Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blue Black Fur ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 5 )

kagedfox: Hiei huh? Haven’t really thought about him much. But I might just slip him in later some time. If I do it will probably be around the time I introduce Youko.

SunStar Kitsune: I stuck a description of Kagome’s fox form into the beginning of the story. I hope you find it detailed enough to picture easily.

ShadowObscurity: Oops. Meant to say update. That’s what writing at one in the morning does to you? J

chinadoll27: Money or update? I’m far too poor to give you money. So I guess you’ll have to take the updates instead.J

KagomeYasha4448: Interesting idea. I got their meeting all planned out so no worries. Sorry to say they’ll probably meet after the Trial.

SilverWolfTears: Thanks for offering a suggestion. Few have done it. I’ve planned on making them meet after the Trial. So when the Trial ends expect Youko to be in the next chapter. Thanks for your kind review.

Julitica: I guess I’ll have to keep updating. Can’t have one of my readers keeling over. How would they send me reviews. J Enjoy the chapter and thanks for reviewing.

Wild “K” Fox Spirit: I do have something similar in mind. But thanks for offering ideas. Thanks for reviewing.

Thanks to all who reviewed

Everyone seems to be looking forward to Youko. I hate to make you wait so long. But the beginning of my story will be focusing a lot on Kagome. After the Trial she’ll be meeting with Youko I promise.

<.>=Fox Speech Chapter 4  

The Trial. It was a deceptively simple seeming test. Young fox spirits endured the Trial to prove themselves to the spirit fox community and to their Caregiver. In Kagome’s case her biological parents were also known as her Caregivers. At the age of ten a spirit fox was sent from their Caregiver’s land to live on their own. There could only return after three years or before five years. After five years had passed it was simply assumed that the fox either died or had found a territory of their own. Spirit foxes only rarely returned to the territory they came from. This was due to the fact that even if they returned they would be forced out sometime or another in the next decade.

Besides what was normally done, it truly didn’t matter. Regardless of the age, a spirit fox can set out at any time. They usually left at ten so that the parents could acquaint the foxes with their permanent form. At seven, their fox form will have no more changes; they will only get bigger from there. In Kagome’s case, despite her parents’ hopes, she would not become completely silver nor did her eyes change from their blue color. She would have most of her body covered with the dark black fur highlighted in blue. The only silver markings she had were the tip of her right ear and the mark on her back. The silver mark moved from her neck across her back to the base of her tail, it widened to points in the middle making the shape akin to a diamond. She was already twice the size of a normal fox and there was no telling how large she would get after she was full-grown.

So, with this is in mind her parents decided that Kagome would start her Trial at the age of seven. So that’s why the three spirit foxes could be found at the edge of Raid and Sasha’s territory. Three days after the disaster at the village and Kagome was ready to go. She already had the specifics of the Trial explained to her and now was saying goodbye.

Kagome stood on her hind legs to lick her parents’ muzzles. <I’ll miss you.>

Her parents gave her a sad smile. Raid spoke up. <Just remember to have fun.>

Sasha butted in. <Be wary of the humans.>

<Play lots a pranks.>

<Stay out of trouble.> Sasha clamped Raid’s mouth shut before he could speak again. After a warning glare she let go.

They both gave her a final warning. <Just be careful.>

Nodding Kagome turned around and started to walk away. Only a couple steps she turned back around. <Three years I can come back?> Her parents nodded. <No later than five years?> They nodded again. <What’s a year?> The two older foxes had to bite their tongues to keep from laughing.

Raid just pushed the cub along with his paw. <You’ll figure it out. Good luck.>

The kit gave one last glance back at them before running away. ***  

Kagome moved quickly through the woods. The very second after she had left the protection of her parents’ territory a feeling had hit her. In the territory her parents’ magic was deeply ingrained in the land. The magic gave a feeling of warmth that the cub was used to feeling her whole life. Now outside of that protection a cold, vulnerable feeling gripped her tightly. She ran faster as if to outrun the creeping coldness.

