Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Traveler Meets Spirit Detective ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

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Chapter 9 - Tunnels

A certain little fox demon was peering at the strange object in the boy's hand. It gave off light, but not heat. "What is this again?"

Yusuke ground his teeth, shooting a glare at Kurama as he coughed suspiciously. Why was the kid asking him? It was Kagome's flashlight! Why not ask her? Or Kurama, since he had one too. Yusuke grinned at that, smirking at Kurama walking slightly behind him in the dark tunnels. Kurama was the only one of the boys who had packed a flashlight.

"You know kid, why don't you ask Kurama? He's - "

"Ok!"

Shippo bounded off of Yusuke shoulder onto Kurama's, chattering happily into the other kitsune's ear. Kurama smiled, speaking softly to the kit, attempting to explain about flashlights, batteries, and various other objects from the future.

Yusuke glared, muttering under his breath. "Kid bothers me for a half hour about the flashlight and then goes jumping off to someone else. That was a waste of time."

"Why? Did you have somewhere else to be?"

Kagome grinned as Yusuke glared at her sourly. "Oh come on, stop being such a grouch."

"You do realize we're underground right? Under the damn ground. I think I have a right to not be as cheerful as you right now."

"You don't have to snap at me either! It's not my fault that the demon has the shard." Kagome clenched her fists, and then her gaze fell to the floor. 'Oh wait, technically, it is my fault. I broke the jewel.'

Yusuke was about to reply, then noticed the way her face fell and winced inwardly. Now what was he supposed to do?

Shippo peered over at Kagome and Yusuke and groaned as he saw the ever-familiar guilty look pass over her face before she looked to the floor.

"Shippo? What's wrong?" Kurama asked.

"Kagome. You heard what they were saying right? Well, when she said the jewel part she got guilty because she thinks it is her fault. Do you think he'll say something to make her feel better?"

Chuckling answered that question, but it wasn't from Kurama. "Urameshi? I don't think he'll know how."

"Kuwabara, Yusuke isn't an idiot. I'm sure he'll find a way to cheer her up." Kurama looked doubtful as he spoke, and from behind Hiei added in his two cents.

"Hn. Yes he is. He's just no as much of an idiot as the baka."

Kurama sighed as Kuwabara looked around questioningly, then grew angry as he realized Hiei was talking about him. "Don't antagonize him Hiei. We're supposed to be fighting the demons who had the shards, not each other."

"Why would I fight him? I only fight if it's worth it."

"Are you trying to start something shorty? I'll beat you into the ground!"

Shippo looked on in fascination, briefly forgetting Kagome's guilty conscience. "Do they do this a lot?"

"Unfortunately yes. It's even worse with Yusuke and Kuwabara, because they sometimes end up actually fighting. "

"Wow. You guys fight demons like this?" Shippo looked incredulous and Kurama smiled, a bit embarrassed by his friends.

"We get by. Now, what usually happens when Kagome does this?"

"Well, for one thing, it's usually Inuyasha's fault, and she'll start crying, and then she and Sango will go talk, and Miroku will hit Inuyasha over the head. That's funny. Inuyasha should get hit over the head more often. Maybe it will knock his brains back into place."

Kurama chuckled; the kit was so outspoken.

Yusuke watched Kagome out of the corner of his eye. She had been silent since she'd made that comment about the jewel. Usually she'd be chatting until she ran out of breath, but now it seemed eerily quiet without her talking. Right now, Hiei was being more talkative than she was.

"Hey, you ok?" A thread of concern entered his voice as he spoke to her gruffly, and Kagome managed a watery smiled, she hadn't quite been crying but she was close to it. It was all her fault. Shippo's parents were dead because she had broken the jewel. So many were suffering because she had decided she would prove her worth to the stupid insufferable hanyou by binding the crow's foot to the arrow.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine." She shivered briefly; it was getting colder as they went farther into the tunnels.

"Kagome, look at me." He was getting slightly annoyed at her lying to him; she was not fine, her voice wavered just from the four little words she had spoken. She obeyed, looking up slowly, and Yusuke resisted smirking. He was right! The urge to smirk left him when he saw how close to crying she was.

