InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sight Unseen ❯ Three Strikes, and You're Out ( Chapter 24 )

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

Sight Unseen

Chapter 24: Three Strikes, and You're Out


"That puppet must have been waiting for us." Miroku mused as he stared into the crackling fire, sitting cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees. "But how would Naraku know that we would be traveling this way?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if this bird brain and his boss have been in league with him all along," Inuyasha growled, folding his arms and glaring at Maruku.

The windwalker met Inuyasha's golden eyes steadily, not flinching or looking away.

His silence seemed to confirm the hanyou's suspicions. "Probably led us right to him."

Kagome sighed, wishing the peace that had fallen over the campfire before Miroku spoke would return as quickly as it had disappeared. "Inuyasha."

The half dog demon appeared not to have heard her quiet call. Either that, or he was deliberately ignoring her. "Naraku's been behind this all along, hasn't he? He got you and your leader to get us here, and then he tried to trick us with his puppet and that damn illusion..."

"Inuyasha."

"You've been deceiving us, trying to get us to believe you've got a problem, when the whole thing was probably just some scheme invented by Naraku to keep us off track!"

"Inuyasha! That's enough!"

Inuyasha continued to stare coldly at the winged demon across the fire from him. He wasn't finished speaking, however. "He hasn't denied a word I've said. Which means--"

"Shut up or I'll say it," Kagome threatened in a low voice.

The hanyou's mouth snapped shut with the warning. His ears flicked backwards in irritation, eyes flicking to her, then sliding back to Maruku.

"I'm surprised she didn't just 'sit' him. He deserved it," Shippo murmured to Sango from where he sat in the demon exterminator's lap.

"Hush, Shippo," she scolded. "He's not the only one who doesn't know when to be quiet," she added. Kirara, who shared his resting place, even looked up at him pointedly, as if to second her mistress' statement.

The kitsune opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it and settled back against her stomach while grumbling to himself.

"Did you ever bother to think it through before you said anything, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, her voice carrying a slight edge of anger.

Though his eyes narrowed at her tone, the hanyou refused to relinquish eye contact with Maruku to look at her.

"You're definitely going too far in accusing Lady Tamaeri of having any dealings with Naraku. She just wants our help in getting her mate back. And if you'd think before you acted, you'd see that there's no way Maruku could be involved, either."

"Kagome--" Inuyasha growled, trying to interrupt before she could lecture him like a child.

"Hey, I'm not finished! You had your say, now it's my turn." She took a deep breath, waiting to see if he'd try to stop her again. When he didn't, she went on. "If Maruku was involved, do you think he would've followed immediately after you, when you ran off? If he knew Naraku was there, don't you think he would've stayed with us, or let us all go ahead without him, and then sneak up on us later? And then, wouldn't he help Naraku? Or at least run away? Not grab Shippo and I when the puppet grew tentacles like it usually does? You might not have seen him, but he didn't leave us to be captured. He made sure we were out of the way. He even stopped to help Sango and Miroku, who couldn't fly into a tree to get away from the tentacles. We had to fend for ourselves while you were knocked out. We had no idea if you would wake up."

"You cannot deny, Inuyasha, that without Kagome's arrow, which Maruku helped her to shoot, we would not have escaped from that battle," Miroku added when the girl paused.

"Yeah, you weren't exactly doing much to get us out of there, Inuyasha," Shippo muttered, this time loud enough that everyone else could hear.

"Shippo!" Sango chided, the angry tone causing the kitsune to duck his head and bite his lip.

Inuyasha's ears flattened back even more, his mouth set in a stubborn line as he finally looked away from Maruku. He knew he'd made a fool of himself almost as soon as he made his accusation earlier, but his pride wouldn't let him back down. So he'd tried to logically piece together a reason, instead of just dropping it. If he had, he might've been scolded, but not like he was now. He'd made it so much worse.

Kagome continued on where the monk left off, not able to see the change in his posture that signaled he was backing down. "He didn't have to help us, since our fight isn't necessarily his, but he chose to anyway. Without him, we probably would not have defeated the puppet in the first place."

The hanyou stared at the ground, swallowing hard. "He still could be leading us into another trap," he growled out half-heartedly in an effort to have the last word.

"You never quit, do you?" Kagome threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and sighed. Her head was beginning to pound from all the arguing.

For the first time since Inuyasha tried to lay the blame on him, Maruku spoke. His voice was even, though a bit hard. "You have a right to your own opinion, Lord Inuyasha. But if you believe such a thing of me, then why did you agree to help my people? We sought you out, after hearing of your many deeds among the humans. We felt you would be best able to aid us in rescuing Morihiko." He cleared his throat before continuing. "My brother is at the mercy of one of our own people, who has turned against us of his own free will. There may be some chance that he is involved with this 'Naraku,' but I give you my word, neither I, nor my lady, have ever had dealings with such a being."

The hanyou's jaw tightened. He still refused to look back at the windwalker. Not only was Kagome berating him, but now Maruku, a stranger, was doing it as well?

After a tense silence, he stood and turned towards the darkness of the forest behind him. He knew now he was definitely wrong. The sincerity in the winged demon's voice rang true.

Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples. She really didn't need a headache right now. "You should be thanking Maruku for his help, Inuyasha, not accusing him of being in league with Naraku."

Inuyasha looked down at the ground, clenching his jaw. He knew what she said was true, but he wasn't about to admit it out loud.

He'd made a complete fool of himself twice in one day, which was two times too many. His pride was hurt, demanding he lash out in return for the battering it had received.

Unthinkingly, he gritted out, "Kikyou wouldn't have needed help, even if she couldn't see her target."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what he'd said. He quickly turned to look at Kagome, wondering if she'd heard, hoping she hadn't.

She stiffened where she sat, knuckles turning white where her fingers dug into the earth at her sides. Her unseeing eyes were open wide, her lips parting on a soundless gasp.

With a growled curse, he took off into the forest, knowing he should apologize, but at the same time afraid she'd never forgive him.

"He didn't mean it, Kagome," Sango tried to comfort, placing one hand over the other girl's. "You know how he--"

Kagome shook her head, closing her eyes and forcing herself to relax. "I know, Sango. Kikyou is Kikyou, and I'll never measure up to her, especially to him."

Sango bit her lip, wishing there were more she could say.

Kagome drew her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees.

"Maruku, we are sorry for what Inuyasha said," Miroku began, but the winged demon waved a hand to stop his words.

"You have no need to apologize for him. He had a reason for his accusations, though much of it is most likely anger at himself. I thank you all for defending my character when you have only known me for a short time."

Miroku gave a small smile and inclined his head. "You are most welcome."

The group lapsed into silence, though not an uncomfortable one. Most of the tension had dispersed, leaving the atmosphere much less strained.

"Maruku, do you think Ataru could be working for Naraku?" Sango finally asked, thinking the question was something they would all like to have answered.

The winged demon tilted his head to the side, considering. "Could you tell me more of this Naraku?"

"He's looking for the shards of the Shikon no Tama, like we are. He has quite a few, though we're not sure how many exactly. He's used them on others to give them extra strength, and then tried to defeat us by controlling those pawns."

"I see." Maruku paused, tilting his head to the side and gazing into the orange flames before him. "So the shards that Ataru holds could be from Naraku?"

The demon exterminator nodded.

"That would make sense. But we cannot judge until we meet Ataru, unless we find other evidence that Naraku is involved with him before then."

"Do we have much further to travel?"

"No, Lord Miroku, we do not. If we had not taken this detour, we would now be on the edge of the territory Ataru and his minions control."

"Tomorrow, then," Kagome murmured, speaking for the first time since Inuyasha stalked off.

"Yes. By this time tomorrow, if all goes well, we could be on our way back. But I do not expect it to be that easy."

A few moments went by as each of them digested what the windwalker said.

"We should all get as much rest as possible tonight. We will most likely need it tomorrow." Maruku stood, stretching his wings. "If you will excuse me, I will be watching from above."

The others nodded as he leaped into a tree, disappearing in the darkness.

"Here, Kagome, I've got your bedroll," Sango told the other girl, crouching down beside her to lay out the sleeping bag.

"Thanks, Sango," Kagome murmured, sighing.

She probably wouldn't even need the bedding. Why should she bother getting too comfortable when she didn't expect to get much sleep anyway?

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Inuyasha slammed his head backwards into the tree trunk he was leaning against. He winced at the pain, but at the same time felt it was what he deserved.

He was perched high in the branches, with a clear view of the moon and stars overhead, though the sight was lost on him.

He'd gone and done it for good this time. Kagome was never going to speak to him again, probably not even to 'sit' him a few hundred times. He might as well have just dug a hole as deep as the ocean and willingly jumped right in. Neither his claws, nor Tetsusaiga were going to help him out of this one.

How could he have been so stupid as to fall for Naraku's tricks so easily? It seemed he would forever be duped by the demon's schemes, especially when they involved Kikyou.

Kikyou.

He sighed.

He'd once again thrown the undead priestess in Kagome's face, probably hurting her the most with something he didn't mean.

As usual, it was nothing more than his pride that had been sore, from both the fight of earlier and his believing in Naraku's illusion, and then the lecture he'd received from the others after he rashly accused Maruku of being in league with their enemy. He regretted his actions, especially after his parting shot at Kagome.

It'd be a miracle at best if she forgave him for the taunt. He didn't deserve it, after the way he'd acted.

And yet... she was always forgiving him.

She'd forgiven him for chasing after her in the beginning, when he tried to steal the Shikon no Tama from her.

She'd forgiven him when he actually managed to take the jewel, and send her back to her time without it.

She'd forgiven him every other time he'd compared her to Kikyou.

She'd forgiven him for every other barb he'd thrown at her.

She'd forgiven him every time she'd found him with Kikyou in his arms.

No matter what he said, she came back from her time once her anger had died down. No matter what he did, she followed him and never tried to strike back. No matter how much he hurt her, she still cared.

Maybe just this one more time... if he apologized... she'd pardon him again.

With that thought, he jumped down from the branch and ran swiftly back the way he'd come, letting Kagome's scent lead him to her.