One Cure 004
Kagome rolled to her side and released a yawn before opening her eyes. She glanced around the area, noticing the clear meadow, the sun shining, and clouds rolling across the sky. Sitting up and leaning against her arm, she glanced around. The forest look far in the distance while no other sight of landmark that could be seen. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed Sango sleeping against Kirara, Miroku leaning against a tree. Looking up the tree, she noticed the hanyou looking out over the meadow.
Pulling her knees to her chest, Kagome tried to remember what happen. It started coming back to her when she remembered the demons they were suppose to kill; however, the event went wrong when InuYasha found the men killing the demons for fun but in a cruel way. A sigh escaped her lips causing the hanyou to glance down in her direction. It didn’t make sense why men were killing demons just for the fun of it. Most people, who were not at least experience with killing demons, were usually killed. No one should go around killing demons for fun.
The crunching of leaves caused Kagome to glance over her shoulder. She watched as InuYasha walked over to her and dropped down. He eyed her with a glare before she finally shook her head and turned away. “Are we heading to the village?” She asked the question out of the blue, not knowing what was going to happen next.
“I don’t know.” His response was dark and distant as if he was upset about something. Kagome glanced slightly towards his direction, eyeing him the same way he did to her. There was no clue on what he was thinking, no idea what could make him so mad. Shrugging it off, Kagome turned to look back at the horizon.
“Why are you down by me?”
InuYasha just threw her a glare. “Keh. I can sit where I want to. Anyways, Miroku brought up that same fucking question you asked before.”
Kagome glanced over her shoulder at him before turning away. “You mean the one on why you changed so much? I figured as much. I am not the only one who has notice the change in you.”
“Nothing has changed about me. You all have fucking lost it.”
With a shrug of her shoulders, the young girl stood up. “Think what you want, InuYasha, but actions don’t lie.”
InuYasha watched as the girl walked over to the small fire. She sat down and tried to stir it to life before pouring some water into a small pot. Setting it the side, she pulled out another pot and started preparing some food for everyone. Kirara released a meow and Kagome turned to smile at her. At the same time, Sango woke stretching. She also gave a smile to the young girl before glancing at the forest and then towards the monk who, in return, gave her a nod.
If there was anything that pissed the hanyou off, it was when people kept secrets, especially when he knew they regarded to him. He didn’t have any idea on why everything thought he had changed so much. There wasn’t anything different about him. He was just mad that the jewel was destroyed once more. Naraku and Kikyou were both dead, but their journey had not ended because of that damn jewel. He wasn’t trying to take it out on Kagome, but he had no other reason. She was the one who lost the jewel. She was the one who fired the arrow to prevent the demon from running off with it. The whole mistake, the whole tracking the jewel again, was caused by her when she didn’t watch what she was doing or where she was walking.
InuYasha stood from his spot and walked over to sit across from the fire, directly infront of Kagome. He came at the end of the conversation and watched as everyone nodded and turned to look towards him. “What do you think, InuYasha? Should we continue to the village and find out what the Headman has to say about these men?” asked Miroku.
“Keh. I don’t fucking care.” Kagome just rolled her eyes and shook her head against the hanyou’s respond as she dished out bowls of soup and started passing them around. He eyed her carefully once more before snorting against the whole action. She glanced up at him, but only closed her eyes for a second as a bleak smile danced across her face.
“Then it is settled. We leave after lunch,” replied Miroku as he started eating his food. The area was soon shrouded in silence as everyone started enjoying their food.
Women watched as Kagome, InuYasha, and the rest walked into the village. Some casted cold looks towards InuYasha while others pulled their children near. There were others that disappeared inside the huts completey having the men stand in front. Those men held garden tools in their hands as if a fight was going to start.
Kagome just shook her head as she glanced around the village. She felt herself being roughly pushed from behind and glanced over her shoulder to see InuYasha. He wasn’t glancing down at her. Instead, he was glancing up. His hand kept pushing against her back, causing her to move forward. She just shook her head and move to his side. However, that was prevented when he reached for her arm and dragged her in front.
“Keep moving. Don’t stop. Don’t look.” His voice was distance once again and she had a feeling it was because of the village. Somehow, just listening to his voice, noticing his reaction, she figured that InuYasha must have stumbled across a village such as this one as a child and was treated the same way. It didn’t seem fair. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone. Why be cruel to him now?
The Headman’s house came into view as everyone neared the edge of the village. Two men were standing outside, holding spears in their hands. Miroku bowed as he came to a stop. One only moved to point his spear towards Miroku causing InuYasha to release a growl. “Halt! Who goes there?” asked the man who didn’t have his spear pointing towards the monk.
“We are the travellers that were sent to destroy some demons that were destroying your crops,” replied Miroku as he bowed again.