He sighed, then asked the age-old question. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. Try that again."

Kagome looked up and blue eyes met determined brown. She sighed in defeat and saw his eyes flash triumphantly. She tried to glare at him, but then just shrugged it off. She could be angry with him later. "The jewel breaking. If I hadn't shot that arrow - "

"Then the crow would have gone around killing people."

"But all these demons with the shards are killing more people than the crow ever could have. And Naraku is hundreds of times more dangerous now that he has so much of the jewel." She trembled slightly and Yusuke glared at her.

"So you should have, what? Let the crow run off with the whole Shikon no Tama? Stop blaming yourself. If you really want to blame something, blame the centipede demon that pulled you down the well in the first place."

Up front Inuyasha's ears were plastered to his head. He should be back there helping here, but in his eagerness to show who was in charge he had placed himself in the front, leading the way in the darkness. He cursed in his mind, but stopped suddenly, sniffing the air. The overall demon smell that the tunnels contained was getting stronger. It smelled like some type of... mole?

"Keh."

Sango looked up questioningly, her and Miroku being right behind Inuyasha. She was in her demon exterminator's outfit, ready for trouble. "Inuyasha?"

"Mole demons. We've been hunting mole demons this whole time. Overly large ones, but, come on! Mole demons!" He seemed bitter about it.

Sango exchanged a glance with Miroku. "Uh, are you sure Inuyasha? Not snakes, or worms? Definitely moles? Because moles usually aren't very power hungry. In fact, they rarely like coming to the surface. And all those holes so close together?" Sango looked up at Inuyasha doubtfully.

"Believe me, its mole demons."

Miroku and Sango exchanged another doubtful glance, then shrugged. They would have to trust his judgment.

Behind them Yusuke narrowed his eyes, wondering what they were talking about. Kagome was looking down at the floor again, but now it was more thoughtful than guilty. Though the cold wasn't helping her think. Who knew it would be so cold underground? And why did she never remember a jacket? Why was she so stupid, and why was there now a dark green jacket around her?

Kagome looked up startled, finding Yusuke was avoiding her gaze. "You were shivering."

"But you'll be cold too!" Kagome was grateful for the jacket, but she didn't want it to be at the price of him getting sick.

"I'll be fine. Besides, by the look of dog-boy up there, I might be able to keep warm with a little fight."

Kagome looked startled, her gaze turning faraway for an instant, then turning to surprise. "You might just be right. I can sense the jewel shard, and it's much closer than before."

Yusuke grinned, tucking his hands into his pockets, determined not to show that he could be cold in his only black shirt and jeans. Not that he was, of course, just that it was possible he could be.

Kagome slid her arms into the sleeves of the jacket, still carrying some warmth from Yusuke. She looked back at him, blushing slightly. "Thank you."

"It was nothing." He looked ahead; grateful that the flashlights were pointed forward so she couldn't see the slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

A sharp growl from the front brought his gaze to Inuyasha, who for an instant glared at him, golden eyes showing that he had not liked what had just taken place. Then his gaze moved on, and Yusuke realized that apparently everyone had noticed what was going on, and he could hear snickering in the background that sounded like Kuwabara. Beside him he could practically feel Kagome's blush.

"Ah, Inuyasha was just telling us there are mole demons ahead. Is the shard nearby Kagome?" Sango looked at Kagome desperately, hoping to head off what might soon become a confrontation if the two boys didn't stop glaring at each other. Botan was giggling. She was the closest to Kagome and Yusuke, and had heard most of what was going on.

Kagome gulped, and realized Inuyasha had stopped glaring at everyone else and was now settled on Yusuke. Yusuke wasn't budging an inch, and was glaring back with as much anger, rivalry, and something else Kagome couldn't name. She frowned. She had seen that look somewhere. It halfway reminded her of the look Inuyasha gave Kouga. She shook herself out of her thoughts and nodded. "It's nearby. Quite close, we should run into them soon."

