As Death Gives Life

Chapter 7 – Judgement of a Beast

Vile. A distortion of all things good and true. An abomination.

These terms swam through the mind of Anubis as he secretly observed the hanyou known as Naraku and his small arsenal of incarnations. Only one in the hanyou’s domain was not born of his filth, but birthed by him nonetheless. A young boy, who was living, but not truly alive. This must be the brother of Kagome’s slayer friend. Utterly disgusting. Naraku had managed to cheat the boy of death’s somber peace in order to use him as an undead slave. How disturbingly depraved.

Anubis had perused the country of Japan looking for Naraku, and was rather surprised at how easy it was to locate him, despite his feeble excuse of a barrier. No Earthen barrier could withstand a God. All he really had to do was focus on a large source of evil power. While the countryside was relatively dotted with such tainted power sources, there were only a few of substantial worth to draw his attention. Naraku being the strongest.

The inu God had entered the creatures’ domain undetected and settled down to observe. His intention was merely to determine the potential for danger to Kagome from this beast, but after spending the previous evening, as well as most of this morning in Naraku’s deranged presence, he now found that he was moved deeply by the knowledge that he had gained.

This pollution on mankind must be obliterated.

Without a single doubt in his mind, Anubis set about determining exactly how he would go about ridding the world of such pestilence. In his equation he weighed the value of the demons spawned from the hanyou’s disgusting body. Only two gave him caution. An adult female and a warped version of a female human child. Their actions in the presence of their master were nothing less than obedient, but once away from them they seemed to hold some semblance of uniqueness not shown by the other spawn. Especially the older female. She was brash and rebellious. Her actions gave him the impression that she longed for her freedom. He was hesitant about dealing her death even more so than the child imitation.

Anubis decided to postpone his judgement until he had spoken with someone more knowledgeable concerning the dealings of the hanyou.

It would be nice to see her again, especially after being in the presence of such corruption. Kagome was exactly what he needed to lift the feeling of clinging diablerie. Her smile would turn the darkness to light.

Anubis turned and walked away from the creature known as Naraku. He would deal with him soon enough.

Locating Kagome proved to be just as easy as locating Naraku. He pushed his search outward seeking purity and light. The exact opposite of Naraku. He felt her presence very clearly over the expanse of Japan. She was traveling in a Southeasterly direction not too far from the very spot where he now stood. They would never find Naraku in the direction that they were headed, and Anubis assumed that the barrier around the beasts’ castle kept him from detection.

Not for long.

Anubis took to the skies, sweeping past forests and farmland, until he spotted his female and her group. The sun was low in the sky and the end of the day was near. He would spend the remainder of light with Kagome, just enjoying her company.

Before Anubis could descend on the group he was startled by an ominous presence. A second later he watched as a large green ogre ripped through the forest to attack the group below. He hovered for a moment, watching the display as it occurred, observing the battle skills of his females’ group.

The hanyou was doing well, using his sword to inflict grave injury in the creature. The slayer had boarded her fire cat that placed her in position to release her huge boomerang, and the monk was throwing spiritual wards upon the beast temporarily freezing the monster’s progress. Then there was Kagome. She had drawn her arrow, promptly notching it to her bowstring. She waited for a clear shot and released her purification. The pink flame tore through the air and hit the ogre in the heart. It screamed in agony before giving in to burning defeat.

If he had not been so fascinated with watching her grace and poise when she vanquished her enemy, Anubis would have detected the second ogre barreling through the tree line much earlier than he had. As it were, he was too entranced with her perfection to notice the approaching danger in time to completely avoid the conflict.

Kagome felt the ground tremble and quickly realized that it wasn’t from the dying creature before her. She swiftly turned to the forest just in time to see a second ogre, blind with rage, crash down upon their group. Kagome looked up at the towering beast, hell bent on crushing her like a bug. There was no time to react, and she heard the scream rip from her throat before she even realized her mouth was open. This was not how she wanted to die. Not stuck to an ogre’s foot like a wad of discarded gum!

It happened so fast that she wasn’t sure it really happened at all. She was in mid scream when suddenly Anubis appeared in front of her. His form shimmered into solidity in a mere fraction of a second. It was strange how it played out, now that she had time to think about it. Not merely strange, but downright remarkable. Her savior appeared before her with a smile on his handsome face. She was aware of the smile due to the fact that he was facing her. His back was to the attacking ogre. Anubis never even looked at the rampaging beast. She felt him release his aura. The familiar strength enveloped her in its awesome power, and she felt dizzy from the sudden onslaught. Behind her savior’s smiling face she was shocked to see the second youkai completely disintegrate before her eyes. There was nothing left except a fine powder slowly drifting to the ground.

