Wolf's Rain Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ After the Lunar Flower ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: Somebody must have reviewed because I'm writing another chapter! YAY!

Okay, no waiting, here's....

Chapter 2.

Kiba was watching her.

When Kagome had regained her strength they had proceeded forward through the dense forest. Without a word they followed her, even Tsume was taking a bit of faith into himself after seeing what she had done. Toboe and Hige had believed it as soon as they had met her, trusting their instincts. Blue wasn't sure what to think yet.

And Kiba watched her.

Any normal person would be stumbling and bumping through the forest. Kagome walked quickly and quietly. She had had a lot of practice in the feudal era. Traveling with Inuyasha had required that she be able to move quickly through a forest. And the jewel in her chest pulled her on, though not nearly as painfully.

All the while, she could feel his eyes on her.

It was beginning to get on her nerves. She was paying less and less attention to the terrain and the life around her and more and more attention to his irritating eyes boring into the back of her head. She was almost getting angry now. When she tripped and almost fell that was the last straw. She spun around to ask him just what was so interesting about the back of her head but never got the words out.

“Quiet,” Kiba hissed, a hand raised up to silence and still everyone. Hige sniffed the air and a growl rumbled in his throat.

“Wolves. And there's the scent of a noble on them.” Hige said, disgust in his voice.

“There are others like you?” Kagome asked. Kiba nodded.

“Most people think wolves are completely extinct, that's why we hide in human form. But there are many of us out there still.” He looked nonchalantly in the direction he scented them. “There's something wrong with these wolves.”

There was a tense stillness, and then a sudden flash of light brown as a wolf came out of the trees to attack Kiba. In a movement too fast to see, Kiba stepped to the side and knocked the wolf flying.

Suddenly, there were many wolves coming at them, their eyes blank and red.

~**~

Hubb hoped there was a town nearby, because his legs were god damned tired. Cher was going in her high heels like it was nothing. He groaned as she motioned him to hurry up.

“Cher, I can't walk anymore. I'm tired. I think its time for a break.” Cher turned to look at him.

“There will be plenty of time for a break when paradise falls and we're all dead.” She said seriously and turned to keep going.

“Cher!” He protested, but it fell on deaf ears. He trudged forward, sighing.

There had better be a town soon, because he was going to just lie down in the sand and stay there. With or without Cher.

~**~

“Kagome!” Kiba yelled, racing towards her as a wolf went for her throat. He wasn't close enough to stop the wolf and he knew it.

Kagome knew it too. She watched the wolf fly through the air, its red eyes getting closer and closer, its jaws opened wide to tear out her throat. She reacted on instinct, her hands coming up to protect herself, open and facing the wolf. Just as she screamed a brilliant light emitted from the palms of her hands. The wolf convulsed in pain and fell next to her. It was dead seconds after hitting the ground.

Kagome looked at it in shock, and then fell to her knees next to it, tears pouring down her face. Just before it died she could feel the very life force in the wolf change. It became weaker, but more importantly, it became real. Something had been controlling that wolf. It hadn't wanted to attack her.

They were all being controlled. And it was hurting them. She could hear them; she could hear their voices, begging for forgiveness. Begging for it to end.

She stood amongst them. They were running, ripping at her friends, causing blood to fly. Tears streamed down her face as her eyes began to glow. This time the glow spread down to her fingers. A wolf attacked her but Kiba was closer now and he threw it into a tree. Even though its spine broke in half it got up and charged again. They all were still going, even when the wounds they sustained were fatal. Inside, they were howling in pain.

Kagome could feel their pain. With a sob she let her power flow free of her fingers. A wave of pure, white power flowed through the trees. The wolves fell where they stood; free of the spell, but the price was death. Each one was willing to pay that price to keep from attacking another pack, and to stop the terrible pain as they broke bones and continues to move. Silently they thanked her as their life force was taken from their bodies.

When every wolf had been hit by her power, Kagome's eyes returned to normal and she fell to her knees, a scream of fury erupting from her throat.

