Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Pasts Uncovered	By : FlameWolf666 Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female Views: 4653 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own or profit from Inuyasha. This story is just for fun!

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Author’s Note: I want to make this as... realistic as possible? Means we’re in for the long haul on this one. Will it be worth it? Not sure yet. xD;

Chapter Six: Important Journey (Part 1)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Day 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    To my immense relief, it wasn’t much longer before we landed and began to head in a more northern direction. Maybe, with a bit of luck, we could avoid a confrontation with a certain youkai lord. While he was handsome, he also hated the small group I now travelled with. Inuyasha especially. He saw the hanyou as a blight on his house, among other things. Yet, despite knowing all of this, a large part of me wanted to lay eyes on him at least once. Just to see if he was as handsome in person. Blushing at the direction my thoughts had taken, I forced my focus to the path ahead.
    This trip was to get a weapon I could use in battle. Something I could hopefully fill with my power and attack with. How I would get materials to make said weapon, I had no idea. I had no fangs of my own and it wasn’t exactly something I could ask Inuyasha for. From what I saw in the show, being given a demon’s fang was a massive sign of trust as well as respect. While he was beginning to see me as an asset to the team, I highly doubted his opinion of me had increased that much. The best I could hope for was to get one from a youkai we encountered on the way.
    Looking around at the forest the surrounded us on both sides, I was both relieved and disappointed it was fairly quiet. Not so much as a rustle, let alone any sightings of anything suspicious. It was shaping up to be a rather uneventful trip, which meant I would have little reason to practice my powers. Still, this didn’t mean I was allowed to slack off. I fully intended to do a bit of training tonight just to keep myself in a condition where I would be useful. Even now, I was taking in the foliage, making notes of easily recognized trees. If I got asked to go into the forest for anything, I wanted to be able to find my way back.
    Not to mention the fact that I wanted to keep practicing what I had been taught. If we had to split up for some reason, I had to know where I was going and how to get there. Reaching up to scratch an itchy spot on my neck, I froze when I felt something sitting there. Something very much alive and growing bigger with each suck of my blood. On instinct alone, I smacked it; bringing my hand to my face so I could see what it was. I wasn’t all that shocked with I saw a very flat Myoga on my palm. “Hey guys, we have a stowaway,” I announced, causing the others to stop mid-step.
    In the next second, Inuyasha was in front of me; looking down at my hand. “Oh, that’s just my retainer Myoga the flea. I inherited him from my father. If he’s here it can only mean trouble,” grumbled an annoyed explanation before he was holding out his own hand. Carefully, I tipped the tiny youkai into the offered appendage.
    “I beg your pardon! Your father asked me specifically to see to your welfare and this is how you repay me?” the elderly demon huffed, popping back to normal while crocodile tears rolled down his cheeks.
    “Gee, you must be desperate if you’re putting on such an act. Just tell me who ya pissed off and be done with it,” his hanyou master snarled, not looking the least bit convinced.
    Jolting slightly and obviously caught, Myoga cleared his throat while his tiny mustache twitched. “So cruel...,” he sniffled, lowering his bulbous, bald head. Looking to one side he placed his four arms inside his sleeves, seeming to contemplate his limited options.
    “If you must know... Your half brother is searching for you. He wanted me to give you a message,” came a confession that made my heart stop in my chest.
    Sesshomaru was searching for Inuyasha, a fact that could only mean one thing. He meant to finally claim the sword he thought was his birthright, the Tessaiga. While I harbored a crush for the handsome male, I wasn’t about to allow him to harm my friends. Then again, what could I really do? As it was, my fire attacks wouldn’t be much of a deterrent. “And you came straight to us?!” roared a voice in front of me, bringing me back to reality with a sharp thud.
    “Oh, uh... I guess that is a fair point.... Eh heh,” gulped the flea, covering his head and cowering as he readied himself to be flattened once again.
    Smooshing his retainer, Inuyasha flicked him off into the woods before continuing to lead the way through the forest. “We’ll have to take off again soon. Are ya gonna be ready for that Shippo?” he bit out, ears swiveling to catch even the slightest of sounds. If Sesshomaru was, indeed, on the hunt for his half brother; it would make sense he would follow the flea. Whether in person or via Jaken.
    “I might need a bit more time to recover. I’m only a kid you know,” protested the young kitsune from Kagome’s shoulder. While he had gotten better at holding transformations for longer amounts of time, he still needed quite a bit to recoup the energy he had expended.
