Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Circumstances ❯ Confusion ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu yu hakusho

 

AH~! Chapter nine… how wonderful. Does anyone know why certain symbols don't show up when I post chapters on ffnet? o_0

 

~*Responses*~

 

Kitsune'sangelofflames- of course I'm continuing it! I wouldn't stop it for the world! (But for Hiei I would… :p)

 

rubychik09- Heh.. Don't worry! I will make them sneak around more cuz y'all know Hiei isn't one to project his feelings… unless he's showing someone what is his. As for the thing where Hiei will say “I love you”… nyeh. I really can't see Hiei saying that, even to someone he truly loves. But I guess it depends on what kind of situation he's in…

 

CrimsonEyes7806- if you do write hiei/kag stories…KYAAA! I will happily review them! (But I might have to e-mail them since my computer is being stupid…)

 

Skitzoflame- I agree. Naraku should go die in a corner… heh.

 

 

Ch. 9

 

As soon as Inuyasha and Sango had rested enough to travel, they cleaned up their breakfast and set out once more. They were currently walking some beat up road that was on the out skirts of kaede's village.

 

Someone from a distant village came to Kaede for help the other day and said there was some strange youkai activity somewhere deep in their forests, and that a traveling monk had warned them about the strong demonic air that surrounded it.

 

Since they hadn't heard from Naraku in a while, they could only hope the rumor would lead them to him. Seeing as they had no other leads, the inu-tachi plus Hiei had no choice but to check it out.

 

Kagome sighed happily as she breathed in the fresh air. She pulled her arms back for a stretch before glancing at her other traveling companions. Inuyasha was leading, as usual, and Sango and Miroku were right behind him. Behind Sango and Miroku was Shippo who was playing with Kirara with Kagome keeping an eye on them from behind. Hiei was in his usual spot, meaning he was some where in the shadows staying close enough to keep a close eye on everyone.

 

She was feeling pretty happy and confident. She was in a relationship with a hott fire apparition, was learning how to fight, and got over her long crush. Looking at Inuyasha, she frowned as she felt the familiar jab of heartbreak. `Okay, so I'm still working on the moving on part but that doesn't mean I'm going to keep thinking about Inuyasha while I have Hiei…' she thought with a small smile.

 

“Hey! Miroku! When's your wedding?” Kagome asked curiously. She wanted to know the date ahead of time, that way she had an excuse for school ready.

 

The monk looked upwards with a hand on his chin. “Nnn, I'd say about a week or less. We want to be wed before the baby comes.” He said with a soft chuckle.

 

“I still can't believe you got her pregnant before you are properly bonded to each other.” Sango commented, while shaking her head in disappointment. But then again it was Miroku, and everyone knew the lecherous monk couldn't keep his hands off anything that walks on two legs with breasts and a nice butt.

 

A snort resounded around the quiet area, which caused everyone to stare at one of the near by trees. When no other comment was said or heard, the three shrugged and continued their conversation.

 

“Well at least he's not marrying Mei just because she's pregnant. In my time it's a disgrace to have a child around my age since we're considered to be to young to be a parents. But I guess here I'm the right age.” She said with a shrug at the end.

 

A smile slowly spread across Miroku's face as he looked behind him at the young time traveler. “Kagome! If you wanted to be a mother, why didn't you ask me before I met Mei? I would have happily given you children!”

 

Before he could say anymore, Sango hit him on the head with her boomerang while Kagome blushed out of embarrassment. Out of no where, a marble sized rock came flying at Miroku's head, gaining him yet another bump.

 

“Oi! What's going on back there?! We don't have time to waste, so stop talking and keep walking!” Inuyasha yelled over his shoulder, throwing everyone an agitated look.

 

After smiling at where she assumed Hiei was, Kagome leaned in a little forward a bit and whispered, “What's up with Inuyasha? He seems a little more grouchier then usual.”

 

After petting Kirara's head, Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder. “I don't know. Maybe he's still sad over Kikyo.”

 

In a flash a fist came crashing down on Shippo's head as soon as his comment slipped out of his mouth. “Hey you runt, didn't I tell ya to be quiet earlier?!”

 

Hugging Shippo protectively against her chest, Kagome glared at him before uttering the word “Sit!”

 

BOOM! Down the inu hanyou went. After shaking their head at the hanyou in the ground, the group kept walking forward knowing Inuyasha would recover and catch up with them later.

 

“You traitors!” he yelled into the ground as he heard their footsteps fade.