The other wolves watched her, feeling as if their own hearts were being torn from their chests. Though they didn't understand why, they each went to her in wolf form, curling around her knees to comfort her. Kiba was lying on her right, Toboe on her left. Hige and Blue sat in front of her, not touching, but their presence was enough. Tsume sat just behind her, not quite touching.

They stayed that way as her screams became broken sobs.

~**~

His heart was wrenching.

“Cher...”

“I feel it too, Hubb.” She had finally stopped and had hand over her heart. It looked like she was trying to hold it in so it wasn't torn out. “Its her, the Guardian. She must be very sad. Or else very angry.” Cher turned to Hubb. “She has so much power. Can you feel it?”

Hubb nodded. “She...” His eyes got wide and he forgot whatever it was he was going to say. His eyes were looking just over Cher's shoulder.

“What, Hubb? What is it?” When he didn't answer she turned to look over her shoulder. For a moment she saw nothing but endless sand. Then she saw it too.

It was a city.

When they started forward at an eager pace, Hubb needed no prodding to keep going. They walked side by side, struggling to keep a fast pace. After an hour the city could be seen clearly rising up against the azure sky. Behind it was vegetation. A forest had found sufficient water to grow and flourish. They could hear the sounds of a live forest, even so far away. And they could feel the pain in their hearts that had not gone away since the screams had begun get even stronger.

So when they entered town a few hours later, they were not surprised to hear the village talk was of a brilliant white light that had passed a few miles from their village. A few people claimed that they had seen wolves following that light, but mostly they were scorned for believing something that had to be impossible, since wolves were extinct.

Hubb and Cher listened to the talk and believed. They knew for sure that wolves did exist. And after they found food and transportation, they left the village to enter the forest by the only road available. It was rough and almost a trail, but it was passable.

They could feel the guardian's presence. And they knew they were getting closer.

~**~

They slept almost exactly as they had circled her. Kagome's head rested against Kiba's shoulder, Toboe curled up against her stomach, Hige and Blue each laid a jaw against her legs. Tsume was on the other side of her legs, his head resting on his paws, his back flush with her lower legs.

They woke slowly, Tsume first, though he never opened his eyes. Hige and Blue sat up, ready to go and do something. Kiba opened his eyes but did not move, not wanting to disturb the girl sleeping on him just yet.

“Is Toboe...?” He nodded in the direction of the young wolf.

Hige shook his head. “He's still out like a log.” Hige snorted.

“I'm surprised your up.” Blue laughed. “You usually sleep even more deeply then Toboe.” Hige shrugged.

“Gotta get my beauty sleep, ya know.” He grinned. They all laughed together. Kagome made a noise and the laughter died immediately. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Good Morning.” Kiba said softly. Kagome blinked the sleep from her eyes, and then sat up quickly. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were red.

“Oh, I'm s, sorry. I didn't mean to, um, sleep on you.” She looked away, embarrassed. She had become accustomed to the people in the feudal era, who valued personal space. To intrude upon it was to make an advance upon someone. And even in her own time, sleeping on another person was almost like having a pretty heavy relationship. A male person, anyway.

Kiba just laughed at her. He knew humans had an odd view on the opposite sex sleeping together. Being a wolf, sleeping close to others was normal for him, regardless of the sex of the others around him. Besides, he had become used to having a female around who depended on him. The hole Cheza's death had made inside of him was at least partially filled by Kagome's very presence.

So her reaction was not wholly unexpected. She tried to stand up, to put a distance between them to heighten her own comfort level. But Tsume was still pretending to sleep against her legs and she found herself unwilling to wake him from his pretend sleep. So she sat uncomfortably for many moments, braced on her hands, while the wolves who weren't 'sleeping' watched in amusement. Toboe was waking from her moving away from his back.

“Did you have to move yet?” he whined. “It was such a nice dream.” And his eyes opened. Kagome smiled awkwardly.

“Um, sorry?” She said.

Kiba noticed that her arms were starting to shake from the awkward position she was bracing herself on them. He poked Tsume with his back foot.

“Tsume, quit pretending to sleep. Kagome needs to get up.” he said.

