The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 5 (InuYasha)

PART FIVE- An InuYasha fan-fiction. Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

I’m really sorry about this, Kagome.

Kagome would have been amazed how fast the tree-sprits moved through the forest. Despite their huge size and ponderous wooden bodies, they moved with impressive speed and grace without disturbing or damaging any of the surrounding flora. All of this, however, was lost on Kagome as she could barely open her eyes, or even breathe for all the sneezing. She was in the middle of a tramp of walking trees and the clouds of pollen that shook loose with every thunderous step filled her every breath. It bothered Shippo as well, but he was now so stuffed up that he’d stopped sneezing. He was getting very concerned about Kagome.

“*sniff* Kagome?”

“Haht-shoo!”
“*sniff* You OK?”
“HAAASH-shooo!”
“What’re *sniff* What’re we gonna do?”

“Haaah-SHOO! Ohhhhh!”

Shippo just patted her on the shoulders and tried to comfort her as best he was able. Since Kagome was out of commission, the clever little fox demon looked around and tried to formulate a plan. They were sitting in the high braches of one of the tree-spirits. Not much held them in place, but it would be a rather nasty fall. He figured they couldn’t climb down without being noticed, but if he could inflate his body just enough to slow their fall they might have a few seconds before they were noticed if they jumped. Once he sensed a break in Kagome’s sneezing he told her the plan.

“*sniff* What?!”
“We gotta jump Kagome! I’ll float us down!”

“*sniff* No way Shippo! *sniff* We’ll never make it!” The tree-spirits seemed oblivious to their conversation.

“It’s our only chance! *sniff* Come on!” Shippo grabbed both of Kagome’s hand and tried to jump down, but she resisted and they ended up balanced precariously on their high bough.
Come on Kagome! *sniff* Trust me!”

“No! *sniff* It’s too high!”

But as Shippo hung from Kagome’s hands he knew there was no other way, and he didn’t want to be taken all the way back to their lair. “I’m really sorry about this, Kagome.” Hanging upside down, he hooked his legs over her outstretched arms and wiggled his fluffy tail in front of her nose, shaking loose the pollen that had collected on it.

“N-no… Ship… Shippo… Nah… Nah… NaaAAAH-SHOO!” She lost her balance with the sneeze and they fell towards the ground. Half way down, Shippo finally managed the shape-change, inflating himself and slowing their fall just enough to avoid injury despite still having hard landing. 
At first they assumed they’d have to run for it, but the tree-sprits seemed unaware of the fact that they were free. The troop continued to move in the same direction without so much as a pause. Judging from their momentum, the strongest castle walls couldn’t have slowed their pace. All the two fugitives really had to do was get out of the way and avoid being trampled. They quickly scampered to the side of the path, and hid under a giant tree root. The sprits seemed to avoid trodding on such things. Unfortunately, at the ground level, the pollen cloud was at its thickest. It stung their eyes and set them sneezing almost continuously until the thunderous march finally passed. It took several more minutes before either of their noses calmed down, and when they finally emerged from their hiding place all was quiet and the air had cleared considerably.
“*sniff* Where are we Kagome?”

“I don’t know Shippo. *sniff* I can see the mountain through the trees over there, but we were moving so fast… *sniff* I’m not sure how far we are from the village.” After taking a few minutes to blow their noses and get their bearings, they started back up the wide path they had being taken down. At some point, they thought, it had to lead back to the village.

After walking for over an hour, it still looked like they were in the same place, relative to the mountain. Only the sun had moved, and it now hung very low in the sky. They didn’t like the idea of spending the night in this dense, living wood. They sat and took a break. At first both were too tired to speak, but Shippo was the first to notice the now familiar tickle creeping back into his nose.

