Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One for the Ages ❯ Chapter Three: Group Project ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: Yada yada, I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, yada yada yada.

 

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One for the Ages

By Gan Xingba

Chapter Three: Group Project

It had taken at least five “sits” for Inuyasha to agree to postpone taking vengeance on Yusuke for the crack in his precious sword and hear what the Spirit Detectives had to say. Though most present thought the delay was a complete waste of time, Yusuke and Kuwabara had enjoyed it extensively, and laughed about it the whole way down the ridge. At last they arrived at the camp, which in hindsight was fairly unnecessary considering that the fire was no more than ashes and the logs that had been used as makeshift seats weren't that much more comfortable than sitting on the ground.

 

Not surprisingly given the recent battle, the two parties at on opposite ends of the camp. This wasn't good enough for Hiei, though, who distanced himself from everyone and leaned against a tree at the edge of the clearing.

 

“Are you sure you don't want to treat your injuries before we begin?” asked Kurama, noticing Sango's condition.

 

“I'm fine, nothing's broken,” she answered, doing her best to appear lively. “Please, go ahead.”

 

“Very well,” acknowledged Kurama, then he drew in a deep breath and began to explain the situation. “As you are aware, we are here in search of the Sacred Jewel; all of it. What you are not aware of is the why. We are agents of the Spirit World, or what you might refer to as `heaven', back in our time period. Essentially, we are enforcers of paranormal law. Usually, this involves eliminating criminals with supernatural powers such as demons.”

 

“Well then you've got the wrong group, dumbass,” interrupted Inuyasha, who was sitting cross legged on the ground with his arms crossed in an indignant pose. “We `aint no crooks.”

 

“Inuyasha, don't make me say it…” warned Kagome as she narrowed her eyes at the half-demon.

 

“Just tellin' the truth,” muttered Inuyasha before falling silent under the threat of another “sit”.

 

“Well…that's where it gets a little more complicated,” Kurama said a little hesitantly. “You see, under Spirit World law, the Shikon Jewel shards are considered contraband due to the strength they posses. However, this is not the case in this era, since Spirit World was not enforcing law in this era. The problem occurred when Kagome brought the shards back to her time. When this happened, the shards fell under our jurisdiction.”

 

“But the why follow me here?” asked Kagome, now more than a little confused. “You said it wasn't illegal in this time period.”

 

“You are indeed correct, however, once a target is within our jurisdiction, it is within Spirit World law to pursue them anywhere they go to complete the mission,” replied Kurama. “Our boss decided that we should pursue you, and take the opportunity to collect as much of the jewel as we can. Once we return, the shards will be locked away where no demon can get to them.”

 

At this, Inuyasha growled, but said nothing. It was well known amongst his companions that Inuyasha had started his hunt for the Sacred Jewel in order to become a full fledged demon with its power. Recent revelations had made things a little less simplistic, though. The group had discovered Inuyasha was far enough removed from his sword, the Tetsusaiga, he transformed into his full demon form, and when this happened he became little more than a bloodthirsty animal, losing total control over himself. In addition, the Tetsusaiga had been gaining in power and was now even able to smash through almost any barrier. Since he would lose the ability to use it as a full demon, it was becoming questionable whether or not he would be stronger after becoming one. Then there was the distracting matter of revenge…

 

“There, you've had your explanation,” snapped Hiei from his position against the tree. “Now we want ours.”

 

“Aren't you the patient one,” responded Miroku sarcastically, and he may have continued to do so had Hiei not reached for his katana. “Uh…heh…anyway, like we said earlier, our goals are completely compatible. You see, we are hunting a demon called Naraku, and it just so happens that Naraku has most of the Jewel in his position. In other words: if you help us kill Naraku, you'll complete your mission, and we'll each have our vengeance.”

 

“Vengeance? That means revenge, right?” inquired Yusuke, noticing the young monk's choice of words. “What'd this Naraku guy do to you to get you so pissed off at him?”

 

“I'm afraid that's a personal matter, at least for me,” answered Miroku. “The others may be willing to tell you later, but now is not the time. In fact, before we go any further, we need to know whether we are still enemies, or if we are to become allies.”

