Soul of the Wolf

By: Silver Volken Raven

Genre: Family/Adventure/Romance

Summary: "In the darkest of hours, a wolf of pure blood shall rise from the ashes of a priestess and smite the darkness of the Four Souls!"

Chapter Two: Mysterious Canis Lupus

Down in the village, the destruction seemed more massive. People were running everywhere; some bleeding and some were even on fire. Huts were teeming with flames and collapsing. Screams of terrified and pained humans rang out above the pandemonium and even the growls of inhuman creatures filled the air. There were more wolves than the group had anticipated. The majority of them were black, storming the area like a dark cloud of death, reeking havoc, pain, and blood in their wake. They rampaged through the civilization, attacking and eating people barking and howling wildly.

Kagome looked on, eyes wide at the horror such animals caused. They can’t possibly be Koga’s wolves! There are too many and I don’t sense his aura anywhere. Besides, aren’t his wolves brown? Theses ones are black! She reached behind her back, pulling an arrow out of her quiver, knocked and shot it off with great accuracy at a demon preying on two children. It gave a terrible shriek before bursting into black dust. Good thing I learned more about archery and precision from Sango and Kaede!

Inuyasha ran by, his claws bloodied and slashing at the canines who dared to attack him. Kagome flinched as his lethal weapons cut straight through a wolf’s jaw down to its tail, rendering it in half. He wrinkled his nose at the blood.

“Ugh. When I see Koga, I’m gonna kick that wolf’s ass! Gross!” He flicked the blood off of his fingers before jumping back into the fray, cutting into two more wolf demons simultaneously.

Sango pulled out her boomerang, with a war cry, throwing it at three demons that were on a burning roof. She leapt off of Kirara and pulled out her samurai sword. Fitting her large boomerang onto her back, she stabbed a wolf that was gnawing on a man’s leg. Wow! There are a lot of wolves here! I didn’t think Koga had this many followers. Blocking a leaping wolf demon, she chopped its forelegs off and ran to cut at others.

Miroku threw sutras at the detected demonic auras, purifying some of them. Gripping the prayer beads, he yelled, “Everyone, get out of the way!” His companions got the message as they gave him space to open the void in his right hand. Facing a particularly large clump of demons and wolves, he cried, “Wind Tunnel!”

A mass of enemies were cleared in the event of his attack, however, to the group’s dismay, more filled the places of the lost.

As the battle dragged on, the sun began to set on the bloodshed, the group began to tire. Miroku ran out of sutras and Sango was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head from one of the wolf demons. Inuyasha sustained minimal damage; a few bites and scratches, at most. Shippo, too, was unconscious, either from fright or an unseen wound. Kirara had heavy wounds that trickled blood freely. Kagome’s ankle had been twisted and was also covered in bites and scratches.

The able-bodied members fought on. Inuyasha began to use blades-of-blood and the Scar of the Wind as the number of adversaries began to rise. Miroku beat each one out of the way with his staff, dealing blows that would render the cretins dead or unconscious. Arrow after arrow was shot from Kagome’s bow, taking down wolves and purifying demons.

As she reached for another arrow to knock onto her bow, a massive demon loomed behind her, drooling a bit at the sight of the beautiful priestess. Giving a low chuckle, it raised a crudely clawed hand to strike. Kagome, sensing the danger too late, turned slowly and faced the tall, grotesque being, and gave a shriek of fear and despair.

Hearing the shriek, Inuyasha and Miroku whipped their heads towards her, shouting, “Kagome!”

Just in time, she fell backward on her rump, throwing up a purifying barrier. As the demon brought the claws down, a horrid burning feeling razed his arm and spread throughout his body, incinerating every skin cell, ligament, muscle, and tendon the power touched. At his shriek of pain, the others in the area turned to him, eyes widened in alarm.

“A priestess!” one of them shouted and they all rushed towards the pale blue barrier. Inuyasha raised Tetsuisaiga as he saw the wind scar and brought it down on the rushing creatures, disintegrating more than half of them.

Miroku prepared to open up his Wind Tunnel again, when he spotted Poison Insects. What? Poison Insects? Is Naraku here? I should have known he would be behind this! But what does he have to do with it and what is he getting out of this? He turned to Inuyasha, who had stayed close to the barrier and fended off any foes that weren’t purified immediately by the pure energy. Miroku found it strange that Kagome’s barrier had yet to fall or even waver. She hasn’t been able to put up or maintain a barrier. Perhaps Lady Kaede will know about this. She has probably been teaching Lady Kagome how to use her power properly. I wouldn’t put it past the wise woman.

The monk made his way to Inuyasha’s side, flinging and batting demons and wolves out of his way. At the half demon’s side, he called, “Inuyasha! Look over there! Naraku’s Poison Insects are here!”

Inuyasha whirled to look in the direction Miroku was pointing and saw four poison insects hovering over the battle. “Damn! How long have they been there?” He slashed at more wolves with Tetsuisaiga and shoved some away with his claws.