-----

 

“Ugh! I can't believe this! What a waste of time!” Inuyasha snarled as he stomped through the forest angrily.

 

The disturbance turned out to be yet another youkai, corrupted by Naraku and used for his purposes. They guessed it was to throw them off track, meaning they were far from finding him and his hide out.

 

With heavy hearts, they continued walking North in hopes of hearing some more rumors.

 

“Well at least we managed to save some people.” Shippo commented, trying to lighten the mood as he sucked on the lollipop Kagome brought back for him.

 

Most of the group nodded. The sun was starting to set, and soon the stars would spread across the sky.

 

After eating the usual dinner (ramen of course), they all pulled out their sleepwear and started settling down.

 

Kagome was in her usual sleeping bag with Shippo, Inuyasha and Hiei were in the tree's, Sango was sleeping by the fire with Kirara, and Miroku had his back against one of the trees with his staff across his lap.

 

By now everyone had fallen asleep, weary from the long walk and fight. Currently only two were awake, a short hybrid and a blue-eyed miko.

 

It was too early to sneak out and train, for the fire was still burning bright. Kagome watched the flickering flames as she thought about the jewel. Only a few more pieces and it would be completed.

 

That would mean she would have to say good bye to all her friends here in sengoku jidai. Rolling around in her sleeping bag, she sighed. It was a topic she really didn't want to think about, but with the known fact that Naraku was soon going to be coming after them for the remaining shards soon, she couldn't help but worry.

 

What if they didn't come out alive? What if Naraku lived? Would they even win the fight? Though she hated to doubt their group, she had to cover all angles. Of course she wasn't 100 percent sure she herself would come out alive, and she knew her family probably did too.

 

Tiling her head, she looked over at Sango and Miroku. They still had things to do in their life, with Miroku being a father and Sango possibly rebuilding her clan, everyone had a lot to lose.

 

A sharp kick snapped her out of her negative thoughts. Looking down, Kagome watched Shippo roll around muttering something while his arms and legs twitched every now and then.

 

`Must be having a dream about running around or something like that.' She thought with a small smile. Rolling around again, she stopped moving until she was lying on her back and was staring at the stars.

 

“Good night.” She said with a yawn as her eyes slowly closed.

 

“…Hn.” Came a soft reply.

-----

 

Naraku smiled at the cozy little scene that was set before him. They were all tired and had their defenses down so they could finally get some rest.

 

A cruel smile suddenly played upon his lips as he stared at the group intensely. Now was the time to put his plan into action.

 

With a wave of the hand, he summoned Kagura who appeared outside the shoji screen and bowed.

 

“What can I do for you Naraku?” She asked in monotone. Her red eyes narrowed hatefully at her so called “master”. `Some day I will be free like the wind…'

 

Naraku smirked at the hidden hate laced in every word she spoke to him. The spider hanyou was well aware of the hate his spawn had against him. But he could care less and if anything, he made her hate for him worse. “I want you to carry out the plan. We wouldn't want the others to interfere now would we?”

 

With a small bow, Kagura quickly stood up and pulled out a feather from her hair. She quickly glided away from Naraku's little hide out and into the warm night air. `I wonder what he's planning.' She wondered.

 

All he told her was that she was to put some sleeping powder into the wind so it would keep the inu tachi asleep, but he very strict on specifically telling her to leave the miko alone. Of course he never told her what exactly he planned to do, so she couldn't be certain on what his intentions were.

 

“Of course he wouldn't tell me. I'm only a puppet that serves him.” She said with a frown. True, she hadn't been the nicest towards them, but deep down she believed that Inuyasha and the rest of his friends would someday kill Naraku and set her free. It didn't matter if being free meant death, as long as she could escape from the evil hanyou's grasp.

 

Without any disturbance in the atmosphere, she quickly glided her way towards the camp the inu tachi set up. Grabbing a handful of powder out of a bag, she quickly released it below her and used her fan to guide it.

 

The light wind carried the power over the bodies of Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and Hiei; purposefully missing the slumbering miko.

 

No one in the group suspected anything as they unknowingly breathed in the powder, lulling them into a deeper sleep.

 

Folding her fan, Kagura looked at the group before quickly returning towards their hide out.

-----

 

Everything was set, and now he could finally get his plan into action. Pulling on his infamous white baboon pelt, Naraku quickly disappeared into the night with his saimyousho.

