Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Traveler Meets Spirit Detective ❯ Chapter 15 ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho
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Chapter 15 - Souls and Sins

The group of travelers walked blearily along the rough road, blinking in the early morning light. Kagome was presently attempting to glare at Inuyasha. "Why are we up so early this time? And without breakfast, too. No one sensed any demons about."

Inuyasha ignored Kagome's grumbling and twitched his ears, appearing nervous about something. Yusuke tried a different tactic. "Why the hell are you dragging us out here before the owls have even started going to sleep you moron?"

This time Inuyasha did stop briefly to stare at Yusuke before snorting and shaking his head, moving along swiftly in the trees. The only one really awake was Hiei, but if he had even slept was anyone's guess. Even Kurama seemed weary, and Kagome was plodding along with the weight of her oversized backpack and two small creatures that seemed determined not to wake up. Well, Puu was awake, but he didn't appear to want to move off of Kagome's shoulder Finally Kagome blinked and waved Yusuke over. "Can you take him? He's yours after all, and I swear Shippo weighs ten times more when he sleeps than when he's awake."

Yusuke shrugged and grabbed Puu sleepily. Puu made a sound of protest but Yusuke ignored it and stared at Kagome. "Why don't you just wake him up? Or give him to someone else, you're carrying most of what we're going to eat anyway. Or," he amended while remembering Inuyasha going hunting, "what any of us really want to eat."

"Hey, there weren't any deer nearby! And the demon didn't taste that bad!" Inuyasha protested. Kagome snorted but made no comment, letting the boys wake themselves up with a traditional morning argument. She made her way up to Sango and Botan, yawning as she did.

"Hi Kagome! Nice morning isn't it?" Botan said cheerily. The happy and awake attitude was ruined when Botan yawned and then narrowed her eyes towards the inu hanyou angrily. "Is he ever going to tell us why we're up so early?"

"Probably not," Sango said, feeling a bit tired but more awake than the other two girls who hadn't been used to being woken up at all hours of the morning or night for sudden bouts of training or battles.

"Inuyasha might tell us eventually. Odds on that it has something to do with Kikyou, hands up." Kagome raised her own hand as she finished speaking, followed by Sango. Botan shrugged at their offended looks. "I wouldn't know, I've never seen how he acts about Kikyou. It just seems secretive to me."

"Which usually means Kikyou. On the other hand, she has remnants of my soul, and I've gotten a lot better at sensing out of the ordinary things. Shouldn't I be able to sense her?" Kagome questioned with a frown. Botan and Sango shrugged, Botan smiling when Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Well, I'm sure eventually Inuyasha will tell us what's going on." Sango said. Kagome looked about to answer before she stiffened slightly, looking off to the woods to their left. Everyone else had stopped too, and an enraged growl was heard from Inuyasha.

"Hey, a good fight in the morning should wake me up. How many demons do you think they'll be?" Yusuke asked, already grinning in anticipation. Kagome wanted to smile at Yusuke's reaction to the darkness approaching, except she could see from Inuyasha's reaction that this wasn't an ordinary pack of demons.

She was proved right when countless low level demons swarmed out from the trees, but instead of attacking stopped, a man in a baboon suit following them, an evil chuckle filling the air. "Only a puppet I believe," Miroku murmured.

The hood of the baboon suit nodded gleefully. "Too true, but with the demon's at my back, I can't help but think you should all be worried. Even with your new friends."

"What do you want Naraku? And please don't say shards, your traps for getting them are put together much better than this. You enjoy manipulating people, and since no ones trying to stab each other in the back right now, there is something else going on. Unless you've simply lost your touch." Kagome's speech was a trifle mocking, but the anger was clear in her voice as she put Shippo down, quickly waking him and notching an arrow without taking her eyes off the scores of demons and the puppet.

"Oh, I don't want much little copy. I just want to return the original to her full glory." There was a puzzled silence among the Spirit Detectives as Kagome choked back a gasp and Miroku and Sango both stepped closer to Kagome protectively. Inuyasha's growls suddenly cut off while a tiny snarl came from the suddenly wide-awake Shippo.