That brought everyone away from the fascinating spectacle that was the two boys competing for the oblivious girl's attention. Hiei smirked; perhaps there would finally be something worth fighting. Kagome glanced at the flashlights. "Should we turn off the flashlights?"

Kagome's question was directed mostly towards the group from the future, but she also looked to the original shard hunters.

"Keh. There's a bit of light up ahead anyway." Inuyasha nodded towards the end of the tunnel, which there was a slight green glow. At least, to him there was.

"Hn. A plant." Hiei confirmed.

Kurama turned off his flashlight, followed by Kagome and Yusuke. They started forward, Inuyasha's steps becoming silent after the first few that showed he was moving. The humans stumbled about, their eyesight still adjusting, and Yusuke suddenly felt the slight weight of the kit. "You're both too close to the wall. Head forward and slightly to the left, you'll be able to see the glowing stuff soon."

"Thanks kid." Yusuke grinned in the darkness, changing his direction slightly, hearing Kagome beside him do the same.

"Thanks Shippo." Kagome quietly whispered, barely audible to Yusuke, and Yusuke could feel the kid puff up in pride. That's when Yusuke started to see the slightly glowing green light. His pace picked up slightly, and he was sure the others had too, since so far he hadn't bumped into Miroku or Sango.

They stopped at the edge of what looked like a large glowing green cavern. And there was the reason why they hadn't been attacked for trespassing yet. There were about 50 mole demons, most extremely smaller than the tunnels would suggest. And all of them, even the larger ones, and the largest one that looked like it would barely fit in the tunnels, were fast asleep.

"Um... Well, the jewel shards in the big one up there." Kagome pointed towards the demon sleeping on a mound of dirt.

"Why would mole demons need light?" Miroku was frowning, mole demons were mostly blind, and they used their other senses to move around.

"The plant does not just give off light, it also holds moisture, which if one awakens, it could just harvest one of the plants off the wall and drink from it." Kurama was looking at the plant in awe, these had been rare when Yokou was young, and were extinct even in the Makai in present day. Yet, here they were plentiful and looking much healthier than the few he had seen in his youth.

"Ugh. I hate moles." Botan shuddered, and everyone looked at her a bit oddly.

"So, we just get the shard, right? What are they doing, hibernating?" Yusuke ignored Botan as he started to move forward, that big ball of fur didn't look so tough.

Inuyasha snarled wordlessly, bounding in front of the spirit detective. "I'll get it."

"How 'bout we so who can reach it first?" Yusuke smirked, the look in his eyes challenging the hanyou to back down. He could do it perfectly well himself.

"Guys... It would be good if for once we didn't have to get into a fight. If we could get it out without him waking up, then we'll be out of here with a jewel shard with only the effort it takes us to be quiet. Inuyasha? Yusuke?" Kagome felt her anger rising as the two boys slipped off into the maze of created by the demon bodies.

"Fine. I just wonder how they're going to know where the jewel shard is if I'm over here." Kagome glared at the others as various form of amusement came from behind her. The only one who didn't look amused was Hiei, who in the eerie green light looked frightening all in black. Kagome shook her head and turned around to go glaring back at the boys.

Inuyasha had pulled ahead, and was almost to the demon with the shard. He started jumping over bodies, claws digging into the earth as he landed and jumped up again. Unfortunately, a few bounds away from the demon with the shard, his claws dug into the side of something that was definitely not dirt.

The others, with the exception of Hiei, all gave a collective sigh as a mole demon roared in pain, the other's sluggishly beginning to awaken.

"Great job dog-boy!" Could be heard from an amused but angry Yusuke.

"Like you would have done better! At least I was ahead!" Inuyasha snapped back while ripping through a few of the newly awakened demons.

"Like hell! I was just taking a different route!" Yusuke punches filled with spirit energy smashed through the demons, both boys still struggling to be first.

"Keh!" Inuyasha didn't waste anymore breath and took out Tetsusaiga; really starting to fight against the demons that so far seemed to only sluggishly be attempting to attack. That was until he felt heavy claws barely miss him.

"Damn it!" Both boys swore at the same time, both having to dodge multiple claws and teeth.