Miroku shook his head, bringing his staff down on one’s head, “I do not know. I was able to use my Wind Tunnel before so they couldn’t have been here long.” He whacked another in the stomach and one more in the back.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha growled, “Still! Why are they here? What’s Naraku gotta do with these wolves?” Turning over his shoulder, he glanced at Kagome, to see her still curled on her side in the fetal position, the cloudy blue barrier still shimmering around her. “What’s wrong with Kagome? Why won’t she drop this damn barrier? I can’t move anywhere if she doesn’t!”

Miroku knew what his friend really wanted to say, but decided now was not the time to bring it up. The two, for Kirara passed out from her injuries earlier, continued their defense of their fallen companions and finally the enemies began to thin out.

Suddenly Kagome stood up, her barrier falling away like a curtain, and shouting hoarsely, “A jewel shard!” Her defenders inclined their heads in her direction, trying to hear her better.

Frowning, Miroku called, “You’re going to have to speak up, Lady Kagome! We can’t hear you so well!” Inuyasha growled loudly and cut a demon’s face for injuring his arm.

Pointing to the north of the village, she yelled louder, “I sense a jewel shard! Over there somewhere! Come on!” Nodding their affirmative, the trio began to work their way towards the north end of the destroyed area. Knocking her arrow, Kagome aimed it at where she felt it. Her arrow missed its mark, a tall, wolf-like creature with the body not unlike a human’s. It snarled at her, and howled to the others. They all immediately stopped their ransacking and destroying, turning to face the “wolf-man”.

Surprisingly, it spoke in a deep, growling voice, “Let’s go! We found what the Alpha was looking for!” Its followers began to yip, growl, and howl with excitement, tearing after the strange being in the forest. Inuyasha surged forward to follow them, but Miroku and Kagome held him back.

Turning on them, he shouted, “What the hell are you guys doin? They’re gettin’ away!” He struggled, forcing Kagome to threaten to sit him. He nearly roared with rage at his companions who practically helped their enemies escape.

Hunching wearily over his staff, Miroku huffed, “Inuyasha, we cannot hope to go after them in our condition. Lady Kagome and I are exhausted and Sango and Kirara need medical assistance.” Silently, Inuyasha admitted that he was right. Taking a glance at his priestess companion, he saw that she looked ready to faint or possibly fall asleep on her feet. Grunting, he turned toward their unconscious group members, scooping up Sango. Kagome staggered over and lifted Shippo and Kirara into her weary arms and followed Inuyasha.

Miroku limped slightly after them, and together, they searched each hut, finding the few lucky survivors and reassuring them. Among them was the village headman, who offered them a hut with a small hot spring, saying it was the least he could do. The rest of the villagers were gathered into huts near the east of the village, which had more houses intact.

Flipping up the rice-paper flap covering the doorway, the village headman peered warily inside, “Here you are. I know this does not nearly reward your deeds. You all have the villagers’ thanks and you are welcomed here, should you need it. There is a hot spring a little ways off into the forest. Stay as long as you like.” Bowing, he walked off to assess the damage down to the rest of his village and to oversee the burials.

Sighing wearily, Kagome plopped down in a corner of the room, kicking off her loafers. She rubbed her sore feet, groaning softly. Miroku sunk to the floor, sitting cross-legged on the wooden boards. Inuyasha sat himself down heavily and huffed in irritation. Kagome glanced at him, waiting for the typical "weak-humans" rant. Thankfully, it didn't come. The sour half demon settled for glaring crossly at the entrance to the hut.

Kagome stood up and went over to her bag, pulling out bandages, antiseptic, and her first aid kit to treat any wounds. She checked Sango's injuries first, concluding that she was merely unconscious and doesn't sustain any heavy damage. Shippo only fainted, too. Kirara held many bloody scratches and bites that Kagome had to clean and wrap. Glancing over at Inuyasha and Miroku, she asked, “How about you boys? Any nasty injuries I should look at?"

Miroku shook his head, "No, thank you. I'm merely tired, Lady Kagome." Inuyasha grunted a negative. She shook her head at him. He shouldn't keep sulking. It wasn't their fault those wolves got away with that jewel shard. Instead of voicing this, Kagome pulled out her sleeping bag, pulling Shippo close to her. Before she could shut her eyes, Miroku began, "Well, this was a strange day."

Inuyasha glanced at the monk asking, "What do ya' mean?" Kagome nodded, wanting to know what the monk meant. More importantly, she wanted to know if he noticed the absence of Koga's aura. He should've been able to sense it, had Koga actually been there.

Miroku answered, “Something’s going on here. Naraku's Poison Insects were there. Why would the wolves attacking be any concern to Naraku? It doesn't make sense." Kagome frowned. She didn't see any Poison insects, but perhaps they were there.

She piped in, "Do you think they were spying on us for Naraku? That wolf-thing could of taken the jewel shard to him." That wolf-man was rather strange to see and for a time-traveling, shard-hunting priestess that was saying something. If she believed in make-believe creatures, she would have thought that he was a werewolf. What the hay, maybe it was a werewolf. That wouldn't actually seem so strange for a futuristic girl who's seen countless odd demons.