Looking ahead the fox came to a halt skidding against the dirt floor of the forest. She was face to face with a large dark brown wolf. What made her stop was not that it was a wolf but that it had three large glowing eyes. The wolf sniffed at her a moment before nodding. He disappeared into the surrounding foliage. Kagome shook her head lightly clearly amused. She again bounded off knowing that the sight of the three-eyed wolf meant that her friend was close by.

Sure enough she came upon the only other demon, or any person, that she knew besides her parents. He was a large wolf demon by the name of Royakan. The demon looked like a like a wolf that stood on it’s hind legs. Though his face was more like a wolf pup than an adult. He had human like eyes that were red. His fur was brown with white on his underside. The wolf wore traditional Japanese armor for a warrior.

Despite his more fierce characteristics the demon was very kindhearted; only attacking those that threatened his forest or his allies. He was the guardian of a large section of the forest. Even some of the spirit fox territory used to be guarded by Royakan. Kagome had become good friends with him; mostly because they were similar. Even though Royakan was over a hundred years old he acted much like a pup. He was the only friend the young fox had.

The large demon bent down and gave Kagome a lick effectively covering her in slobber. He grinned good-naturedly as the fox shook vigorously to get dry.

<Jeez Royakan, what was that for?>

Chuckling he answered back. “Simply for my own amusement.”

The kit growled lightly. Royakan simply ignored the growl and continued to chuckle softly. Shaking roughly she managed to slightly dry her damp fur. “Well thanks Royakan. Now I smell bad.”

“You didn’t before?”

Growling again, louder than before, the cub darted out and bit the wolf’s foot paw. It didn’t really hurt the large demon but he stopped his teasing. He waited until the young fox settled down on the forest floor before speaking. “What exactly are you doing so far from your territory?”

Kagome sighed lightly. “I’ve started my Trial early. I must journey for at least three years before I can return home.”

“Would you like me to help? I’d hate for anything bad to happen to you.”

She shook her head lightly. “You can’t. It’s forbidden for me to ask for any help on my Trial.” The cub looked Royakan in the eye. “I could be killed for doing it.”

“Hm…Well in that case I’ll wish you the best of luck.”

Jumping up the fox looked up at her long time friend. “Thanks. I’ll most definitely need it. I hope to see you again.”

He smiled. “You will.” Reaching down the wolf patted her on the back. Stumbling slightly the spirit fox moved in the guided direction. Grinning back at her friend she ran on through the forest. ***  

Kagome had been walking for over three days. It was nearing nightfall and she had yet to find the place that Royakan had guided. She knew he had pushed her in this direction for some reason. Luckily his actions could be considered a loophole in the rules regarding the Trial. She couldn’t really ask for the wolf demons help because he was an ally of sorts to her parents. The whole idea of the Trial was to get young cubs ready for the world. As harsh as it sounded, if the cub couldn’t survive without the help from their parents then they are not worthy.

The young fox cub sat down wearily. She had reached the edge of the large forest. Light filtered in through the trees. The cub knew that only a few steps beyond those trees she’d see something other than forest life for the first time. There was a bit of reluctance to go further. It was a fear of the unknown. With a light whimper she started to step forward. Her body was held so low her belly almost brushed the ground. She closed her eyes as she moved forward through the edge of the trees.

Feeling the warmth of the sun, she opened her eyes. What she saw before her made her widen her eyes in surprise. There were large peaks of earth. They rose far into air. Some had white points that disappeared in large misty clouds. Kagome had never seen such things before. The light from the falling sun made them seem even more beautiful. Shaking herself from her revelry the cub stepped back into the woods.

The fox could feel how exposed she was out in the vast fields that came before the mounds. Thinking that cover would be better, she curled up at the base of a large tree to sleep. ***  

The young fox could feel an energy. She rarely had control of the power and was used to feeling the colored presences of many things. It was especially easy to see when her eyes were closed. The aura she felt was something stalking her but it didn’t have the sharp color of anger. So she figured it didn’t mean her any harm. When the presence suddenly rushed at her, she yelped in surprise and bolted. Unfortunately, right into a tree.