“Ka…Kagome? I… hah… HAAAAH… HAAHTCHOOO!”
Before her own breath hitched Kagome leapt to her feet and instinctively reached for an arrow, but the quiver was empty; her arrows a casualty of the rough ride and the sneezing which doubled her over even while hanging from the high branches. They heard something that sound like wood being twisted before they were swept up effortlessly, and carried off of the path, deeper into the forest.
TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 4 (InuYasha)

PART FOUR - An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

IRON REAVER S-SOUL S-T-STEAAACHOOOO!

While Sango and Kirara went on patrol, InuYasha and Miroku helped the villagers bury what remained of their dead. There were almost three dozen loggers killed the day before, and they got a sense of not only what the village had lost but of what they might be up against themselves. Once they finished, Miroku had blessed the gravesites and the two of them went to join Sango on guard duty.

“Sango, have you heard anything?” Miroku asked.

“I’m not sure. There seems to be a lot of movement from within the forest, but every time I get close enough for a look it stops. Do you sense anything?”
“No. But the tree sprits are not really demons, so I wouldn’t be able to. If they were corrupted by the sacred jewel, Kagome should be able to sense it, but she’s still meeting with the village elder. InuYasha, can you smell anything?”
“HaraAAHTCHOO! *sniff* No. *sniff* I’m completely blocked up. I can’t even smell you.”

Miroku started to chuckle at InuYasha’s remark when all three of them were startled by what looked like several giant, anthropomorphic trees crashing through the perimeter of the wood. Each stood over twenty feet tall, and while they caused no damage to the tree line, their footsteps shook the ground and sounded as if the entire forest was being brought down on top of them. As the first wave began their charge, another dozen emerged behind them.
Sango was the first to act. “KIRARA!” she yelled and the nekomata moved to attack the lead tree-spirit. Sango threw her weapon, Hiraikotsu, just as Kirara was thrown off by her target. The giant boomerang severed two of the trees-sprit’s limbs before returning, but the tree spirit had several remaining and was not slowed. As she waited for the weapon to return to her, Sango was struck from behind by what felt like a giant club and fell unconscious. The Hiraikotsu sailed over her body and landed in the woods.

“SANGO!” Miroku yelled in horror as he loosened the binding on his right hand. “WIND TUNNEL!”

As the monk activated the black hole he carried as his curse, what looked like tons of debris flew towards him from the forest only to be swallowed up by the void. He was surprised however that only a single tree-spirit was sucked in. The rest stood perfectly still, appearing to resist its pull by taking root. Miroku cut off the power just as InuYasha jumped in its path to prevent Sango from being sucked in.

“Would you knock that off?! There’s only one way to handle these guys… TESSAIGA!” But as InuYasha drew his sword, he was stunned to see that blade did not transform, instead retaining the dull, rusty appearance it had when inert.

Three of the spirits now focused their attacks on InuYahsa. Rather than lung forward however, the seemed reach toward the sky and quiver. Taking this for vulnerability, InuYasha attempted another attack. He almost failed to notice the nearly maddening burn that flared up in his eyes and nose.

“IRON REAVER S-SOUL S-T-STEAAACHOOOO!” Rather than leaping forward and swiping with his claws, InuYasha stood doubled over by the force of the sneeze. Seeing that he was prone, one of the tree-sprits struck him with a stout limb. InuYasha flew through the air in a wide arc and landed at the foot of another spirit on the other side of the field. Before he could move, InuYasha was crushed under the sprit’s foot. Although not physically harmed, he was pinned as the behemoth took root in the ground, its tendrils tangling themselves around his limbs before tunneling deep into the earth.
Miroku raised his staff in defense. He looked around. Sango and InuYasha were down and Kirara was no longer in sight. He could not outrun the giants and his wind-tunnel proved ineffective. As the spirits closed in on him, he braced for the worst, knowing he was out of options. As he waited for what he assumed would be the final blow, he could hear Kagome and Shippo yelling to him. He looked over his shoulder to see the two changing towards the melee on the back of Kirara.

