Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Third Annual Mediaminer.org Big Fanfiction Contest/Award Ceremony/Oscars/Emmies/Golden Globes Thingie! ❯ Action/Adventure ( Chapter 8 )

Special thanks to all of Mediaminer.org for helping in the contest.

Special thanks to the creators of anime for giving us inspiration for stories.

Special thanks to NBC for letting us borrow the auditorium.

No thanks to those responsible for censorship laws.

No thanks to Joe Don Baker.

No thanks to Sandy Frank.

 

**

 

As the lights came back up, the horny nerds of the audience exploded into cheering as the latest guest opener came out: Lara Croft! The well-endowed video game star smiled and tilted her sunglasses down her nose as she smiled.

 

“Hey, gang. Just here for a bit before I move off to my next game. Put your hands together for The Panasonic Princess!”

 

The Princess came out, giving Lara a hug (and causing all of the horny nerds to subsequently faint) and took the podium.

 

“First we have the `We Ain't Hunting for no Jewel Award' for Most Original Action/Adventure, since we all get tired of magic jewel hunts, don't we? And the winner is... Balance, by KitsuneSilver!”

 

*Excerpt*

 

Kurama glanced off, squinting just slightly. He smirked and shook his head, tossing a hand through his hair for no real reason at all. "No, Yuusuke, Kuwabara," he said, falsely cheerful, "I'm afraid I can't tell just what it is. Hiei?"

The youkai no hi was gone and back in a second flat, grinning cheekily up at them all with a spectacular air of arrogance. His expression grew solemn instantly, though, as soon as the point had been made.

"An eye," he said seriously. "Carved into the willow's bark."

Kurama didn't flinch or even turn from where he was looking off into the distance, at the tree, but his lips formed the word, "Miru…"

Kuwabara tilted his head at Kurama's reaction. "Is it a clue, do you think? As to their whereabouts, or something?"

Hiei looked up at Kurama patiently, waiting and hiding his eagerness to hear the reaction. Anything Kurama contributed to the discussion of Kurokyoui and his merry band of misfits would be most enlightening at this point.

"Maybe," the kitsune replied distantly. "It does signify that Miru either has taken some control from Kurokyoui, or she wants it but hasn't taken it yet—either because she won't for some reason, or she can't."

Yuusuke mimicked Kuwabara's pose. "How d'you know that, just from an eye on a tree?"

Kurama smiled again. His voice was deep and forlorn, somehow more Youko than Shuuichi. "Trust me, Yuusuke."

Somehow, no one really felt that was much of an explanation at all.

-------

The man in the mirror tried to pity him. It was visible in his eyes that he tried. They glittered with all the screams he had ever kept back, all the sorrow which would never become tangible, all the tears which would never fall. It was almost sweet, in a way, except that the man in the mirror was made up of nothing but lies and hatred, and suddenly it became a horrible thing that he tried so hard. He wanted to ask him to stop; more than anything, he wanted to tell the man to simply turn off his eyes, shut them down and stop that ruby red, that terrible, terrible bloody color.

But that was impossible. Even in this world, some things could simply not be done. Turn off the eyes and he turned off the soul, but fear itself had no soul. It was only a manifestation of part of himself. He could not turn off his own soul. That would be too great a strain for any mere mortal, no matter how strong or how vicious. Or how tainted. Or how corrupt. Or how purely evil.

So please, he begged, for he knew the man in the mirror could hear his thoughts. Stop looking at me.

*End Excerpt*

 

KitsuneSilver walked up and took her award. “This is awesome! I never win anything. Really, I've been entering contests since I was ten and the most I ever won was five dollars at one of those stupid school raffles where all the little kiddies wins five dollars minimum. Now that I've won something, of course, I'll be lucky if I win anything ever again until I'm sixty. Even then, it'll be a twist of fate. Regardless of my nonexistent luck in competition, as a wiser man than I once said: "If I had a way with words, I'd be a better public speaker." So thank you and I greatly appreciate this honor. How generic does that all sound? Meh. Oh well. Have a nice day, you.”

 

She then walked back down, allowing the Panasonic Princess to once more use the stage. “Next we have the `Lara Croft, Eat Your Heart Out Award.' No offense, Lara, but we want more than just you as Action Hero gold. And the winner is... The Bearers of the Shards, by Yamisui!”