Tsume twitched and then made a show of standing and stretching. “I wasn't pretending,” he claimed and then walked a few paces away to sit. Kagome sat up more comfortably. Hige snorted that he didn't believe Tsume.

Kagome smiled at Tsume's back. She was absently stroking Toboe's head and back and he was trying not to wriggle at the feeling of it. When he moved against her hand she realized what she was doing and stopped, embarrassed again.

“I didn't mean to-” She started but was cut off as again Kiba laughed at her.

“Don't you pet dogs?” Kiba asked her.

“Well, yeah.” She was blushing furiously now. “But I couldn't talk to them and see them as people!” She said. Hige and Blue laughed as well.

“Just because you can see us as people doesn't mean we are people. We're wolves, and though we have pride, being petted does feel amazing.” Hige told her. Blue looked sad.

“I don't have the same pride they do. I never knew begging for attention would ever be something I shouldn't do.” She sighed. “I wish I could see Pops.”

Kagome looked inquiringly at Blue, but Blue wasn't looking at her. Hige understood the situation right off.

“Blue, wanna help me find something to eat?” Hige invited her. “There's got to be something worth eating in this forest.” He stood and Blue stood with him, nodding. They started off through the forest at a run.

Kagome turned around to face Kiba. “What was that all about?” She asked. “I didn't say something wrong, did I?”

“It wasn't you.” Kiba said. “Blue used to live with a human named Quent. She didn't know she was half wolf until Cheza.” He told her.

“I know how she must feel.” Toboe said. “I used to live with an old woman. She was really good to me. She gave me these.” He shook the bracelets on his front right leg.

Kagome looked apprehensively from face to face. “So, you like to be petted? And its not like, insulting for me to pet you?” She asked. Toboe smiled and shook his head. She looked at Kiba.

“Its not insulting.” He told her.

Cautiously, she reached out a hand towards his white, wolf head. His eyes shut just before she touched him. Her fingers stroked over his head and he let out a breath of contentment. She smiled and started to pet Toboe with the other hand. He, too, shut his eyes in contentment. After a few moments she noticed Tsume eying her. Kiba noticed it too. As much as he wanted to keep Kagome to himself he stopped her petting and brought his muzzle close to her ear.

Kagome giggled. “Are you sure?” She asked him. He nodded. She stopped petting Toboe and went over to sit next to Tsume. Carefully, she laid a hand on the back of his neck, just behind his ears. And she started to massage.

“Don't...” he said weakly. Kagome looked at Kiba, who motioned her on, grinning. So instead of stopping she started to scratch. Tsume groaned in pleasure and arched his neck so she could get at the spot better. His hind foot started to tap the ground rhythmically and she giggled.

“Me next!” Toboe said. He raced over to where Kagome and Tsume sat. She reached out her other hand and scratched the same spot she was scratching on Tsume. She giggled harder as Toboe started to pound the forest floor with his foot.

After a few minutes she stopped, despite the mournful eyes they both turned to her. “Don't look at me like that! My hands are tired!” She said, holding her hands up limply. “See!”

“Aw, really?” Toboe asked, swiping her hand with his tongue. She wiped her hand on her skirt.

“Really!” She answered, laughing. Tsume put a paw on her leg. She looked at him, startled.

“Thank you.” He struggled with the words. “That was... nice.” His eyes dropped and he removed his paw from her leg.

She smiled.

“Your welcome.”

Kiba turned suddenly, his stance protective.

“What?” Kagome asked.

“Humans. In a vehicle. They're close.”

~**~

“They are probably through the forest by now.” Cher said resignedly. “Hopefully there will be some sign of which way they went.” She sighed. She knew wolves could travel pretty quickly. She wasn't sure about the guardian. The Book of the Moon said the Guardian would be a teenage girl. A human. But she obviously had some kind of powers, and might be able to move as fast as the wolves. They were screwed if that was the case.

“I have a feeling they're not too far ahead.” Hubb told her. She looked at him sideways for a second because the feeling of horrendous pain in their chests had disappeared a little while ago. They had nothing to guide them now.

“I can still feel her.” Hubb said quietly. Cher gave him a sharp look.