“NO! KAGOME! GO BACK!” *whack* Miroku was taken out with a single sweep of the tree-sprit’s limb. His unconscious body landed several meters from where he was struck. Two more moved quickly to attack the village’s remaining defenders. In a deftly coordinated move, one snatched Kagome, and Shippo (who was clinging to her shoulders), off of Kirara’s back while another swept its limbs across Kirara’s path, sending the giant demon-cat tumbling through the air, finally hitting the ground, unconscious.

“KAGOME! KAGOME! NO! LET GO OF ME! KAGOME!” InuYasha screamed as he struggled against his captor. As the three-sprits retreated into the woods, the one holding InuYasha began to tighten its grip, cutting off its prisoner’s breath. Once InuYasha fell still, it released him and followed its brethren into the dense forest.


TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 3 (InuYasha)

PART THREE - An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Traveler? *sniff* What d-did... hat-SHOO! Excuse me. *sniff* What did he look like?

After a satisfying meal, Miroku, Sango and InuYasha helped the villagers bury their dead, before going on guard duty with Kirara. While they strengthened diplomatic ties in the village, Shippo and Kagome were left to converse with the village elder.

“*sniff* So… you were attacked by tree-demons?” Kagome started.
“Heh-heh… Not demons my dear: Spirits. Guardian spirits of the forest. We have lived alongside the Shinrinyahsa for generations. They protect us from the demon tribes to the north by using their pollen to make the woods almost unbearable for them… and if any demon does make it too far into the woods, the tree-spirits are ferocious fighters. In return, we only log the portions of the forest that they deem are ready for harvest. We leave any areas and trees alone that they want preserved.”
“But … hah … HAT-shoo! Excuse me… But why did they attack you?”
“We still don’t know for sure. We have a treaty with them, spelling out our agreement that they will protect us in exchange for us respecting their boundaries. But there was a sacred tree that was accidentally felled recently. Some of the men misread the tree’s marking and thought it was designated for timber.”
Shippo was very interested in the story and jumped into the conversation. “*sniff* Oh boy! No wonder they were angry! Those sacred trees are the homes of other spirits, aren’t they?”
“Oh yes. There live the kodama - spirits who spread health and green growth throughout the forest. The Shinrinyasha rely on them to support their own efforts. When a sacred tree is destroyed, those spirits living within it are lost as well. Their loss saddens the greater spirits, and also has a diminishing effect on the surrounding woods.”
“Wow *sniff* its no wonder they attacked you!”
“But that’s just it, little fox-demon! Our treaty acknowledges that mistakes will be made. The penalty for destroying a sacred tree is to raise one hundred new saplings to maturity. There is no provision for them to attack us.”
“Then why… oh god… HAH-shoo! Excuse me… *sniff* Why do you think they attacked? What made them change?”
“The spirits have been restless for several days now. Ever since that traveler came through. He’s the reason the other villagers were so suspicious of you.”
“Traveler? *sniff* What d-did... hat-SHOO! Excuse me. *sniff* What did he look like?”
“I never really saw him, young lady. He wore a great white cloak. Its cowl was fashioned from a baboon’s head and obscured most of his face.”
Kagome and Shippo looked at each other in shock. “NARAKU!”

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 2 (InuYasha)

PART TWO - An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Got any other bright ideas?

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
“What?”
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
The friends were met at the gate of the village by a contingent of guardsman brandishing spears. None of them actually wanted to fight the villagers, but after so much walking, and so much listening to Kagome sneezing every few seconds, InuYasha was short on patience.
“Whadaya mean?! We’ve been walking for days! Why… I… oughta… haaahAAAHTCHOO!” His hand had been moving closer to Tessaiga’s hilt, but the sneeze pulled it away while he covered up. Kagome stepped forward, put a hand on InuYahsa’s shoulder to calm him and tried to allay the villager’s fears.
“We don’t want to fight. *sniff* We’re just looking for a place to *sniff* sleep and to replenish our supplies in… the… m-morn… ing… HASHOO! HASHOO! haAHTSHoo! Oh man!”
“SHE’S A DEMON TOO! NONE SHALL PASS!”
“I’m not a… a… aAHTChoo! Demon! Do I *sniff* look like a… de… mon… HAT-shoo!” She had been resisting the urge to rub her nose, but was now overcome.