 

*Excerpt*

 

The following is the beginning of one of the climactic battle scenes in Chapter 12: The True King. Two brothers stand a chance of inheriting a kingdom's throne, and one (Yaburenumaru), using the form of a demon that has possessed him, is trying to kill the other. Inuyasha and his friends are trying to protect the younger non-demon brother (Asano), but they're about to face some heavy interference...

Note: A hanyou is a half-demon. "Tetsusaiga" is Inuyasha's sword.




"STOP IT! Don't you realize what you're DOING?! He's your BROTHER!"


Shippou cried out in terror as the demon's claws raked across Asano's back and right arm. The blow had not struck directly, or the human prince would have been impaled by it. At the last second Asano had thrown himself to one side, and so was only wounded.

But the demon was agile and lightning-quick, and as soon as the strike was pulled its other arm was moving.


"FOXFIRE!" Shippou shouted, recovering his wits and aiming his attack at the space between the demon and its prey.


The green fire shot forth from between the Kitsune's cupped palms, enveloping Asano and giving the demon pause. The human prince, terrified by the sudden appearance of the flames around him, crawled backward rapidly. The demon drew back for a moment, but the flames that had been intended to scorch him were instead absorbed into his scaly hide. Yaburenumaru's eyes, so eerily human in the demon's face, narrowed to slits as if in ecstasy. He seemed to be consciously drawing the fire into himself.


"Oh no!" Shippou cried, slapping his forehead with his paws. "I forgot he's a SALAMANDER demon! Salamanders are DRAWN to fire!"


As Asano simultaneously tried to scramble to his feet and dive behind a rock for shelter, Yaburenumaru lowered himself onto all four reptilian feet, lashing his tail. He seemed to convulse, as if he were about to wretch, and then his jaws snapped open and he spat a fireball toward his brother. It was massive---roughly the size of the boulder behind which Asano was hiding---and so hot that it left a scorched furrow through everything in its path.


It would have scorched right through Asano's makeshift barricade had not another barrier imposed itself between the fire and the boy.


The fireball struck Inuyasha dead on. But he held his sleeves in front of his face, and his fire-rat robes shielded him completely. The orb seemed to burst upon contact with him, spattering flames in all directions but nevertheless coming nowhere near Asano.


"Kyah!" Kagome screamed as the flames shot toward her. Inuyasha had put her down at what he judged to be a safe distance away once they'd arrived on the scene, but it wasn't far enough for her liking.


"Gah!" Miroku cried, facing the same threat. He lunged for Kagome, grabbed her around the waist, and tackled her to the ground. The flames shot over their heads, less than a meter above.


"Oy! Monk! Keep your hands off her!" Inuyasha yelled, glancing over at them.


"YOU watch where you make the demon's attacks ricochet!" Miroku fired back, raising his head to glare over at the hanyou. His arms still encircled Kagome's waist, even though the flames had disappeared.


"Better you than me, yah pervert!" Inuyasha retorted.


"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, clearly incensed by the attack's near miss. "Will you SHUT UP and STOP that thing before it barfs up ANOTHER fireball?"


"Heh," Inuyasha snorted, turning back toward the demon and raising Tetsusaiga. "Consider it done."


The demon, having been given time to re-gather its strength, now spat forth two fireballs in rapid succession. Inuyasha took a swing at the first one with Tetsusaiga, wielding the sword like a player at bat. It flew about a hundred yards away, scorching the tops of the trees at the edge of the lake. Inuyasha didn't see the second one until it was almost upon him.


"Shit!" he swore, dodging it. "Who the FUCK tried using fire against this thing?!"


Shippou, who had been watching all of this in a wide-eyed, dumbstruck manner, now scampered toward Kagome, where Inuyasha was least likely to pound him.


"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled, shooting a glare Shippou's way. "I'll deal with YOU later. . ."


"Say, Kagome-sama," Miroku murmured into Kagome's ear. "Do you see where the demon's shard is?"


"HEY, you CAN remove your hands now, you know!" Kagome told him, using both arms and one foot to pry herself from his grasp.


When she had put at least three yards between them she squinted at Yaburenumaru, looking for the shard. She saw the telltale glow located in the demon's back. A sudden memory came to her of when they had first met Yaburenumaru, and there had been a great bloody weal across his back. Now she knew why. He had torn the shard from his own body that night and hidden it somewhere to prevent her from sensing it and realizing that he was after the jewel. Sesshoumaru had warned him that she had the ability to see the shards, and Sesshoumaru had given Yaburenumaru the means to return to Reiyama, but in the end it had been Yaburenumaru's choice to come. It made Kagome very sad to think that a young boy could have such an ugly heart.