Even as what Kagome had told him came back to Yusuke, Kagome was shaking her head. "I may be her reincarnation, but how would you plan to get my soul to her even if you did manage to kill me? You aren't thinking ahead Naraku, you really are..." Kagome trailed off as she stared in horrified fascination at the white soul collector floating around Naraku.

Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head and he was speaking before he realized the others could hear him perfectly well. "So it’s true. She managed to scatter some of your shards and you captured her and made a deal. She'd help collect shards if you got her soul back."

Inuyasha was too caught up in denial and disbelief to notice the sudden anger of his companions at this little tidbit. Then Inuyasha snarled. "She'd just turn around and kill you. You can't possibly think she'd keep her word."

Kagome's eyes sapphire eyes were wide as she looked between Naraku and Inuyasha, then at the soul collector. Her look was contemplative even as Naraku began laughing again. "What, no words of protection for this little miko? I suppose you want the real one back as much as I, don't you, it doesn't matter if this shell dies, it just houses the soul in your opinion, does it not?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he realized what Naraku was trying to say and Tetsusaiga was out in an instant. "Kikyou and Kagome are different people. Kikyou is not Kagome, and Kagome is not simply a shell for Kikyou's soul!"

"Then why did you not tell your friends about what you'd heard? Perhaps you wanted her soul to be taken back to Kikyou." For the original shard hunters' group, despite the painful blows that Naraku dealt upon them, they knew their faults and could rise above them. Yusuke on the other hand, had no earlier dealings with Naraku, and what he'd heard about the triangle between the undead miko, Kagome, and Inuyasha was fitting right into what Naraku was saying.

Kagome winced as she felt Yusuke's spirit energy rising with his anger, and Inuyasha's despair was clear for an instant as Kagome looked back at him. She shook her head and whispered, "I don't believe him Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's eyes almost glowed when the words reached him, but he wasn't the only one who heard them, and Naraku sneered at the little display of warm emotions. "Don't you? Well, lets get back to the subject at hand. I'm surprised you haven't attacked me yet. But then again, what would be the point? You'd never hear the message that way. You know, miko, there are other things I could give up to get your soul. The exterminator's little brother for instance."

Before the doubt had any more time to fill Kagome's head, Sango had already thrown her boomerang into the mass of demons, eyes filled with rage. "Don’t you dare try to use my brother against my friends!"

That attack had apparently been a signal as Tetsusaiga was lashing out with attack after attack, the demons falling swiftly under the blade. Miroku briefly glanced up only to see the expected poisonous insects and he began lashing out with his staff. The Spirit Detectives were just as active, twin swords lashing out from Kuwabara's hand and Hiei slashing through dozens of demons at a time. Kurama's rose whip lashed out to clean up demons the others left behind as Yusuke forged on ahead, attacking with fists and Shotgun.

Kagome's arrows were busy flying into the mass of demons as the demons fought back with tooth and claw, but her angry gaze stayed on Naraku's puppet much of the time. She ducked and rolled beneath a demon that had gotten past her arrows and the others' attacks, but it was surprisingly taken care of by foxfire and Kirara's teeth. Kagome briefly smiled her thanks at them before going back to the battle, slowly getting closer to the puppet. Suddenly, the puppet was gone and another wave of demons spread out on the battlefield. Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga to unleash another one of the countless Kaze no Kizu's he had unleashed in the last few minutes before realizing he could not for fear of hitting Kagome, who was the only one on the far end of the battle field right now. The demons spread right out between her and the others.

Inuyasha's howl of fury and Yusuke's curses probably could have been heard half way across Japan. Yusuke glared at the demons in front of him and shook his head. "This is getting so damn ANNOYING! SPIRIT WAVE!"

