InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bunny Rabbit Pajamas ❯ Redundancy ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I shall disclaim all of the characters of Inuyasha, for they are not mine, and I do not own them. They belong not to me, but to somebody who is not me. And I am most definitely me, so that rules out me as a candidate of someone who owns the characters of Inuyasha. (P.S. The chapter IS called `Redundancy', so I thought I would have a fitting disclaimer!)



***


Kagome woke up abruptly, with something on her mind. `When did I fall asleep in the first place?' She rubbed her head, allowing her dreams to come back to her piece by piece. Fragments of the night before flashed in her mind, each one painfully reminding her of the situation she was in. She looked around for Sesshoumaru. He wasn't in the cave, but probably nearby. The miko knew she would never be able to escape him by running away anyway.



There had to be something she could do. She felt the painful pressure of guilt settling on her shoulders as she searched for a way to save Souta and escape from Sesshoumaru. Massaging her head, she urged her mind to think.



It seemed that her brain was numb. She wished that Sango, Miroku, Shippou and Inuyasha were there with her, to help her find a way to get her brother. Unfortunately, they all thought she was back home for a week. Kagome stood up, pacing the cave, searching for an answer.


As she stepped towards the entrance, she ungracefully tripped on a rock, skinning her knee as she hid the ground. Kagome winced, grabbing it. There was nothing like the fresh sting of a skinned knee. The miko looked at her hand. Could she do this? She'd done it a couple of times before…Curiously, the girl placed her hand over her skinned knee, flinching slightly at the touch and let her eyes close. Summoning the power she used to purify, she let it flow out of her hand. The skin on the knee tingled, as the warmth from her hand spread to the wound.



Kagome opened her eyes, observing the wound. It wasn't gone completely, but it didn't hurt any more. The girl wondered at her hidden miko powers. They continued to grow. Last time she had only been able to heal a small scratch, and she had progressed to skinned knees. `They seem to grow every time I use them…' Kagome thought. Suddenly a thought struck her, as she let a small grin brighten her face…



*



Souta let himself take a few deep breaths before he opened his eyes. He knew for certain that this wasn't a dream. He ached too much.



`Last thing that I remember…was a strange pulling sensation. Then I was knocked out cold.' Souta recalled a fuzzy image of his sister reaching for him, but being stopped by an evil voice. She was soon disappearing as he was carried away, but he could still hear her cry out his name… Souta stopped and let his logical mind think. If only he could analyze the situation, he could get himself out of here…



Souta looked around the room he was in. It had only a chair, no bed or tables or anything. A dark figure stood in the corner, leaning against the wall. Souta stood up, walking slowly towards the figure. It was…a boy? About his age. Maybe a little older. The boy remained still, barely moving with each shallow breath he took.



`He looks like some sort of abandoned puppet' Souta thought to himself, wondering if the other boy was asleep. The young boy reached out to the strange figure, gently touching his shoulder.


"Sango?!" The strange boy breathed, opening his eyes quickly. Souta jumped back and watched as the boy's eyes became duller and duller, until the pupils all but disappeared. "Who're you?" Souta asked, trying to be brave. The boy didn't respond. He merely stared. It almost seemed as if he were looking straight through Souta.



"Creepy." The boy remarked, edging away from him a little. "Hello?!" Souta said, waving his hand in front of the puppet's face. "Who are you? And who is Sango?" The "puppet" didn't respond, so Souta stared back for a little while. Getting bored with that, Souta remarked. "If you're not going to tell me your name, I'll just call you Puppet."




"Kohaku." The boy said emotionlessly.



Souta stared. "Is that your name? Kohaku?"



The strange boy remained silent.



"Kohaku then…Do you know my sister Kagome?"



A flicker of something flashed through the dull eyes of the strange boy, but it was gone in a matter of seconds.



"She travels with Inuyasha," Souta prompted.



"Inuyasha…" Kohaku muttered. His eyes flickered again, this time remaining normal. Kohaku looked up at Souta. "Who are you?" The boy seemed to have snapped out of his lifeless state.


"Souta, Kagome is my sister. I was taken away from my home last night…I think."



"Kagome travels with-"



"Inuyasha." Souta repeated impatiently.



"And Sango?"


`Sango?' "I think I remember my sister mentioning her once." Souta remarked. "Sango is her friend. But I'm not sure."


Kohaku looked at his hands.


"Listen…Can you tell me where we are? I need to get away from here. I have to find my sister." Souta asked earnestly.


"No. It's impossible. You can't escape. You can never escape Naraku."