“What do you mean?” She asked roughly.

“She's happy.” Hubb told her softly. “She's happy with the wolves.” He said, frowning. “She... She,” he started.

“What? What Hubb?” Cher demanded.

“She knows we're coming.”

Cher just looked at him. “What are you talking about? There's no way-” But her words were cut off as a gray wolf with a cross shaped scar on its chest jumped on the windshield. Cher slammed on the brakes and the wolf slid to one side, but caught its balance and jumped off the car. When the car had come to a full stop Hubb spoke.

“The wolves told her we were coming. They could smell us.” He said. Cher screamed when suddenly a boy, no, a man appeared next to her window. There was no glass covering in the side windows, and that meant there was no barrier between them.

“What do you want with Kagome?” He demanded. His long black hair was in disarray around his face. It only enhanced his good looks.

Then she saw her. She was almost the opposite of Cheza in every way, except for the gentleness and purity in her eyes. But in looks, they were so very different. The guardian was much more a woman than Cheza, who was forever trapped in the body of a girl. The girl standing in the woods had black hair and a toned physique. And the thing she had expected the least of all, though the Book of the Moon had said so, was that the guardian seemed to be human.

“Why are you here!” Kiba asked, annoyed that Cher had not answered him the first time. Her eyes left the guardian to meet his.

“We have to stop the guardian from opening paradise.” She told him. Beside her, Hubb groaned.

“Cher, shut up...”

“Why do you want to stop us from opening paradise?” Kiba asked then. Cher was just noticing that snarling wolves surrounded them. The gray one had jumped on the windshield of their car had its paws up on Hubb's door and was growling inches from his face.

She swallowed, but took courage from the fact that they had done nothing to hurt them before now. “That girl cannot enter paradise as long as she is the guardian of the jewel. The jewel will bring down paradise and earth and will be the end of humanity as we know it.” She said. Kiba scowled.

“You lie! Kagome will lead us to paradise! And we will find a future there!” he said. Cher shook her head slowly.

“No. Not as long as the jewel enters paradise with her.”

“What jewel?” Kiba asked angrily.

“The Shikon.” Kagome answered. “The jewel that resides in my body.” Kagome picked her way through the forest toward where the car was parked awkwardly.

“Kagome, don't-” Kiba started, worried for her safety.

“Guys, its okay. Don't you think they would have brought some sort of weapons to attack us with if they wanted to hurt us?” And she stopped next to Kiba. “I need you to tell me everything you know about the jewel. Why can't it enter paradise?”

“Maybe we should...” Hubb made a motion of getting out of the car. Kiba nodded at Tsume, who looked like he'd rather not listen, but then got off the door and stood up, becoming human in seconds. Hubb made a surprised noise, but then smiled and got out of the car anyway. Cher hesitated, but she too opened the door and got out.

Hubb's stomach growled and he grinned. “I uh, haven't eaten much lately.” He explained.

Kagome looked to Blue and Hige, who had showed up soon after Tsume had jumped on the car. “Did you guys find anything?” she asked. Hige grinned and pulled out a rabbit from behind the bushes. Blue came up with two more. Kagome grinned.

“Perfect! We can cook one for us people to share, and you guys can eat the other two... however you want to eat them.” She said, and made a face. Toboe suppressed a giggle.

“How are we going to make a fire to cook with?” Blue asked.

Kagome grinned. “Oh, I am an EXPERT fire starter.” She looked around the wooded area and found some dead, dry branches. She stacked them in a way they would burn best, and then hovered close to the sticks so the wolves and people around her couldn't see what she was doing. There was a little sizzling noise, and when she stepped back the little branches had caught and were spreading. Quickly, before the fire could catch other places, she scraped anything that might burn away from the fire so it was only the forest dirt that surrounded the fire.

It wasn't like she hadn't learned this from watching Sango and Miroku start a fire many times. How could she not pick up some pointers?

“How did you do that?” Toboe asked. Cher squinted at her.

“She must have had matches or a lighter.” Cher said confidently.