Hiei grinned, crimson eyes brightening. The demons were finally awakening. He might as well spill some blood; it was getting annoying just standing here. The fire apparition briefly disappeared, reappearing near a few newly sliced demons. Kurama rolled his eyes, taking out a rose.

"Rose Whip!" rang out clearly as thorns tore into the bodies of the closest demons.

Sango and Miroku had immediately taken off, fighting side-by-side, her boomerang slicing through some of the demons while Miroku used his staff to knock away some of the nearer ones.

Shippo was presently staring at the whip in Kurama's hand. "Wow. Cool. I can't do that."

"Why can he do that Shippo, and you can't?" Kagome was letting loose arrows as she asked the question, purifying powers destroying most demons it came into contact with.

"He's a different type. I forget which. I... I didn't pay attention when my mother and father explained as much as I should have." Shippo sounded depressed, and Kagome let loose another few arrows before speaking again.

"Maybe you could ask him what kind he is, and about some of the other types. He seems to enjoy talking to you. What'd he say when you two met? 'A kitsune spirit in a human body'. Ask him about it." She smiled in the semidarkness, knowing he could probably see it.

"Sure! Thanks Kagome, I'll do that later!"

Kurama smiled in the midst of his battle, he could here the kit from where he was. He would enjoy acting as a teacher to the young kitsune. Perhaps he could even get the kit to show him his true form.

Botan had backed out of the way. She had her oar ready if any demons got to close. She just hoped she didn't have to use her healing powers too much. Her grim expression faded as she realized that none of the demons would even make it near her. Even Kuwabara was slicing them up in there with his Spirit sword. And Inuyasha and Yusuke were getting closer to the head mole demon.

Kagome suddenly gasped, feeling the Shikon shards power flare. She looked away from the main battle, seeing the demon with the shard rear up and roar.

"My family! My clan! You will all die!" The mole demon roared out, digging claws slashing toward the two closest, Inuyasha and Yusuke.

With a thud an arrow landed in each paw, another flying towards its eye. Its voice changed from a roar to a squeal of pain, managing to dodge the arrow heading towards its eye.

"The shard is in its right eye!" Kagome yelled out, another arrow flying toward the largest demon.

"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke smirked at the shocked expression on the hanyou's face as the demon fell back, shrieking and clawing at its eye. He saw something fall from its eyes, shining slightly as an arrow passed by it to pierce the demon's torso.

As soon as the demon died under the combined attacks of Yusuke, Inuyasha, and Kagome, the other demons seemed to stagger back as if shocked. And then, surprisingly, all of them turned around and fled out another tunnel.

"Huh! They were all scared of the great Kuwabara!" Everyone glared at Kuwabara, who looked back innocently. Kurama sighed, the whip turning back into a rose, and then he placed it back into his hair.

"Well then. Is anyone hurt?" Botan looked around searchingly. No one gave any indication they were injured. The blue-haired girl gave a sigh of relief.

Kagome smiled at the relief the other girl felt, then turned, walking towards where the shard had dropped to the ground. The glow was dark, but she ignored it, fingers locking around it, feeling the natural purification powers flowing into the shard. It was amazing that she could do this, and it was still hard to feel. It just felt like what she was supposed to do.

"All right everyone, now we've got one more shard. Let's head up to the surface and travel a bit before finding a place to camp, we'll probably still have a bit of daylight left when we go up. Oh yeah, Yusuke, Inuyasha, when we get up to the surface we're going to have a long talk about being reckless." Kagome looked stern for a moment, then turned away after she made sure the what she said hit home.

She practically skipped towards the entrance they had come through. Botan smiled as she walked after her. Yusuke seemed to automatically fall into step next to Kagome. It was sweet, but someone needed to take that girl aside and tell her exactly why the boys had been being reckless. The jacket she was wearing should have been a clue, but apparently not.

Shippo looked on in exasperation. Even he knew they had been fighting because they both liked her. He shrugged, simply jumping to Kagome's shoulder. It's not like they were going anywhere.

Besides, it was sort of fun to see Inuyasha look like a fool.

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