Miroku seemed to have the same sentiment. "I have never seen a creature like that in my entire life. It did not have a demon aura, but it looked somewhat demonic." Kagome nodded. Many of the creatures they fought were regular wolves or had a weird, non-demonic aura.

"Yeah", she said, "When I shot some arrows at them, they weren't purified. They died like any normal animal would have." She paused before continuing, "Besides, I don't think those wolves belonged to Koga's tribe. His wolves are brown, right? The ones we fought were black and I don't think he has that many wolves. I didn't sense his aura, anywhere in the area. Did you, Miroku?"

He shook his head. Inuyasha finally spoke, "So, you're tellin' me that those wolves aren't Koga's mutts? Why would Naraku want wolves under his control? The monk's right, this is too weird. Something's goin' on here." He shook his head, wild, silver locks flinging everywhere. Kagome bit her lip, wondering if she tell them about her dream. No. I'll tell them when we go back to Kaede's village.

"Perhaps", Miroku began to suggest, "We should talk to Koga. Maybe he knows something about this." He glanced over at the half demon, expecting him to blow up. He wasn't disappointed.

"What?! Are you crazy, monk? Why should we talk to him? You guys just said it wasn't Koga or his stupid pack! So, why should we go?" Inuyasha fumed. Were these two drunk or something? First letting those damn wolves get away, then suggesting that they talk to Koga. What the hell? Something strange was definitely going on and Inuyasha didn't like it one bit.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Relax, Inuyasha. It was just a suggestion. I think he might know something. It couldn't hurt." She looked down at Shippou, who began to stir at Inuyasha's yelling. "And hush. You're gonna wake everyone up."

Inuyasha turned away, muttering, “You would want to see wolf-breath, wouldn't you?" At this, her cheeks burned with anger and indignation. Ugh! He is so childish! I don't even like Koga, like that! Miroku shook his head at Inuyasha. If he kept this up, he was going to get sat very soon. Instead of letting her temper get the best of her, she breathed deeply in and then out. Her yelling and the sound of him greeting the floorboards would surely wake up their sleeping companions. Seeming unaware of her temper, the half demon continued, "Whatever's going on will have to wait. They got that jewel shard and who knows who this "Alpha" is. Gods only know where they're takin' it."

Sighing, Kagome said, "I got an idea. How about, tomorrow, we look to see if we can find any leads as to where they went. In we do, we follow them. If not, then we head back to Kaede's village and then look for Koga. Sounds good?" Miroku nodded, closing his eyes to finally rest. Inuyasha, however, continued to be stubborn.

"No! Why should we go beg that damn wolf for help? We don't need him! And we were just at Kaede's village!" he sputtered. Kagome gave another annoyed sigh. Miroku opened his eyes again to look at Inuyasha. Will he ever grow up?

The priestess snapped, "Do you have a better idea?" At this, he didn't respond, merely huffing and looking away. "That's what I thought. So, tomorrow, we'll head out. Good night, Miroku. Good night, Inuyasha." She turned over in her sleeping bag, closing her eyes and dozing off.

Miroku sleepily answered, "Good night, as well, Lady Kagome."

"Feh."

~...~

The next day almost looked promising. Sango, Shippou, and Kirara were awake and feeling better the following morning. Kagome and Inuyasha didn't get into too many fights. She only had to sit him once. Setting out into the village, they thanked the headman for allowing them to stay, who in turn thanked them as well. Shippou, Kirara, and Inuyasha set out to find a scent trail, sniffing around the clearing. So far, they were unsuccessful. Then Shippou came across the unmistakeable scent of wolf.

"Hey, everyone! Over here!" He waved his small hands in the air frantically, gaining everyone's attention. They all rushed over to the young fox. "I think I found their scent! Follow me!" He then sprang into the forest, with everyone at his heels.

The group followed the fox deep into the woods, the demons stopping to sniff for the scent occassionally, before sprinting again. Suddenly, Shippou came to a stop, sniffing the air and the ground for the scent. He frowned. Looking back at the approachin group he called, "Guys, I can't smell it anymore! The scent is gone!" He vainly tried to sniff for it again.

Inuyasha set Kagome down and began to sniff the area, too. "The runt's right. I don't smell it anymore, either. It's like the smell just vanished or somethin'." He tipped his nose in the air to get even a hint of the scent, but couldn't detect one. Kagome could have sighed in relief. While she wanted to find those wolves and get the jewel shard, she also wanted to return to Kaede to tell her of her dream.

"What now?" Sango called from Kirara's back. Inuyasha fumed angrily and Shippou hopped on Kagome's shoulder.

Kagome turned and said, "Now, we head back to Kaede's, right Inuyasha?" She was answered with grumbling. "Calm down, Inuyasha. It's not like we'll be at Kaede's for long. We also have to find Koga, remember?" He crouched before her, and she climbed on his back. Miroku filled Sango and Shippou in on the plan that they created the night before. Together, the group ran back to Kaede's village, hoping to get answers to the questions in their head.

SVR- This chapter is a bit longer than the first one. Not too much going on here. Hopefully, this fanfic won't take me as long as Revenge of the Twilight will. In case anyone doesn't know "canis lupus" is the scientific name for wolf. Enjoy guys and please review!