A/N: I know, I know, it's been a long time. Due in part mostly to a new job that I hate, my computer dying that took a month to repair, Final Fantasy X-2 being released, and other things that contributed to the general problem of not being able to write. So I sat down yesterday and tried to fight the mind block in my foggy brain and this is the result. I hope it's worth the wait. Thanks for the reviews everyone. Oh, I must add a note about the pairings. I'm sure there are some who will think this chapter is an indication of Kurama/Sango. It's not. I merely wanted to bring in poor Sango's thoughts, I've neglected her. Enjoy.
And I give up trying to think of chapter names. So henceforth the chapters will just be 'Chapter 9' and so on. I'm lazy like that.
The sun was at high noon, a beautiful day, as Sango noted to herself. Six days had passed since the beginning of their journey, and already the atmosphere was much lighter. During the first couple of days, she really hadn’t trusted the two new people at all. She was not quick to trust anyone, let alone people who just came out of nowhere and practically invited themselves to join their group. Not to mention they had a jewel shard, and hadn’t seemed in much of a hurry to contribute to the general cause. She didn’t even know if they still knew the general cause…they just knew some guy named Naraku had the shards. At least that was what Kuwabara had said.
But they had eventually proved themselves useful in combat. Kuwabara’s light sword and Kurama’s skill with the ‘rose whip’ and plants were very impressive. Being a warrior she could not help but be interested in their different styles of fighting. They also worked as a team, and did not leave the rest of the group members unprotected. Both were quick to act if one of the other team members needed aid. Little by little, her trust in them was building, at least on the battlefield. She was starting to feel more at ease around them otherwise.
But she still could not stop herself from worrying about the other group. The one boy, Yusuke, seemed as reckless and arrogant as Inuyasha. The small fire demon, Hiei, looked like an explosion waiting to happen. His eyes, especially, looked dangerous. His small height made him less imposing but Sango knew that appearances were deceiving. He was quick and an agile fighter, she could tell. And she was certain he didn’t miss even the slightest detail. Sango hoped that even Inuyasha wouldn’t be taken by surprise should Hiei turn against them.
As of late she had been thinking about how much things had changed. Even before the new group of people had come, she had been wondering how things had ended up this way. All her life she had fought against demons and after the destruction of her village and the murder of her father and family, she found herself traveling with not one but two demons. Granted Shippou was a child, but he was still a demon. Inuyasha had proven himself trustworthy, which had shaken her belief system dramatically. Believing in her own heart that all demons were evil, she had dealt with her doubts and finally decided that she could trust Inuyasha…but not completely. Never completely. She was always on her guard no matter what. Sometimes even humans weren’t trustworthy, especially that perverted monk.
Did that mean they were her friends? Maybe, though the idea still made her a bit hesitant. Kagome was a friend. Miroku was annoying, though she had to fight to ignore the slight rush of heat in her cheeks whenever she caught him doing seemingly innocent things like just looking at her. Shippou was cute, though a little bit evil in his own way. Inuyasha had issues, and she didn’t think he was very stable. It was because of that that Sango had a hard time truly relaxing around him. She had no problem admiring his strength and determination and she did not doubt that he meant well for the most part.
Though now she was no longer traveling with him. Shippou continued to tag along, but in place of Inuyasha was a new demon…in human form. This boy looked completely human, but had confirmed that he was full demon. He had confirmed this again during battle. He fought viciously, without mercy. But even so, his face remained a sea of calm. He was poised, refined, reasonable, and perhaps even…wise.
Sango was intrigued despite her misgivings.
Kurama had also said few words since the journey began and his face looked troubled at times. She still remembered the interest he’d had in Kikyou when they briefly discussed Inuyasha’s past. She wondered if maybe he knew Kikyou. Sango personally thought Kikyou was bad news. The dead needed to stay dead, and she wished Inuyasha would find it in his heart to put the dead priestess to rest. But Kurama had had a terrible, haunted look in his eyes when he asked about her, as though he had encountered her in a not-so-pleasant way before. Could that have even been possible, since he’d come from Kagome’s world? Sango was confused as to how he could have done that or what business he had with Kikyou.