    Letting out a soft growl of annoyance that was mixed with worry, he began to move faster. Right now, it was more important that we keep moving until we could fly again. The longer we remained in one place, the easier it would be for our pursuers to find us. Still, some part of me was a bit surprised the headstrong half inu wasn’t heading for a confrontation. From what I knew of him from the anime, he would usually be all too willing to face off with the powerful noble. A fact I wasn’t about to complain about.
    Unfortunately, it was nearly a half hour before Shippo was ready to fly again. While neither Kagome or Inuyasha could sense either Sesshomaru or his little servant, there was still a tense feeling in the air. None of us would feel safe until we were in the air and far away from this place. So, when the young fox was finally able to assume his balloon form; I climbed on and closed my eyes. Ignoring the sickening way my stomach dipped when I felt him rise into the air. In my opinion, we couldn’t reach Totosai soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Day 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    After flying for most of the day, I was all too happy to set down for lunch. Having put many miles between us and Sesshomaru’s pack since yesterday, we all felt a lot more relaxed. Yet, that hadn’t meant we could afford to relax too much. We still had a quest to complete and after that, it was back to shard hunting. Clambering off Shippo, I rummaged around in my backpack for the collapsable, bamboo pole Kagome had given me. Making sure Inuyasha was ready, I headed off into the forest to catch our food.
    Disgruntled, the hanyou followed behind; complaining the entire way. “I won’t have time ta bait yer hook ya know” and “Guess I’ll have ta get the fish off the line too. Whatta pain” were among the most insulting. Biting back my growing need to give him a good chewing out, I decided to just show him instead. After all, actions spoke much louder than words. Especially with someone like Inuyasha. So, sitting beside a calm bank of a nearby river, I pulled out a small bag I had tied loosely to a belt loop in my jeans. Opening the small sack, I picked out a choice nightcrawler; spearing the tiny invertebrate onto my hook with impunity. Swinging out the line tied to the end of the rod, I simply held on and waited.
    Watching the entire show with a slightly shocked expression, a certain half youkai settled beside me with his own pole. Silence passed between us, my eyes stubbornly fixed on the ripples in the still water while my companion began to twitch. Then I felt it, a telltale tug on the line that signified I had a fish. With a swift yank, I set the hook and began to pull in my catch. With a flip of the fin, a sizeable bass jumped out of a water; drawing a small gasp from me despite myself.
    Gritting my teeth, I fought against the fish while Inuyasha watched. In moments, I landed water dweller; picking it up via the gills so I could work the hook free. I couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit satisfied when the arrogant male seemed even more surprised. “I’ve done my fair share of fishing in my time,” I informed, winking at him before refreshing my bait. Scowling slightly, he took my catch from my hand; tying it to a piece of rope he had brought along.
    Smirking, I watched as my pile of fish steadily grew larger while he caught nothing at all. Giving me a rather assessing glance, he shook his head before getting to his feet. Taking this as a signal our day had ended, I followed suit; gathering the rather impressive catch. “I guess ya did pretty good, for a girl,” came a rather schoolyardish, backhanded compliment. Letting out a laugh, I found myself a bit disappointed. Some part of me had expected him to mature just a bit more than he obviously had.
    “Yeah, I’m only bringing home all of the fish. Ya better watch out or I’ll have Kagome sit you when we get back,” I playfully threatened, chuckling harder when he visibly paled and his eyes widened.
    “Y-you wouldn’t really do that, would you?” he whimpered, hunching like a frightened puppy.
    Sighing, I shook my head and grinned before heading back to camp. While I wanted to reassure him, I also wanted to see him grovel just a little after his remarks and insulting apology. Besides, what he didn’t know could help give me a bit of leverage when he wanted to be a jerk later. With how hard it seemed to be for him to just apologize, I knew it would probably happen a lot. Unlike Kagome, I had no real way to defend myself against his verbal jabs. Putting a smile on my face as I entered the clearing where the group was, I handed over the fish to the young miko before taking a seat on my sleeping bag.
    Soon, the smell of fish was filling the air; causing my stomach to give a rather loud reminder I hadn’t eaten much in the rush yesterday. Clearing my throat, I wandered over to Sango to help her clean whatever was left; just wanting to do something with my hands. “Are you alright Jade?” she whispered after a few moments, taking me a bit off guard. Looking up, I met the eyes of the slayer; warm and full of a deep sadness.
