Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Evolution ❯ Routine ( Chapter 3 )

Evolution

 

OooooO

 

“ Tell me, how did you do it?”

 

Kagome felt herself tremble before the fox youkai, his amber eyes boring into her own. She swallowed.

 

“ I…I don't know,” she replied meekly. The youkai frowned. Apparently he hadn't wanted to hear that answer.

 

“ You don't know,” he repeated. Kagome bit her lip and shrank back, preparing herself for his anger. But it never came. He had merely blinked and continued staring at her, as if she were some sort of alien. `Is this a good thing? Of course it's good thing! He hasn't killed you yet!'

 

“ I see then,” the youkai stood back up. Then, he began to walk away.

 

“ W-wait! Who are you?” Kagome called. He paused, then turned around.

 

“ I am Youko Kurama,” he replied.

 

“ Are you the one who guards the forest? Why did you let us pass through?” Kagome inquired further. Youko raised his brow.

 

“ So curious…” he murmured. Smirking, he looked back up.

 

“ Yes, I guard the forest. It is my home. I let you pass through because you were not disturbing my forest. Are you satisfied?” without waiting for her answer, the youkai began walking away.

 

“ Just one more thing!” once she was sure she had his attention, she began speaking again.

 

“ I think…I may have escaped your youki because I have priestess powers. I'm not trained but…” Youko turned and blinked back at Kagome.

 

“ Really now? That does explain a few things…very well. Farewell, girl,” Youko said. Then he walked away, disappearing into the night. Kagome remained in the dirt before the shrine, staring at the spot where he once was. `What a youkai…' Then Kagome realized something. `He left me alive!' Kagome released a breath she didn't know she was holding. As the sounds of the night slowly began to return, Kagome stood up, dusting off her bottom. `I can't believe I made a total idiot of myself in front of a youkai like him! Ugh, he probably thinks I'm an idiot…' Sighing, the girl began to walk down the steps, away from the temple. She really needed some sleep.

 

Kagome awoke to find it was about an hour after dawn. After she had arrived to the hut she was staying in, she had promptly went to sleep. Now the shard hunting group was packing to leave. As Kagome moved mechanically, she felt her still tingling from the breath of Youko Kurama. It was further proof to her that last night's events were most definitely not a dream. `He's really intimidating…' Kagome decided. Kagome wondered if she should ask the group about this Youko Kurama. Then Kagome wondered if she should really ask Inuyasha about him. She tried to picture his most logical reaction. Really, she did.

 

“ Why would you want to know about a stupid kitsune anyway? Are you his girlfriend now or something?”

 

Definite no. Not only would he say that, he would probably launch into this long tirade against fox youkai. So Kagome tried to picture Miroku's response.

 

“ Kagome-sama, are you interested? I could be of service. Of course, a human cannot compare to the wonders of a fox demon.”

 

Ugh. Stupid pervert. Miroku was a bit too predictable, like Inuyasha. On the second hand, he may appear serious about it, until Kagome told him about the “male” and “fox demon” part. Kagome moved on to Shippo.

 

“Really! You met THE Youko Kurama! Can I meet him?”

 

With the way Shippo would screech about it, the whole group would find out, and then Kagome would have to endure angry lectures and perverted comments. Even if Shippo managed to keep quiet, Inuyasha would realize something was wrong and beat it out of the poor kit. So Kagome decided her most logical pick should be Sango.

 

“ Youko Kurama? Sure I've heard of him, he's supposed to be really dangerous….”

 

Kagome wasn't sure what this Youko Kurama person was all about, but she was sure Sango had some general, fairly accurate knowledge of him, even if it was not that of a satisfying quantity. Plus, the demon exterminator could no doubt keep her inquiry a secret, and Inuyasha wouldn't dare try to harm Sango, though whether that was fear of Sango herself or Miroku, Kagome wasn't sure. In any case, Kagome figured her best time to speak with Sango would be the next time they had a bath, where they would get the most privacy they could.

 

“ Hey, Kagome, are feeling okay?” Shippo asked suddenly. Kagome blinked herself out of her daze and nodded.

 

“ Un! I'm fine, Shippo. Just thinking, is all,” she smiled back. Shippo grinned then scurried away, helping the group back up and gather some food and supplies. Soon, the group was back on the road and leaving the tiny village and its forest behind.