The one appearing to be the captain of this rag-tag troop stepped forward. The others fell silent as he spoke. “You smell that fragrant dust in the air? The tree-spirits release that to keep the demons out of the sacred wood. It drives them crazy! Just like your friends there! It don’t bother humans. So what’s your story?”

“I don’t… Ha-ha…AAAAshoo! know… AHTCH-oo! I… ah… I… ah-hah-*long inhale*-HATCHOO!”

The guards all started yelling again. “SICKNESS! ILLNESS! THE PLAGUE! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN! NONE SHALL PASS!” Now convinced Kagome was bearing some dreaded illness, even the Captain could not restore order to his men. They were starting to thrust their spears more aggressively.
“*sniff* Got any other bright ideas, Kagome?” Inuyasha muttered derisively, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

Miroku stepped forward, trying to ply his trade in exchange for entry to the village. “I sense a dark presence surrounding this place!” he began boldly. “If you let…”

But he was cut of by the cackle of hysterical laughter coming from behind the guards. “HahahahHAAAAH! Oh sonny! Hahaha! Don’t even try that one here! I used to run that scam all the time when I was a young traveling monk! AAAHhahahaHAAA!” An ancient looking man, scarcely four feet tall made his way through the guards, who made way for him deferentially.

“Village elder?” Several of the guards gasped. “But… But they’re demons! And she has the plague!”

“Out of my way, you superstitious fools! We’ve just lost one battle, you shouldn’t be so eager to start another!” The feisty old man scolded. He gave each of the travelers an appraising look. “Hmmmm… three demons traveling with a priestess, and monk and demon slayer? I don’t think we’ll have to worry about them. Come in friends. You may stay at the temple. You’ll have to work a bit, but you’ll find plenty of food and rest as well.”

TO BE CONTINUED

The Angry Spirits of the Forest - Part 1 (InuYasha)

PART ONE
An InuYasha fan-fiction
Setting and all non-original characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Illustrations by (Kawaii) Kitty Kuchiki (ne Nakamura)

Whatever that wind is blowing, it’s bothering my… nose… t-too… hat-SHOO!

The six weary travelers had been tracking the Sacred Jewel Shard for days. Kagome, the young girl with the ability to detect the Sacred Shards, had only the faintest impression of where it was. She could detect its general direction, but despite three days of pursuit her sense of the shard’s precise location grew no stronger. The shard was still on the move.

Luckily, InuYasha was able to supplement Kagome sixth sense for the jewel with his own demonically enhanced sense of smell. He could track their quarry, but its smell was either unfamiliar to him, or had been magically altered in an attempt to throw them off. Between the two of them, however, they would not lose the trail.
Finally, after so many days pursuit, the signal Kagome was picking up started to grow in strength. It was still a few days march away – but it was no longer on the move and they were gaining on it. The six weary travelers tried to pick up their pace, but the wind was against them.

As the reached the top of the grassy hill they spied a village is the distance, beyond which lay an immense forest at the foot of a great chain of mountains. Ironically, as Kagome’s ability to sense jewel increased, it seemed InuYasha’s ability to pick up their quarry’s scent was weakening. The young monk, Miroku, was the first to notice this.
“InuYasha, what’s wrong? Has the trail gone cold?”
“Nah. It’s this damn wind! It’s blowing something down from the mountains that bugging… my… n-n-nose… HAAATCHOO! *sniff* Ugh… I’m also picking up the scent of human blood. *sniff* I think that village was attacked recently. *sniff*”
As the two men leading the party conversed, the demon hunter, Sango, noticed that Kagome seemed bothered by something as well. Without wanting to attract attention, she quietly approached her friend. “Kagome? Are you ok?”
Kagome was rubbing her nose with her index finger. “Yeah,” she whispered, “but *sniff* whatever that wind is blowing, it’s *sniff* bothering my… nose… t-too… hat-SHOO! Hah… HaAAHSHOO! HATChoo *sniff* Ohhhh…”