Inuyasha actually froze as the blue energy turned the demons in front of him to ashes and the puppet showed through the now cleared way. Sango cried out involuntarily at the sight of one of the puppets brown tendrils going through Kagome's shoulder. Kagome's eyes were panicked as Naraku laughed cruelly. Two equally stubborn shouts of "No!" were too late as the puppet thrust out more tendrils. They never managed to reach Kagome.

Kagome's desperation lent her strength, and once again she found herself diving into the stores of her miko powers. She pushed them out, the hand from her uninjured shoulder was placed on the tendril injuring her as miko power spread from her hand, and if the glow around the red substance was any clue, from her blood too. Kagome watched in surprise as the puppet screeched, but its eyes showed surprise and then laughter at the show of power. "He wasn't the only one keeping secrets I see," it said as it disappeared.

Kagome stared blindly at the empty space before turning towards the group, grimacing as the pain in her shoulder shot through her body, blood flowing from the wound freely now that the object injuring her had been removed, mixed with the drain of her miko powers. She managed to make a step before sighing and accepting the black curtain welcoming her into unconsciousness, either not hearing or ignoring the desperate shouts of her name.

Yusuke reached Kagome slightly before Inuyasha, scooping her up and cradling her as he glared at the group. "She needs rest. Remember how much she slept after she drained herself the last time? She's wounded this time to, we need to make camp."

Everyone scattered to find camp except for Botan and Sango, both worried about their friend, and in Botan's case, both her friends by the look in Yusuke's eyes. "Yusuke, while they find camp, why don't I heal her wound? It will drain me a bit with an injury like that, but-"

"Do it." Yusuke had already lowered Kagome to the ground and Sango was shocked to see golden light flowing from Botan into Kagome. "That's a neat trick," she murmured.

Yusuke said nothing, simply picked up Kagome's backpack and quiver and bow, glancing around for Puu and Shippo, who had disappeared in the commotion. Puu had taken refuge in a tree, while Shippo suddenly came running from the underbrush, exclaiming, "I found it! There's stream and a hot spring, both in walking distance, a few trees, and plenty of camp space. And it's less than a mile away!"

The three followed the kit across the woods, Sango carrying Kagome now that Yusuke had gathered her things. Botan shook her head slightly at the sudden energy loss healing had caused her, but followed along after them. After all, the powers were part of the assistant package, and healing that wound had been nothing compared to trying to stop Keiko from transforming a demon the first time they'd met Hiei.

"Nice clearing Shippo," Yusuke commented quietly, placing Kagome's backpack, her weapon, and his own much smaller backpack on the ground. He retrieved Kagome sleeping bag and set it down in the middle of the clearing, relatively near where he thought the fire would be when they built it, but as far away from the trees as he could without making it too obvious. He was going to have a talk with dog-boy later on, after he made sure Kagome was ok.

The others made their way over to the camp space slowly, Miroku first, then Kuwabara following behind Kurama. Surprisingly, Hiei was almost last, but it went unmentioned as they waited for Inuyasha to join him. They continued waiting long after Hiei returned until finally the inu hanyou showed up, looking frustrated and muttering to himself. Shippo quickly looked to see Yusuke's expression and decided there was only one safe place right now.

Shippo joined Puu in the place of safety, though by Puu's agitated state, Shippo decided he'd be all alone with the unconscious Kagome soon. Shippo wiggled his way into the sleeping bag, nuzzling Kagome worriedly, letting out his relief in a smile at what he sensed. Her heart rate was a little off, but Botan had done a good job healing her and she didn't smell sick. She was just tired. Satisfied at his own find, Shippo curled into a small ball, falling asleep, ignoring the tense atmosphere outside the sleeping bag.

Inuyasha glared as everyone's eyes were fixed on his. Finally, he gave an angry growl and muttered, "Lost the soul collector's trail. The damn thing moves fast when it wants to. The insects are gone too."

"Inuyasha...you knew Naraku wanted Kagome's soul before he came. Why didn't you say anything?" Sango asked, her eyes flickering with conflicting emotions. She knew that Naraku twisted things around to destroy the trust between the group, but there was usually a thread of truth in what he said.

