Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Home is Where the Heart is Hidden ❯ Festival in Flames ( Chapter 3 )

Niara: Hello all, is everyone enjoying themselves? I got kind of hung up with work for the first part of the summer, but I came back. Anyway, here's chapter 3.

 

Disclaimer: As if I could own either Inuyasha or Yu-Yu-Hakusho. I'm not that inventive.

 

Chapter 3:

 

Festival in Flame

 

 

 

Saki's eyes were cold as he glared after the red haired human, his eyes seeing far more than what the teen portrayed, what Kagome would never see until the boy chose to show her. The way the young man carried himself, the way he seemed to ignore every law, was proof in itself to the gray-eyed man that Shuiichi was what he thought the teen was: a warrior and a killer without equal, a dangerous combination.

 

He glanced at his beloved child as her muffled gasp reached his sensitive ears from across the clearing and wished that he could give her what he knew she was longing for, what he knew was going to no longer be his right after the festival, the anniversary of the day of Kagome's birth. That right would soon belong to another.

 

Glancing after the red head, Saki had to wonder if he was right in his guess.

 

*******

 

The laughter of the village children as they ran through the streets heralded the growing twilight and the start of the Festival of the Fox. Kagome, content to let festivals like this one pass her by, was nervous. She had attended this festival once on her tenth birthday, ten years before, and none of the worry that flooded her now had been present then.

 

Something was going to happen during the festival. Something that made the world tremble in fear. But the laughter of the children and the smiles on the faces of others, especially those of eligible women, made it difficult for her to focus on anything.

 

The bass rumble, almost like a peel of thunder, of the ceremonial drum tore the young priestess from her worries, signaling the start of the festival at last. With a sigh, she rose from where she had been sitting and made her way to her home, fully intent on dragging her father out of bed. When she entered the hut, however, she found that her task was already accomplished.

 

Dressed in a suit of leather that covered him from his neck to his feet, a sheathed sword slung across his back, Sake stood in the center of the hut, arms crossed and a frown on his lips, as if he too sensed whatever it was that was worrying his daughter. He turned to her the second she pulled back the flap, his gray eyes catching the red-orange light of the setting sun for just an instant. “It is time, then?”

 

Kagome nodded and frowned as she stared at her father's outfit, confused by his sudden urge to wear the armor. “Are you expecting trouble?”

 

Sake sighed and hugged his tiny daughter before leading her outside. “More than you could ever imagine, my child. I fear that our time of peace is at last at its end.”

 

The young priestess looked at her father's solemn face but said nothing, unsure of what he meant. Glancing out at the growing crowd and joy, she had a sinking feeling that she would learn his meaning soon enough.

 

*******

 

Vacant eyes stared ahead, not a one seeing the land that lay before them, their minds long sense reduced to dust. Kagura glanced back at her small army and shuddered in disgust. Even to a demon like her, this army of the living dead was revolting to behold. She glanced at her second, a demon who hid his true face behind a mask, leaving only his cold eyes open for all to see, and saw that he too seemed slightly abhorred with the army they lead.

 

Kagura turned her gaze back their destination, her red eyes cold and, at the same time, burning. The tiny village was a blaze of light, a beacon in the growing night for her warriors. They were already in full swing for the festival, she noticed, and not even the town guards had noticed the approaching line of torches. A pity.

 

*******

 

The silence worried her. It wasn't right, how quiet the world beyond the festival had suddenly become, as if it knew what was coming. Kagome's stomach began to churn slightly as the round jewel that rested beneath her robes began to pulse subtly the stench of death and decaying flesh filling her nose. Two powerful demonic auras were leading the profane army, one decidedly more powerful than the other.

 

Kagome clutch the jewel and glanced up at her father, her teeth biting into her lip in agitation. His steely gaze was locked on the eastern edge of the city, where the auras and the feelings of dread were strongest. The stony, immobile set of his features reminded Kagome of a picture she had once seen of a general in the army of King Han of the Southern lands.

