenly remembering what they had been in a hurry about. Unsheathing Tetsusaiga as he ran, he released a `Kaze no Kizu' as soon as he came into view of the battle. The youkai directly in front of Sango were hit by the attack, giving her the room she needed to do some real damage with Hiraikotsu.

 

Miroku did what he could, but the kazaana wouldn't do them any good with the saimyoshou around, leaving him with just his staff and ofuda. Neither was helping Sango nor the remaining villagers against the youkai except to get the stray youkai that got past the taijiya. Even Shippou, relentlessly fighting with his foxfire, had matured enough to be doing some decent damage as he attacked.

 

A choked sob came from the girl on his back as she climbed off of him. He didn't need to look at what she'd seen, he already knew what upset her…He'd smelled it long before their arrival. “Why… why would he do this?” she said softly, dragging her bow from its place on her back. “She never did anything to anyone---none of them did.”

 

Slowly looking over the remains of the villagers, he recognized more faces then he wanted to: the father of the three year old he'd saved from the lake last year… the man whose home Miroku had actually vanquished a spirit from… families of several children Kagome had healed with some of her `special medicine'… even parents of some of the kids Shippou had befriended on their returns to the village.

 

His throat felt thick, choked as he grabbed the arrow from the bow as Kagome cocked it. She glared at him before crying in disbelief, “What are you doing?”

 

“Save your arrows; it won't bring them back.”

 

“They killed Kaede!”

 

“I know!” he yelled, unconsciously snapping the arrow in his hand. “Sango and Miroku can handle it. They have to.”

 

“But…”

 

“They can help the villagers, Kagome,” he sighed, wishing he didn't need to tell her what was happening. “Your family needs us.”

 

“Oh...right…” she said, taking a couple of steps in the direction of the well before pausing in her stride, her face paling as she slowly turned to face him. Speechless, her mouth tried to form the right words, but nothing would come out.

 

Taking pity on her, he dragged her on his back with his free hand and took off for the time slip. “Hold on tight, I'm gonna give Sango more room,” he said, landing on the edge of the well before turning to face the youkai that were slowly gaining ground on the taijiya. “Sango, move!”

 

The taijiya turned, catching Hiraikotsu as it returned by instinct alone, before quickly moving from InuYasha's path. Choosing one of his more powerful attacks, he lifted Tetsusaiga above his head, as Kagome tightened her grip around his neck. “Kongousouha!”

 

He didn't even take the time to see what damage he'd done, just turned to leap into the well. “When I get back, you guys better be done with them. I don't wanna have to do all the work,” he said to Miroku, making the monk chuckle knowingly.

 

“The barrier is going up as soon as you are through. You won't be allowed back until we are finished with them all anyway.”

 

InuYasha snorted, “We? I think you mean Sango.”

 

“Yes…well…Shippou is helping too.”

 

“Sure he is,” the hanyou said doubtfully.

 

“InuYasha, what if Naraku found a way to close the well?” Kagome whispered.

 

“He didn't,” he answered, dropping into the time slip. `He just wanted through.'

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

A/N:

*Looks at date of last update* Wow…two updates in a row that took less then a month.

Please don't die of shock…

 

 

I do not own InuYasha or the characters affiliated with the Manga and Anime. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi…I am just `borrowing' them for my own nefarious deeds. I own nothing, suing me won't help anyone.

Sari-15