Rise Of The Demons

A tired and distant Kagome followed after the others, not far behind them as she had for the past day. Having started off the day before in search of Inuyasha from the small village, they had come across Kouga and the others. The two wolfs having left the group behind, sensing trouble and not feeling up to the task of facing it along with their leader. And so with complete faith in Kouga, the two simple wolves had left him with the group to track down the half demon.





“I wonder just how much longer we have to endure this until we find him.” Miroku said aloud to himself. Kouga glancing back at the man with a grunt, “Oh, not to long. I’ll find him soon enough and when I do, I’ll be sure to give the mutt a beating of a life time.” Looking ahead of him he sniffed the air as his eyes moved over the land before them as they continued on. “I don’t believe that jerk, leaving Kagome like that. I’d sure as hell never do that!” He grumbled. Sango and Miroku listened half heartedly to his rant. “I just hope we find him soon, wherever he is for, Kagome’s sake.” Miroku nodded in his agreement at Sango’s statement with Shippo fast asleep in his arms.



Behind the others, Kelala walked instep beside Kagome. Sango having asked the feline to stay close to their friend so that they were confident in knowing she was not alone. All the while trying not to crowd the girl as she was troubled enough with her thoughts. Sighing to herself, Kagome couldn’t help but ask herself if she had done something wrong when she last saw him. Had she scolded him, embarrassed him or hurt him some how without even so much as a clue? How was that even possible? Inuyasha wasn’t very good at keeping quiet. He had trouble thinking before the words even came out of his mouth. So surely she would have known if she had upset him, right?





As Kagome was asking herself this, Kouga had stopped ahead of the rest of the group. “What is it? Is it, Inuyasha?” Hearing Sango’s voice, her head shot up as Miroku waited for an answer. “I’m not sure exactly what it is. Can’t be the mutt, doesn’t smell as bad. Whatever it is, it’s got my attention though.” Sango only needed to look at the monk for but a moment before the both of them silently agreed on a plan. Turning back and nodding to the feline beside Kagome with a commanding call of her name and in an instant she was transformed and waiting for the girl to crawl onto her back. “Let’s go.” Miroku told them as Kouga took off ahead of them, Miroku waiting only a second until Kelala was at his side with Kagome to take Shippo’s sleeping form from him.





A roar could be heard for miles as the creature reared back in pain. The man walking calmly towards it as it’s body rolled over and over unto itself before turning to him. In a blink of an eye it was coming at him but before it could get close enough it was shrieking in pain... Its body recoiling and convulsing as the surge moved through it and every inch of flesh sizzled in a flash of heat, falling to the ground with a loud thud.



Standing calmly before the now dead mass he seemed bored and unimpressed. The woman walking out from the tree line towards him as his eyes studied it. “What do you think it is?” The soft spoken woman asked as she stopped at his side. “A poor attempt at the very most.” Looking up at him her expression changed slightly, with an almost amused smile. “I know that, but what exactly is this attempt, would you say?" Looking at her for just a moment as he calmly stated what seemed to be a boring fact to him before walking away from the scene. “To prove themselves more powerful.”





Taking another look at the creature before following after him she thought for only a moment about it. “And what of the other matter?” This question went unnoticed as he continued on. “We must hurry before she gets too far. Let’s split up and search the area. I’ll go east while you head north. If we’re lucky we’ll find her by night fall.”





“Why go looking for trouble when you already found it?” The two looked up to see him standing in the opening. Fists resting on his sides as he stood proudly sticking his chest out, trying his best to look the strikingly strong man he believed himself to be. Twisting his body slightly to his side so that the sight of his sword came into sight of the wolf, he stood starring blankly with his pale eyes. “Huh!” Kouga stuck his nose up, “Is that suppose to scare me? Sorry pal, it’s not working.”