Kagome dropped down and rubbed her head with her paw. She felt a little better when a similar ‘thunk’ sounded behind her. It seemed her stalker had shared her fate. Turning slowly she found what had tried to pounce on her. At first glance he looked like a human boy about her age. But a quick whiff of his scent told the spirit fox that he was a demon. She saw that he had pointed ears and a dark brown tail. The only thing the boy wore was a brown fur wrapped around his waist that was held up by his long tail.

He turned to her, still rubbing his sore head. His nails were unusually blunt for a demon, as they ran through his loose dark hair. Suddenly the boy looked angry. “What are you doing?”

The fox cub growled. ‘How dare he.’ She started to transform. After taking on her human form she could yell back. “Well I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you from trying to kill me!”

The demon boy crossed his arms. “Well you’re trespassing on my territory. So I had the right to try and take your head off. So there.” He stuck his tongue out at her.

“Hm.” She crossed her arms as well. “Arrogant jerk.”

He turned red with anger. “I’m not a jerk! You’re a trespasser. So get out!”

“I don’t have to do what you say!”

“Yes you do!”

“No I don’t!”
“Yes you do!”

“No I don’t!”

They continued on like this for several minutes. The longer they yelled the closer they got to each other. Until their noses were almost touching. In Kagome’s distracted state she couldn’t feel the aura of another demon approaching. The demon boy she was yelling seemed to know the new demon. As it approached he immediately tensed up and stopped yelling. The cub followed suit with a confused look on her face.

She followed the boy’s eyes and looked behind her. There stood a large and intimidating demon. He had a gruff face. His hair was a dark black color with bangs that shadowed his eyes. The rest fell down over his shoulders, some went over his chest, and the rest fell down mid-back. Unlike the other demon his nails were very long, sharp claws. She found herself staring into his light blue eyes they were a mirror image of the other boy’s.

Kagome gave a nervous laugh. “Um…Hi.”

He growled lightly. “Who are you?” His voice was deep and gravely. Still, it was amazingly soft for someone his six and half feet, looking that intimidating.

“I’m K-Kagome, sir.” The cub swallowed thickly before continuing. “A spirit fox from the forest.”

“Is that so?” She nodded even though his words didn’t seem like a question. “And what are you doing here.” He bared his large fangs.

She gulped again. ‘This is great. I’m barely out of the forest and I’m already going to die.’ “I’m on my Trial. I was sent this way by a wolf demon I know.”

He gave her a sharp glance. “What’s the demon’s name?”

The cub tensed up. She didn’t want to give up her friend’s name. The demon might go after him for sending her into his territory. “Why do you want to know?”

The demon shot out his hand and hauled her up by the tail. He held his claws up to her neck. “Speak fox. Before I change my mind about killing you now. It‘s been a long time since I‘ve had fresh fox.”

“R-R-Royakan.”

He dropped her suddenly. Kagome barely caught herself with her hands. She only succeeded in stopping her head from hitting the ground. But she dropped harshly onto her stomach. A small ‘oof’ sounded from her winded form.

“Sorry…come with me.” He walked away. The boy followed him, briefly sticking out his tongue at Kagome again when he passed her. She clenched her teeth. Despite the insult she followed quietly.

A short walk through the woods brought them to a campsite. There was only a small fire pit to show that it was a campsite. It was close to the forest’s edge; so close you could see the plains through a break in the trees. The older demon sat down heavily near the fire. The boy sat next to him with his arms still crossed looking superior. Kagome was really starting to get agitated by that look. She sat down across from them on the other side of the fire pit.

“Before we speak, we should be properly introduced.” He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. The fox got the distinct feeling that the two demons were too alike for their own good. “I am Marihito, leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe, and this is my son, Kouga.”

The cub cocked her head to the side. She took a whiff of their scent to familiarize herself with it. ‘Hm. So that’s what a wolf smells like.’ After examining the scent more she could smell the similarity between the two that confirmed they were family. She started a little when she noticed they were staring at her expectantly. “Oh, sorry. My name’s Kagome.”

“Well Kagome you don’t seem to know me. Didn’t Royakan tell you who I was?”

The spirit fox shook her head. “He’s never mentioned you before. Royakan just pointed me in this direction.”