 

A sinister grin was plastered on his face. `Finally my dear miko, you will feel the darkness and betrayal within your own heart.'

-----

 

Kagome woke up with a loud gasp. Something in her gut told her something was wrong. Shaking her head, she wiped the sweat off her brow and looked around her. Everyone was quietly sleeping and looked unaffected by her little outburst.

 

`Was it part of a dream?' Blinking a few times to clear the blurriness away, she quietly slipped out of her sleeping bag and walked over to the tree that wasn't too far away from her.

 

With a quick crouch, she easily jumped from the ground and into the tree without making a sound. She had to smile when she saw Hiei sleeping. He was so adorable when he wasn't glaring, scowling, or frowning.

 

Walking over to him on silent feet, she reached out and lightly caressed his face. His skin was smooth and warm. Kagome was a little surprised that he hadn't woken up yet. Usually he was always alert and prepared to fight.

 

She was sure he wasn't dead, for the rise and fall of his chest proved so. Her previous fears arose and she started to panic a little bit. “Hiei.” No response. She even pinched his cheek and pulled hard, but didn't receive even a twitch.

 

“Hiei!” she said more sternly. No poking or prodding could wake up him. Huffing, her temper shot up, and she finally resorted to yelling. “HIEI!!!”

 

Still no response. Okay, now she was scared. She looked around the campfire, waiting for the others to awaken by her loud yelling, but suspiciously none did. Not even inuyasha, who had perfect hearing since he was an inu youkai.

 

Jumping off the branch, she quickly ran to the others and felt their necks. Like Hiei, they were alive, just unconscious in the slumber of sleep.

 

It hit her all at once when she suddenly felt a large amount of jewel fragments and an evil demonic aura coming towards her. She gasped before whipping her head around, facing the spider hanyou their whole group despised so much.

 

“Good evening miko.” Naraku said with a sinister grin on his face.

 

With a growl, she quickly changed into a defense stance, every muscle in her body tense and ready to fight.

 

Naraku chucked. “Now now, no need for that. I only came to… talk.” He said with amusement clear in his voice.

 

Kagome glared at Naraku. “Yeah right! What have you done to my friends?!”

 

She saw his mouth turn upwards into a smile. “Nothing my dear, they're only sleeping. Let them have their rest, plus we can now talk without any rude interruptions.”

 

“There is nothing to talk about.” Every hair on her body was standing up right. She knew she had no chance against Naraku by herself. Not even in her animal form. Her powers may have grown stronger, but she knew for a fact that she wasn't ready for a one on one fight against the semi-powerful hanyou. But if she had to protect her friends, then she would with her life.

 

“Ah, but we do. I had to leave you last time by the well due to some… unfortunate situations.” He said as he stared directly at the hybrid through the branches.

 

Kagome's hair bristled as a low growl escaped her lips. “Leave him alone.”

 

Though she couldn't see it, she could feel his eyebrow raise in surprise and curiosity. `Damn bastard.' She thought as she felt her fangs start to grow.

 

“Hm, I seem to have hit a soft spot. Tell me, what is your… relationship… with the small one?”

 

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “None of your damn business.”

 

“Touchy touchy.” He released a tentacle from underneath his baboon pelt and let it extend towards Hiei. It wrapped around his body, and lifted him off the tree branch and let him dangle in front of Kagome.

 

Her lip rose in a snarl, revealing her sharp canine fangs. She was slowly starting to turn into her animal form, and was trying hard to prevent it. As far as she knew, Naraku had no idea of the changes and had wasn't planning to tell him either.

 

Naraku chuckled as he saw the small changes in the miko and wasn't the least bit phased. “I have never seen you so… animalistic before miko. The fangs are a nice touch too.”

 

`So he knew' she thought through gritted teeth. Right now she didn't trust him, not that she ever did, but now even more then ever for he had her boyfriend dangling at a great height and doubted he would put him down gently. “Leave him out of this!” she yelled, and in a flash used her now grown claws to cut the tentacles off Hiei's body.

 

With acrobatic grace, she easily caught his body before he hit the ground. She cradled him to her chest before she quickly jumped backwards and set him down by the others. She let her clawed hand cup his face affectionately before she turned back around to glare at the hanyou.

 

“Fine, we'll talk. Only if you promise to leave my friends alone.”

 

Naraku nodded. “Good. Come along now.” His red eyes focused on hers as he quietly led her deeper into the forest.