“I couldn’t care less what you think.” Kouga growled at the statement and racing towards the tall man, he decided to give him something to tend to but, before he could even get within twenty feet of the man he was thrown back. Wincing at the searing pain shooting up his arm, he looked up expecting an attack. Instead he saw a petite woman standing in front of the pale figure; arm extended out and palm open. “That’s enough.” Just as the words came from her mouth had the others appeared behind Kouga.





“Kouga, are you alright?” Miroku rushed in front of the wolf demon, holding his staff in place ready for a fight. The two didn’t seem concerned with them however, as the man turned and continued on towards the east, having decided the fight pointless already when Kouga rushed them. “Your not leaving so easily!” This time the woman did not react. She didn’t stop him, she didn’t help. She simply watched as the wolf was hit with the full length of her traveling companions arm right across his chest as he slammed into him. The sound of brisk crack met his ears as he fell back onto the ground.





Watching the scene and seeing the tall and pale figure stand over Kouga, Kagome felt a sudden rush of fear run through her and before she could even piece together what was going on she was releasing an arrow from her bow. A burst of light surrounded it as it flew towards its mark and they all held they’re breathe as they waited for it to make contact. “Watch out!” The small woman shouted. To everyone’s surprise the arrow was sliced in half just seconds before it could met flesh. They all seemed shocked for a moment when another strange demon appeared, standing in front of the foreign looking demon, looking at them squarely in the eyes. “That will be enough for now.” The deep voice commanded.





“Who are you?” The woman asked, stepping forward as he turned to look at her. “Your escort.” He bowed. Everyone looked confused except for the three strangers who seemed completely collected. “My lord has informed me to bring your audience back without any incident. He is waiting at this moment.” Kouga started to stand up when the man glanced down at him. “As for you,” Leaning over to meet the wolf’s eyes he spoke very clearly. “Should you ever act so rashly again and attack a guest of the lord on his land and I assure you your life will be at an end. Your stupidity is your savior today but next time it shall be your undoing.” The man's voice was deep, thick with a rich sound to it as he spoke to Kouga.





“Kagome,” Inuyasha, came flying over the top of a hill to land in the grass beside between the two parties. Running over towards Kelala’s side he paused for a moment before walking closer to Kagome. Looking up at her, happy to see her and his friends here when he realized something was wrong. “Kagome, what’s wrong. Are you okay?” Her eyes wielded up suddenly and before he knew it tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Inuyasha, I was so worried about you.” He couldn’t help but be confused except for the feeling of guilt suddenly hitting him right in his chest. “What are you talking about? Look, I’m fine nothings wrong with me, see? Now stop crying Kagome, please?”





“Where the hell have you been?” Inuyasha’s face dropped at the sound of the voice, “They just had to bring him along didn’t they?” He muttered to himself as he turned to meet Kouga. “What the hell are you doing here you ugly wolf.” Sitting on top of Kelala, Kagome watched gladly as the two began to fight. The sound of their voices raised at each other made her feel reassured things were okay and a wave of relief came over her. The others completely unsure of what was going on while Miroku and Sango shook their heads and Shippo made sure to keep quiet and in hiding on Kagome’s shoulder now. The kitsune having woken up once they’d taken off on Kelala’s back.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Sitting on a soft cushion on the floor with a warm cup of tea before them, they sat in silence for a long time. The day had been full of events they hadn’t planned on. From the creature they had slain to the group of humans that were accompanied by foul mouthed wolf. Then the arrival Akira who’d come just in time to intervene the fight the wolf and humans had started. Not to mention the events that followed soon after.



At the same time, both of them looked up at one another before looking back down at the cups of teas. Reaching out with her small hand, she grasped the cup carefully. “Strange.” Taking a sip of the drink she sighed. “Indeed.” He replied, trying his own drink before stopping to stare at it and then set it back down. “You don’t like it?” Taking another drink from the small cup, she starred across the table at him. “It’s….different.” He replied. “Hmm,” Setting her own cup down, she brushed herself off. “When do we tell him?” Moving her honey colored eyes up slowly to glance at him when he didn’t answer, she saw him thinking intently. “Meier?”



