Unexpected Places

Disclaimer: I'm getting sick of this shit! I want him dammit, why can't I have him! *sits down and cries*..............Thank you Rumiko Takahashi for letting my imagination run wild.

Journeys

The air was fresh and it soothed her spirit. Each breath calmed her, but she was taken out of her reverie with the rustling of the bushes.

“You can come out Toka. Inuyasha is off running through the forest…. So, what do you have for me?”

The cat’s meow was almost pitiful.

She sighed, “I knew that the counsel would want me to check it out. Is that all they said?”

“Mrrw,” his statement was thoughtful, almost like he caught on to something that was trying to be hidden.

“Hmmm… The elders seem to be trying to hide something, but they don’t want anyone to know, you say. So many secrets they hide, but this one is coming to a head.”

Toka rubbed himself against her upraised knee. She reached over to pet him and scratch behind his ears.

“Well, since Inuyasha is pretty much healed, I guess we all could search the area a bit closely without his knowing of course,” she smirked.

“Mrrrrw.” Toka climbed into her lap, laying there to get her complete and undivided attention.

Neara smiled, “Yes, he still dreams about her face, but you and I know he will never find her like that. He will chase her forever and will still come up empty…. Well, let’s go inside. It’s getting close to noon and soon Inuyasha will come in on an empty stomach.”

Gracefully she rolled to her feet as nimble as a cat, striding toward her home with Toka in her arms comfortably.

When she was just about to go inside, a boy came into view on her trail. Toka jumped down and followed her as she walked toward him.

“Miko,” he bowed out of breath. “A youkai attacked and your friend went to defend the village, but is having a hard time.” A nagging feeling came to mind thinking that he wasn’t fully recovered enough to fight.

This worried her enough to blindly follow the boy without weapon in hand. They emerged out of the dense foliage on the beaten path to find Inuyasha in a meadow next to the fields.

He was having a hard time because he was only scratching the rock hard hide of the youkai. The rusty sword he pulled only served to be like a pesky fly to his opponent.

“Inuyasha, what are you doing? Use the Tetsusaiga, dammit, before that youkai destroys the village!!” She yelled obscenely loud which caused Inuyasha’s enemy to notice her. Oh shit

In her desperation she had forgotten her bow and arrows. How the hell could she have forgotten the most important thing when battling a damn youkai? She stood there as the enormous ox youkai charged at her. This would have been the time when she would have fired an arrow, but she couldn’t move out of fear for the fact that one, the youkai was coming after her weaponless self and two, she was suppose to be concealing her true self. How the hell did she get into these predicaments?

She exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding when Inuyasha happened to be fast enough to be by her side and carry her out of danger.

“What in the flying fuck did you think you were doing? For the love of the fucking Godds Neara, you could have either used your power, gotten away, or…” he stopped his tirade when he noticed his angry words were saying too much. His mouth was running away from his brain and the thought of blurting out something personal was just embarrassing.

“‘or’ what?” she asked as he set her down away from the battle.

“Nothing dammit,” he retorted while attacking the youkai again.

“‘or’ what, Inuyasha?” she pressed a little irritably. She couldn’t believe that he thought of her as weak or anything worse.

His ability to not put a dent in this youkai was pissing him off royally and Neara’s angry questioning was grating heavily on his frayed nerves.

“Listen here Neara, you could have used your power, or gotten the hell outta the way… or stayed at the hut so I could FUCKIN’ PROTECT YOU!” he screamed to her in a rage.

She was shocked to know what he had said. No one had ever said anything in that respect in her life and so seriously before. Her eyes softened to show her complete trust in him.

Did he just say that? What the fuck! His mouth was definitely getting away from him, but the look in her eyes as they softened gave him resolve and strength. It relieved his fears and gave him all the power he needed to keep going. It made his heart light and begin to flutter. Her complete trust in him gave him pride and determination.

What surprised him was the smile that graced her lips and the awe in her eyes when his sword began to pulse to the rhythm of his heart. In a white light the blade grew into a very majestic fang-like single edged sword.

Toka jumped back into her arms as the woman gladly watched the end of the battle. The youkai charged after Inuyasha, but the hanyou seemed so calm. The anger that he felt was washed away as if it was never there.

The hanyou felt a sense of peace as Neara’s smile flashed through his thoughts. Without thinking, he sidestepped the enormous ox and brought the Tetsusaiga up to cut through the beast as it ran by him. The carcass disintegrated on the spot. He looked at the Tetsusaiga and almost felt it calling some name, but whose?

It was an inaudible whisper that wanted him to hear, but wasn’t strong enough. He set the tip of Tetsusaiga near the opening of its sheath. With a push, the sword fit perfectly inside. He turned his amazed look at Neara, then something occurred to him. How the hell…?

His expression turned to one of the look. You know the look. The one that shows disbelief along with a tinge of annoyance.

