Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sangre y Sacrificio ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own either the characters of Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

 

AN: I totally took a long time getting this chapter up. Kind sorta had writer's block for a while…or maybe it was because I was to too lazy to do so. Either way, you guys get a new chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And thanks to the people who reviewed. I really appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks guys!

AbsentAngel, Little-neko-angel, iNiGmA: Sure you can put this up on your website. I feel so honored! ^-^, BloodRoseOTDemon, dymond, Kage Otome: Thanks for the love!, Silver-Assassin

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Sangre y Sacrificio*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 2

 

Kagome yawned and stretched her cramped muscles as she stepped out of the tiny hut. It had been a tiring morning. After doing the laundry, cleaning up after breakfast, helping Kaede concoct special healing herbs, helping her mother with the garden, and straitening up her room, Kagome was thoroughly worn-out and need of a nap. For reasons unknown, she was exceptionally exhausted of the same repetitive work that she had been doing for the duration of her life span.

 

`Maybe because it's so monotonous,' she mused to herself. Figuring that she had earned a little alone time for all the labor she had been forced to endure, Kagome commenced with her trek to the waterfall that lay just beyond the borders of her village. She let the light spring breeze sift through her raven black tresses, causing her waist length locks to fan out behind her. With a content smile, Kagome basked in the sun's warm rays, allowing the warmth to seep into her sore bones, knowing that this perfect weather wouldn't last forever.

 

“Oi wench, why the hell are you so happy?” came a gruff voice from the branches of a nearby tree.

 

Kagome stopped walking to look up in the tree where a white haired hanyou currently occupied one of the lower branches. With his hands tucked comfortably behind his head in a lackadaisical manner and his feet propped one across the other on the limb, Inuyasha smirked down at her, his snow white ears trained in her direction, letting her know that she had his undivided attention.

 

Kagome shook her head at the sight. All day, while she worked and cleaned and toiled in the fields, her hanyou friend lingered in the trees with his laissez-faire attitude, relaxing in the shade without a care in the world. That was Inuyasha. Kagome smiled despite this. After all, he did help defend her village against antagonistic youkai that attempted to raid and kill her people out of contempt for humans or just for the fun of it. “Is this all you do all day while I'm out working?”

 

“Keh,” the hanyou shrugged indifferently closing his eyes. “There's nothing else to do. I already helped Kaede-baba look for her stupid weeds and I helped Miroku and Sango take out that bear youkai a couple of miles from here. Now, I'm just going to take it easy the rest of the day.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Inuyasha, you take it easy every day. Unlike you, I actually have to work throughout the day and have a little time to sit back and relax.” Kagome stared at the sky and sighed at the thought of work that awaited her back home after she returned from her outing.

 

“If you need some help with anything, you know you can always ask me,” he responded softly.

 

Kagome let her gaze slide from the darkening clouds creeping along the horizon to the thoughtful golden eyes of the hanyou. He did have his moments. “That's ok Inuyasha. I think I can manage by myself,” she replied with another smile, which gradually converted into a sly grin. “So, how's your girlfriend?” She laughed as his face turned a deep shade of crimson.

 

“I don't have a girlfriend wench,” he responded turning on his side so that she couldn't see the coloring of his features.

 

“What about that miko you fancy? You know the one from the other village whom you just can't seem to get enough of and whom you see when you`re not hanging around here?”

 

Inuyasha whirled around, his face beet red with anger, indignation, and embarrassment that she had found out where he went off to in his spare time. “Kikyo is not my girlfriend! And I don't fancy her stuck up ass!”

 

The smirk that graced Kagome's features clearly showed that she thought otherwise. “Then why do you go see her every day? She can't be more interesting than your best friend can she?” Kagome teased.

 

Jamming his arms into the sleeves of his red haori, Inuyasha `keh'ed and looked away from her. “She ain't more interesting than you, just better looking,” he retorted in response to her probing inquiries.

 

“So you do like her.”

 

“Would you get off my back!”

 

“Just admit that you like her and I will.”

 

“You are the most intolerable human I've ever met.”

 

“And you're the most stubborn hanyou I've ever met. Now just admit your feelings and I'll back off.”

 

“If it will make you shut up…then fine. I do kinda like her.” He clamped his ears to his skull when she began to squeal.