    “Just Inuyasha. Despite all the training we’ve done together, he still sees me as nothing more than a weak girl,” I lamented quietly, keeping an eye on Kagome to make sure she wasn’t heading this way. Last thing I wanted was the teen to use the word of subjugation on my behalf, despite threatening the hanyou that I would do just that.
    “Do not take it too much to heart. He is not the easiest person to get along with at first. It takes him some time to warm up to you, to trust you. I imagine its because of all those years he had to live in the wilderness alone,” came an explanation I didn’t need. Not that Sango knew that.
    “I kind of figured that from how he was acting. Still, doesn’t mean the words don’t hurt,” I replied, looking up to see said half-breed shooting me occasional, guilty glances.
    “I imagine he feels terrible about it but just doesn’t know how to apologize. I’ve lived him with a while now and have gotten familiar with his various personality quirks,” the Taijiya continued, smiling slightly as we finished scaling and gutting the last of the fish.
    Setting the speared catch near the rim of the fire, I took a seat near Kagome and Shippo; blatantly ignoring a twitching Inuyasha. Sensing something was up, the sixteen year old to my right stared at me while I picked out one of the fish that had already been cooked. “What did ‘Yasha do to you,” whispered in my ear as she leaned closer to prevent herself from being heard. Unfortunately, her words didn’t escape a certain half dog; his figure hunching slightly.
    “It wasn’t all that terrible. Besides, I think we can sort it out ourselves,” I deflected before taking a bite of the baked fish. To my surprise, I liked it much better than I thought I would.
    Nibbling around the tiny bones and spitting out the ones that got in my mouth, I began to notice a certain crimson clad male inching his way ever closer to where I was sitting. Kagome seemed to have seen him too, taking another fish and heading off to talk to Sango for a bit. Ignoring his presence for the time being, I took another of the speared fish and began to eat. “I... didn’t mean what I said earlier. You’ve made a good addition to the group so far and you didn’t deserve to be spoken to like that,” grumbled a mid-tone to my left, the suddenness coming close to making me jump out of my skin.
    Fighting the urge to stare at the proud half youkai, I swallowed my mouthful before responding. “Thanks for that. I’m not some useless bimbo you know and what you said... Still, I forgive you. Just don’t do it again,” sighed out of me, silence stretching between us for an uncomfortable amount of time. After a few moments, I slowly got to my feet to begin setting out my sleeping bag. Curling up in the warm depths, I smiled at how like a young boy the hanyou was. Unsure of how to apologize or even what to do once everything was said and done. All in all, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold anything against him for too long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Day 3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    As we travelled on foot for the time being, Sango and Kagome began pointing out the local plants to help me with my survival training. They knew which ones were poisonous and which ones could help heal illness. With my healing powers still developing, such knowledge would be very helpful. The best I could do was heal superficial cuts and even that exhausted me, draining me of energy for hours after. To be honest, it was more than a little discouraging. The fire magic had come easier.
    Staring up at the trees I now knew were various pines, Ginkgo trees and cherry trees, I began to feel my mood lift. I was retaining the information, a huge plus in my book. Still, herbs were a bit different than trees. There were so many and they all had such wildly varying effects. It was making my head swim trying to keep up with it all. More than likely, I would have to go to either Sango or Kagome to identify anything I found until I got the hang of it.
    Letting out a sigh, I forced away my feelings of inadequacy. I wasn’t superhuman after all. It would take anyone a fair amount of time to get a handle on this. Feeling a tug on my pants, I looked down to see Shippo staring up at me with wide, green eyes. Leaning down to see what he wanted, I was more than a bit shocked when he hopped on my shoulder. Making sure he was settled, I carefully straightened and continued to move forward; lagging just a bit behind the others.
    From my vantage point I could see the various pairs of the group, making me feel happy and lonely at the same time. Sango and Miroku seemed to have long moved past whatever misunderstandings they had in the anime, sharing a comfort with eachother most people could only envy. Even when he flirted with other women, it never had any real intent to it. It seemed to be more part of a bizarre ritual that was oddly sacred to the pair. Then there was Kagome and Inuyasha. They were still learning to trust one another while being bound together by both past and desire.