She didn’t even know why she was thinking about someone she didn’t even know.
In fact, she had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn’t notice the strange smell in the air until Kurama mentioned it.
“I smell something burning,” he announced.
She sniffed the air and grimaced. “Smoke. Not too far off.”
“And blood,” Kurama added. “The smell of burning flesh.”
Miroku sighed, and caught Sango’s look before shaking his head sadly. “No doubt a battle has been fought near here. It would be merciful to put the souls to rest. What do you think, Sango?”
Kuwabara interrupted before she could reply. “A battle? Is there a war going on?”
Kurama shook his head wearily and said, “Kuwabara, you do remember where we’re at right? This is Japan…during the Feudal Era. Did you ever pay attention during history class?”
He frowned. “No…but I’m guessing the Feudal Era means a lot of fighting.”
“Indeed,” Miroku spoke up. “You’re bound to see a lot of it. There’s a lot of power to be gained when things are out of control and anyone will do anything to get control.”
Sango nodded in agreement and decided to end the uncomfortable conversation by walking towards the smell. “At any rate,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.” The rest followed. Kuwabara didn’t look happy about the idea of viewing a bloody battle, but he followed anyway.
***
“Not a battle,” Kurama said quietly as they stood at the top of the hill, looking down upon the destruction. An entire village, destroyed. For the most part the fire had died, but it didn’t look like there were any survivors.
No survivors. Hadn’t that been his rule once upon a time? The ruthless killer and the destructive thief within him would have been pleased with this chaotic display. Youko Kurama would have taken a giant whiff of the air and sighed in rapture. Ah, the fragrance of a clean swipe, he would say. Kurama sometimes hated that voice.
The others, aside from Kuwabara, looked only mildly surprised that it wasn’t the scene of a battle they’d found. It was true, as Miroku had said, apparently they had seen more than their fair share of horrific images like this. Kuwabara, on the other hand, looked stricken and deeply affected.
“I…I don’t believe this…” he said softly. “Who would have done this?”
“It’s hard to say,” Sango replied. “It could have been anything from raiders to demons to an accident with a fireplace.”
“I can’t smell the presence of demons,” Kurama said. He then looked down at Shippou, who had been quiet for a long time. “Do you sense anything, Shippou?”
The small demon looked surprised that Kurama had spoken to him directly. “N-no, not really.”
“Kuwabara, do you sense any shards?”
“I can’t tell…man this is terrible.”
Miroku glanced at Sango, whose expression was pained. He knew she was remembering…and they were not happy memories. He sighed again and walked towards the destruction. “Well, first let’s see if there are any survivors.”
***
The smell was entirely too overwhelming for Kurama, who had to fight to gain control of his senses. He could tell Shippou had the same problem, for the little fox demon looked like he was going to be sick. The others were wrinkling their noses, but it didn’t seem to be affecting them. It was unnatural, he thought, that smoke would affect him so much, and there was something odd about the smell in the air that he couldn’t quite place.
Then the group decided to split up and look for survivors among the rubble. He didn’t see the point, as he couldn’t see how anyone survived this, but he couldn’t exactly refuse to look, either. He tried his best to shrug off the discomfort.
They dug through the destruction for hours to no avail. But then Shippou made a discovery.
“Look what I found!” he announced, running up to Kurama. He pulled on Kurama’s pants leg and attempted to drag him in the direction he wanted Kurama to go. “I found something, you have to see this.”
“What is it, Shippou?” Miroku asked, overhearing the young fox’s declaration. But Shippou wasn’t paying attention to him. Whatever he found, he only wanted Kurama to see. So Kurama allowed himself to be lead, with the rest following out of curiosity.
