InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hanyou no kokoro no naka de; Within the Heart of the Half-Demon ❯ Wolf Tribes...Attack! ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

.seod ihsahakaT okimuR .ahsayunI nwo ton od I :remialcsiD

A/N: Oh, Yay! A chapter about the wolf that everybody loves to hate. (and if you like him…I don't wanna know.)

Sorry about the seriously long wait for an update…I've been out of town for the last time this summer. Not to mention I've been working on my other fics Inuyasha the Musical and my behind the scenes fic, too. But school starts for me on the 11th, so writing will get to be very challenging. I will continue updating as soon as possible! Now, enjoy.

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Chapter 11

Wolf Tribes…Attack!

The village within the palace. It was a peaceful little town on any given day.

But not today.

A group of four men came running into the village from the direction of the Youkai no Mori. They were carrying nothing and their hands were bloody, and they were wearing the clothes of hunters. Their faces showed fear and panic. A man and his wife noticed the men as they ran in.

“Good sirs! What is this?”

One of them looked at the man. “Demons! Wolf demons! Everywhere!”

“What!?!”

“They came after us! We had to run!”

The four hunters continued running through the village, announcing their frightening adventure.

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“Wait, Koga!”

Koga stopped. A huge group of humanoid wolf demons ran behind him, along with the other wolves.

“Hurry up! We gotta get to that village now! Those men killed one of our comrades. They won't get away with it.”

“But Koga! That village is inside the boundaries of the kingdom! We'll be killed for sure if we enter.”

“Not in these numbers. We can't let those men live…besides…we haven't eaten in days. Think of it as your dinner. Let's get going!”

Koga spun into a whirlwind, running off toward the kingdom. The wolf tribe followed close behind him.

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Inuyasha's ear twitched.

He knew that voice. He suddenly stiffed up, turning back to where they had just come from.

“What is it, Inuyasha?” Kagome asked.

“It's nothing,” he said, turning back around, trying to ignore it. Then his keen ears heard the scream of children. He flinched. “I'll be right back!” he yelled, bounding off into the trees.

“Wait, Inuyasha!” Miroku called after him, but he was gone.

“Don't worry,” Shippo sighed. “He heard some commotion and he had to go check it out. Koga was probably involved.”

“Koga?” Kagome asked. “Who's that?”

“Inuyasha's arch enemy. He's a dirty wolf demon. Don't worry, though. Inuyasha will be back soon. We just have to wait right here.”

Sango and Miroku looked at each other and shrugged.

“I don't know how much time we have…”

“He'll only be a minute.”

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Sesshomaru stopped walking. He could sense the great number of demons headed for the human village.

“Sesshomaru-sama!” Jaken exclaimed when he noticed his master's sudden stop. “What ails you?”

“Inuyasha…He's on the move.”

“Huh??” Why is my lord troubled by that hanyou's actions? This is new.

“I must investigate this strange demonic energy headed toward the kingdom,” he said, turning and walking toward the village.

Jaken stood in question for a second before running after Sesshomaru.

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“Kill them all!!” Koga shouted, leaping down into the village street.

People ran in fear, screaming, hiding in the huts, trying to escape. Three of the humanoid wolves burst through the straw roof of a near-by house, slaughtering the mother and three children inside. One wolf chased a group of people down the street, and in the process knocked over a bucket of some liquid, which spilled onto a pile of straw next to it. A fire from inside the house caught, flames engulfing the entire structure.

Koga ran to a boulder that rested in the middle of the town and leaped to the top, standing high over the whole village. He smiled to himself. "That's my wolves..."

"Koga!" a voice shouted from below. Koga turned to face two members of his tribe. "Someone's coming this way!"

"It's a demon! Can't you sense his aura?"

"What'll we do?"

"You idiots," Koga mumbled. He looked off into the forest from where the demon approached. "Let him come."

The two wolves exchanged a quick glance.

"Ginta. Hakkaku. Don't be afraid of it. Kill it. We're here for vengeance. Nothing will escape alive."

They nodded, then ran back off into the chaos.

Koga looked over the dying village and grinned, making approval of the events.

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She ran.

The small girl ran with everything she had. There were three wolves at her heels, and she knew she could never out run them, but she tried. She cried as the wolves neared her, one snapping at her heels. She winced as she felt the teeth scrape her ankle.

"Help! Somebody help me!!" she cried.

Suddenly she tripped on a root, plummeting to the ground. She squeezed her tiny fists, awaiting the attack.

But nothing came.

She opened her eyes. Are the wolves...gone? She turned around, seeing the three wolves laying against a tree not far behind her. They were dead. The young girl looked around. She didn't see anyone around. Turning over, she noticed that she had ripped a hole in the bottom of her kimono as she fell. She quickly forgot about the tear and stood up.

"Hello?" she said shyly, listening for a response. "Is...is anybody there?" She didn't want to be too loud for fear of other wolves hearing her.

"Hey," came a sudden voice from above her. She gasped and jumped back, looking up into the tree.

"Who are you?" she asked, finally spotting something red sitting up on a branch in the tree.