“I know I’m just not sure how to go about it.” Nodding, she sighed. “I know.” In silence they both sat in the small room the rest of the night.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Starring across the small table their food was placed on, he watched her nervously as she sat there quietly. “Um, Kagome,” He continued when he heard a small noise come from her, “Where’d the others go?” Reaching for a bowl of rice, she calmly replied. “They went to take a bath. The man told us where they were when we first got here.” Slowing eating the rice, she wasn’t sure what she felt. “Oh, I see.” Picking up his own bowl, Inuyasha began to eat the rice without any restraint.





“I bet Miroku is trying for more than a bath.” He huffed when Kagome looked up at him. “You think?” Stopping in the middle of swallowing his food he starred. “Well, yeah. Miroku always does that, right?” He didn’t know why but he felt a sudden snap of fear at her words and he became uneasy. “Hey, Kagome…Are you okay. I mean, you’ve been really quiet and earlier today. When Akira came to get those people and we found you and the others there.” Deciding to stop what he was saying as her head lowered and her body went stiff. He suddenly remembered the beads around his neck and held his breathe.



“I was so scared.” She whispered and his ears perked up a little at the sound. “I was so scared, that something had happened to you. And that you were all alone. I thought you were mad at me or that I had said something wrong before I left for the bone eaters well.” His body relaxed. Leaning forward he gently grabbed her arm in his hand, “Kagome, you didn’t do anything wrong and I’m fine, see? I’m not hurt at all, okay?” She glanced up at him, the shadow moving from her face for him to see the tears again that pained him. Quickly, he sat up and grabbed the bowl of rice again exclaiming confidently, “Like anything could kill me! Heh, what a joke.”



With a mouthful of rice and the chopsticks barely removed from his mouth still, Kagome’s body shook. “Inuyasha,” Peering at her with a questioning look he saw her shaking now before she looked up at him. “Sit!” He thought his face had actually dropped in time to show his surprise before it was planted into the floor. His rice bowl landing on his back as the rice now covered his hair.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Sesshoumaru walked through the fields by himself as he patrolled the area. Although he had come out to be alone, more than duty. The castle was now fuller than he’d care for and with such things he’d rather not be in the company of. Lord Akira had returned with two strange demons. One tall and pale with a thin but strong face. The man's eyes were cold and icy, much like his demeanor. The woman that was with him however was the opposite. A small, petite woman with dark skin and hair that was of the deepest hue of brown. She had reeked of magic while the man exuded a more physical nature.





He was unaware of who they were exactly or why his father knew them up until earlier that afternoon when they were brought to the InuTaisho. It was in a large open room they had all gathered in. His father, Lord Toga, lord of the western lands once again. Lord Akira, an old friend of his fathers and faithful man from years ago. Sesshoumaru himself and of course the two demons he came to know as Meier and Masika

.



It was for some time that they were all in the room. It was a reunion of some sorts for his father that much he knew but just how he knew the two he was unsure. It was with a smile his father had met them and the woman even embraced him for a moment in what he observed to be, her surprise. Little was said however of their past relationship with Lord Toga and he did not think to ask. As something else was going on that had his curiosity, as well as his suspicion. Though he would not let it be known, he wasn’t sure of his fathers guest. He got a sense of secrecies about them that made him uneasy.





With a heavy sigh as breeze came up and over the hill he now stood on. Letting the wind whisk his hair about in a dance as his sleeves bellowed in the warm air for a moment before the wind disappeared. Sesshoumaru looked out over the land and the sweeping landscape before him and he felt calm for moment. At least he was alone for the first time in what must have been days.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





“Are you sure we should be doing this? You do realize how this will look if they find out?” Carefully making her way through the trees as quietly as she could, she moved on making sure not to fall behind. “Of course I do. But we don’t have much of a choice. We can’t miss this opportunity; it could be our last and only chance.” He whispered as his eyes lay dead ahead of him. Nodding even though she knew he wouldn’t see, she uttered her agreement to herself. “Yes, I understand.” Sighing as she paused for a moment, watching as he went on, and blending into the shadows perfectly. “Gods, hear me, please let all be well. My heart can’t take it much longer.” Her voice hushed as her heart beat in her chest rang in her ears. The only thing she could see was Meier’s back now before he disappeared.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