 

“Yeah, cause if we're enemies I'm ready to settle this right now,” declared Inuyasha, standing up abruptly and flexing his claws.

 

“Your call, Kurama,” acknowledged Yusuke, and then anxiously awaited his friend's decision.

 

“We're allies, of course,” Kurama decided, clearly thinking the decision a simple one. “There is really no reason not to.”

 

“Hn.”

 

The group turned to see Hiei move from his position and turn towards the forest. It was apparent to everyone that he was displeased with the decision, even without being able to see his face.

 

“I'll respect Kurama's decision, but know this: If you ever need to rest, I will not stop for you, if you ever need a favor, I will not grant you one, and if you ever need saving, I will let you die,” and upon finishing his callous declaration, he leapt off into the forest.

 

“Don't pay mind to him,” assured Kurama as his new allies sat in stunned silence. “He's just…not a people person.”

 

“No kidding,” chimed in Kuwabara with a goofy grin on his face. “Hiei talks like that to everybody. Don't let the little runt scare ya'.”

 

“Stop trying to pretend you're cool, Kuwabara. You're scared to death of Hiei,” mocked Yusuke.

 

“So, what's our course of action?” asked Kurama with a polite smile, trying his best to ignore the shouting match that was developing behind him.

 

“We're getting my sword fixed, that's what!” answered Inuyasha before anyone else had the chance to speak. “Your idiot friend over there damaged it, so now we've got to go totally out of our way to get it fixed.”

 

“He was just asking Inuyasha, don't be so rude,” chided Kagome, and Inuyasha, not wanting to involuntarily head-butt the ground again, reduced his complaints to intelligible grumbling.

 

“Well, why don't we wait to leave until tomorrow?” suggested Sango. “We all need to rest after that fight, and we have some food if you're hungry…”

 

“All right! Food!” exclaimed Kuwabara, who had rushed over at the mention of food, completely forgetting his argument with Yusuke.

 

“There you have it,” pronounced Kurama as Kuwabara began to tear into a piece of salted meat. “We'll set out tomorrow.”

 

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Considering they had been literally trying to kill each other mere hours before, the rest of the day had gone fairly well. Albeit, Inuyasha still didn't trust the Spirit Detectives at all and Hiei had opted to sleep in a tree rather than in the camp with everyone else, but that was really the norm for those two.

 

The next morning passed without event as the group shifted course towards the volcano where Inuyasha's blacksmith, Totosai, made his home. At around noon, they were fast approaching a dense forest. Hiei walked ahead of everyone, and was followed by the main group, with Inuyasha staying behind Yusuke in the rear. He had made it clear that he wasn't going to turn his back on the boy. Suddenly, Hiei stopped a few dozen meters from the edge of the forest and his Jagan glowed intensely as he scanned the forest.

 

“Do you see something, Hiei?” asked Kurama, noticing Hiei's tentativeness.

 

“There's something in there that's blocking my Jagan's gaze, but I'll put a stop to that,” Hiei answered, still facing the forest. “Tell those clowns tagging along that they should stay back.”

 

“We can pull our weight just fine, demon,” countered Sango as she hefted her boomerang and marched past Hiei towards the forest. “In fact, you stay here, and I'll take care of the demon.”

 

“Hn,” Hiei grunted, and followed her into the forest. “Like I said before, I won't save you, even from your own stupidity.”

 

“Wait guys!” yelled Kuwabara after the pair as the disappeared into the sea of green. “There's somethin' messed up about this place!”

 

“I'm also sensing some ominous auras,” added Miroku. “We'd best follow them.”

 

“Right!” affirmed Kuwabara, and the two raced into the forest closely followed by Kirara, who appeared to be anxious for her mistress's safety.

 

“Well, I suppose that we should go as well then,” suggested Kurama to the remainder of the troupe.

 

“You're probably right, there could be anything in there,” consented Kagome, and motioned for the little fox demon cub to follow. “Come on, Shippou.”

 

“Why is it that everything evil is in a forest?” complained Shippou, but complied nonetheless, and everyone headed towards the forest.

 

Yusuke, though, stopped just before entering the brush, and Inuyasha followed suit behind him.