"Inuyasha, it's in his back!" she called, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Just underneath the largest spine!" The salamander demon had a single ridge of razor-sharp spikes growing down along the length of its spine.


Inuyasha nodded understanding and ran at Yaburenumaru. The demon spat another fireball at him, but he took a flying leap and vaulted over it. As he flew through the air, he slashed Tetsusaiga downward in one vicious strike. The blow cut deep beneath the largest spike and into the flesh beneath. The demon howled in fury as a great gout of red-orange blood sprang from the wound. The jewel shard that had been embedded in that flesh became airborne upon the spray of this fount.


"Inuyasha, quick!" Kagome cried, but he had already seen it.


With his Youkai reflexes he snatched it up and bounded over the rest of the demon's body to land on his feet on the ground below.


"Damnit," he swore, pocketing the shard and hurrying off toward the lake with even greater speed.


Kagome, Shippou and Miroku watched with a good deal of surprise and chagrin.


"He's running away?" Shippou asked, sounding shocked.


Kagome had her doubts, but she was wondering the same thing as well until Inuyasha crouched down and stuck his hand under the water. A small puff of steam escaped the surface just above his hand, and the hanyou let out a sigh of vast relief.


"Damn, that was hot!" he complained. "That thing's blood's like sticking your hand in boiling water."


Kagome, still watching him, thought, `Well he's certainly had enough experience trying to steal ramen from the pot to know. . .'


The demon, its opponent temporarily distracted, was headed for Asano again. It reared up on its hind legs and came down upon the boulder that he was hiding behind. Broken chunks of rock flew in all directions. Asano gave a hoarse yell and flattened himself against the ground, attempting to shield his head and neck with his hands.


"Yaburenumaru!" he cried, in a voice both fearful and anguished. "Brother!"


The demon's jaws descended toward him, glowing with the heat of the fire building within them. Then Inuyasha's red-clad form imposed itself between the two brothers.


"Oh no you DON'T!" he shouted, swinging Tetsusaiga.


The blade's kenatsu sent energy crackling along the flesh of the demon's face, and it retreated, roaring and shaking its head as if to clear it. Some of its blood spattered on the ground again, causing the grass to sizzle where it landed. Then it was lunging for Asano again, this time on all fours and spewing fire. Again Inuyasha imposed himself between the demon and its prey, and this time the fireball broke and scattered before even touching Tetsusaiga because the kenatsu was growing in strength.


As the demon recoiled from the crackling field of energy, Miroku hastened to Inuyasha's side and stepped in front of him.


"What the hell are you doing?!" Inuyasha hollered, swatting at the monk with his sword. "Get the Fire trUCK outta my way!"


Miroku stepped forward more to avoid being swatted and planted his staff firmly in the sodden earth.


"Let me help," he insisted, facing down the demon with an expression of determination. "Perhaps I can defeat him without spilling more blood."


Miroku placed his hands on either sides of the staff's ring and concentrated his spiritual energy into a locus around the ring. The smaller rings on the staff jangled violently as the staff vibrated. Then the monk uttered a low incantation, and the light building between his hands shot forth and struck the demon between the eyes.


"Yaburenumaru!" Miroku said clearly, calling to the boy within the demon. "Kikan! Kikan!"


Kagome scooted backward to crouch behind a tree stump to watch from a safer vantage point.


``Kikan'?' she thought, surprised. ``Return'? He's exorcising the demon?'


"KIKAN!" the monk repeated, more forcefully.


"Hmm. . ." Shippou mused. "You know, we've never actually SEEN him perform an exorcism. I always thought he was faking it."


From the amount of power Miroku was sending through the air he apparently wasn't faking it, but from the looks of things he wasn't having an easy time of it, either. The demon's outline was becoming blurred and wavered, but it was still advancing toward Asano---albeit slowly and steadily. Miroku's expression was becoming strained. At first Kagome thought it was because he'd already been drained by the long battle with the Wise. But then, abruptly, Miroku aborted the exorcism, catching up his staff in his left hand before retreating behind Inuyasha.


"You done now, dumb-ass?" Inuyasha jeered at him. "NOW can I get on with this?"