 

It soon turned out to be a nice day. The morning dew had dried, and the sun had risen above the horizon. There were few clouds, and Kagome immediately knew it was going to be a warm day. The ground was still a bit soft from the rain, but that mattered little to the group of travelers. The path wasn't very well worn, as people from the village didn't leave, and many people didn't come to the village. Very quickly the sounds of their traveling soothed Kagome's nerves. Miroku's staff's rings gently jingling, the soft scuffles of their sandals on the ground, the occasionally shifting of a pack, and Inuyasha's gentle sniffs of the air to make sure there were no hostile youkai in the vicinity. Then there were the natural sounds of the morning. Birds chirping, squirrels chittering, and tiny insects buzzing around as they slowly went to sleep. In fact, Shippo had fallen back to sleep on Kagome's shoulder, he was so comforted by the sounds of their traveling.

 

Kagome immediately felt guilty. All the poor child had known since they had taken him in was the life on the road, battles against demons, prejudiced human villages, betrayal, and suspicion. He was not amongst his own kind, where they did whatever fox youkai do together as a species. He would not know his own customs or beliefs until later on when he left on his own to discover his own race. And by then, he would be filled with human beliefs, human knowledge, and not at all gifted with the youkai knowledge he should have. A soft snore from the kit in question stopped Kagome's train of thought. Kagome giggled softly at Shippo, then looked ahead to concentrate on keeping herself awake. Her escapade from last night had drained her. Kagome allowed herself a soft sigh and trudged along.

 

They stopped around noon for a quick lunch break. Kagome had quickly made some ramen, let her friends marvel over the “ninja” food, then passed it out.

 

“ Ah, Kagome-sama, as always, your food is delicious!” Miroku exclaimed. Inuyasha didn't even have to nod his agreement; Kagome was sure that he felt that the way he gulped down his food was agreement enough.

 

“ Inuyasha, don't you have any manners?” Shippo asked with a wrinkled nose. Inuyasha just glared, his throat too full to growl. However, for Shippo, his glare was filled with promises of pain as soon as his bowl was gone. Which appeared to be very soon. Shippo edged closer to Kagome, who would protect him from the irate hanyou.

 

“Mmhm, this is wonderful, Kagome-chan. Is all food from your world this good?” Sango inquired.

 

“ Yeah, except for that curry stuff. But everything is else is good, especially if Ms. Higurashi is making it,” Inuyasha answered.

 

“ Ms. Higurashi?” Miroku said.

 

“ Kagome's mom,” Inuyasha clarified. Everyone nodded in understanding.

 

“ What about Kagome's dad?” Shippo asked. Inuyasha shrugged.

 

“ Never met him, and no one talks about him,” he replied. Kagome felt an eyebrow twitch. `They act like I'm not even here to ask…humph..'

 

“ So, Inuyasha, where are we going, exactly?” Kagome spoke.

 

“ Oh, well, while you were gone in your time, we heard a rumor of a rampaging youkai. We thought we should check into it and see if it had a jewel shard,” Inuyasha answered. Kagome nodded. `If there are any shards, there's probably only going to be one…' she thought desolately. They hadn't been any closer to eradicating Naraku, and their quest had become rather dull. Kagome had been growing worried over Miroku, who's Wind Tunnel had been growing larger. Sango brooded about Kohaku more than ever, though she refused to admit. She always did that, Kagome mused, when times became slow and there were no youkai to fight. Kirara tried her best to distract her mistress from her depressing thoughts, but it seemed that the fire cat caused Sango to only remember the happy times with her village, rather than take her mind off them. There would be times Inuyasha would stare into the sky, letting his eyes become blinded by the merciless sun, until he tore his gaze away and let his demon healing restore his sight. Kagome knew exactly what he was thinking about. Kikyo. She wondered if the blinding sun that took Inuyasha's sight allowed him to view the times before he had been sealed. Before Kagome came along. It hurt, Kagome had long ago realized, to always be second guessing, never really sure. Sure of what, Kagome herself wasn't sure. She just knew it hurt.

 

“ Hey, hurry up and pack up your stuff. We're getting ready to leave,” Inuyasha barked. Kagome snapped out of her reverie.

 

“ Huh? Oh, right, time to move, okay…” Kagome began putting her things away, clearing away the pots so the others could remove any traces of the fire and their being there. It was time to resume their journey.

 

OooooO

 

Youko was currently in a tree, his eyes shut, tail twitching in the soft breeze. He wasn't doing much of anything, really, since there really wasn't much to do. No one had received word of anything worth stealing, so the fox youkai was reduced to sitting in a tree in his forest all day. Youko decided he was bored. So he decided to contemplate the priestess from last night.