*


Kagome sat on the cold stone floor, waiting for Sesshoumaru to return. `I have to play my cards right…If I don't-` Kagome stopped herself from imagining how she might be punished. She had spent the last half hour meditating, pooling and increasing the miko power that lay dormant inside of her. Resisting the urge to pace the cave, Kagome closed her eyes once more, resting her head against the wall of stone behind her.


Sesshoumaru landed almost silently in front of the cave. Food. Human food for the girl. He had gone into a nearby village and simply demanded it. The dirty humans had rushed to his service, trying to protect their own worthless lives. Sesshoumaru had expected no less. These were his lands, after all. He now carried a bundle filled with rice, fish and bread, which he dropped outside of the cave.



Kagome stood up, taking a deep breath. She urged herself to take a couple of steps forward, towards the silent silhouette that stood at the front of the cave. Bringing her eyes to meet his, she began to talk.


"Sesshoumaru. Last night my brother was stolen from me by Naraku. I desperately wish for him back. I ask for your assistance in retrieving him." Kagome lowered her eyes in a bow like gesture.


"Why would this Sesshoumaru help you, a worthless human girl, retrieve your dirty brother?" Sesshoumaru said harshly.


Kagome lifted her eyes from off the floor, and stared directly at him. "Because if you help me, I will restore your left arm using my miko powers."


Sesshoumaru stared, his eyes boring into her own. Here was a human girl, his prisoner, who was standing in front of him not frightened, and she still had the audacity to make deals with him? He glared, and with a small movement from his wrist, he struck her across the face, sending her to stagger backwards.


Kagome examined the cut he had inflicted on her. `I hope this will work…Not exactly what I had planned, but..' Kagome covered her wound fully with her hand, closing her eyes. She called upon the pool of energy she had stored away for healing, urging it to enter her hand.


Sesshoumaru's eyebrow lifted. A normal human would be hunched in pain, cowering before him. This strange girl remained where she was, and bolder still, had closed her eyes. She appeared to be doing something to her wound. The youkai's eyes widened as he saw her hand begin to glow and pulsate, and an uncomfortable pure energy radiated from her. He could feel it….It was immense. It was suppressed, however…the girl could not feel it yet. She could only feel a small amount of it, the tip of the iceberg….



Kagome opened her eyes slowly, keeping her gaze on the ground as she rubbed the spot where the wound had been. There was nothing there. She had healed the wound. A burst of exhilaration swept through her body, but she hid it, needing to try to make Sesshoumaru believe that she was in complete control of her powers. By looking up at his face however, she somehow knew that he could see right through her calm façade.



`Perhaps this girl will prove more interesting than I initially thought..' Sesshoumaru mused.



"I will help you find your brother."


The brightest, most gleeful grin Sesshoumaru had ever seen spread across the girl's face. He turned away, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.


"Eat, then we will leave."


"Eat what? Where are we going?" Kagome leaned forward, sitting on her feet.


Sesshoumaru picked up the bag of food and tossed it at the girl. "We are going to my castle."


Kagome dropped the bag, anxious. "I thought you said we were going to find my brother!"


"We are going to my castle, unless of course, you happen to know where Naraku is." His voice cut Kagome, who felt as if he were in a way rubbing her guilt in her face, all while retaining an emotionless face.


"But…" Kagome searched his eyes, pleading. "Even if we go back to your castle, what good will that do?!"


He paused, narrowing his eyes. "I have spies," the taiyoukai seethed.


Kagome looked at him dumbly. "Oh…" She mumbled. "Sorry, you were right."


Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to reply `of course I was right, girl.' He paused, glaring coldly at the girl, who was still staring at him. "Is there anything particularly interesting about my face, human?"


"Well, no." Kagome actually found his face quite intriguing, but she dare not say anything.


"Then stop standing there like an idiot and eat."


Kagome turned away, eyebrows immediately furrowing. `I knew he was mad, but he dosent have to be so cold all the time!" She consoled herself by imagining a chibi Sesshoumaru running around on fire. `Burn! That's right! HAHAHAHA!' Kagome snapped herself out of her temporary insanity and began to examine the contents of the bag. Fish, rice, some other stuff. Pretty normal, definitely nothing special.



***


Naraku scowled. Not exactly as he had planned. The girl had been saved from her fall…By Sesshoumaru. He sneered, remembering the silver-haired youkai. It didn't matter, however. He still had the upper hand. He had the reincarnation's brother. He chuckled, the noise progressing into an eerie laugh.



Kagura rolled her eyes, sitting outside of her master's door. His habit of laughing evilly got on her nerves, as well as everything else he did. She hated her master, but she was bound to him. She furrowed her eyebrows in frustration.



"Kagura!" Naraku barked. The wind sorceress sighed, standing up. "Yes, Master Naraku?"