 

“Get a move on, kid,” ordered Inuyasha irritably. “We're gonna' fall behind.”

 

“That's it! I've had enough of this shit!” bellowed Yusuke, whirling about with his eyes full of fury. “So, you don't trust me, I get it already! But sooner or later, you're not going to have me in your sight, so you might as well stop acting like a damned idiot and get it over with!”

 

“Feh, I was just being polite,” scoffed Inuyasha and finally stepped past Yusuke. “Now quit stallin' and let's go.”

 

As Yusuke and Inuyasha stepped through the undergrowth, though, what they saw was not the forest they had been expecting. The first thing they noticed was that there was a thick fog surrounding them, making it very difficult to see. The second thing they noticed was that they were all alone.

 

“Just where the hell is everyone?” Yusuke wondered out loud. “I can't even sense them.”

 

“I can't smell `em either,” said Inuyasha as he sniffed the air gain to make sure. “Damn! We gotta' find them. Kagome could be in trouble.”

 

“I wouldn't worry about Kagome when Kurama's with her,” assured Yusuke as the unwilling allies began to walk in the direction they thought might be deeper into the forest. “But…”

 

“But what!” asked Inuyasha with an insistent glare at Yusuke.

 

“Well…I wouldn't exactly trust my girlfriend around a guy like Kurama either,” admitted the Spirit Detective looking upward in thought. “Girls tend to like pretty-boy goodie-two-shoes like him.”

 

“Kagome is not my girlfriend!” denied Inuyasha, but after pouting briefly turned back to Yusuke. “Do girls really like that guy?”

 

“Oh yeah,” Yusuke laughed. “He practically has to spend all day avoiding hordes of `em.”

 

A small amount of sweat began to form on Inuyasha's brow and he began to walk just a little bit faster.

 

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“Inuyasha! Where'd you go?” called out Kagome as she walked through the mist with Kurama and Shippou.

 

“It's no use, he won't hear you,” said Kurama calmly. “This forest seems to be used as some kind of defense for the demon in here. The only way out is to kill the demon or get lucky. Since Hiei will probably find the demon before we will, we might as well try for the later.”

 

“I wonder if the demon has any Sacred Jewel shards…” pondered Kagome. “It would explain how it can do this to an entire forest.”

 

“It's entirely possible. You might not be able to sense the shard through the mist, priestess,” stated Kurama, as if it was common knowledge.

 

“How did you know that Kagome was a priestess?” asked Shippou, clearly in awe of Kurama's knowledge.

 

“Priestesses have very a very unique type of spirit energy,” Kurama explained. “One tends not to forget it.”

 

“Well since you seem to know so much about me, then I get to know about you,” commanded Kagome, eager to relieve the boredom of the endless misty forest. “Wh-”

 

“What kind of demon are you?” interrupted Shippou innocently. “Miroku said you used a flower when you fought him. Are you a flower demon?”

 

“No, I'm not a flower demon,” answered Kurama with an amused smile on his face. “I'm actually a fox demon like you.”

 

At this, Shippou's face lit up. Other than his father, he had never met another fox demon, and this had always been somewhat depressing for him. Now that he'd finally met one, he was overjoyed.

 

`Wow, what a nice guy,' thought Kagome as she watched Kurama patiently answer Shippou's barrage of questions. `How on earth could someone like him be friends with a guy as psycho as that Hiei guy...'

 

Suddenly Kagome stopped dead in her tracks as realization dawned upon her. If she, Kurama, and Shippou were alone after entering the forest at the same time…then that meant…

 

`Just great, Sango's stuck alone in a forest that she can't escape from with a guy that was seconds away from killing her just yesterday.' she surmised apprehensively. `This is bad.'

 

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From the moment the mist had appeared, Sango hadn't let go of the handle on her boomerang. It was starting to hurt her hand from squeezing so hard, but there was no way she was going to let go, at least not with Hiei around. After all, death threats are not the best first impressions.

 

He hadn't made good on those yet, though. In fact, other than for some reason jumping in front of her when they entered the forest, the demon hadn't so much as looked at her, and chose instead to press forward in a silent march. Though his back was less menacing than his sword, Sango still found the situation a little unnerving.

