As we live on,
we lose a little bit more.
Shrouded in falsehoods and lies, we stand frozen to the spot, unable to cry out.
- Deep Forest by Do As Infinity
Chapter 5: Between the Dust and the Silence
Weeks of traveling with very few breaks in between had taken its toll on the group, but they pushed on, urged forward by their irate hanyou friend who argued that the faster they moved the closer they would get to finding Naraku. There was no convincing him otherwise, despite how many times Kagome and the rest of the group tried.
They were getting close, he could smell him, Inuyasha contended.
And so they followed, fighting stray demons that came after the Shikon shards Kagome carried along the way, always on edge, waiting to stumble across something, anything.
As usual it wasn't they who found Naraku, it was he who found them.
Kagome had known something was wrong when the first few youkai that had ambushed their makeshift campsite were followed by another small wave of demons. From there, it only got worse.
At some point during their battle Naraku had appeared, shedding his bamboo pelt after instigating a fight with Inuyasha. With a flick of her wrist and a twitch of her fingers she let another arrow fly into a group of youkai charging in hers and Shippou's direction, the tip of the arrow burning a bright pink as it sped towards the demons, obliterating them on contact. Without hesitation she drew another arrow and notched it on her bow, turning towards another group of youkai close by.
"Kagome!"
Cobalt blue orbs turned in the direction of her name, widening slightly when she saw the bear demon before her, claws frozen mid-stretch as they reached for her before they collapsed to the ground around the large blade that had dispatched them. She followed the blade up to the hanyou that held it, meeting his amber gaze.
"Pay attention would ya?" he spat, turning to deflect offending tentacles that had shot in their direction.
Kagome's eyes narrowed in response. "I was doing just fine without you!" she argued, letting another arrow fly.
"Doin' just fine gettin' yourself killed!"
She met his glare, opening her mouth to respond, but the words never came. Before they could slip past the tip of her tongue, blood had splattered across the front of her, warm droplets hitting her face. Her breath hitched at the feeling.
Blue eyes slowly moved from the widened amber of her friend's down from his face to his abdomen, where three large tentacles protruded from his chest like twisted, living blades.
"I-Inuyasha…?"
Suddenly, a flash of white caught her attention as a long narrow blade sliced through the tentacles immobilizing her friend. She moved quickly to catch the hanyou clad in red as he stumbled forward.
Glancing up, she met the golden gaze of the taiyoukai next to her for a moment before he turned his attention back to the evil hanyou before them. Kagome tucked her friend's head against her chest protectively as he raised the Toukijin to strike.
The attack that followed sent debris flying everywhere. She pressed her face into the red haori her fingers clutched and clenched her eyes shut.
How often had she and Inuyasha been on the receiving end of that attack? She didn't care to count.
Only when the debris stopped falling did she look up again. The clearing was completely void of the youkai that had been there just seconds before, only dust and scattered limbs remained.
"It's a puppet." She heard Miroku say as the staff of his shakoju sent the wooden figurine flying across the dirt.
Kagome didn't respond, only turning her eyes up to the taiyoukai that remained in front of her as he sheathed his sword. His rich, golden eyes met hers for a moment before he walked away, every movement graceful and smooth as he disappeared into the trees.
She ignored the way her heart thundered in her ears and turned her attention to the hanyou laying in her lap when he groaned in pain.
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Vocabulary: hanyou – half demon, youkai – demon, Taiyoukai – demon lord, shakoju – Miroku's staff like weapon, Toukijin – one of Sesshomaru's swords
A/N: 643 words. Please leave a comment? Thanks for reading! –halcyondays