 

Youko wasn't sure who all made up her entourage, but he did know that they left in the morning, shortly after the sun had risen. Youko didn't particularly care where they were going, but now he felt that he would have to revise his opinion of the girl for future references. He had previously believed he would never see her again, but he was proved wrong. So now he thought back on what little information had gathered from the girl.

 

She was stubborn, he could see that already, and timid, it would appear. Curious too, enough so to leave the safety of a hut in the middle of the night to investigate what had probably been a bad feeling. She could take unbelievable amounts of his energy at one time, and could even move in air tainted with youki. In fact, while Youko had been sniffing her last night, he had found that the area all around the girl had been completed purified. It was free of any demonic energy that had previously been there. And she claims that she was an untrained priestess. Youko also knew she had child, for it was him who had broken the girl from her trance like state when they first met. `What kind of untrained priestess has a kid?' It seemed, as if she were a different type of female Youko had ever encountered. No female, except for one other, dared to speak without his permission. It simply wasn't done. The girl had continued on talking, even though it was clearly obivous she was terrified. Youko smirked. He decided he liked the smell of her fear.

 

“ I wonder what could possibly have you smirking this time,” a dark voice said. Youko's eyes flickered open.

 

“ Ah, Kuronue, you have decided to grace me with your presence at last. Do you have anything new to tell me?” Youko inquired. The bat youkai revealed himself to the fox youkai. His black hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and he had a strange half hat. His skin was pale. He wore a black vest that was stretched tightly across his chest and held together by strings. It had a v shape neck line that showed off his chest and had no sleeves. Around his arms were black strips of cloth. He wore black pants and black shoes of some sort. In fact, the only thing on this newcomer that wasn't black was a white cloth that fell to his ankles and the ruby colored pendant Kuronue was swinging about. Youko often teased Kuronue about the white cloth and said it was a skirt. Kuronue highly disagreed.

 

“ Of course I do. You do remember that jewel, the Shikon no Tama, correct?” Kuronue said. Youko glanced down at Kuronue from his position in the tree.

 

“ Yes, I do,” he answered. Kuronue smirked.

 

“ I have gathered some information regarding it. Besides the general fact that it can grant anyone one wish, one shard of this jewel can increase a youkai's power ten fold. And everyone knows that the jewel has been shattered. There is one group of people that have been actively hunting the shards. It consists of a taijiya, a monk, a priestess, a kitsune kit, a fire cat, and a dog hanyou. They have been destroying demons who carry said shards and taking them for themselves. Youkai are fleeing the area wherever they go, to avoid an execution. This group is also trying to destroy Naraku, who holds the largest portion of the Shikon no Tama,” Kuronue explained. Youko arched a brow.

 

“ Naraku? The one who has been scaring all the youkai into hiding? This group is hunting them? How interesting….even more so that a hanyou would align himself with a demon slayer, a monk, and a priestess….” Youko fell silent has he began thinking. He pursed his lips.

 

“ It's not worth it, this jewel. If we were to carry even one shard, we would be attacked by either party. I have no desire to see if the either group has the strength to eradicate us or not,” Youko said. Kuronue raised a brow.

 

“ Playing it safe? How unlike you, Youko. There must be something on your mind,” Kuronue said. Youko hopped down from the branch.

 

“ I encountered a girl, an untrained priestess. Her abilities were so strong, she was able to purify my youki from the air without even trying.” Youko told his partner. Kuronue stopped swinging his pendant in shock.

 

“ W-what? But your energy, it's so strong…no normal priestess could have done that, especially without trying!” Kuronue replied. Youko nodded.

 

“ That's exactly what I had thought as well. She is strange…I've never met a priestess that dressed as revealing as she did. Though she claimed to be untrained,” Youko said thoughtfully. Kuronue wrinkled his nose.

 

“ You should've killed her. That way she would never have the chance to become trained and start slaughtering youkai,” Kuronue said disdainfully.

 

“ No…she is far too old to begin her training now and have enough time left to be of any real threat to youkai. It is safe to let her live,” Youko replied. Kuronue sighed.

 

“ If you say so…”

 

“ I had heard a stone of solidified youki was hidden in a shrine some ways from here. Will you come with me, or will remain here and wish death on a harmless girl?” Youko asked. Kuronue's lips upturned in a smirk.

 

“ I'll go with you, of course,” he said. Youko smirked. The two thieves flitted away, turning into blurs. There was no sign of them ever being in the clearing.