InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Killer In Hindsight ❯ The Haunted ( Chapter 7 )

“Speech”
`Thought'
OOO-Flashback
XXX-C hange in scene or POV
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The remaining members of Tetsusaiga and the plane crash victims were all curled up in blankets, resting in various positions upon the floor of the living room. Everyone sat showered and fed. The feel of the new, fresh, clothing heaven to the plane wreck survivors.

Kagome braided the small cat demons hair into little pigtails, the soft platinum blonde strands, silk, against her fingers. She smiled softly as she watched Kirara and Shippou continue with their card game. The kit, lay upon his stomach, kicking his feet in the air, he smiled when he saw her watching him.

Ayame, Bankoutsu, Jakoutsu, Ayumi and Eri happily sipped their hot cups of coffee. The crew of the Tetsusaiga watched the three in nervous anticipation of the conversation to come. They all wanted answers to the questions brewing in their minds, and they all knew that the five sitting before them would have what they sought.

“Kagome, don't you think it's time the kids went to bed?” Sango asked, her eyes urging the other girl to agree. Protests came from the two small demons, exclaiming they weren't tired yet.

“I suppose. It is getting pretty late. Come on you two. Let's get you tucked in.”

“But Kagome…” Shippou whined, “We haven't finished our game.”

“You can finish it in the morning. The grownup's need to talk…” Inuyasha said gruffly, never taking his eyes off of the flamboyant man who kept fluttering his unusually long eyelashes at him. Grumbling some, the two children climbed into their respected bunks. Shippou in his usual spot and Kirara taking up the bed beneath him that Sango usually slept in.

After tucking them in and making sure they were comfortable, Kagome returned to the living area. A tense silence hung over the group. Miroku coughed slightly to clear his throat, drawing the attention of the occupants in the room.

“Well…How should we go about this?” He finally asked; looking at the three curled up in the couch.

“I guess…we should start…” Ayame trailed off, staring into her nearly empty mug. The dark liquid merely quivered the tiniest bit, in response to the claws tapping against the side of the ceramic cup.

“Any day now…Not like we're getting any younger.” Inuyasha grumped. He hated waiting. It only dragged out the inevitable.

Glaring a little at the half-demon, the wolf began. “Well…I was heading to Brazil for a dig, you see, I'm an archeologist and I was assigned a site they had just started there a few years back. I knew it was a bad idea to go by plane, as soon as I boarded I just got this horrible feeling something bad was going to happen.” Sighing, she shook her head.

Ayumi and Eri were wrapped together in a blanket next to the couch; they both shook from tremors at the memories that started to flow before their eyes.

“I got the same feeling…my skin was crawling and I practically puked. It was almost like someone had just walked over my grave. ” Ayumi shuttered, recalling the memory.

Ayame nodded and continued with her story after a look from the captain, which clearly stated `get on with it already'. “We reached altitude and it was pretty smooth, not much turbulence and then just out of nowhere the sky just got really dark.

Rain started pouring, and there was lightning striking everywhere around us. And for the briefest moment everything got real quiet, you could've heard a pin drop. Then, people started screaming, and there was such a wind that I thought my skin was going to be ripped from my body. One of the wings had been torn from the plane and there was a huge hole and people were sucked right though it. All I could do was hold on and watch them as they were torn from the craft.

There was this one woman across the aisle from me, just sobbing and holding her little girl. I couldn't help but thinking, she knew she was going to die.” Shaking her head she paused for a second, her breath becoming shaky. Squeezing her eyes shut, she held back the tears that were threatening to burst.

“The captain kept yelling over the speakers, `Mayday! Mayday!' and everything just got really hot. The plane…” her voice cracked and a few tears spilled forth from shimmering emerald orbs, “the plane…it was on fire, there was smoke everywhere. I couldn't breathe. I just waited.” The demoness became exceptionally silent then. The sadness in her eyes was reflected in the others eyes as well. The group was caught in a world that was wholly their own.

Kagome rose from her position on the floor, and settled herself next to Ayame, on the couch. Holding the girl to her, the wolf demoness let the dam brake and a flood of tears burst forth. The soft sobs of the red-haired girl filled the room and the young cook let her owns tears slide down smooth cheeks.

“I…” Bankoutsu started but coughed as he choked on the abnormally large lump in his throat, “…The plane…it went into a nose dive.” Ayame nodded and sniffled at the man.

“I remember hitting the water…and I guess I blacked out.” She said looking down to the hands in her lap.