"There was nothing to say. It was all just a rumor. Kikyou would never-" Inuyasha started, before he was interrupted by an irate Spirit Detective. "Except she did, didn't she?"

Inuyasha growled at the question, baring sharp fangs at Yusuke. Yusuke shook his head then began to walk out of the clearing. "I think we need a talk dog-boy." When Yusuke didn't sense the hanyou following him, he used calmly called over his shoulder, "Come Inuyasha."

At the dog-like command Inuyasha bristled, glaring at the boy still walking away. "Hey, you can't just tell me what to do."

Yusuke kept walking and Inuyasha cursed, jumping after the teenager, ears flattened to his skull. "Damnit, I'm not your pet for you to call!"

Inuyasha continued following Yusuke, snarling as the boy didn't answer. Finally he jumped in front of him and bared his fangs again. "Hey! Are you listening to me? I said I'm not a fuckin' pet!"

Yusuke smirked at the hanyou, though his eyes were still narrowed angrily. "Then why did you follow when I told you to?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened and the half demon curled his clawed hands into fists. "You bastard! Name one reason why I shouldn't beat the stuffing out of you and drop you down the well before Kagome wakes up?"

Yusuke sneered at Inuyasha. "I'm surprised you can even mention Kagome's name after that little scene. You almost got her killed!"

"Me! What the hell are you talking about? It was Naraku's puppet that wounded her!"

"Really, and who as it who didn't warn anyone of the danger ahead of time. Don't you think Kagome has the right to know when her soul is in danger? Or did you just hope you could let Naraku kill her and free yourself of responsibility while also getting your undead lover back?" Yusuke swiftly dodged the claws that appeared, faintly surprised. He would have though the hanyou would have at least had enough self-control to use his fists.

"You know nothing about this! You think you can just come here and join the hunt for Naraku? You think he and the jewel are just another of those missions you talk about? You know nothing! I would never put Kagome in danger!" Inuyasha was surprised when his own feet were taken out from under him and he caught himself, flipping onto his feet and jumping away. Neither boy approached the other.

"You just did you moron! Hell, you put Kagome in danger the moment you met her!" Yusuke heard the growl that Inuyasha was emitting, and he was sure everyone in the forest could probably hear it. It didn't matter. Inuyasha had almost gotten Kagome killed. If she hadn't been practicing with her powers lately, she'd be dead.

"And when our quest is over, who'll be putting Kagome in danger then?"

"What are you talking about dog-boy?"

"The jewel, didn't your boss want it? Its Kagome's job to guard it. If your boss wants the jewel, it's probably for the wrong reasons. Then you'll be fighting her. Who'll be there to save her then?" Inuyasha smirked, prepared for the flicker of doubt that Yusuke was sure to show. It never came. Yusuke shrugged it off.

"Me. I doubt Koenma would want for anything like Naraku, or even you want it for, but if he did, I'd protect her anyway. You wouldn't even be able to know if she was in danger. We already know which time she's going to choose, and it's not yours." Inuyasha knew the implied statement in that, and in everything they'd been saying about the full jewel. For their boss to go after the jewel, she'd have to be in her time. Permanently.

Yusuke dodged to one side as the hanyou attacked recklessly, sending his own punch toward Inuyasha. Inuyasha attempted to dodge and mostly succeeded, but even that glancing blow sent a shot of pain through him. Inuyasha saw the blue glow enveloping the other boy and narrowed his eyes. "If we're going to be that way, Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"

Yusuke's eyes widened at the point blank attack, and dodged, feeling one half of the attack rip into his shoulder. "Shit! Damnit, Spirit Gun!"

Inuyasha was thrown back into a nearby tree, the fire rat coat not being able to protect him from a point blank spirit gun, even if Yusuke was making sure their wasn't enough energy to kill. Inuyasha almost laughed as he felt the sudden spike from the clearing, meaning the other had realized that all the power flickering about was coming from them. Yusuke mostly. Inuyasha growled, glaring at the useless Tetsusaiga by his side. Then he jumped up, another claw attack going forth as Inuyasha rushed forward in the wake of his attack, hoping to catch the other boy unawares.

