InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Done to Death ❯ Chapter Two: The Truth Is Told ( Chapter 2 )

~~~ Done to Death ~~~

Chapter 2: The Truth is Told

'Wonder if they'll figure out who I am? Better safe than sorry...' Kagome thought as she spun on her right foot, effectively changing her direction. Searching her mind for a boy's name, she settled on Sota. Yeah, it was her younger brother's name, but no one ever said that she was creative! She had just buried her hair and nightgown, for Kami's sake! Shaking her head, she slowed when she came to a small stream. Smiling, she stopped and took a long drink from the running water. No need to waste what she had in her bottle, right?

Finishing, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stepped over the water, and onto a small rock protruding the smooth waves. Crossing using the stepping-stones, she looked back to where she had sat to drink and continued on across the gentle stream, softly humming to herself. She stopped suddenly, however, when she heard the sound of crashing branches and crunching leaves. Searching frantically, she climbed onto the branches of a weeping willow as the two men from before came upon the other side of the stream. The one with the shorter hair said, "See! 'He' stopped here to drink!"

"Shut up Miroku, I can see that for myself!" the one who had tripped over her earlier said. Holding her breath, Kagome saw him kneel down and examine the prints that she had carelessly left in the soft mud. He slowly stood and crossed the stream, also using the stones.

Following, Miroku inquired, "What's up Inuyasha?"

"She couldn't have gotten far. The mud from her boots wasn't dried on the rocks yet, or washed away by the river." Inuyasha explained as he tried to determine where the girl was. Looking down at the two, Kagome cursed her luck and stupidity and wondered if she could escape them if she ran at the moment.

'Nope.' she concluded, and listened in on their conversation. Hey, it wasn't eavesdropping when she couldn't move, and they -had- chosen to sit under her tree!

"Miroku, why did she run away?" Inuyasha asked with closed eyes. He was trying to concoct a plan to capture the girl who, unbeknownst to him, was sitting merely inches from his head.

"Well, she didn't run away. She just walked away after I apologized for you. To think, you fell over the princess! Why, you could be hanged!" Miroku said, being melodramatic and giving Kagome the impression that he was better than most of the royal actors she had seen. But, the fact that he was knocked upside the head after that last remark almost sent her into giggles... even though she -didn't- giggle. Grumbling, Inuyasha said, "I could be hung for worse than tripping over a little girl, baka. Now, answer the question."

Sitting up against the tree, Miroku rubbed the back of his head with one hand as he said, "You know the kingdom to the north, with the Prince Hobo, Hono, uh..."

'Hojo' Kagome thought, shuddering slightly.

"Anyway," Miroku continued. He considered the guy that was the reason the princess had run away in the first place to be irrelevant. "She was betrothed to him without her consent or knowledge. Some treaty, I think. So, 'ere we are, looking for a missing princess that we, quiet literally in your case, stumbled upon, yet didn't recognize. So, now what do we do?" he asked, looking at his boss. Said guy was picking at the stray strings on his sword hilt and was staring into space. Sighing, Miroku thought of the one thing that his boss loved the most in the world and said, "Oh look, a bowl of ramen!"

"Where?!" Inuyasha asked, snapped from his thoughts and looking around for the mouth-watering food. Smirking, Miroku stood and said, "Let's continue south. Since her betrothed is north, she would logically try and put as much space between them as possible." Blinking at him, Kagome figured that it was a good idea. Shame that she hadn't thought of it herself. 'Then again,' she thought, 'if he figured it out, then others will deduce that also. Ok... I'll go... west?' Watching the two searchers leave, she waited for five minutes, climbed down, and walked towards the setting sun.

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'Hmm... a town... surely I can find a place to stay... please let me find a place to stay...' Kagome thought as she neared the tall, wooden gate surrounding the village. When stopped by the guard and questioned on her business in the town was, she quickly replied with her pre-decided lie that she was gathering materials for her master. Looking her over, the guard nodded and she was allowed to pass. Pulling some salted pork from her large bag, she was just about to take a bite when she heard a soft mew. Looking down, she found a small, cream-colored cat with strange black markings and a fluffy, cream-colored tail. Smiling down at it, she asked, "Are you hungry, little kitty?" Mewing in response, the tiny cat rubbed its head along the girl's ankles, and how could Kagome -not- reward that? Tearing off a good-sized chunk, she gave it to the cat, which mewed happily and began to eat. Smiling again, Kagome once again got close to taking a bite, when a feminine voice yelled, "Kirara! Where are you?" Pricking up its tiny ears, the cat looked up when a girl rounded the corner and found the two. Quickly swallowing her pork, Kirara bounded over to the girl and rubbed her legs. Smiling at the cat, the girl looked up at and bowed to Kagome, saying, "Thank you for finding her. She has a bad habit of running off when I don't watch her carefully."