“How the hell do you know about the Tetsusaiga?” with the usual gruffness in his voice.

She looked at him with a gleam of amusement in her eyes, “Your father was a legend. I would be surprised if a single soul hasn’t heard of him.” She raised her hand to stave off his remark. “I don’t want any smart-ass remarks. Be glad your father was wise enough to do what he did.”

“I don’t see wisdom in leaving mother and me. What good did he ever do?” he scoffed.

“One, he died trying to protect you and her and two, he completely loved the both of you to death. If he had any regrets, it was his own death. He died honorably in service of his own family.”

“Feh… what honor? The youkai stripped him of that when I was born. He died with no pride and definitely not any honor or respect. He was considered low life.”

“Well, that’s what the youkai thought of him. I think that if even one person gave him honor then he didn’t die dishonorable--- I’m sure he died with pride knowing that you were his son. And I respect that.”

Neara walked away with Toka in her arms. She turned back around when she neared the forest.

“Oh, speaking of pride… remember that declaration of protectiveness?” she gave him only a few seconds to recall what he had yelled. “Next time make it loud enough for the whole world to hear you instead of the village by-standers.”

He did a complete 180 to see the villagers talking amongst themselves and pointing at mostly him. “Dammit!”

She laughed. He growled and stomped toward her. Yes, his pride was definitely not winning the battle. She was throwing low blows.

To make it all worse she bowed. “Thank you for fuckin’ protecting me Inuyasha,” she mocked him to give it full effect.

“Eat shit,” he grumbled stomping past her to the hut.

She burst into laughter and followed after clutching herself to breathe.

***

The evening began to cool down as Neara put another log onto the fire. Inuyasha needed something to do so she had sent him out earlier to chop some fire wood. That gave him something to do.

Now they sat around the fire as she poked at it with a stick to rearrange it to her liking.

“How well do you feel?” she asked him while never looking away from the exotic flames.

“My wound is completely healed and my full strength is almost replenished. That fight today didn’t help much.”

She smiled, “I was thinking about taking a trip. I wouldn’t mind if you came. Actually, I would be happy if I had a companion to talk to other than Toka. He sucks at keeping me company.”

“Really?--- I mean about me being your traveling companion.”

“Yeah. I hate being cooped up for too long so I like to travel around once in a while to keep up my strength.”

“What about the village?” he asked sincerely.

“I have already made arrangements.”

“What kind?”

“Must you always be so curious? Just know that the villagers will be safe,” she smiled, “Now get some rest. We’re gettin’ up early.”

The morning came early like she had said and now Neara was busy changing into her traveling gear and preparing her weapons for the long stretch. She filled her quiver full of arrows.

I’m gonna have to recycle these damn arrows.... Hopefully, we won’t have to fight a whole mass of youkai. If we do then I won’t have time to grab any used arrows. Too bad I can’t multiply these things. She sighed to relieve some tension and to think. In case of emergencies, I think a set of blades would do.

She reached into a chest pulling out a pair of short swords that she had received as a gift from Anglo-land.

One ebony eyebrow cocked up and amber eyes gave her the ‘you-got-to-be-kidding’ look. They regarded her quietly until she saw the look on his face.

“What?” she asked a little too seriously.

“What’s the blades for?” He crossed his arms as if he were the parent and she were the offspring.

“Don’t give me that look Mr. High and Mighty. I only have these short swords in case of emergencies,” she said defiantly with hands on hips.

“You crazy cat. Don’t you damn well know that my sword is all the blade we need. We don’t need your stupid katanas.”

“First of all, they are not katanas. They are short swords because they are double bladed and are shorter than any normal sized katana. They are also wider thank you. And second of all, my blades will come in handy if a mass of youkai attack and you are occupied while I run out of arrows. I won’t have time to yank a used arrow out of an ogre’s eye!”

“Don’t worry, I will protect you.”

She almost laughed, but smiled to slightly mask her amusement. “You see things so simple dog-boy. Like a child, but you know better…. Besides, who will protect you?” She reached up and scratched one ear affectionately.

A weird pleasure raced through his veins at her touch and he carefully flicked his ear to swat her fingers away masking his surprise and momentary enjoyment. That only downfall was that he missed it terribly.

“Anyway,” she flicked her hand in the air as if to dismiss that moment while she turned around to finish packing.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and calmed his racing heart. How could a mere mortal have his heart pounding and liquid fire coursing through his veins just by a non sensual touch?

His own mother had scratched his ears and he never had this kind of reaction. It just seemed to calm him down, but after all these years the second person who had ever touched his ears was another woman and was giving him delighted chills down his back.

She was wearing her green haori and hakama that was twin to the deep blue one that she had worn in the fight against Sesshomaru.

“We will travel by foot to the Northern Mountains. I heard rumors of people feeling a malevolent aura surrounding the area. And they’re afraid to go between the two villages on either side of the range.”

“It would be faster if you just ride my back. We can get there in three days,” he said confidently.