The man who was holding the spear turned towards the other. Both spoke in a soft voice before nodding. Pushing the door open, they motion for everyone to follow. Kagome glanced back with a hard swallow, but felt herself get pushed through the door by the hanyou. She followed down the hallway before entering a large room. The Headman sat at the back of the room. The two men quickly walked to his side and started to talk as Miroku bowed and everyone else took a seat.
The Headman finally stopped talking and nodded. Kagome watched as the two guards disappeared out of the room, closing the door behind them. “According to the guards, you are the travellers that were suppose to rid the demons. Am I right?”
Miroku gave a nod. “Yes, but there seems to be some trouble.”
“And what would that be?”
“A different group of men have already destroyed the demons.”
The Headman nodded his head. “I know about these men you speak of. They were hired by me.”
Kagome’s eyes went wide as Miroku sat back surprised. Sango was the one who rose. “Sir, I am sure you know that these men kill demons for fun. It is cruel how they kill demons.”
“Demon slayer, I am quite aware how these men work. To me, it doesn’t matter as long as the job gets done.”
“But, sir?”
“Enough. The men have done their work and if I need them again, I will sure enough hire them. You may leave now.” Everyone watched as the Headman left the room while the two men from earlier open the back door.
Miroku turned towards his friends and released a sigh. “I guess there isn’t much else we can do. Let’s return back to Kaeda’s village.” A nod came from the hanyou, miko, and demon slayer as everyone walked out of the Headman’s hut.
Outside, Kagome stopped. She couldn’t understand how a group of men who killed for fun were chosen to defeat the demons and not them. Walking over to some women, she decided to ask about the man who was sent to Kaeda’s village. One woman’s eyes went wide as she glanced around at Kagome’s friends. “So, you’re the group who the Headman first hired to have the demons defeated?” Kagome nodded. “Oh my gosh!”
“What?” asked Kagome. She was a little neverouse to learn what had happen here at this village causing everything to be changed.
“The man sent to your village did return. I heard him talk to the Headman how your group had a hanyou travelling with you. Right away, he dismissed the man. I learned that the Demon Hunters were hired to kill the demons and the man. The same day the Hunters arrived, the man was found dead in his hut.”
Kagome eyes went wide. “You are saying that the man was killed because he met InuYasha?” The woman nodded her head. “That’s crazy.”
“I am sorry. Also, if I were you, I would leave the village now. Knowing the Headman, since he saw the hanyou, he would have quickly hired the Demon Hunters to kill your friend.”
“He wou…” Kagome response was cut short when screaming caused her to look back. Her eyes went wide as she watched the Headman talk with a group of men. He was pointing towards her direction where InuYasha was standing. Kagome recgonize who the men were right away. The tips of spears and swords were dripping with blood. Small pats of demons were hanging from belts around the men’s waist.
“The men are here!” yelled the woman.
Kagome nodded and ran towards InuYasha. InuYasha eyed her carefully before catching scent of blood. He looked towards the men that were approaching them and then down at Kagome. She was bent over, resting her hands on her legs, breathing hard. She kept chanting, “Demon Hunters.” It finally made him understand that those were the men that killed the group of demons they were seeking and now were after them.
“Damn it! Everyone, get up and start fucking moving. Now!” yelled the hanyou forcing everyone to move.
InuYasha grabbed Kagome’s wrist and started dragging her around huts and out of the village. Kagome tried keeping up. She glanced back, eyes wide as she watched the men start chasing them. They ran through groups of people, destroyed carts full of either hay or food. People were screaming. Mothers were pulling their children into huts. Men started to grab tools to protect either themselves or families.
InuYasha released a curse as he kept pulling the young girl with him. He glanced over his shoulder to see the men still giving chase. He wanted to stop and fight them, but knew it was wrong. These were human men, not demons. Another curse escaped his lip as he lifted Kagome over a fence and started dragging her through the forest. “Keep moving, damn it!”
Kagome was starting to grow tired. Her legs were aching. Her wrist was hurting. Even her lungs were burning from all the hard breathing she was doing just to keep up with the hanyou. Usually, he would have picked her up. However, in all this movement, he hasn’t taken the time to stop.
A tree root was up too far as InuYasha jumped over it. Kagome didn’t see it and came tripping over the root. She landed in some mud, sliding across the ground. InuYasha cursed and growled as he grabbed the girl by her arm, forcing her to stand. She wobbled on her feet before one of her feet landed on something sharp, piercing the bottom of her foot. The pain echoed through her leg clear to her mind. She started screaming as blood ran down her leg where she fell. InuYasha cursed again before wrapping his arms around the girl and lifting her into his arms. He glanced around to located Miroku and Sango, but had no luck. Cursing once more, he jumped into the trees, hoping to lose the men that were still chasing.