"It was no trouble. It was more like she stumbled across me." Kagome explained as she stood. Wrapping up her pork again and returning it to her daypack, she was surprised when the girl said, "My name is Sango, and I live near here. You may join me at my house to rest for a while. If you need, I can give you some food for your journey." Nodding, Kagome bowed to her again and said, "Thank you Sango-sama. I am Sota, and, yeah, I'm new here." Smiling, the two walked towards Sango's house, talking of the weather, missing princess, and other daily occurrences.

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"Well, we're lost."

"No we aren't."

"Then where are we?"

"By a tree."

"Be more specific."

"Fine. A -pine- tree."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"Shut up, ya damn priest! I know where we are!"

"Then where are we -boss-?"

"..."

"Just as I thought. We're lost."

"No we aren't"

"We aren't starting that again are we?"

"Keh."

"Haven't we seen this tree already?" Miroku asked, approaching a large weeping willow. Looking at the two recent indention's in the earth beneath it, he concluded, "Ok, so we aren't lost. We're going in circles."

"Keh. Told ya I knew where we were." Inuyasha said, stopping to study some footprints. They weren't his or Miroku's, seeing as how they were too small... and they headed west...

"Shit! The princess was here!"

"What?!" Miroku asked, looking at the cursing man. Looking at the tree's branches, he saw dried mud on one of the branch's sides and sighed. The princess had been above them the entire time they had sitting there, looking down on them while they talked about why she presumably ran away. Damn.

"Well, I feel stupid." the priest muttered as he looked in the direction the tracks went.

"Come on, priest! I don't have all day!" Inuyasha yelled, bringing Miroku from his thoughts. Nodding, the two ran west, hoping to catch the elusive girl.

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"Ok... so, your master sent you here to get supplies and you decided to run away?" Sango asked while Kagome nodded jerkily. Sighing, the girl said, "You need help. You're horrible at lying and your story sucks."

Smile faltering, Kagome said, "Uh..."

"Your bindings loosened. You need to tie them tighter next time." Sango explained as she gestured to the now unbound area. Mumbling a soft, "oh", Kagome looked down to find that she was now a boy with a slightly round chest. Sighing, she asked Sango, "You won't tell, will you?"

Shaking her head, Sango made a pantomime of zipping her lips, saying, "I won't tell. But, who are you? Don't you know that it's dangerous for a girl to travel on her own, even disguised as a boy?"

Nodding her head wearily, Kagome told her, "But, I had to."

"Why?" Sango prodded. If she was gonna keep a secret, she first had to know who she was protecting.

"My parents wanted me to marry a guy that's sweet, but a bag of hammers rival him for intelligence."

"What's the guy's name?"

"Uh, promise you won't tell?"

"I already promised." Sango told her, smiling slightly.

"Ok. His name is Prince Hojo."

Blinking, Sango asked, "Nani? -Prince- Hojo? But that would make you..." Looking at the older girl, Kagome nodded slightly and asked, "You won't tell? I can't marry an idiot like that. I'd go crazy after the first week." Nodding, Sango told her, "I gave my word, remember? And, since it's a royal request, it's my duty to obey."

Smiling warmly, Kagome asked her, "And what of you? What is your family's line of work?" as she removed her tunic and placed it on one of the sturdy wooden chairs. Processing the new information, Sango started, "My family and I are Protectors. We come to the aide of the kingdom when needed and serve only from the direct command of your father or his advisor." Looking up, Kagome asked, "You mean that short, pudgy man who waddles when he walks?" Stifling a laugh, Sango nodded. Tying the end of the binding around and underneath, Kagome examined her now somewhat flat chest. Sango looked at the knot and nodded, saying, "You'll need to retie it everyday in order for it to stay tight, but it will hold. Now, would you like a bath? We have a private hot spring behind the house."

As the two stood and exited the house, walking towards the spring, Sango asked, "I don't have to treat you like royalty and bow and say 'You Majesty', or anything, do I?"