 

Enjoying taunting the dog eared boy, Kagome decided to persist with her playful taunting. With a grin gracing her delicate features, she began dancing around the tree he sat in. “Inuyasha and Kikyo sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

 

The hanyou rolled his eyes at her idiotic chants and prances around the base of the tree, but smiled nonetheless. Kagome was the nosiest, over talkative, pigheaded girl he had ever laid eyes on. But she was also the kindest, warmest, tender hearted person he'd ever met. Her compassion and carefree demeanor were only a few of the characteristics that instantly drew him to her. She was like sunshine on a cloudy day. She was his sunshine.

 

`She won't shine for long,' a voice in the recesses of his mind said.

 

Inuyasha's relaxed mood did a complete 180, anger flashing through his eyes. In a matter of months, she would be leaving him, for good. She was going to be executed and he was helpless to do anything about it. He knew he was no match for the powerful clan of the kitsune, who were adept in the arts of magic crafts and cunningness. They were ancient race of youkai who had been around since the dawn of time compared to his measly thirty summers.

 

Inuyasha embedded his claws into the bark of tree, bracing himself against the intense wave of fury, pain, and vulnerability. Even if he did fight for Kagome's freedom, he had no idea where the silver clan resided. There were a few rumors here and there he had picked up over the years, but other than that, there was no solid evidence to there whereabouts. They were proficient at covering up their trails and scents. And if he did find them, no amount of pleading or beseeching would sway the kitsune from their decision.

 

Kagome, just now becoming aware of the oppressive aura surrounding the hanyou, stopped her child like antics and frowned worriedly up at him. “Inuyasha, what's wrong?” Maybe she had made him angry with all of her taunting. “Are you mad at me for talking about you and your secret lover?” She kidded in an attempt to pull him out of his moodiness.

 

Inuyasha suddenly growled and leapt off of his perch, landing gracefully in front of his best friend. “How can you be so fucking calm and happy?” Amber eyes burned with mounting ire, his voice laced with underlying pain.

 

When she looked at him in confusion, he grabbed her shoulders forcefully. “You have three fucking months to live! Three months before those bastards come and take you away from your family, your friends, your village, your life….from me, to be put to death because of their twisted ritual.”

 

Her fairly pleasant mood ruined, Kagome shifted uneasily on her feet and averted her eyes to the tree he had just jumped out of. “Inuyasha,” she sighed, “we've been over this before. There's nothing I can do about my fate so leave it be and let me live out the rest of my time in peace.”

 

The muscles in his jaw twitched. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why do act as if nothing is wrong? Why does everybody act as if nothing is wrong? That everything is normal and you will still be living next year-”

 

“Stop it Inuyasha!” The last thread of patience snapping, Kagome smacked his hands away from her shoulders angrily and pinned him with a dark glower.

 

“Contrary to what you think, I am upset, no, more than upset! I'm sad, I'm pissed, I'm depressed! You have no idea what it feels like to wake up each morning knowing that you're another day closer to your execution, that there's nothing anybody can do to change it. The silver clan isn't going to change their mind. They aren't going to magically reappear, decide that they have no further use for me and remove the brand!”

 

Ignoring tears that had begun branching down her flushed cheeks, Kagome continued. “But I intend to make the best out of what little time I have left. There's no point dwelling on something that I can't change. You're going to have to accept that Inuyasha. I already have. Now, if you'll excuse, I have to go.” Brushing past the taken aback hanyou, Kagome stalked down the dirt path that wound into the forest.

 

After walking aimlessly in the thicket of vegetation in an effort to rid herself of depressing thought of dying and executions, Kagome sighed and slowed her pace. `Inuyasha can be an idiot sometimes. I was having such a good day until he brought it all up.'

 

She instinctively touched her lower abdomen where the black mark lay dormant underneath of her kimono. It wasn't her fault that she had been the most innocent and pure girl among the females of her village. It wasn't her fault that she was chosen because of those attributes that the clan had been looking for. Swallowing more tears that had bunched in her throat, she tried to push away the unshakable thoughts of being slaughtered to death that seemed to gnaw at her spirit.

 

She picked up her pace as she neared the clearing where forest met river, the sound of the roaring rapids calming her to some extent. Abandoning her getas and tabi socks beside a nearby tree, Kagome padded barefoot across the slick grass toward the boulders that surrounded the river on either sides, the thundering of the waterfall up ahead pounding in her ears. As soon as she was settled comfortably atop of the enlarged rock, Kagome brought her knees to her chest and contented herself with watching the torrent of water crash violently against the boulders.