"Tend to the boy. Give him food and water." He commanded sharply.



"Hai, Naraku-sama." She bowed, whisking out of the room. `I finally get to see the boy. The miko's brother. `



***



`Sometimes I think my life goes around in circles. Here I am, walking long distances again!' Kagome wished she could stop and heal her feet. She had done her best to try to keep them uninjured, walking on only soft leaves and moss, but walking barefoot was nevertheless hard on her feet. It seemed each time she healed a scratch, two new ones appeared. `At least I'm exercising my powers.'


Kagome passed her time by making a `why I hate Sesshoumaru list' in her mind:

1. His blatant disregard for calling me by my name.
2. He's mean
3. He gives me bad food
4. He's cold
5. He's emotionless
6. He's mean

Kagome sighed, `okay, so some of them are a *little* repetitive, but hey…' She resisted the urge to whine about the walking. The thought, however, lingered on her mind. She wished she could just stop like a little child and say `I'm tiiiiiiiiiireed! Can we puhleeeeeeeeeeese stop!' Kagome's mind rant immediately stopped as she felt something pull at her senses. A demon?



Sesshoumaru had evidently felt it too, for he had stopped as well. "Stay here, human," he commanded as he jumped off to kill the demon.



Kagome, happy to get her chance to rest, plopped to the ground, placing her hands on her feet. She closed her eyes and concentrated healing all the points of injury. Pulling her hands away, she marveled at how quickly she was able to heal herself now. So many scratches, bruises, and skin splits, and it had only taken about five seconds. Lying back onto the soft moss relaxed Kagome, and she closed her eyes. She felt the pull again, this time coming from the opposite direction. A different demon? She stood up, taking a few uneasy steps back, towards Sesshoumaru. The miko turned, trying to feel him. He was too far for her to reach…She gasped. Another demon had emerged into the clearing. It approached her slowly, sniffing the air, smelling Sesshoumaru. Kagome couldn't quite tell what kind of demon it was, like a hybrid of a cat and a pig. It was repulsively ugly, and Kagome resisted pinching her nose at its horrible smell. The miko's eyes darted around the clearing, searching for something to defend herself with. She desperately wished for her bow and arrow, but it was far, far away, in a completely different time.



She looked at the demon again. It was closing in. Kagome's eyes drifted to the sharp cat claws it held poised. The miko found herself stepping back, almost tripping over a rock. Suddenly the demon growled, in its own piggish-catty sort of way, and sprung towards her. Kagome screamed, so loud that it reached the ears of a certain taiyoukai standing over a dead demon, who was flicking the blood off his hands.



Kagome tried to put her hands out to shield herself, but the demon landed on her with astonishing force. The girl hit the ground heavily, with the weight of the pig-cat on top of her. He head swam for a second, halfway because of the impact, and halfway because of the stench. The demon clawed at her clothing, which proved to be rather tough. With a couple more slashes, some hitting her face and neck, the fabric tore. Kagome couldn't breathe; the demon was so heavy. She had to do something…



Sesshoumaru sprinted towards the girl, claws raised, ready to obliterate to demon. He stopped short, however, at the crackling of powerful energy radiating from the girl. Kagome let out a scream, summoning all of her miko powers into a powerful blast. The demon was obliterated almost immediately by the pure energy. Sesshoumaru shielded his eyes at the brightness.




Kagome opened her eyes, blinking several times. `Where is the demon? I…It was me. I destroyed it!' Kagome turned to see a slightly stunned Sesshoumaru.



`For a brief second, her true power was released…It was immense for such a small human…A girl at that.' He hesitated a lingering second before he said, "Let us continue."



*



Kagura entered the dark room, holding a tray of food. `What am I? A servant?' The wind sorceress inwardly sighed and reminded herself of her status.



The boy was sleeping. Kohaku was standing in the corner, eyes closed as well. Kagura frowned. She had been hoping to talk to the boy who was the brother of an object whom Naraku wanted so badly to have eliminated. Most likely, this boy would be killed after the miko is killed. She set down the tray of food next to him with a small `clunk'.



Souta stirred at the small noise, opening his eyes immediately. He stared at the lady above him, mouth agape. The boy stood, continuing to observe the woman in the beautiful kimono. "I'm Souta." He stated. "Who are you?"



"Kagura."


"Have you come to save me?"



Hesitation. Then, "no."



"Oh…" The boy looked down dejectedly. "You know, Inuyasha and Kagome will come save me, soon." He seemed unsure, as if he were trying to convince himself. "I can't stay prisoner here." His eyes searched Kagura's cold red ones as she scowled down at him.



"Eat." She commanded, folding her arms across her chest.