Except Yusuke wasn't there anymore, and Inuyasha was suddenly kicked forward towards the ground. "Tricks don't usually work more than once on me dog-boy."

Inuyasha snarled and kicked out at the human boy before flipping himself to his feet. Yusuke was still standing, hands curled into fists at his side, waiting for the hanyou to get up.

The two didn't bother with their long-range attacks anymore, as it had already been proved Yusuke had the advantage there. Unfortunately, while Inuyasha had his natural half demon strength, Yusuke's fists were filled with blue crackling spirit energy, and even as the rest of the group arrived it was clear neither of them were going to give up any time soon.

"Without being able to pull out any real weapons, neither have the advantage," Miroku commented. Kurama shook his head in disagreement. "Not true. Yusuke has the advantage because he is strong to begin with and using spirit energy gives him the advantage. Not that it matters in the long run, this fight is senseless and only succeeds in making them easier pray for our enemies.

Inuyasha was getting fed up. Why didn't he just stop, this was his time, and his quest, and he'd seen Kagome first! Finally Inuyasha stopped being nice and began swiping with his claws, feeling himself slowing down from the fight. In return, he was thrown back with another Spirit Gun. Inuyasha understood, every time he used anything extra, Yusuke met him with equal, if not more force. Inuyasha snarled and got up awkwardly.

Botan narrowed her eyes as the Spirit Gun sent Inuyasha flying. She exchanged a glance with Sango. Sango seemed to understand and both girls walked into the boys’ path, Botan facing Yusuke and Sango facing Inuyasha. "I think that's enough you two."

"Botan's right, couldn't you have just stuck with talking instead of having to attempt to kill each other?" Sango asked. Inuyasha glared at her, but Sango noticed the way he held himself, the slight tensing that showed he was in pain. They'd definitely done a number on each other.

The two girls dragged the boys back to camp, Sango almost literally having to drag Inuyasha when he attempted to jump into a tree and fell short, to surprised to even attempt to catch himself. He glared at Yusuke. The bruised and slightly bloody boy shrugged one shoulder, careful not to move the one that Inuyasha had hit with his first claw attack. Inuyasha winced but struggled back to his feet. Considering his pride was already hurt, Inuyasha allowed himself to lean on Sango. Besides, it gave him free time to glare at Yusuke.

The group entered the clearing, most still staring disapprovingly at the two boys. Everyone stopped as they entered the clearing, everyone sensing something was wrong, but no one seeing what it was.

"Puu!" came the sound of the desperate spirit beast. "Puu, Puu!" Yusuke stared as Puu flapped around his head, at first thinking that perhaps him and Inuyasha fighting had a bad effect on him. Until Puu swept across the clearing onto Kagome's empty sleeping bag. Sango stopped supporting Inuyasha immediately and was across the clearing instantly, closely followed by the rest of the uninjured, then Yusuke, and finally a surprised and worried Inuyasha.

Both boys backed away when the girls struggled back out of the group, and Inuyasha had the briefly insane thought that they could scare anything with that look. "What happened to Kagome?" Yusuke asked. This caused both girls to focus their anger on him. "She's not here you moron!"

"I smell the wolf," Inuyasha growled out. Sango turned on him now. "Oh, and you couldn't have sniffed that out before you two tried to kill each other? If we hadn't been so busy trying to make sure you two weren't ripping each other to shreds, which you were trying to do, then you probably wouldn't be smelling him, would you?"

"Are you saying this is our fault?" Inuyasha asked incredulously. Yusuke flinched; he'd already accepted that. Inuyasha probably had too, he just wouldn't admit it.

"Yes!" was the unanimous answer.

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Thank you to katiepatie, Hieis_Mate, solqua unlogged, and random reviewer for reviewing.

natsumi tsuchi-ookami: That's alright. Someday I'll go over the story again and maybe I'll see it then.