Marihito grunted in annoyance. “Are you going to tell me you’ve been wandering aimlessly in this direction with no idea of where you were heading.” Kagome blushed lightly and nodded. “He told me he would send a spirit fox this way so I could help them. But that was supposed to be in another few years. He didn’t say much else about it.” He paused briefly in thought. “I still can’t understand why he didn‘t tell you where you were going?”

“I guess he knew I would have to travel on my Trial, but he didn’t know that he really couldn’t give me any direct help.”

“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for taking his help despite how small the help was?”

Kagome smirked. “I won’t get in trouble if no one finds out.”

The wolf demon laughed lightly. “I guess we can’t say you aren’t a true fox. Can you take my help?”

She nodded. “Yup. My parents don’t know you. So it would be help I got for myself.” The fox scratched her head lightly. “But what would you help me with?”

“Fighting of course. That would be something you’d need to know. I’ll teach you how to fight with that fox form of yours. And maybe some sword and dagger training.”

Kagome smiled wide and jumped up. “Really.”
He smirked lightly. “Sure. I can’t refuse a request from my old friend Royakan. I owe him.” Marihito stood up and stretched. “Stay here. I’ll get some food.” Briefly, he looked at Kouga. “You two get acquainted. You’ll be training together, after all.” The old wolf took off at an incredible speed into the forest.

After his father spoke, Kouga had huffed in annoyance. They sat in silence for several long minutes staring at each other. Kagome began to squirm. She wasn’t used to sitting still so long. Usually, she’d be running around playing. Despite that, she didn’t want to lose this battle of wills. She noticed, not long after she was doing it, that he was beginning to squirm as well.

Suddenly he stopped moving and straightened up. They were still staring at each other. “You wanna play tag.”

“Yeah.” Kagome jumped up before he could react and tackled him. “You’re it.”

He raced after her retreating form. “Get back here.”

They had played for over an hour before Marihito had returned with a large deer. He had allowed them to eat it themselves since he had eaten while he was out. Kagome had dug in with abandon. She had not eaten much since she’d left her home four days before. It was odd for her to eat in her humanoid form. Tearing the food and swallowing was difficult with her more blunt teeth.

After eating their fill she fell asleep. Her training would start tomorrow. ***  

Kagome woke in the middle of the night. She wasn’t sure what it was at first. Feeling the energy around her she could tell that it must have been the odd aura of sadness radiating from her left. After looking around she saw it was Kouga. He was sitting near the burning fire stoking it with a stick. The action seemed only automatic. She noticed how the wolf demon was staring blankly into the fire deep in thought. Pulling herself up, she walked over to the boy and sat down next to him.

He didn’t even look over to her when she sat down. The cub adopted a look of concern. “Are you alright Kouga?”

Finally, the wolf looked over to her. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

He growled lightly. “I don’t need you to be concerned about something that isn’t your business, so back off.”

Matching his growl with her own, she flicked him in the ear. He grumbled and rubbed his pointed ear. “Now tell me.”

“Fine.” Kouga turned back towards the fire in thought. “It’s my father.” Kagome silently urged him to continue. “I’m worried that the pack will come and finish him off.”
“What’d he do?”

“He used to be the leader of the whole Tribe but he was defeated by another wolf demon.” Kouga clenched his hands into fists. She was surprised at how angry he looked at that moment. “Simply defeating my father wasn’t enough for him though. He banished both of us out of the mountains.”

Kagome’s face fell in sympathy. Something suddenly occurred to her. “I thought Marihito said that he was the leader.”

“Yeah. He will be again.” Kouga puffed out his chest in pride. “My father won’t be put down that easy.”

The fox had the feeling that he was saying that without really believing it. Or maybe he was trying to convince himself more than he was convincing her. She put her arm around his shoulder. “Yeah. Marihito will show that jerk who’s in charge.”

Kouga nodded in agreement. He returned her embrace loosely. Kagome found herself falling asleep like that.

TBC

I couldn’t help adding one of my favorite characters into my story. If you’re not sure it’s Kouga I’m talking about. The next few chapters or so will be dedicated to Kagome’s Trial and the people she meets on it. I’m gonna try to make it about three or four chapters to represent the years she spends on her journey. Review my faithful readers.