 

“Are you going to tell me what's going on here?” she finally asked, unable to take the tense silence anymore.

 

“Hn,”

 

“What? You don't know either?”

 

“Idiot, of course I know. If you can't figure it out by now then there's no point in telling you. Now be silent.”

 

`Of all the people in the world to get stuck in a demon infested forest with…' thought Sango as she stared knifes into Hiei's back.

 

Suddenly, a small winged shape darted out of the mist towards Hiei, screeching the whole way. Before Sango could raise her boomerang, the creature was laying at Hiei's feet in two pieces. Even as Hiei flicked the blood off his sword, more shrieking could be hear from the mist, and it was slowly getting louder.

 

“Don't get in my way,” ordered Hiei as he turned towards the approaching noise. “If one of these things scratches me because of your interference, you'll pay in full.”

 

Sango didn't even bother answering him verbally, and opted to get into a fighting stance and let her actions do the talking. As the shadowy forms of the flying demons appeared in the mist, Sango flung her boomerang at them, demolishing the first wave. It was only as the next group came through the mist that she noticed what they looked like. They were some sort of bird demon, most likely crow or raven judging from the color of the feathers.

 

There was little time to think much more on the issue though, seeing as a whole host of them were pouring out of the mist. Sango let her boomerang fly again, but even that did little to stem the tide. Hiei didn't seem to care however, and he began to dart through the bird demons wielding his katana at undetectable speed, leaving nothing but a trail of blood and bodies behind him. Sango wasn't fast enough to maneuver like that though, and she was forced to use her boomerang as melee weapon as the demons closed in on her.

 

She took down almost a dozen demons with each swing of her massive weapon, but their numbers were so great she was unable to do much else but hold her ground for quite some time. Eventually though, their ranks began to dissipate, and she was finally able to use her boomerang in the proper fashion.

 

“Hiraikotsu!” she cried as she loosed her boomerang on the last of the bird demon horde, dropping them all in a single strike.

 

Before her boomerang returned though, she heard a triumphant screech from over her shoulder. A bird demon had escaped her notice, and its beak was aimed at the back of her head in a dive. It would have been a fatal blow, but it did not land. Instead, the bird demon found itself impaled on Hiei's sword.

 

Sango was so surprised that she was alive that she almost forgot about her returning boomerang, and stumbled a little bit after catching it. After regaining her balance, she turned around to face Hiei, who was sheathing his sword, having removed of the bird demon's corpse from it.

 

“I didn't see that one,” she said, wiping some blood off her face. “Thanks.”

 

“Don't mistake my actions,” responded Hiei with a menacing glare. “I wasn't saving you. I was going to have to kill that one eventually, and it was an easy target while it was attacking you.”

 

The demon did an about face and began to resume his march towards the heart of the forest. Sango followed suit once again with her hand on her boomerang handle, though her grip on it was noticeably weaker.

 

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“Are you sure you felt something, Kuwabara?”

 

“Positive. Someone was beating the crap out of someone else.”

 

Miroku sighed as he tried to keep pace with Kuwabara and Kirara. Kuwabara had claimed to sense something in this direction a little while back, which Miroku was quite skeptical about since Kuwabara had been complaining non-stop about his inability to sense anything in this “stupid-ass fog”.

 

“It doesn't make sense, though,” Miroku continued as they ran. “I can't sense anything at all.”

 

“That's `cause I'm the best at sensing energy and stuff,” replied Kuwabara proudly. “It's like my specialty…other than beating the crap out of bad guys.”

 

`How does this guy have the word “detective” in his title?' pondered Miroku, completely bewildered by Kuwabara's simplicity.

 

He received his answer at the next clearing. The ground was littered with what looked to be bird demon carcasses, and the sight was enough to get the trio to stop in their tracks.

 

“Wow, that's a lot of dead bird thingies,” commented Kuwabara, picking up a headless one up by the tail feathers. “Who d'ya think did this?”

 

“We at least know Sango was here for sure. Look at this,” responded Miroku, picking up a small brown orb from the ground. “This is one of her smoke pellets. It must have fallen from her pouch during the battle.”

 

“Damn!” cursed Kuwabara suddenly, as if just coming to a displeasing realization.