 

She had always come to the riverside whenever she needed to think or wind down. Unfazed by the wild white water that thrashed fervently into the rock under her, Kagome buried her face in her thighs, silent tears once again trailing down her face. Three more months. Three months and then it would all be over. She would never get to see her family and friends again. She'd never get to sit on her rock and contemplate or feel the spring breeze filter through her hair.

 

It would take a miracle to save her from her fate.

 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Panting heavily from physical exhaustion, a short, red headed kitsune stopped sprinting to lean against a large tree, his lungs burning from lack of oxygen, his miniature muscles cramped and taut from running flat out for hours. The young kit tried to summon up the strength to continue but to no avail. His body, unable to persist with further physical exertion and deficient of the proper nutrients necessary to resume his journey, refused to budge.

 

With his sensitive hearing, he took heed in the fact that there was a river close by, which meant an abundant supply of water. And water was exactly what his dehydrated body needed right now. “Come on, come on,” the kitsune pleaded to his body, urging and bidding what little was left of his willpower to go on, but it was hopeless. Apparently he had pushed his body too hard. Tears of frustration pooled in his bright green eyes. He wanted to get as far way from the silver kitsune clan as possible. They were nothing like he'd expected them to be, or maybe it was just the leader of the clan that scared and intimidated him.

 

Nago was a firm believer of slaughter and bloodshed and was a diehard advocate for the extermination of all humans. The silver kitsune thrived from the pain of others, goading and swaying his clan into taking up his twisted beliefs as well. He was crazy. And so was that band of thieves that Youko hung around with. They got off killing innocent humans and youkai alike, then stole what they could from the rich and the poor. They were probably the ones responsible for the death of his family.

 

More tears streamed down his cherub face as he thought of his family. They had been on a family outing when the bad youkai had come with their sharp claws and fangs, intent on killing his family and ripping their pelts from their bodies in order to make money off of them. Left for dead since his hide wouldn't sell for as much as those of his parents, Shippou had lay in his beaten and bloody state as the bad youkai walked away with the pelts of his family.

 

It was Youko who had saved him. The silver kitsune had ignored the protests of his band of thieves and his father and took him into his care. It was Youko who had befriended him when he thought the world had turned his back on him. And if the ugly, red faced youkai named Yomi hadn't promised him death, he would have considered staying, because unlike everyone else, Youko cared for him, even if he didn't outwardly show it. But not even his savior could get him to change his mind about staying this time.

 

Due to the revitalization of his little break, Shippou was able to stand upright. `I have to keep going. I have to find a home somewhere else. I-'

 

His inner tirade ceased as his pointed ears picked up on soft crying and sniffles of another in spite of the roaring of the cascades of the river. Curiosity piqued, the young child maneuvered between the last cluster of trees that separated him from the stream. Stopping behind the final tree where a pair of getas and tabi socks lay disregarded next to the base of the trunk, the kit peeked out from behind the large tree.

 

Green eyes widened in surprise when he saw a girl sitting on a boulder all alone, her face half cloaked by a curtain of long ebony locks. Tear stains streaked her tanned face as she stared wistfully at the passing currents, too caught up in her own world to notice his presence. For some unknown reason, he felt compelled to go and comfort the pretty lady. He really hated seeing girls cry.

 

Momentarily forgetting his own misery, the kit stepped out from behind the concealment of the tree, intent on comforting the poor girl that looked as though she didn't have a friend in the world. Maybe he could convince her to be his friend, and then they both wouldn't be lonely anymore. Encouraged by his thoughts, he began to trot over to the boulders. But no sooner had he taken the second step when he was suddenly picked up off of the ground by the scruff of his neck and brought face to face with a pair of golden eyes.

 

A nervous grin flitted across the kit's face. “Hi, Youko-sama.”

 

Youko kept his eyes trained on the child, his expression revealing neither annoyance nor anger, simply his customary blank stare. “Shippou,” he began in a cold, baritone voice that caused every hair on body to rise, “what were you thinking running away from us like that? Do you know you could've gotten yourself killed with your lack of fighting and magical capabilities? Do you want to end up like your parents?”