Shippou stopped in front of a pile of burned rubble that might have been a house at one point. He pointed his finger and said, “That’s where the uncomfortable smell is coming from, the one that’s making us feel sick. I could only get so close to it before I felt like I was going to faint.”
Kurama could feel it, too, an oppressing scent, much like purification salts or incense, only tainted with demonic power. He turned to Miroku. “Can you look in that pile and see if you can find something?”
Miroku nodded, and then he and Sango pilfered through the rubble. Miroku frowned as his eyes caught something strange.
“A flower?”
Kurama’s eyes narrowed. “Let me see.”
Miroku pulled the object out of the pile and showed it to Kurama, who felt at once like he could pass out and was so angry he could barely see straight. The flower in question, though slightly charred, was hardly damaged enough to have been a normal plant. In the place where it was found it should have been disintegrated.
“I take it you know what it is,” Miroku said, seeing the look on Kurama’s face.
“I do. It’s not exactly a flower known to humans. It’s a plant grown by demons that are famous for their knowledge of demonic plants and herbs. Some are used for healing and others are used for destruction. This plant in particular is used essentially in fire spells and as a repellant, to sort of mark the attacker’s territory.”
“It’s known as ‘Impulse’,” Sango added. Kurama looked at her in surprise, and she shrugged.
“I happen to know some of these things,” she replied. “My people also used it to drive out demons from their hiding places. I couldn’t tell you where to find it though.”
Miroku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Remember Jinenji?”
“Jinenji? Oh, yes, I remember, didn’t we meet him? He had that herb garden. You don’t think he could have done this, do you?”
“No, definitely not. But he might be able to tell us who would do something like this.”
***
The next day
“So…where does Jinenji live again?” Miroku asked. “Wasn’t it somewhere near here?”
“I thought so…” Sango replied, unsure.
They’d decided to investigate this incident a little further, by mutual consensus, of course, thinking that a small lead is better than no lead. And these days, a little vindication for the dead was necessary. However, Sango and Miroku were a little lost as to where Jinenji and his herb garden had been located.
Kurama was more than frustrated. He was all for finding some sort of revenge for the slaughter of an entire village of innocent people, even though he somehow doubted they’d find it. Or perhaps he was hoping they wouldn’t. Terrible of him, he knew, but he had a terrible feeling about the direction this situation was taking, seemingly on its own.
Kuwabara, on the other hand, was hungry and didn’t care where they went as long as they avoided future destroyed villages. It was bad enough that the humans were fighting silly wars, but there were rampant demons about. It was like the demon world had been set loose!
And then it hit him like a brick on the head. He remembered…hadn’t Botan said something about the spirit world being gone? What if…
There was no demon world.
He lost his appetite.
“Ah, there it is,” Sango announced, and for a split-second Kuwabara thought she was talking about his appetite. Then he withdrew himself out of his unpleasant thoughts and looked to where she was pointing. Almost an entire hillside of garden lay spread out in front of them, and he knew they’d found the place.
Kurama was amazed. This Jinenji had to be very talented; the herbs looked like some of the best he’d ever seen.
They went to the house and knocked on the door, where the elderly woman opened it and peered out suspiciously. “Who are you?” she asked.
“We’re friends of Kagome,” Sango replied. “And Inuyasha. We came to talk to Jinenji.”
Immediately Jinenji’s face appeared in the doorway. “Where is Kagome?” he asked.
“She’s not here,” Miroku said. “She wanted to come, she said to tell you hello and she hopes you’re doing well.”
A crooked smile appeared on Jinenji’s face. “She’s ok isn’t she?”
“Of course.”
After initial greetings and introductions, Miroku got right down to the point. “Jinenji, do you know what this is?” He showed him the flower.
Jinenji grimaced and seemed to back away a little, but it was not as affecting to him as it was to a full-demon. “It’s ‘Impulse’. I’ve only seen it once. Where did you find it?”
They explained to him about the destroyed village.