"I just saved your life, kid. Now hurry and get outta here before more wolves find you."

The small girl looked around. "I...I don't know where I am, sir. And I'm too afraid to go back to the village.

Inuyasha hopped out of the tree. The girl saw his ears and backed slowly away.

"You're a demon..." she said quietly, half in fear, and half in plain observation.

Inuyasha sighed. "Well, I saved you, didn't I?"

She nodded. "Arigatou."

Suddenly more wolves bursts from some brush. Inuyasha slashed two of them to bits, and held the rest off while turning back to the girl. "As long as they can smell that your human, they'll come after you! Run!"

She gave Inuyasha a quick nod before darting into the forest. Inuyasha killed the wolves that had attacked, then continued toward the village.

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There he was.

Inuyasha leaped to the closest tree top and from there, he could see that scoundrel standing atop a large boulder. He knew that the wolf youkai were low; but he never thought they were this low.

"Hey, Ugly!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping down from his hiding spot.

Koga turned around and noticed the hanyou walking toward him. "Oh! So it was you my wolves were sensing. Surprising they warned me; they usually only let me know when threatening youkai are around."

"You better watch your back...I'm more of a threat than you seem to think."

"Pity. I thought maybe my wolves in the forest might have killed you."

"All those wolves are dead now. Thanks to the one you think is no threat."

"You killed my wolves!?!?"

"What do you think, stupid!"

Koga jumped to the ground, walking slowly toward Inuyasha as his tribe continued to attack the village all around them. Inuyasha sneered at the strong smell of human blood and death.

"All of this for one of your stinkin' wolves these humans killed!? Don't you think that's a little rash?"

"Don't condemn my actions."

"You go to hell!"

Koga growled then leaped at Inuyasha with his fists tight. Inuyasha flashed his claws, swinging them at Koga's face.

"You'll have to do better 'n that!" Koga yelled, landing on his back, kicking Inuyasha's legs out from under him.

Inuyasha grunted as he hit the ground, but didn't lose a second as he flipped backwards, coming at Koga full speed. "Sankon Tessou!"

Koga attempted to dodge Inuyasha's attack, but failed as it hit his leg, sending the wolf flying back into the boulder on which he had previously been mounted.

"Keh!" Inuyasha smirked. "Now get your sorry wolf-hide out of this village before I slaughter you and every single one of your stupid comrades. You've got your revenge. Get outta here."

Koga sat up, rubbing the back of his head in pain. "You...bastard."

"Such a large vocabulary for a dirty wolf."

Koga scoffed, turning to his attacking wolves and signaling it was time to retreat. The tribe quickly dropped everything they had been doing and followed their leader out of sight. Inuyasha left promptly, too, assuring that none of the villagers would see him.

X-X-X

Inuyasha was sure he had chased the last of the wolves away. From what he could tell, the forest surrounding the village was empty. He let his guard down and begin to walk swiftly back in the direction he had come. Kagome and the others were hopefully still waiting on him. But what if they left?? Keh - no big deal. It's not like I care. Where would they go anyway?? He got lost in his own thoughts, forgetting completely about the wolves and the village. I wonder what I'm gonna eat tonight?

Then he noticed something. There was a strangely bright color showing through the trees. He sniffed the air. Blood?

Jumping over some brush, he silently sneaked towards the unmoving creature. On closer inspection, he had no doubt it was dead. Wait...it was a human. A human child. A young girl.

The one I...saved earlier.

Inuyasha felt a fleeting sadness for the poor child. It looked like the wolves had gotten to her after all. Inuyasha paused in silence for a moment before moving on.

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Sesshomaru paused.

"What is it, mi lord?' Jaken asked, nearly running into the back of the inu youkai's leg.

"The power I was sensing has moved on."

"Then...why are we still going there, mi lord?"

"Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru turned his head and spotted Inuyasha not 10 yards from where he stood.

"Why, if it isn't my little brother."

"What are you doing here? Why have you left the youkai den?"

"I don't waste my time loathing around those lowly demons all day."

"There's nothing here but a human village. Get lost!"

Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha for a moment.

"What was that demonic energy I sensed?"

"Huh?"

"If there's only a human village there then why did I sense such a strong demonic aura coming from there."

Inuyasha's ear tweaked. "Some wolves attacked the village and slaughtered a bunch of humans. Nothing you'd be interested in." He started walking away. "See ya, Sesshomaru," he said with more disgust than he thought he could muster. Then he disappeared from his older brother's sight.

"Well!" Jaken said arrogantly, "I've never seen such contempt in all my days! You need to do something about that ignorant brother of yours before he--"

"Jaken."

The toad gulped. "Yes, mi lord?"

"That's enough." He began walking away from his squire, still going in the direction of the village. "That half-breed is below the level of my concern."

"Yes, mi lord..." Jaken said quietly, following his master.

Sesshomaru continued walking, when suddenly, his sword, the Tenseiga, began pulsing. He stopped walking and looked down at the weapon that was around his waste.

"Sesshomaru-sama! What is this? Why is the Tenseiga pulsing?!"