In the distance a sound shook the ground like thunder. The echoes bouncing back and forth between the surrounding rolling hills and up to the sky. Just as it grew quiet the thunder boomed again and then again. Birds flew from their nests in the middle of the night in a panic as trees collapsed and folded over as if bowing to the sound from within the shadows. The sound growing louder and closer and more dangerous as strange lights began to escape through the tops of trees before suddenly disappearing. The forests turning silent and almost dead in just a few seconds as the last echoes of the thunder disappeared into distant lands.





It hadn’t taken them long to find her. She lay out in the middle of the fields of growing grass beneath the crescent moon. The presence they had sensed before had moved away in a different direction and disappeared before they even arrived. But all did not prove to be well when they reached her as they had hoped. She had laid there, unconscious and injured. They didn’t know how long she had been like that.





Sweeping the girl into his arms, Meier turned and started back for the castle almost instantly. Having made sure before the injuries were not life threatening. “What will we do? What will we say?” He heard the questions but he couldn’t think about that now. All he could think about was getting the young woman back to the castle where it’d be safe. “What shall we tell them, Meier?” He walked on, faster now than before as she rushed to keep up with him. “I don’t know, Masika.” A worried look crossed her face as she saw the woman in his arms, oblivious to their presence.





It was as they were coming up the top of a small hill that led to a sweeping valley of long grass and flowers that they saw the outline of the figure standing ahead of them, directly in their path. Masika stopped with a gasp as she recognized who it was, “Sesshoumaru.” She watched him as his eyes narrowed and it was then she realized what it was he was starring at. Following his gaze, she looked to the woman in Meier’s arms. Her eyes softened as she saw her, helpless and almost frail looking in his arms. Unsure of what they’d do next she turned back to him and winced at the thought of explaining this.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Kagome lay asleep in the warm room. Everything was quiet and still and no sound could be heard from anywhere in the grounds. Kagome rolled over with a moan as she mumbled in her sleep, unaware of Sango just a few feet away. It had only been a little more than a few hours before she began to shift in her sleep. Rolling over from side to side every few minutes at first, then throwing her arms up above her head, groaning and talking in her sleep.





Her dreams haunted her and before she could wake she found herself in a terrible nightmare. Images of bloody battlefields crept into her mind. Faces that where foreign plagued her as they cried out to her in eerie silence. The strange voices and the sensation that she was trapped and helpless to stop any of it overwhelmed her. They seemed to plead and beg. She thought she heard them pray even, to who she did not know. The names did not sound like anything she had ever heard. The tongue was different, and confusing.





Sango struggled in her sleep, unable to wake as the images kept coming. They blurred as if something were in her eyes and no matter how much she tried she couldn’t move to rub them, she couldn’t even blink. The sounds were distant and faint but just enough for her to hear them. The words which she did not understand, the desperate tone.





She felt a sudden urge to cry and weep as she couldn’t block the images from her mind. The voices haunting her and driving her mad, she couldn’t help but begun to break down. It was then she could hear the laughter. It was far off and at first she couldn’t believe what she heard. Soon it grew louder though and she knew it wasn’t her imagination. There was laughter somewhere hidden in the pain and torture of those poor souls. It started off faint and slowly became more audible, more prominent. She felt herself strain to listen better and she could feel a chill go down her spine. It was evil, pure evil. The sound itself had a cord to it, something in it was wrong. This laughter came closer; it walked towards her as the images flashed before her. Laughing, softly but laughing, the sound was evil she was sure. “Why?” Sango kept asking. “Why are you laughing?”