“I would like to enjoy the scenery while traveling. It isn’t a pressing matter so we will take our time. I will let you indulge in your much wanted sprints. And we can still make it there in good timing.”

Her quiver rested snugly between her back and her scarf while her bow was slug across her back as well. Also back there were her twin short swords. For her it was better for running when it came to that. Anything at her waist was just a nuisance. She pulled her loose hair back into a low braided ponytail at the nape of her neck as they walked out of the hut to start their journey toward the Northern Mountains.

The rest of the day was spent on the road trekking towards Mnt. Fuji. It was a warm and relaxing day. Instead of walking in silence the whole way, she spent this time trying to get to know him better.

“How did your parents meet?” she asked out of the blue while staring off the side of the road at the field of wild flowers to her right.

This question surprised the hell out of him and he almost stumbled over a rock in his path.

“Why do you want to know something like that?” he returned.

She sighed, took a glimpse of Inuyasha’s questioning look, and then set her eyes on the road.

“My father used to tell me of the magical story of how he met my mother. He always described how erotically beautiful she was under the light of the full moon. He always knew the right words to say even if he couldn’t show them, but he unintentionally wore his heart on his sleeve. I could always tell how he felt just by looking at him.

“He said that he had found her in a pond just standing there soaking in the moon’s light with her head tilt back looking at it. When she saw him and turned to walk away, he was surprised to see how she glowed. He ran to her to tell her how beautiful she was. My mother was surprised herself to hear the words come out of his mouth and that’s when he asked to accompany her on her walk. That walk had changed their lives forever. And maybe for the better.”

She looked sad there for a minute and Inuyasha could smell her remorse. Her emotions had a scent of their own and little by little he was learning every one.

A pregnant pause followed and Inuyasha relaxed to relieve his pent up tension. He sighed to hopefully release it, but it didn’t work. That’s when he decided to tell her something he had never told anyone else before.

“My mother told me once how my old man saved her. Her convoy was attacked by youkai and she somehow got away running through the forest. Some stray youkai saw her running and gave chase. She wasn’t watching where she was running and tripped over an upturned root. She had twisted her ankle and was unable to go any further. The youkai surrounded and slowly approached their prey. Just when they got too close, she saw a ribbon of yellow light lash out and whip the weak demons out of existence.”

“That move sounds familiar,” Neara said in thought.

Inuyasha glared at her, “Sesshomaru has the same power. That damn energy whip of his is a fuckin’ nuisance.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember now,” she laughed a little embarrassed.

“Uh-huh, whatever… Anyway, she said that a strange form came out of the shadows. He told her not to worry and that she was safe. He proceeded to take her to her home in Musashi. Her father was king. Over the three day travel, they had gotten close. Too close by the opinions of her father and most of the youkai including Sesshomaru. From then on, their relationship had sprouted and now I’m here talking about it to you.”

For some reason his tension had relaxed when he told her that, but he pushed it aside.

“This is the first you have told this story isn’t it?” she asked nonchalantly as if it was an everyday occurrence for him to say something personal.

“Whatever Neara. Don’t expect me to do it again.”

“Whenever you come out of your shell, I treasure it. Don’t worry, I remember everything isn’t that right Toka?”

She looked to the neko walking beside her and Inuyasha. The cat looked up innocently and meowed a reply. Neara laughed.

His reply was the same as his expression. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” What had went between the two was unheard by the hanyou.

***

Across the planes of time and space, one who was exiled away for his deeds stood on a hellish barren world where his peers decided he should stay for the rest of his lifetime. All he wanted was to remake the world in his image.

He had even made the means to help him achieve his goal. The Shikon no Tama was the black jewel that he had made out of the beating heart of the most powerful miko and the most evil and tainted demon. Of course compared to him they were weak, but he needed more power.

Their weakness gave him absolute control over the jewel that he had forged. Once the counsel had learned of his plans by the back-talking, conniving bitch of a daughter of his, they had forced him to exile on another plane of existence.

“Hopefully I can tap into its power before its link completely leaves me for good,” his menacing and hoarse voice said to no one in particular. He mentally grabbed a hold of the link and pulled himself through the dimensional doorway back home.

There would be some people happy to see him. Most of his old friends should still be alive. Finally, he would be able to finish what he had started.

It was a good thing that he acted quickly because now he couldn’t sense it at all. Now he would have to track it the hard way.

FUCK!

He headed North to find his old castle and then he would head out again to find his old allies. This was starting to be one of the worst best days of his life. He needed that jewel to finish what he had started.

********************

A/N: It's about damn time I put this up. I hate getting writers block! Anywho, I love when the plot thickens and slowly everything becomes clear on who the antagonist is. I want new reviewers dammit! No offense Peacemaker. I love you man. You keep me happy by throwing me a fricken bone. *smiles devilishly and winks*

Alright, people. Tell me what you think dammit. Much love.

IL20