 

Shippou swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked away the fresh batch of tears that welled in his eyes, knowing full well that his warden's seemingly harsh words were his way of showing concern. “No,” he squeaked.

 

“Then why run away from the protection of the clan? You are safe within our numbers. You are vulnerable out here by yourself with no protection and no experience in combat.”

 

Shippou looked down, his tiny hands clenched in suppressed anger, his sadness all but forgotten. “I know you care, but the others don't, especially your friends, the thieves. They see me as a weakness….your weakness.”

 

Golden eyes narrowed to slits. “What are you talking of, Shippou?”

 

“While you are gone, they say things, like how you're getting soft and how I'm a lia…liabilly-”

 

“Liability,” Youko corrected patiently.

 

“Yeah, a liability. They said that by saving me, you've initiated the beginning of your own demise.” His head sank in shame when his guardian didn't say anything for a moment. “It's all my fault, isn't it? I'm sorry, Youko-sama.”

 

The cold anger that had began simmering in his golden depths softened. “It isn't your fault. My thieves talk entirely too much for their own good, which besides stealing is all their good for. You will have to learn to pay no heed to their irrelevant comments.”

 

Shippou's head jerked up. “Learn? What do you mean learn? I'm not going back there. Not with Yomi threatening to kill me all the time.”

 

“I will speak with Yomi regarding his behavior.” Youko set the kit back on the ground and turned around. “Now come, Shippou. I would like to be back before sunset.” The white haired youkai gave a small sigh when he heard Shippou's small feet scurry off in the direction of the river. `That kit needs to learn to follow directions if he wants to stay alive.'

 

Shippou raced toward the forlorn looking girl that sat on the rock. She would help him. Maybe if she agreed to be his friend and take him into her home Youko would let him stay here. The last thing he wanted to do was go back. He continued on, almost to his destination. “Oi! Please, help me-” Shippou yelped in alarm and surprise when he ran headlong into Youko's leg.

 

Growling softly, the silver kitsune picked up the child by the scruff of his neck yet again. “We're leaving kit. Now.”

 

Shippou squirmed and struggled to free himself from his claws. “No! I don't want to go! Let me go!”

 

Hearing pleas for help, Kagome immediately shifted her attention from the waterfall up ahead, to a white haired man holding a young child by his neck. Suspecting the stranger to be Inuyasha, being that he was the only one she knew who had that color hair type,

Kagome let her anger and irritation overtake the depression her spirit had seemed to sink into. “Inuyasha! Let that child go! What has gotten into you bullying small children aro-” She stopped mid-sentence as he turned around to face her.

 

Red crept onto her cheeks as she realized that it wasn't her hanyou friend at all, although they could`ve passed as brothers had it not been for the simple fact that this guy was human. The young man was about her age and looked incredibly sexy sporting what looked like a pure white toga, revealing a set of lean, muscular arms and legs. His face, which gave the impression as though it had been chiseled to perfection by Kami-sama Himself, was framed by waist length silver hair that spilled out in a cascade of glory behind him. Sharp golden eyes penetrated her own intently, sending her heart beat to increase in tempo and her face to grow even warmer. Who was this guy and why did she get the feeling like she'd seen him before?

 

Youko felt his mouth grow dry at the sight of the maiden, which was strange since it never happened before. Ever. A waterfall of wavy raven black tresses fell to her mid back. A mauve colored kimono hung loosely off of her shoulders, accentuating her womanly curves and revealing the smooth, silky expanse of skin that the clothing failed to conceal. Red tinged her cheeks as she continued to stare coyly at him, which only added to her innocent beauty. The attribute that seemed to lure him to her face was not only her pouty pink colored lips, but her unique blue eyes. Her bright sapphire eyes exuded warmth and kindness and seemed to peer into his very soul.

 

Desire arose from the depths of his being, longing to hold, to touch, to feel this beautiful creature before him. Inwardly berating himself, Youko squelched the feelings. Damn his uncontrollable libido and the sensations the human wench was conjuring within his person. What the hell was wrong with him?

 

Shippou withheld a smirk after seeing the looks the girl and his warden exchanged. Something was definitely in the air. He gazed at the silver kitsune, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth in confusion as he realized something was off. “Umm, Youko-sama. What happened to your ea-” He stopped when Youko's gaze zeroed in on him, his eyes promising certain death if he continued with the question.