Kagome lifted her arms, shrugging. “Search me. I've nothing.” She turned a small circle. It was true. She had no pockets and nothing with her. Tsume sniffed near her, then near the fireplace. He shrugged.

“I don't care. I'm hungry. I'm going to find something else to eat.” And he turned and took off at a run into the forest.

“Lets eat.” Kiba said, looking off in the direction Tsume had disappeared to.

~**~

It was Kagome who came up with the rotisserie system of sticks. She stuck the skinned rabbit on it and threw some pine needles into the fire to give the rabbit a smoky taste. She found some vegetables in the nearby wilderness to cook in large, wet leaves at the bottom of the fire. Every minute or two she turned the rabbit on the spit. Tsume returned shortly, a little blood in his claws and teeth.

The humans tried to ignore the other wolves tearing at the raw rabbit. It was hard, but the wolves finished quickly. In fact, they were finished eating long before Kagome finished cooking the human's supper.

And so when everyone was quiet and either waiting for their food, or just barely satisfied with theirs, she began to tell them about what had happened to her. She started from the very beginning, though did not go into detail about the things that happened to her. She told them about the jewel transporting her into the past, and how her time was before the Global Warming disaster. She told them of meeting Kaede and Inuyasha. She told them of how Inuyasha and Kikyou were deceived by Naraku.

With love she talked of Shippou and Miroku and Sango and how they each were hurt by Naraku. She told them about chasing after shards of the Shikon, and how embarrassed she was about breaking it. She told them about Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru, and how the supposedly ruthless demon let a child travel with him. With hatred she told them of the villages that were ruined and the people hurt or killed because of Naraku.

And then, she told them of the last battle. Her voice nearly broke when she recounted how many times Inuyasha charged Naraku and was hurt badly, but kept trying.

And then she had the jewel in her hands. “I don't remember anything after the jewel fused together and entered back into my body. I believe it transported me here to begin a new destiny. With these wolves.” She looked at Cher.

“Why can't the jewel enter paradise?”

Cher sighed. “The Book of the Moon says the jewel stays pure in the hands of the Guardian. But once in paradise the evil that resides in the jewel would become stronger and the guardian would have to fight it. If the guardian was not strong enough, the evil would win and paradise would fall. Paradise cannot be if there is evil within it.” Cher looked into Kagome's eyes. “Are you strong enough to kill a century old evil?”

“I don't know.” She said honestly. “All I know is that the jewel brought me here to try. And I will do the best I can.” She said, though her voice lacked confidence.

“What if...” Hubb started. “What if the evil part of the jewel brought you here so it could bring about the fall of paradise?”

“Impossible.” Cher and Kagome said at the same time. Cher motioned Kagome to go ahead.

“You see, when the jewel transported me it had already been purified. When it's pure the evil part of the jewel has no control of it. Therefore it was the pure part of the jewel that transported me here. That's why I have to open paradise. I have to so I can make my wish.” Kagome looked at Cher. “I have to rectify my mistakes.”

Cher nodded. She was beginning to understand. And the more she talked to her and the wolves, the more she knew them, the more she believed that maybe, just maybe they could open paradise without evil.

When she looked at Hubb, she could see in his eyes that he believed in them as well.

~**~

Quent missed Blue. He found that where he used to talk to Blue, he ended up talking to himself instead. It was pathetic.

But Blue was running with those wolves now. Could he kill her if he found them? No, he couldn't kill Blue. She had not attacked his family. He knew she wasn't a killer. It was those other ones, the wild wolves. They would all die, he would make sure of it. He would stop them before they killed more people. Wolves were evil by nature. But Blue was only half wolf, and she had grown up with humans.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. The endless desert sand wasn't doing anything to help him take his mind off of her either. It just kept going on and on-

Wait a minute. Was that buildings he saw in the distance?

It was. Quent walked faster into the same city Hubb and Cher had just passed through a day ago. And when he arrived there, he heard the same talk Cher and Hubb had heard.

He was closing in on those wolves. And he was going to kill them all.

Even Blue, if she made him.

~**~

END.

Thanks again for all of the reviews!

Riasha