 

She grabbed Hiei's katana and tied the sash around her own waist before warily following him. Kagome knew she could be walking into a trap, he could easily kill her and take the shards. But seeing how he was trying to engage her into a talk, she didn't think that was his plan. For tonight at least.

 

After walking a few feet away from the camp, they finally stopped. Kagome watched his every move, her hand inching towards her only weapon.

 

Naraku smirked to himself at how he could make her so uncomfortable. But if he played his cards right, everything would change. He reached into his pelt and pulled out something.

 

Kagome tensed and placed her hand on the hilt of the katana. She relaxed slightly when she saw Kanna's mirror. It brought back memories of a few nights ago, when he was about to show her something.

 

Once again, her interest was peaked. Her thoughts of that same night he came to visit her once arose in her mind. What would he show her? She stared at the mirror and watched as it began to glow. Just to be sure, she put a barrier around her to ensure her safety. Having your soul ripped out from your body hurts like hell, and she did not want to experience that again.

 

Her eyes were glued to the mirror as colors and shapes started to form. Voices were the first thing Kagome distinguished.

 

“Are you sure everyone's asleep?” A female voice asked, fear and insecurity evident in her voice.

 

“Yeah yeah, just chill.” Kagome blinked. She knew that arrogant male voice and lingo. Staring harder at the mirror, the colors and shapes soon turned into a forest and two people. Her eyes widened in recognition as she watched what seemed like a movie being played in a mirror.

 

Her best friend, Sango, and her ex-crush Inuyasha were embracing each other under a full moon in the forest. Inuyasha was looking at Sango the way he did when she caught him with Kikyo. She felt a familiar jab of jealousy and betrayal stab at her heart. Confusion was etched in her features as she tried to understand what she was seeing.

 

“What trickery is this Naraku?” Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Is this real? If it is, how long had their relationship been going on? Why didn't they tell me? Do they not trust me enough?

 

Naraku smirked. He could feel the confusion coming off her in waves. She was still reluctant to see the truth. “This is no trick dear miko. Only the truth. It seems that this is a regular interaction with the two. I happened to spot them while scouting the area.”

 

The day she would trust Naraku is the day she would dress up in a bunny suit and hop around Tokyo carrying a sign that would say, “I am the great Easter bunny. Bow down and kiss my furry ass.”

 

She shook her head trying to clear her head of those weird thoughts. Never in a million years would Sango and Inuyasha hook up, right? Kagome watched as their lips were locked in a passionate kiss. Inuyasha raised a claw and pushed down the collar of Sango's kimono and started trailing kisses down her neck. Unable to look at the mirror anymore, she quickly averted her gaze and snorted. “Whatever Naraku. I don't believe you. If you honestly think I would fall for such a stupid illusion, then you've underestimated me.”

 

Naraku chuckled as the mirror cleared. “No, you have it wrong. Why would I lie about something like this? If you truly do not believe me, look for a mark on the exterminator's neck. There should be two puncture marks that were produced from fangs. If you do not believe me after seeing the clear and obvious proof, then I surely misjudged your intelligence.”

 

With an angry growl, she leaped at him and attempted to swipe him with her sharp claws, only to be scratching air.

 

Turning around, she saw the spider hanyou was crouching a few feet away from her. She could see the smirk on his face and flexed her claws. With all the pain and confusion going through her, she wanted nothing more then to wipe off that damn smirk off his face and have him admit that what she saw was a lie.

 

His chuckle rang through the air as the saimyousho carried him into the air like last time. “Ah, what loyal and honest friends you have. Tell me, can you trust them even though they've kept such a big secret from you?”

 

Before she could do anything, he disappeared into the night sky. Even after he was long gone, she didn't do anything but glare at the sky. Why her? Why did all these little dramatic problems have to be related to her in one way or another?

 

Growling once more, Kagome quickly tore her eyes from the sky and proceeded back towards the camp. She took a glance at everyone to make sure they were okay. Her eyes lingered longer on Inuyasha and Sango. Naraku's earlier words came back to her, whispering to her in the back of her mind.

 

“If you truly do not believe me, look for a mark on the exterminator's neck.”

 

She swallowed a lump in her throat. Would she betray the trust she had in her friend and look at her neck? Or would she turn the other way and forget about what Naraku said. Her hands balled and unballed nervously.

 

Walking over to Sango, she came to a decision. She wouldn't believe in what Naraku said, she would only be checking to prove him wrong. To prove to him that she was a trustworthy friend and would tell her if some big affair was going on between her and their leader.