Jinenji was silent. Miroku prodded him a little further by asking, “Do you have any idea who would use this for such a thing?”
More silence. Finally Jinenji’s mother said, “I don’t think he’s going to talk.”
Finally the half-demon answered in an uncharacteristic small voice, “I didn’t do it…”
They almost laughed at the sincerity in his voice. “No one thought you did,” Miroku replied. “We weren’t here to accuse you, Jinenji.”
He seemed surprised. “You weren’t?”
“Not at all.”
His large blue eyes brightened. “I’m glad…”
Uneasy silence filled the room again and Miroku felt bad for pressing him. He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh. Oh well, sometimes tact wasn’t his thing.
Finally Kurama asked, “Like Miroku said, we didn’t think you would do it. Basically we thought we’d ask you since you are into the plant business. Perhaps you know of some other demons or groups who would use the ‘Impulse’ plant.”
Jinenji thought a moment. “I don’t know if they use a lot of plants, but I do know a group of demons that just formed that are into a lot of trickery. They probably use some hallucination herbs and other things to rob people and plunder villages. It might have been them that destroyed that village. It’s been happening all over, it happened in the nearby village recently, though not much was destroyed. Normally they don’t destroy a whole village.”
“Who are they?”
Jinenji shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Do you have any idea where we might be able to find them?”
Again, he shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Miroku smiled. “Don’t worry about it. We should probably be going now.”
“Try asking the people in the nearby village what direction the demons went when they left. They may be able to give you some idea.”
Everyone thanked the gentle half-demon and his mother and went on their way. The group was silent for the most part until Kuwabara mused, “He seemed really nice.”
“Yes, Jinenji is a special case,” Miroku said. “Half-demon, half-human, and not a violent bone in his body.”
“Unlike Inuyasha,” Sango noted.
“But Inuyasha still means well,” Miroku said.
“He’s just a little hot-headed.”
Shippou snorted. “A little? He’s a bully!”
Miroku smiled. “Well, one can’t blame him. He had to become the bully in order to stop being bullied.” To Kurama and Kuwabara he explained, “In our world, half-demons are regarded poorly by both humans and demons. Inuyasha endured quite a bit in his childhood, I’m sure.”
“That’s gotta suck,” Kuwabara replied. “I mean…Urameshi is a half-demon, I guess…but that really doesn’t matter to me. He’s still a crazy punk.”
Sango and Miroku laughed. “That’s a good way to look at it, I suppose,” Sango said.
***
Later that evening, the group camped out in the woods again, since the village hadn't been of much help, and there really hadn't been any place to stay. Sitting around the campfire, it wasn’t long before Sango and Miroku were asleep, and Shippou drifted off not long after. Kurama looked sleepy, but his eyes were staring blankly at the dancing flames, not really seeing them. Kuwabara took this chance to voice his thoughts and ask Kurama a few questions.
“Kurama…remember when Botan said that there wasn’t a spirit world during this Era?”
“Yes.”
“…Does that mean there’s not a demon world, either.”
Kurama looked surprised. “You’re right…”
“That means all those demons…demons more powerful than Togorou…are running loose in the human world.”
Kurama offered him a reassuring smile. “I don’t think those are the kind of demons you’re thinking about. Technically and from my own experience, those demons with that much power are the ones hiding behind a human face. They’re more organized than just the regular vermin running around that attack mindlessly. They have their own groups. They have their own societies. There are the ones you have to worry about, of course, and I’m assuming this Naraku is one of them. But from what Kagome told me, Naraku is only part demon himself.”
“Really? So there’s a lot of half-demons in this Era. I guess they aren’t so separate from humans after all.”
“For the most part they are. But there are exceptions. Sometimes…sometimes it’s best to stay separate. It saves a lot of pain afterwards.”
“Right…” Kuwabara trailed off into his own thoughts and left many of his questions unspoken. Kurama wondered what he was thinking about and decided against asking.
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