Her mouth fell open in wonder, and had Kagome been able to pull her eyes from the scene she would have caught her companions standing in much the same way as she. Mouths gaping in utter amazement. Anubis had vanquished the enemy without ever looking upon it.

Inuyasha was torn between feelings of relief that Anubis had saved Kagome, and being pissed as hell for the bastard showing up at all. Not to mention the fact that he missed out on getting to hack something up.

That was always a major disappointment.

The hanyou was quick to leap to Kagome’s side protectively. He glared at the dog god and growled his anger. “What the hell are you doing here!?”

Anubis glanced from Kagome’s lovely face to that of her half breed companion. “That is none of your concern, hanyou, as you are no longer Kagome’s protector. Your actions today were sorely lacking, and Kagome could very well have paid the price.”

Inuyasha opened his mouth to let the asshole know exactly what the hell he thought about his comment, but he never had a chance to utter a word. Kagome beat him to it. Inuyasha’s frown turned to a smirk, and he stepped back to give the girl room. It was time for Anubis to learn rule number one.

Never make decisions for Kagome without talking it over with her first.

“Just WHO do you think you are? You just pop in here one day and give me this bull about ‘I’m the one’, yet you never tell me anything more. We hang out for one hour AFTER you bully MY friends, even going so far as to put Inuyasha and Kouga to sleep! Then you show up here today like some guardian angel, and while I appreciate you saving my life and all, you turn around and deem Inuyasha not worthy to protect me?! I’ll have you know that he’s been doing a fine job of it for the last FOUR years! How dare you drop into my life and think that you can just TAKE OVER!” Then Kagome jabbed her pointer finger into the chest of the god several times as she said, “I. Don’t. Operate. Like. That. Mister!”

Inuyasha could barely contain his laughter at the horrified expression on the face of Anubis. Apparently he had never had any dealings with a girl like Kagome. Probably because there really wasn’t anyone like Kagome, and that, Inuyasha knew, was a good thing.

Anubis was absolutely dismayed at the verbal, and slightly physical, attack he received from this mere slip of a girl. Never in all his centuries had he ever been accosted in such a way, and by a young mortal female, barely new to the world. The soul in her body most assuredly belonged to a mortal of extremely high blood in her past life. That could be the only explanation for her disregard for his status. It could not be possible that in her anger she threw caution to the wind? Could it?

Finally Lord Anubis resigned himself to accepting the display for what it was. A temper tantrum. Apparently he had inadvertently discovered Kagome’s one true fault.

The look of complete shock on his face finally registered to Kagome, and she turned red with embarrassment. She removed her pointing finger, which had still been firmly pressed into the chest of the Egyptian God, and took a step backwards. “Sorry about that,” she muttered.

His highly raised eyebrows finally dropped, and the dumbfounded look fell away from his perfectly formed features. He fought the urge to shake his head quickly, as if to dispel the remnants of a shouting woman from his mind. He had almost thought her tirade had come to a complete end, but found that he misjudged her once again.

Kagome wanted to make it clear, and there was no time like the present, “Listen Anubis, I really am sorry for poking you, and yelling, but I am very serious. You can’t just show up in Japan one day and start ordering me and my friends around without any sort of explanation.” Kagome tried to ignore the smug pleasure dripping off of Inuyasha’s face, and focus on Anubis. He looked as though he had completely recovered from her show of temper. His passive mask was firmly in place. Only a tiny hint of amusement flickered in his blue eyes, indicating that he wasn’t going to kill them all for their insolence.

Anubis was shocked that the tender embodiment of kindness held such a fiery temper. It was a completely unexpected trait. Now that he had witnessed it first hand, he was loath to stir her fury again. After he gathered his bearings, Anubis made a decision. Kagome may disapprove, and he knew without a doubt that the hanyou would be opposed, but his decision was final. “You are forgiven, Kagome, and you must forgive me if I seemed oppressive. You have become very important to me, in a very short amount of time, and I do not want to see you harmed, therefore I will be accompanying you and your companions on your journey until I deem it safe to leave you.”

“Now wait just a damned minute!” Inuyasha shouted. “I say who is part of this group, and you AIN’T part of it!”

Anubis was beginning to understand the workings of these two. It has been said that behind every strong man stands a strong woman. He felt sure that the saying held true for the hanyou and miko. She let him think that he had control. Ah... his woman was proving to be a very intelligent creature indeed. Very well then. Appeal to her, and the hanyou will fall in line, whether he wanted to or not.

Anubis shot Inuyasha a sly look, and then rounded back to Kagome. He promptly lifted her hand to his lips, while looking into her eyes, and then said, “My lovely Kagome... please allow me to join you on your quest to destroy Naraku. You have my word that I will be on my best behavior.”