Her body frozen now, if she even had a body in this strange place. She couldn’t tell if it were real or not. She wasn’t even sure if she were real. Suddenly realizing she could move her head, she slowly moved to look up at what would have been the sky. The whole world around her seemed to be tinted in red as if there were red. The clouds themselves were red and smoldering.





The laughter, it was close suddenly. It was before her, the very sound itself. It brought her out of the daze the red sky had sent her into and back to the horrible scenes she had seen but was unsure of what they were. There, before her, the sound was clearer than ever. A figure had suddenly appeared from thin air. A shadow, enwrapped in black and peering down at her was a stark white mask. It had nothing for eyes but black holes that seemed to go on forever and swallow whole her sanity. It was then as the image of the face, the pale and stark white face flashed in and out of her mind that she realized she was screaming. Mouth open and air pouring out from her lungs she screamed.



Just as the image of the pale face came within inches of her and the blackness of the eyes was in fact endless that she awoke. Sitting straight up, she clinched the bedding at her side. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that she realized she was still screaming. Not until she finally saw it was her friends that were with her. Miroku holding her by her shoulders and calling out her name, shaking her as he tried to bring her out of it. “Miroku,” Sango stuttered his name before falling into his arms weeping.





Miroku was confused but he only hesitated for a moment before embracing her. “It’s alright, Sango. You’re safe now.” He told her as she continued to sob into his shoulder. Kagome, Inuyasha and Shippo looking at each other with confused looks upon there face before turning back to the couple with concern. The group stayed in that room for the rest of the night. Miroku staying right at Sango’s side as she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. Having wept for must have been into the early morning hours. He stayed awake all night into the morning watching over her. Looking over to his friends who had fallen asleep soon after her. Miroku was still worried about Sango. Something seemed off and it made him uncomfortable. Her behavior last night, the way she woke up screaming, was unlike the Sango he knew.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Masika sat on the floor with her legs bent to her side as she pulled the bowl of hot water closer. Ringing out the wet clothe as voice of the men behind her made her uneasy, their conversation uncomfortable for her to hear but unavoidable. “I don’t understand. Who is this girl, Meier?” Leaning forward she began to wipe the face of the woman gently with the damped clothe as they continued to speak. “I’m not sure who to tell you she is.” Meier spoke softly in a quiet and hushed voice. “What does that mean, exactly? Why do I get the feeling your hiding something from me, Meier?” Toga’s tone changed slightly, this much they all could tell. It made them both very uncomfortable. To hear they’re friend like this, knowing how it must seem/





“I need to know.” Meier closed his eyes, “Yes, I know. But it’s not so easy to explain you see.” Sesshoumaru looked harder at the man as his father stepped closer. “Well then, why don’t we start from the beginning?” He crossed his arms as he looked at the pale man straight in the eyes. Meier sighed heavily as he tried to think. “She’s not of any threat to you, Toga.” Sesshoumaru looked down at the woman, “We can see that.” He stated before looking back at Meier, the man sighing again. “Meier, do you not trust me with this girls identity you seem so intent on protecting?”





The question seemed to shock the man and draw Masika’s attention as she looked at them with a strange expression. “Of course not,” he exclaimed. “Then please, tell me what is going on here. If you think of me well enough to be a friend then trust that I will not harm this girl of yours.” Toga’s words seemed to work as the demon gave a final sigh before sitting down. “I’ll tell you as best as I can, my friend.” Nodding, Toga took his seat across from his old friend and looked him straight in the eyes, intent on listening to what he had to share. Sesshoumaru, standing in his spot, watched carefully with his golden eyes as the man began to speak. All night he listened as his father did, as slowly the pieces began to fall in place. All the while watching as Masika attended to girl.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Author’s Note: I know this story is very old but I still have it all. It’s just a matter of time to put it down without straying from the core idea. Unfortunately it’s rare that I find the time when I’m lucid enough for the job. I do apologize and for all I know I may not show another chapter for another year. However I thank those for reading it. Until next time…



GenesisEve a.k.a. Lasher