The youkai grabbed is sword, pulling it from its sheath, his eye never leaving it.

Suddenly, Jaken gasped and ran in front of his lord. "Look, mi lord!"

Sesshomaru stepped forward, seeing the thing that his squire was pointing at. The closer he got, the harder the Tenseiga pulsed. "It's a human girl. Dead." He looked again at the sword. "Why does Tenseiga wish to be drawn? Certainly not because of this child."

"It must be broken, sire."

The sword pulsed again, then stopped. Why does it wish for this girl's life? By the smell of it, she was killed by youkai wolves. So why, then, does Tenseiga wish for me to heal her?? I do not understand. Sesshomaru stepped a bit closer to the girl and raised the sword into the air.

"Mi lord! What are you doing?? You do not really intend to save this human's life do you?"

The creatures from the netherworld became visible. Sesshomaru squinted his eyes a bit and swung the sword without another thought. The small demons disappeared, as well as the girl's wounds. She blinked at sat up.

"What happened to me??"

"The wolf demons that attacked your village killed you and left you here. You're healed now. Return home," he said emotionlessly. He looked at the child for a second longer before turning and walked the other direction. Jaken stuck his nose in the air arrogantly and followed him.

The girl thought for a minute, flashing back to her village before she had started running. She had witnessed the wolves kill her mother and father, destroy their home, and make off with her siblings -- she had no home to return to.

She quickly jumped up and ran after her savior. He noticed the girl, but paid her no mind.

"Get lot, child!" Jaken shouted. "Sesshomaru-sama has no use for a human such as yourself. You will not be accompaning us!"

"Sesshomaru-sama?" the girl said curiously. She looked up at the youkai fearlessly. "My lord, my name is Rin. I cannot return to my village as you said because my family was killed by the wolves. If it is not too much to ask, my lord, may I travel with you until I find a new place to live? Or, if you like, I can serve you to repay you for saving my life."

Jaken snorted. "Are you deaf! I said you will not be accompanying us!"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru snapped.

"Yes, mi lord?"

"Since when, pray tell, do you make those decisions?"

Jaken shut up.

Sesshomaru turned his attention to the girl following next to him. "Rin, was it?"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Do as you wish."

She smiled. "Arigatou, Sesshomaru-sama!!"

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Inuyasha could hear talking up ahead.

"Oh, there he is!"

"Oi! Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, waving. "You've made it back!"

He walked up to the group.

"What was it that you ran off for, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"It was nothing. Nothing you need to worry about."

Kagome, Miroku, and Sango all exchanged glances and shrugged. Inuyasha looked around and noticed that they had not moved a foot since he had left them earlier.

Shippo jumped from Kagome's shoulder to Inuyasha's. "What took you so long, Inuyasha? We've been waiting here forever!!"

He grabbed the kitsune's tail and dropped him to the ground. "So are we going to this village or what??"

Kagome smiled. “Yes. Thank you, Inuyasha.”

He gave a strange look. “For what??”

She smiled again, shaking her head. “Nothing. Let's go.”

“Okay…” Inuyasha said, beginning to lead the others in the direction of the village. He didn't turn around or talk to the others for quite a while, only kept walking, assuming that they were still behind him.

Kagome watched him for the longest time while Shippo, Miroku and Sango talked amongst themselves. She couldn't help but thinking that he looked faintly familiar. I now it must sound crazy…but I'm positive this Inuyasha and I have met before. Maybe more than once. And isn't it weird that he knows about the curse…and even that he knows Kaede-sama! I wonder how she is right now? What about mama and father…Are they missing us? What if the send someone after us… Kagome begin to get lost in her thoughts, and didn't even notice that Inuyasha was suddenly walking beside her, looking at her face.

Then again…the Shikon Jewel was just stolen. Maybe they won't notice for a few days yet. I hope that…

“Yo.”

“Ahh!” Kagome jumped, finally seeing that Inuyasha was barely 6 inches from her face. She reared back and slapped him in surprise.

“Wha!! Ow!” he exclaimed, eyes wide. He placed a hand over his throbbing cheek.

“Oh! Inuyasha, you idiot! You scared the life outta me! Don't get so close!”

“You were spacing out!”

“Stay away from me!”

“Well excuse me!”

Kagome looked away and begin to remember how to breathe again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, realizing that she had just totally lost it. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

“Yelling at you…”

“Hm hm…” Inuyasha coughed, pointing to his cheek.

“Oh yeah, that too.”

Inuyasha shrugged and looked away from her, leading them on toward the village.

Kagome sighed, flashing back to his face being so close to hers. Oh yeah…totally familiar.Shippo leaped from Miroku's shoulder onto Kagome's. He didn't say anything, but it made Kagome smile. She looked over at Sango. Kirara was still sitting on her shoulder. The cat hadn't seemed to have left Sango since they had started their journey.

Weird… Kagome thought. It's all just so strange…

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A/N: yay for long chapters. In the next chapter: Kagome's identity is revealed to Inuyasha!! Till next time, Jaa!!