Kagome was once again surrounded in that haze of pleasant sensations as his warm lips pressed against her skin. She fought to stay upright under the flood, as the inu god pleaded his case. She could only give him a half goofy smile and nod her head ‘yes’.

Inuyasha stomped one foot down in protest. “Fuck this shit! We don’t need him tagging along while you go all googly eyes every time he breathes! This is stupid Kagome! I don’t trust this bastard! He’s up to something, and you’re just gonna go stupid on me and ignore it!”

Kagome rounded on Inuyasha with a glare of warning in her eyes. “Inuyasha, you’re on thin ice. Don’t make me say it,” the miko ground out between clenched teeth.

Inuyasha’s furry ears instinctively flattened to his silver mane of hair, and he released a sound that resembled that of a chastised puppy. He then sheathed the Tetsusaiga and stomped away, cursing the fates that landed Kagome in his lap, as well as one elderly miko named Kaede. If she’d never given Kagome that damn subjugation necklace he would not cower whenever someone said the word ‘sit’.

Anubis grinned in pleasure at the miko’s words. She had accepted him, and put the hanyou in his place. She would be a fine mother to his pup. He strolled beside her, carefully keeping his power contained so as not to overwhelm the mortal members of the group. They all fell in behind the silently raging hanyou walking several paces ahead of them. This was not exactly what he had planned, but it may just work out to his advantage. Kagome would remain safe, and he would be able to become better acquainted with her. This could turn into a blessing in disguise.

As they walked along, Anubis looked to Kagome and asked, “What do you know of Naraku’s incarnations Kagura and Kanna?”

Kagome almost stumbled at the abrupt change in subject by the inu god. She was surprised that he had discovered so much about Naraku since they last spoke. She shrugged it off however, as he was a god after all. Finding out information like that must be pretty easy for someone like him.

“Well, Kagura of the wind, and Kanna of the void, were the first two incarnations of Naraku. We have fought against them many times. Kagura is powerful, but Inuyasha has surpassed her in strength, so she isn’t so quick to engage in a battle with him anymore. Kanna uses her mirror to spy for Naraku, as well as to suck the souls from the living. She tried to do it to me once. It was a wretched feeling,” Kagome said gravely.

“Have you ever noticed any signs that they wish to be freed of Naraku?” Anubis probed.

“Well, sort of. I mean, Kagura doesn’t even try to hide her hatred of Naraku. Kanna, I’m not sure of, but I think she would stay with Kagura if given the chance. Why do you ask?” Kagome pressed.

Anubis remained silent for a short time before he said, “I was simply considering whether I should allow them to live.”

“Wh... what do you mean?” Kagome asked. Her voice full of stunned confusion. Her friends had heard the comment as well, and they all stopped their progress down the deserted dirt path, to turn a questioning gaze to the Egyptian God.

Anubis looked at them as if he were surprised that they thought to question him. Humans were a strange lot. His dealings with human kind were basically limited to after death experiences.

Humans were just easier to manage when they were dead.

The ones surrounding him with gaping jaws were very much alive. Throw in a foul mouthed hanyou, an orphaned kitsune and a two tailed demon neko, and Anubis began, for the first time, to consider his sanity. Perhaps the centuries were corroding his mind? It would certainly explain his recent penchant to bring trouble upon his very own shoulders. His life had went drastically astray from the day he stepped foot out of Egypt. What was once mundane and structured had erupted into mass confusion and chaos. All because he made the decision to sire a child.

The mother-to-be was still staring at him with a slack-jawed expression. Anubis was discovering that there was much more to this girl than there appeared to be. How would she accept his decision to impregnate her? Sadly he felt that her reaction was not going to be a positive one. He had briefly pondered explaining the full purpose behind his interest in her, but after further thought, he decided against it. This would happen. He was a God. If he said it was to be, then it was to be. Any woman would be thrilled to birth the child of a powerful God.

Something in the back of his mind screamed in a very tiny voice that Kagome was not just ‘any woman’.

Anubis shook away the stray thoughts from his mind and regarded the misshapen group of companions waiting for enlightenment. Fine. He would give it. “I have observed the hanyou, Naraku and deemed him not worthy of life. I will end his cycle very soon.”

Inuyasha felt a strange lump rise in his throat. What was that word Kagome used? Wacked. Yep. This shit was wacked. After years of chasing that filthy bastard, he was going to loose his chance to kill Naraku. Instead some out of town, stuck up prick, with a hard on for Kagome was going to wipe the bastard out with a flick of his pretty wrist.

The only thing in Inuyasha’s mind at that moment, was the almost overpowering urge to throw his sword down on the ground and stomp on it over and over, all the while screaming ‘No fair! I wanted to kill him!’