 

“What's wrong?” Miroku asked, perplexed at the sudden outburst.

 

“Well, this was probably what I was sensing, and I'm not sensing anything else,” answered Kuwabara. “That means we have no idea where they went after the fight.”

 

“Don't worry, I encounter this type of situation all the time as monk,” assured Miroku confidently.

 

“Really? What should we do then?” inquired Kuwabara with anticipation.

 

“Guess,” answered Miroku, causing Kuwbara's jaw to drop in shock. “This way!”

 

Miroku then sprinted off in a seemingly random direction, with Kirara trailing him.

 

“Wait a sec!” yelled Kuwabara as he ran to catch up to the others. “What in the hell does that have to do with being a monk?”

 

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Sango frowned as she stood over the remains of the large crow demon. It had been killed without much effort. Hiei had sliced off its right wing and she had finished it with as strike from her boomerang.

 

“That's embarrassing,” commented Sango. “The demon went down in seconds, but I was almost killed by its underlings.”

 

“A hundred weaklings are harder to kill than one slightly stronger weakling,” remarked Hiei as he surveyed the area.

 

Sango sighed and hefted her boomerang over her shoulder. Hiei had a point, even if it was told in a harsh fashion. As she made ready to move out, though, she noticed something.

“The mist is still here…” she pointed out. “I don't understand…we killed the demon…”

 

“Why don't you try thinking? I hear that it proves useful,” snapped Hiei irritably as he started to make his way through some bushes.

 

Sango clenched her teeth to try and hold back her anger at the insult. She'd been called a lot of things before, but not stupid.

 

`I have to admit, though, that wasn't a good question,' she thought as she followed Hiei. `Obviously it means that the demon wasn't causing the mist.'

 

They emerged in a small clearing containing a springs…that had an incredible amount of mist pouring out of it.

 

“All this mist was caused by a spring?” she asked rhetorically, and immediately regretted it.

 

“Brilliant deduction,” replied Hiei, his voice laden with sarcasm. “What unbelievable discovery will you tell me next? That the sky is blue?”

 

If she didn't suspect Hiei would kill her in an instant, Sango would have hit him over the head with her boomerang by now. Hell, she'd have hit him with anything at this point. Still…

 

`Would he actually kill me?' she pondered as she watched Hiei begin to examine the water. `He did save me earlier, whether he admits it or not. Maybe he's all talk. Inuyasha's a little like that. Hiei's just a lot more…extreme.'

 

As she continued to have a debate in her head, Hiei stared intently into the spring and suddenly, he dove in. Before Sango could think of how to react, he leapt back out of the water, holding a Sacred Jewel shard in his left hand. Almost immediately, the mist disappeared, and Sango could hear the forest clearly around her. She hadn't realized that the mist had dulled her hearing as well.

 

“Sango!” came Miroku's voice from behind her as the young monk burst through the bushes with Kuwabara and Kirara close behind. “There you are. What happened to the mist?”

 

“I took care of it, like I said I would,” announced Hiei, quickly pocketing the Jewel Shard before the monk could see it. “You fools just complicated the matter.”

 

“That spring had a jewel shard in it,” said Sango, ignoring Hiei's statement. “Somehow that caused all the mist.”

 

“How could water do all that?” asked Kuwabara, scratching his head in confusion.

 

“It must be some sort of holy site,” concluded Miroku as he stepped over to the edge of the spring. “Yes, it's definitely a sacred place. You didn't…go into it…did you?”

 

“What, did I somehow offend your gods by going into a pool of water?” mocked Hiei and shook the water out of his hair. “Wait, don't answer that. I don't actually care.”

 

“At any rate, I'm just glad you're all right, Sango,” said Miroku trying his best to ignore Hiei.

 

“You're glad my butt is all right too, apparently,” noted Sango as she grabbed hold of Miroku's wrist before it could reach its target. “Now, let's go find the others.”

 

“Hn, do as you will, but I'm getting out of this ridiculous forest,” stated Hiei with as much ice as ever, and leapt off towards the other side of the forest.

 

“Man, I hate that short little punk,” said Kuwabara after Hiei had disappeared from sight, and then joined the others as they began to comb the forest for their missing group members.