Souta looked down at the food. He suddenly remembered how hungry he was. The food beckoned to him, as he tried to fight the urge to scarf in all down in one bite. But he tore his gaze away, back to weird looking lady. "Are you a demon?"



"Yes." Her gaze was smoldering, but Souta didn't seem to feel it.



"Do you work for Na-Nara…ku?"


"Not of my own accord." Souta sensed tiredness in her voice.



"Then why do you work for him?"



"He holds me captive, like you."


Souta remained silent for a few seconds, wondering how she could be held captive. He recalled what the boy had said before he snapped back into his emotionless trance. `You can't escape. You can never escape Naraku.'



`I like your kimono." The boy said.



Kagura was taken aback by the boy's innocence. She was so unused to seeing innocence in her position. `Then again, he is like his sister; naïve, innocent, always happy unless in danger.' Kagura's mind flashed back to an image of the miko standing behind the hanyou with her bow strung. `She was brave…free' Kagura wished she could be free…She turned to leave, only to stop once again by the sound of the boy's voice. She remained with her back turned, head inclined slightly in the direction of the boy.



"Thank you for the meal, Kagura." Souta said politely.



Striding outside the door, Kagura saw one last image of the boy smiling at her before she shut and locked the door.



`I have not seen such an innocent smile.'



*



Kagome sat about two feet away from Sesshoumaru, warming her hands on the newly kindled fire. She glanced at Sesshoumaru, observing his hair. Watching it was the only thing that kept her alive through those long walks everyday. Ever since she was a child, she had liked playing with hair. She used to play with her mother's fine hair before she had cut it. Kagome remembered how smooth the hair was, so unlike her own bushy thick hair. Kagome's hands itched.



"May I touch your hair?" Kagome asked feebly.



"No."



Kagome tried to oblige, but realized her hands were already touching his hair. It was like the temptation she couldn't resist to tweak Inuyasha's ears when she first met him.


Kagome flinched when he growled at her. "Sorry!" She pulled back her hand quickly. "You just have pretty hair," she mumbled apologetically. Sesshoumaru glared at her. "You know you have pretty eyes too." Kagome mused, shifting her position to stare at them. The miko wondered if she had a death wish, gazing at those stone cold eyes. She reached out and grabbed the tips of his hair again, holding them close to her eyes. Observing the strands, Kagome murmured "You don't even have any split ends, either. I bet your mother had pretty hair too. Did she?" Kagome looked up, realizing suddenly that she probably shouldn't have said that last thing. Obviously matters of the family were a little touchy with Sesshoumaru. The youkai's loud growling make Kagome drop the hair immediately. "Sorry!" Kagome suddenly wished she had a subduing spell over Sesshoumaru.



A silence passed over them, being broken once again by Kagome. "When will we be at your castle?"



"The day after tomorrow." The minimum required response.



"Not much of a conversationalist." Kagome grumbled under her breath. Suddenly remembering his impeccable hearing, she apologized immediately. "Gomen! Gomen! I just like to have someone to talk to."



Sesshoumaru looked at the girl strangely. Yes, she was an odd one. Where had she come from? She couldn't have possibly come from the village where Inuyasha was sealed to a tree. She must be a foreigner.



"Where are you from girl?"



"Kagome." She corrected. "Tokyo. Its…um…really, really far away. You've probably never heard of it."



Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "I have been all over this land."


"Yea…but, I guarantee you've never heard of it, because, well…" Kagome stumbled over her words, trying to figure out whether to tell him where Tokyo really was. "Well…It's not exactly in this time."



"Specify."



"Umm…its about 500 years in the future…I mean, it's in Japan and stuff, but it doesn't really exist yet. I get here by traveling through a magic well."



Sesshoumaru wondered if the girl was crazy. It was of no matter to him anyway. He was just curious. He turned away, staring in the dark forest that surrounded them for a while He stiffened as he felt a small tugging on his hair again. The youkai growled again, this time turning and intending to pin her to the ground. "I will not warn you again." He snarled. The youkai's eyes widened, however, when he realized she was asleep. She had involuntary grabbed his hair as she turned in her slumber. His face looked slightly exasperated as he tugged back, pulling his hair from her grip. He got up and walked away, choosing to sit under a tree instead of by the strange girl who was full of surprises.



`What exactly have I gotten myself into?'




***




Chapter two complete!


Arg. Sorry it took so long to get up. I think it was a little bit of writers block. Or I'm just lazy…or I just take forever to write something! Anyway. Thanks for the reviews I got for last chapter and Puhleeeeez send a review! ^.^


P.S. :About Kagome's tendency to make mental lists….Authors license. ^.^ Also…Pig-cat…I was on something when I wrote it. Have a fun time imagining a pig-cat!