Chapter Two:    Consequence of the Tide

Author note:  Yup.  This story lost by a FEW (only like three) votes, but since I’m such an idiot and put out SO many new stories any way I decided I’ll update them both equally since it’d be kinda’ silly to hold Awakening to White and this to the contest… when they aren’t exactly the only stories needing updates sweat-drop  So Awakening to White will be updated as well.

Confusion:  Yup again.  Naraku is the evil doom guy.  Why is he, evil Naraku, ruling Inuyasha’s life instead of torturing all of the little forest critters or something, you ask? Or maybe the question is—why does everyone in the village actually put up with his crap and follow his rules?  Well you’ll have to wait and find out,  doi.  You silly people -- asking such things after just the first chapter...  And yes, CRINGE  I actually have to write Kikyou+Inuyasha scenes, and Kagome isn’t here yet!! (that’s a first)  And yes, Kaede is a widdle bitsy kid.  (Kaede cannot be an old hag and Kikyou still young of course).

Vocabulary:

Haori- Short jacket-like kimono (Inu’s top)

Kiyaa!- typical Japanese female-shriek-of-terror

Gomen- Sorry

Oi- hey

Keh- Inuyasha’s trademark noise

Youkai- demon/evil spirit

 Inuyasha leaned his back against the nearest tree and sighed.  He was supposed to be hunting, but he had the most awkward feeling lingering in his mind today.  He didn’t think anything bad was going to happen… but the sensation was sort of…empty.  Just sitting there alone in the forest, with the birds and animals making quiet noises, made him shift uncomfortably.  He found it a bit unlike himself, but he suspected that he might actually be… lonely…

Now that was odd, but it did happen on occasion.  It wasn’t a problem though; because there was always someone he could bother to sooth it.  Kikyou was busy back at home though… and she had told him to go hunting in the first place.  The village had been a bit quiet also, as there were none too sickly and none too seriously injured lately either.  He should still hunt, to get some decent meat to cook for later… but he didn’t feel like doing it alone.  Perhaps Miroku would be up for a good run in the woods?  As long as he wasn’t busy, Miroku was always available for good company. 

With that thought, Inuyasha pushed away from the tree and headed back towards the village again.  It was a bit of a walk until he reached Miroku’s hut, though it was nothing but an annoyance to him.  It bothered the villagers when he hopped the rooftops, so he was considerate enough to walk the way this time.  He felt too drained to bother with the villagers any way. 

Upon arrival, Inuyasha took care to be extra quiet as he crept near Miroku’s dwelling; loving the way it always surprised him, since he usually failed to sense his approach.  Who was the demon and who was the human, after all?  The scene that greeted him when he peeked into his friend’s home, however, amused him even more.

That new woman, what was her name, Sango?  …Was bent over and sorting through a bunch of small sealing scrolls and informational of the like.  Thing was, while she was bent over and struggling to sort everything, Miroku looked awfully comfortable and content behind her. 

In a cute… perverted sort of way.

The poor girl looked ready to break a tooth with the way she was gritting her teeth.  Obviously, her only setback on smacking the misguided priest, was that he was not actually touching her.  But hands were in very dangerous zones, and looking rather shameless at that.  Groping air would be the best way to describe it….

Inuyasha was about to give away his cover with a burst of amused laughter, but he never got the chance.  Without warning, and with a dangerous glint in her eyes and speed that shocked both men, Sango had grabbed her boomerang that rested against the wall and sent it flying towards Inuyasha’s hiding spot.

“YOUKAI!!”

“Sango!!”

The large weapon flew straight trough the doorway, tearing off and through the mat that covered it, and embedded itself into the ground a few feet from the doorway.  People in the street cried out in surprise, though no one was hit, and everyone stared at the oversized boomerang that had just flown into the peaceful street. 

“I-Inuyasha…”  Miroku stuttered in surprise.  Sango looked horrified.

Inuyasha was plastered to the floor flattened down low, wide-eyed, and speechless.  He had thankfully been fast and flexible enough to have dropped down quick enough to avoid the attack.  His hair was slightly ruffled, the weapon having nearly sliced off the ends of it, but he wasn’t concerned with that... 