 

Her father was wearing that same expression now, the look of one whom expected the worst to come and knew it would be coming soon. Sake grabbed Kagome's arm suddenly and gently, but firmly, pushed her towards their home. “Go and pack a bag. Only what you need, though, and take Rain. Ride out of here as fast as you can and do not stop until you find shelter. Go to the Northern Lands and demand an audience with King Raizen. Tell them that you carry an important message from Sasaki Kagenohi; that will guarantee you an audience. Show him your necklace and then tell him that the kuromiko has been allowed to come too far and must be stopped. Do you understand, Kagome?”

 

“Yes, but-” She never got the chance to finish as he shoved her away and ran off into the night, towards the army that was fast approaching. Kagome stood there for a second before she turned and ran to the hut, wondering what had her father so upset. She grabbed clothes and threw them into a small bag before she piled dried herbs and scrolls on top, not wanting to leave anything that might be of help later behind. Reaching under her father's bed, she removed a pouch full of money that Sake had earned doing odd and end jobs around the village.

 

Tying the pouch to her waist, Kagome ran back into the main room and pulled the leather bag she had made over her shoulder. Once she was set, she walked to the back of the house and opened a chest that had been shoved off into corner years ago. There was a thick layer of dust coating the lacquered wood and the lock that held the lid down showed signs of age. With skilled fingers, Kagome picked the lock and threw back the lid, revealing an elaborately wrapped object and bow with a quiver full of arrows.

 

Grabbing the items, she threw the bow and quiver across her back before she tucked the wrapped object under her arm and ran out the back door. Sake's horse, a proud, black stallion named Rain, was standing there, head up and ears forward, pawing the ground nervously. Kagome grabbed the reigns in one hand, placing that hand on the pommel of the saddle, and swung up onto the horse's back, casting glances in the direction that Rain was listening so intently.

 

Even this far from the festivalgoers, Kagome could hear the first screams of the victims of the army.

 

Sickened by both the smell and what she knew was happening to those whom she had called her friends, Kagome turned the horse around and rode off as fast as she could, praying that neither of the two demons noticed her departure.

 

The growing surge of demonic ki directed towards her told Kagome that she hadn't been praying hard enough. She just barely managed to erect a protective barrier around Rain and herself, blocking the energy just as it hit. Even with the barrier in place, the explosion made her see spots and she had to clench her teeth to keep them from shaking. Digging her heels into his sides, she urged Rain to go faster, hoping that she could make the thin tree line ahead before the demon reached her.

 

Just as she broke the line, a new smell invaded her nostrils, one she remembered from before all her other memories; the smell of fire as the village that had been her home was set ablaze.

 

*******

 

Crimson eyes watched the city burn with unveiled fury, lips curled back in a snarl of rage. The wind carried the scent of death and decay to him, filling his nose with the foul odors. He could still hear the screams of the villagers as they struggled to escape the onslaught of undead, but in his heart, despite what he had hoped, only two had escaped the total destruction of the village.

 

One had been the priestess who had fled in horseback just as the army had reached the town. The other was the one prisoner that Kagura and her partner had taken. A man that Hiei knew all too well.

 

Rising from where he had been crouched to observe the slaughter, Hiei turned took three steps to where his horse stood waiting, the crimson eyes of his twin sister meeting his as he mounted. The second woman who had ridden with them looked at him expectantly, the scars on her face enhancing her glare. “Sasaki was here. They have him now.”

 

Swearing softly, Mukuro whirled her horse around and thundered down the hill towards the Central Lands. Hiei and Yukina shared a look before they followed her, knowing that they would soon be forced to take steps to protect their lands as well.

 

*******

 

Niara: There we go, all done with that. Took me a while to get it out, but that happens.

 

Kurama: (mutters) You didn't have to be at camp for an extra week.

 

Niara: Yes, I did. By the way, I've been looking around, but I can't find any Hermione/Kurama stories out there. Could anyone send me the names of a few? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Kagome: Please review!