    Every day, the hanyou seemed to let the teen just a bit further past his thorny defenses; his eyes shining a deep honey amber whenever he looked at her. The only problem was Kikyou. Although I hadn’t been here for very long, I could tell the undead priestess hung over the pair like a funeral cowl. “Ya know, you smell a lot different than Kagome,” murmured a scratchy voice in my ear, bringing me back to the here and now with a slam.
    “I don’t know how either... Its weird,” the kitsune continued, a slightly suspicious note to his young voice.
    Turning my head so I could look at him, I was startled to see his green eyes boring right into me. Almost like he was trying to see into my very soul. After a few, disconcerting moments, he simply shook his head with a grin. “Oh well, I guess that doesn’t really matter. You seem like a good person,” he declared before moving to a perch on my head.
    “Glad you think so. Last thing I want to do is hurt any of you,” I replied, my heart dipping when I saw Inuyasha crouch so Kagome could hop onto his back.
    “Aw gee, and I was just getting comfy,” came a good natured complaint before the fox youkai was hopping off me to transform.
    Staring at the goofy, pink balloon that floated a few inches above the ground, I swallowed the reluctance I felt and clambered onto his squishy surface. Hunching down, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes; doing my best to ignore the feeling of rising into the air. As long as I didn’t see just how high up we were, I could convince myself we were just traveling along the road. “Won’t be much longer Jade! Just a few more days,” encouraged the voice of Miroku, not filling me with any amount of confidence.
    “All I ask is you throw up over the side. The smell is really difficult to get out of the fur,” Shippo added in, drawing a groan from me as a shaky feeling began to fill my limbs.
    Sooner or later, I would have to get used to this. For now, I was just grateful I hadn’t passed out or vomited. Breathing slowly to steady my racing heart, I prayed it wouldn’t be too long before we set down again; despite the fact I knew we would be in the air for hours. Having the hope it would be sooner helped keep me calm. Still, I forced myself to open my eyes the tiniest sliver. I knew I would regret it but I had to force myself to get past my fear somehow. What better way than to admire the scenery from the back of a very safe mode of transportation.
    Craning my head slightly, I took in the blur of trees below. While it was gorgeous, it instantly filled me with nausea and made me feel incredibly dizzy. Images of my fall from the cliff filled my head as I clamped my eyes shut once more, biting the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t pass out. I was more than safe and, even if I fell, Inuyasha would make sure nothing happened to me. Letting out a quiet moan, I simply held on and forced everything else to the back of my mind. All I wanted to do was make it to our next destination without fainting. A feat that was seeming harder and harder to accomplish.
    After what seemed like an eternity, I felt the blessed sensation of being lowered. As soon as Shippo stopped, I was opening my eyes and sliding off; all too happy to feel solid ground under my feet. “What would ya say about boar for dinner?” Inuyasha declared, making my stomach lurch. Despite being hungry, I would need some time to recover from the flight before I could eat. There was also the fact I would be expected to participate in the cleaning of said animal, a rather bloody task. Still, I wasn’t in a position to argue; so I nodded when all the others voiced their eagerness.
    A few moments after we had finished up setting up a cooking fire, the hanyou was plopping a huge, dead, fur covered pig at the edge of the camp. Grimacing at the amount of work, I moved toward the kill with Sango and Kagome. Slicing open the belly, the teen removed the steaming guts while I slit the throat; the smell of blood coating the back of my throat. Spitting out the metallic taste, I moved to help the slayer with the ropes on the hind feet. With some teamwork, we managed to suspend the massive animal from a thick branch; the blood pattering onto the grass below.
    While gruesome, it was not something I was unused to. My own family went hunting a lot and I had been taught how to dress a deer a long time ago. Taking the entrails, Inuyasha went off into the forest to hopefully bury them. The other alternative honestly made me shudder and was better off not thought on. Grabbing a skinning knife from Sango, I instead got to work on removing the tough, furry hide while the blood drained. Between the three of us, we had the meat ready for cooking in a matter of hours.
    Watching steam roll off the browning meat on the rotisserie, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. Some of the skills I had learned before I had been blown here were coming in handy. Utterly pleased I sat back and waited for Inuyasha, Shippo and Kagome to take their shares. Taking my own, I chewed the surprisingly juicy meet as I looked up at the stars. When I was able to recognize more than a few of the constellations I felt a real sense of homecoming. Its like a puzzle piece fitting into the perfect spot, leaving a sense of satisfaction. Smiling, I couldn’t help but believe I would really be alright; no matter what happened.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Pasts Uncovered