Not only was he surprised at the woman’s speed, and the weapon’s size… he was also amazed she has sensed him. 

Whereas Miroku was trained to sense evil, Inuyasha himself was undetectable to the priest; because his youkai aura had no traces of evil or black.  But the ability to sense one of youkai blood, regardless of evil or purity… was something different in itself all together.  Had she been a hunter or something…?  Oh well.

“Inuyasha…”  Sango choked out in a strained voice.  Looking only slightly disheveled, Inuyasha hastily picked himself up from his prone position on the floor and brushed himself off.  Miroku cleared his throat and tried to shake off his surprise, though it didn’t seem to be working.  He had known Sango had been an exterminator… but he had been clueless of her skill. 

And what if she had actually managed to hurt Inuyasha…?  He didn’t even want to think about what would’ve happened then.  The consequences were endless... 

Once Inuyasha seemed satisfied with his cleanliness, he turned on his heels and gingerly plucked the large boomerang from the ground; raising an eyebrow at Sango when he noted how heavy it was, since she was a woman after all.  The stunned townsfolk hastily went back to their business and tried to ignore the gash in the soil, and the doormat that lay in shreds on the ground. 

“Keh. Well…hello to you too, Sango.”  He remarked sarcastically, walking back into the hut with the weapon.  “Inuyasha…”  Miroku sighed, his tone relieved; that he wasn’t hurt or angry. 

“That some skill you’ve got, woman.  You a hunter?”  Sango paled.  Naraku hadn’t said anything concerning whether or not it was okay to talk about what she used to be! Was she supposed to lie?  She exchanged a glance with Miroku but he merely shrugged. 

“I used to be a…Youkai Taijiya...”  She answered, hoping that the answer wouldn’t cause her too many problems in the future.

“Taijiya, huh?  Well I guess I’m glad you aren’t one anymore then.”  Inuyasha shrugged, and Sango forced a smile on her face.  “Before I was attacked, though…”  Sango flinched.  “I was going to ask you something, Miroku.” 

Miroku smirked, glad to change the subject. “For my hand in marriage?  I never knew! I’ve already found another though, you’re too late.”  He sighed, catching a flustered Sango around the waist and pulling her over.  Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Hentai!  What woman would marry you!?”  Sango yelled, smacking the monk upside the head. 

“No, that’s not what I came for,”  Inuyasha replied dryly, “and besides, you two make a better couple any way.”  Sango shot Inuyasha a horrified look and Miroku looked surprised.  Did they really…??  “That way you could be as perverted as you like, and she’d always be there to beat it out of you.”  Sango sweat-dropped and Miroku sighed. 

“But I actually wanted to see if…you’d go hunting with me…”

“Hunting?”  Miroku blinked.  “Don’t you usually go alone?”  Inuyasha stared down at his feet and frowned.  “Keh…Yeah, so…”  Miroku smiled knowingly then.  So Inuyasha was lonely and just wanted company, huh…?  He looked to the side to see if Sango would mind him being gone, but he raised his eyebrows at her expression.  It gave him an idea though.  “Hey, Inuyasha…”  Inuyasha looked up.  “How about Sango going with you instead?”  Sango looked at him in surprise.  

“Sango?  Well I guess… She could probably show off here skills then too, huh?”  Miroku nodded and noticed Sango still staring at him.  “Well Sango?  Why don’t you hunt with Inuyasha while I finish work here?”  He could tell from looking at her before that she wanted to. 

“But I…”  Sango trailed off her protest.  ‘I don’t even know Inuyasha that well… why would he want my company?’   “Nonsense!”  Miroku urged, pushing her toward the door. “Some fresh air would do you both some good, and you can get to know each other better any way.  You two go have fun while I finish my job.”  Job, huh?  Sango grimaced.  All he’d been doing for the last few hours was exercise his perversity.

“I guess…as long as Inuyasha doesn’t mind.”  Sango finally nodded, grabbing her boomerang.  Inuyasha shrugged and walked back out the doorway, “Whatever, hope you’re fast.”  Sango frowned at the comment and glared a little. 