 

Her fingers lightly clamped on the smooth material, and pulled it gently down till it exposed her bare shoulder.

 

“There should be two puncture marks that were produced from fangs.”

 

Kagome gasped as she covered her mouth. There, like Naraku said, was a bite mark in between the place on her shoulder and neck. She felt sick. `So what he said was actually true.'

 

Tears welled up in her eyes as the realization hit her head on. It wasn't really about who Sango chose to be with, it was the fact that she hadn't trust her with her secret. Okay, fine, so she had been in love with Inuyasha for years and told Sango about it. But she thought she made it clear that she would understand to anything she told her, even something like this.

 

Wet tears fell down her face, as she made no move to remove them. Kagome felt betrayed. “So this is the person Inuyasha dumped Kikyo and I for.” She murmured.

 

All the trust that had developed between all of them had cracked.

-----

 

Naraku smirked into the night air as he looked into Kanna's mirror and saw Kagome's blank expression. Breaking the bond between them was easier then he thought it would be.

 

He chucked as a cruel smile spread across his face. Things were going his way, and soon he would have the shikon no tama and the beautiful miko in his hands.

-----

 

Hiei's eyes snapped open immediately as he quickly sat up from his position in the tree. It wasn't like him to sleep this much, especially around people he didn't really trust. He was always on guard and kept a wary eye on everyone. Looking at the sky, he noted the sun was already rising.

 

A stir of movement made him tense till he saw whom it was. Kagome was lying on his lap curled in a ball asleep, while half way in her animal form. Her claws were still out and a fang glinted from her bottom lip.

 

It was weird since he didn't remember sensing her jump up in the tree with him. He didn't even know when she got there! His mind was in a jumble. Some things just didn't seem right. Looking down he saw the others were still peacefully sleeping.

 

As he stretched a little bit without disturbing Kagome, he felt a sharp stab in his side. Lifting his black shirt, he saw two huge red marks on his sides. Something had grabbed him last night, and hard. He felt faint traces of a demonic aura but dismissed it since the feudal era was crawling with youkai.

 

Letting go of his shirt, he immediately started gently prodding Kagome for any injuries. He was happy to know that she wasn't the least bit hurt. So many questions arose from his mind. How did those marks get there? How did someone get past his defenses? And why did they want to attack him?

 

He also noticed that his katana was in a different position than it was the previous night. He may not be an animal youkai, but his senses were strong enough to tell him that Kagome had handled it.

 

Hiei was a little peeved about her touching his stuff. No one, and I mean no one, ever touches his katana. It's the only material thing he owned (besides clothes). Of course he wouldn't use it against her, but was still a little angry that she would touch his things without asking. He couldn't hide his curiosity as to why she would even need a weapon.

 

What also concerned him was the fact that she didn't wake him up for their training. He knew she was very dedicated to growing strong and being able to fend for her self against the enemies. Though she never told him out loud, he understood that she didn't like having to be saved every time they engaged in a fight against youkai.

 

Things weren't adding up and he didn't like being left out of the loop. Checking once more to see that Kagome was asleep, he quietly slipped of his bandana. His jagan slowly opened and allowed him to see into the other's minds.

 

With a disappointed frown, he covered his jagan and crossed his arms. After looking through their memories, he found out that no one had gotten up during the night. Not even the inu hanyou or the exterminator had gone to escape to the forest and mate.

 

He would have tried looking through Kagome's, but her strong mental abilities stopped him from doing so. With a blank expression, he lightly reached into Kagome's shirt and started playing with the pebble he gave her.

 

So much has happened ever since he met this special miko; and he wasn't sure if he liked all of the results. For one thing, he now had a weakness. Of course Kagome had grown in power since they had first met, but he still wasn't confident enough to know she would be able to handle a tough enemy from his past that could possibly come after her in revenge when they go back to the future. She wasn't weak per say, actually quite the opposite, it's just she couldn't control her powers fully and who knows what would happen if she needed to and couldn't?

 

By all means, that didn't mean he was going to leave her and think of her as a thorn in his side; instead he would just have to be more cautious and watch over her like he does with Yukina.

 

With a new resolve, Hiei silently vowed to himself to protect Kagome from any danger that she couldn't handle herself and to make sure no one would ever hurt her.

 

 

 

Authors note: Just a little warning for the future. I dunnoe if there's going to be some big battle scene, in other words, Naraku might die in a non-significant way so be prepared! R&R!