"He---he wouldn't let me," Miroku panted. A thin sheen of perspiration had developed across his forehead. "Yaburenumaru is there, in the demon's form. But he refuses to let the Youkai spirit be exorcised." Miroku's expression was one of utter dismay. "It's like he's chosen to become one with the demon so that he can control it."


The demon seemed temporarily stunned by the monk's spell, but it was recovering fast.


"Well, I could've told you THAT!" Inuyasha replied, but his expression was grim. "If this is what the kid wants, then we can't make him see reason. If he WANTS to be an evil little runt in a big body then I'm gonna have to kill him."


And then, without further ado, Inuyasha proceeded to raise Tetsusaiga for one final, fatal slash downward. The blade descended toward Yaburenumaru in an arc so swift it blurred.


But something moving just as swiftly stopped Tetsusaiga's deadly descent. The force of the counter-blow knocked it from Inuyasha's grasp and sent it flying. Caught completely by surprise, Inuyasha scarcely dodged the crackling cord of light before it retracted and fell back toward its wielder. Had he not leaped back in time, it would have struck him directly across the face.


"You. . .fool!" Sesshoumaru hissed.


Inuyasha dove after Tetsusaiga, which went somersaulting through the air before landing with a splash in the lake. Sesshoumaru snapped the whip-like weapon at his brother again. Inuyasha was forced to jump off course to avoid it. He landed in a crouched position, glaring at his assailant.


"What the HELL do you think you're DOING?!" he shouted. "That THING isn't the new ruler! It's not even human any more!"


"That," Sesshoumaru replied, "is the point." He remained planted between his brother and the demon, staring down at Inuyasha with a kind of feverish intensity.


"He's---he's defending Yaburenumaru," Kagome exclaimed, surprised. "But why?"


"What the hell d'you MEAN; `That's the point.'?" Inuyasha demanded. He tried another mad dash toward the lake, where the ripples still spread around the place where his sword sank. Once again Sesshoumaru's weapon diverted him from his course. "Why are you doing this? Is this about Tetsusaiga?"


Jealousy flared in the white demon's eyes, but he lowered his head and visibly drove it back.


"Yaburenumaru knows what it is to be Youkai," he answered softly. "He has tasted demon power, and he has chosen to become one with it." He added, "That soft, puling little princeling does not," making scornful reference to Asano.


This seemed to give Yaburenumaru pause. Until this instant he had been moving away from the two Inu Youkai, searching for Asano amidst the debris with his roving, burning gaze. Now he hesitated, turning to look at Sesshoumaru.


"What difference does that make?" Miroku asked, leaving his hiding place to approach them. "You can't choose their king for them. . ."


Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed, and his claws tightened around the end of his weapon.


"Can't I?" he asked, in a low, warning tone of voice.


He sent the whip cracking down on Inuyasha, who rolled to the side to get out of the way. The weapon left a deep furrow in the ground that glowed a poisoned green.


"Stop! He's right!" It was Asano, rising to his feet and stepping out from behind the barricade of debris he'd been using for shelter. "You can't choose which of us will be king. Only the---"


Then the prince saw the murderous gleam in Sesshoumaru's eye, as the white demon turned slowly toward him.


"One cannot be ordained," Sesshoumaru murmured, "if the other is dead."

*End Excerpt*

 

Once again, the spirits of script format took the stage for the accepters of the Award.

 

Yamisui: "I would like to thank everyone at Mediaminer for all your support and encouragement. I'm currently nearly finished with my first novel, which I hope to submit for publishing sometime this winter. I greatly appreciate the way you stimulate the ambitions of young authors like myself, and---"

Inuyasha: "Oh, cut the crap. I'M the one who deserves this award. I did all the dirty work!"

Yamisui: "Uh... What dirty work? I was the one who wrote the story for YOU to act in!"

Inuyasha: *points to excerpt* "See that? I was the one swinging my sword and dodging fireballs and getting whomped by the Fucking demon's claws!"

Yamisui: "At no point did I "whomp" you with any part of the demon's anatomy! Just give me the award and I'll include you in my speech!"

Announcer: "I'm sorry, but your allotted speech time is up."

Inuyasha: *snatches the award* "Mine."

And so they walked back down to the audience as the Panasonic Princess returned to the backstage. Fan and Psy walked in from opposite sides of the room.

 

“Only two more categories to go, folks!” Fan announced.

 

“Come back for Science Fiction and Fantasy!”

 

**

 

“Yes, and the end of all things!”

 

To Be Continued...