‘Maybe living here will be a little nice after all…’  Sango mused as she walked back to Miroku’s hut later that evening.  Inuyasha had been a little too arrogant for her tastes, but he’d lightened up once they got going.  She had apparently proved to be faster than he expected, and they’d had a few little races.  It had felt great to run through the woods and forget she was destined to stay in a strange little village under some youkai’s insane rule for the rest of her life.

In the end her and Inuyasha were both smiling and panting, with enough meat for her to take some home as well.  She sweat-dropped slightly as she glanced at the large bundle she was carrying over her shoulder. 

Maybe they’d had a little too much fun hunting….

“I’m sorry, mother…”

Inuyasha whispered as he sat at the water’s edge and stared out over the expanse of it.  His village was surrounded entirely by water, but he always came to the one area just beyond the densest part of the forest.  No one bothered him then. “…That I haven’t been coming very often lately.”  He normally came every day to stare out at the water and think, and sometimes talk to his mother even though he knew she wouldn’t hear him. 

“I haven’t been feeling…normal, lately.”  He admitted aloud, shifting to rest his chin on his knees. 

It was true, the last few weeks he’d had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach and something always seemed to be nagging at the back of his mind.  He had the strangest feeling something wrong was going to happen, but he couldn’t imagine what.  The worst that ever happened was a minor youkai attack, but none of them were ever hard to beat.  The sensation was worst whenever he was alone though, and the sinking feeling in his stomach worsened.

Inuyasha grimaced as the sinking feeling unfurled in his stomach, as expected, almost making him nauseous.  He curled up on his side and lay on the ground, ignoring the slight discomfort of the pebble-covered beach. 

“I miss you, mom...”

He always whispered it, but he meant it more seriously this time.  If his mother were there, she’d probably know what was wrong with him.  But… she wasn’t.

Closing his eyes, he sighed and decided to take a short nap.  The soft sound of the water was always easy to fall asleep to.  He wasn’t in any hurry, he’d brought the meat back to his hut and Kikyou had still been gone. 

Keh…

‘…What IS that smell!!’

Inuyasha’s eyes shot open as an unfamiliar smell reached his nose.  Sitting up a little groggily, he rubbed his eyes and looked around cautiously.  Curse it; he’d only slept about an hour.  He wished he’d slept more, because he hadn’t been able to sleep much at night for some reason recently.  Probably because of whatever was going on with his stomach…  Damn sicknesses…

He finally spotted the source of the smell and walked over to it, wrinkling his nose.  What was it…?  Picking it up he turned it over a few times before deciding it was a…shoe.  A weird shoe, but it was certainly a shoe.  He could smell the faint trace of human scent inside of it; though that wasn’t what stunk… whatever the shoe was made out of stank when it was soaked with water, apparently.  It must have been washed up on shore…

He’d never seen anyone wear shoes quite like it though.  Maybe someone was looking for it, but… keh, that wasn’t his problem.  He tucked it into his robe despite that possibility, and started walking along the beach.  ‘So what if they’re looking for it, it was on my beach…’

“Weird.  I’ve never seen anyone wear a pair of shoes like…this?”  He trailed off in surprise, staring down at the ground suddenly.  The same smell has hit his nose and it was… the other shoe.  He was a good distance from where he found the other one though.  “Keh, careless people losing shoes all over the place… Next thing I know they’ll probably be leaving body parts all over the beach.”  Ironically enough, he smelled a stranger just as the words left his mouth.  Shit, was an enemy near without him knowing it?  Breaking into a run, he dashed along the beach with a snarl. 

Turning a corner, Inuyasha skidded to a stop and his mouth dropped open in shock.  It didn’t appear to be an enemy at all.  Instead, at the water’s edge, lay the mangled body of

“….A girl?”

To be continued…..

Haha!  I finally updated another story huh?  I’m trying to get around to all of the ones I left in the dark.  Hope you still like this one, it wasn’t one of my most popular, but I still didn’t want to abandon it.  I’m going to make a Mailing list for my updates since they’re so unpredictable, so look out for news on that.  I also mention updates in my live journal, so my lj username is Evercool if you ever want to look it up.