Although their voices were low, Kagome’s sneezes attracted InuYasha’s attention. “Don’t tell me you’re getting sick now!” He yelled at her.
“I’m not s-sick, I… HAT-SHOO! *sniff* something’s j-just m-making me snee… ah… sneeze! aaaAAHHTCHOO! Besides, *sniff* you sound as bad as I do!”

“That’s 'cause I have a heightened sense of smell!” InuYasha reacted defensively, rubbing his nose, as if warding off another sneeze himself.
Miroku put his hand to his chin, pensively. “I wonder… Shippo, how are you feeling?”
The diminutive fox-demon was riding on the back of Kirara. “Well… *sniff* now that you mention it… *sniff*… my nose is all itchy too! Aaah… HAAAAH… HAHHTCHOOO!” The force of the little demon’s sneeze sent him somersaulting backwards, off of Kirara.
“What about you Kirara?”
While Kirara couldn’t talk, she made several pawing gestures which indicated that her nose was bothered as well. She made a sound like a sneeze, but Miroku couldn’t tell if it was that, of if she was just trying to clear her nose.
“What are you thinking?” Sango asked him.
“I’m wondering if that forest up ahead is inhabited by the Shinrinyasha.”

“*sniff* Shin… rin… wha?” Kagome asked in a stuffy sounding voice.
“The Shinrinyahsa are forest spirits. They take the form of giant moving trees. They look almost like a giant person that was carved from a tree, or turned into one - braches and all. I’ve never seen one, but the legends say that their pollen is a natural irritant to demons and anything… unnatural. It could explain why InuYasha, Shippo and Kirara seemed bother by the wind blowing form that direction.”

“*sniff* Then why… hang on… hat-SHOO! *sniff* Why am I sneezing then?” In the back of her mind, Kagome thought she might be allergic to something. Although she never got allergies at home, she had some friends that did. Was this what they felt like? She now felt horrible about every time she ever told one of them that “all they needed was a little fresh air.” ‘This was awful!’ she thought. ‘A week of this would drive me crazy!’ She almost hoped that she was just getting a little sick, not being sure what she could do about allergies back in this time period.
“I don’t know,” Miroku answered. “I’ve never heard of a human being affected.”

The group trekked on. The three demons were only sniffling, but Kagome seemed to sneeze every few seconds. Not patient by nature and already irritated by his own condition, InuYasha’s temper eventually got the better of him.
“Ashoo! … Hahshoo! … HAT-shoo! … HAAAHshoo!”
“ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP DOING THAT?!” InuYasha bellowed at Kagome.

“Thanks for the sympathy you big… jah…jah… JASHOO! JERK! *sniff* I can’t help it! *sniff*… hat-SHOO! *sniff* I wish I could!”

“Yeah, InuYasha! Stop being so me… aaahh… me… AAAAHHH… meAAHHHTCHOO!... mean.” Shippo finished his statement from the ground, his sneeze having knocked him off of Kirara again.

“Besides *sniff*,” Kagome continued her verbal counterattack, “It’s not like *sniff* you’re doing… much… bet… ter… AAAHHshoo!”

“I’m doing just fine.” InuYasha boasted. Kagome eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah. N-no p-problems here… ah…. *sniff*.” Kagome narrowed her eyes, not believing a word of it. “Y-you w-won’t hear… me… snee… ah… snee… AAAAHHHTCHOO!”

“HAH!” Kagome yelled, pointing at him, before she was racked by another sneeze of her own.

Miroku and Sango just shook there heads as Kagome and InuYahsa went on like this almost the entire way to the village while Shippo and Kirara suffered in relative silence.
TO BE CONTINUED