 

“It's a concealment spell kit,” he said in a barely audible voice so that only Shippou could hear. “Not everybody needs to know what I am. So keep your mouth shut about the silver kitsune clan and our whereabouts. Is that understood?”

 

Shippou vigorously nodded his head. “I won't tell a soul,” he promised.

 

“Good then. Now let us be going. We've wasted enough time here already.”

 

The kit immediately went on the defense and began struggling once again in the older kitsune's tight grasp. “No! I don't want to go back! Let me stay! I can take care of myself!”

 

The loud protests of the small kitsune pulled Kagome from her daze. Assuming her previous stance of anger and irritation, she glared at the stranger. “Did I not say leave the child alone?”

 

His anger spiking with, Youko clenched his jaw to refrain from killing her. “Wench, this does not concern you. So I suggest you leave before I-” he trailed off, unable to finish due to the simple fact that he looked human, therefore threatening her with his claws would be in vain.

 

Kagome smirked triumphantly at his loss for words. “Or you'll do what?”

 

Youko dropped Shippou and threw daggers of ice at the girl, who continued to boldly stand against him, completely discounting that she was standing amongst the most notorious thief in all of the lands. Flexing his hands as if his razor-sharp claws were still visible, Youko glowered at the human, his anger further heightened by her blatant disrespect towards him. No one, youkai or otherwise, had ever acted like this in his presence. The thought angered him to a degree, though not without stirring the roguish side of himself.

 

Detesting the tension that cackled in the air and the dangerous glint that flashing within the older kitsune`s incisive amber orbs as he glared at the innocent girl, Shippou scampered in front of the white haired youkai before he could make a move. “Leave her alone Youko. She didn't do anything wrong,” his tiny voice on the border of pleading. He really didn't want to see the pretty lady get hurt, especially by a skilled killer.

 

“You don't need to protect me,” Kagome interjected before the strange man could reply to the child's declaration, withholding a smile at the way the kit came to her defense. “Even if he did try to do something to me, I doubt it would be of any harm considering he looks so weak.” Obviously she had said the wrong thing, because no sooner had the words left her mouth when in a flash of silver with a speed that rivaled the gods, he instantaneously appeared before her, his eyes a molten pool of liquid gold, anger, a mixture of mischief swimming within their depths.

 

Enclosing the space between them so that they were barely a breath's width away without ever removing his eyes from her own irate yet cautious ones, he growled softly into her ear and allowed a pleased smile to grace his lips when she shivered in response. “You think that I am weak?” he purred as he inhaled her enticing scent of vanilla and sakura blossoms. He licked his lips. This was the first human he had come across that had such an alluring scent and it was driving his instincts haywire.

 

Kagome's breath caught in her throat, inhibiting her ability to speak for the moment. Their proximity was entirely too close for her preference but in spite of that and the fact that he was invading her personal space without her consent, she found herself pining for his touch and making her wondering how it would feel to run her fingers across his broad, lean torso that was partly concealed by his toga. Her cheeks flushed at her impure thoughts. That was definitely not a good sign.

 

Gathering what little was left of her bravado, Kagome tried to put on her best serious face and stood up straighter so that she was now face to face with his chest, then glared up at him. “Yes, I think you're weak.”

 

A silver brow rose. “Really? Why do you think that?” he asked feigning inquiry while taking another step toward her so that they his body pressed against hers.

 

Squeaking in protest, Kagome jumped away, which wasn't the brightest thing to do when one is standing atop a wet rock, and ended up slipping, losing her balance, and plummeting into the murky blue waters below.

 

Youko flinched, ignoring the impulse to jump in and save her stupid ass before she drowned, but his pride made stay him rooted to the boulder. `Stupid human had it coming,' he thought with a conviction he didn't feel.

 

“Youko-sama!” Shippou jumped upon the boulder in fear as he watched the girl bob up and down, sputtering and gasping for air as the cascades carried her to the waterfall. “Save her before she dies!”

 

Youko snorted lightly and looked away, disregarding the guilt and panic that ate away at his soul. “I will do no such thing. Now let us leave so…” He frowned as he realized that the kit was no longer with him, for he had jumped into the raging rapids after her in a brave but foolish attempt to save the girl.

 

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. The things he did for moronic people. This would be his good deed for life. Not wasting another second, Youko dived in after them.

 

TBC

 

AN: Review and tell me what you think! They make me so happy.