“I didn't.” Bankoutsu stared ahead of him at a random point on the far wall. “I was across the aisle from Kirara and her mother…” looking off in the direction of the bunks, his chin quivered a little, “the man next to me, he had passed out sometime during the crash. I brought him to the surface and I went back down to get Kirara and her mother.”

“What happened?” Sango asked, completely enthralled in the mans' story. Kagome continued to rub Ayame's back as she looked at the man next to her. Tears continued to roll down her face when he continued.

“I got them both out…but…Kirara's mother was one of the ones who was later…lost to the island.” He paused as he hung his head and cradled it in her hands. “I saved her only so she could die.” Placing her other arm around Bankoutsu's shaking shoulders, Kagome cradled him to herself. He sobbed and clung to her shirt.

“Did you know…did you know a fire can still burn even in the water?” Jakoutsu asked lost in his own world. “It's not for long, but it can still burn…” All eyes were upon him. “A little boy a few seats ahead of me was screaming because he had caught on fire…and even after the plane was sinking…he was still screaming…still burning. He died of drowning. Do you fucking believe that? He died because he drowned! He was on fire and he drowned!”

The Tetsusaiga crew looked at him curiously. “He was just a little boy…” he whispered dejectedly. “I'm a mortician. You'd think being around dead bodies the way I am, I wouldn't have been so affected…”Jakoutsu chuckled cynically, “how ironic.”

“We saved as many as we could. We knew that if we ever got off this stupid island their families would probably want their bodies.” The demoness started sobbing all over again, clutching the fabric of her shirt over her heart.

“There were some we never got to, we should have tried harder, we should have gotten them. They deserve a funeral just as much as everyone else.” Bankoutsu's voice was slightly muffled by the fabric of Kagome's sweater. His face still buried in her shoulder.

“You did the best you could, that's all anyone can ask for.” Kagome whispered to him.

“Yeah, but our best wasn't good enough.” He responded spitefully.

“We dug graves for all of them.” Jakoutsu said, looking solemn. “The burial grounds are not too far from where you found us.”

After that last final note, no one dared speak a word. Jakoutsu, Bankoutsu, Ayame, Eri and Ayumi took five of the bunks, and Inuyasha retired to his room looking dead on his feet. Kagome took up her own bunk underneath Shippou and Kirara, and Sango took the bunk across from her, Miroku and Kouga settled themselves in the living room and Hojo stayed up a little while longer, cleaning up, and then flopped onto the couch.

XXX

The morning found the entire group huddled around the table as the smells of breakfast permeated the room. Kagome pulled the large glass dish from the oven, heaping great spoonfuls into the bowls, with large hunks of butter and hot maple syrup.

Setting the bowls upon the table, she made sure to stand clear as some of the maple-baked oatmeal went flying. In a matter of minutes several bowls were presented to her to fill up again. Returning to the stove, she proceeded to fill them again, along with her own bowl and settled herself in next to Shippou on the end.

After breakfast the group hung around in the living room again, Kirara and Shippou taking up their card game from the night before. Last nights conversation still weighed heavy upon the minds of the adults.

They all sat quietly, sipping upon glasses of cool iced-tea, listening to the children laugh. A smile played at Kagome's lips as she watched them fondly. Sango fidgeted quietly next to her.

“So…” Kouga began, the tension in the room becoming unbearable to his demonic senses.

“Tell us about the person who took my deckhands?” The captain's voice heavy upon them, his gaze not much better, as it burned with a dark fire.

“His name is Naraku.” Eri said from her place in the corner, motioning to herself and Ayumi, she continued, “He took our friend, Yuka, a few days ago.”

XXX

Hiten shivered as another drop of freezing cave water, slid down his face to drip off his chin and onto his arm. Himself and Jinenji were both frozen to the bone. Earlier in the night Kagura had returned and moved them to a new location, somewhere deep underground.

The ground was slick with water and jagged with rocks. They could faintly hear waves crash upon the shore far off. Jinenji coughed roughly from beside him. The cool temperature of the caves combined with the water that now soaked them through had quickly made the other demon sick, almost hypothermic.

The red-eyed demoness had made quick work of their flesh, having sliced deep gashes into both men. The cuts had become infected and some now oozed a sickly yellow puss. They could practically taste the smell of the rotting flesh, making them both gag.

Jinenji coughed again, and Hiten struggled weakly against his restraints. An old magic bound the shackles and he was unable to break them, soon giving up, yet again. A dark chuckle brought both demons' heads to attention.

A man in a baboon skin stepped from the shadows and the scent of decaying flesh multiplied ten fold. Hiten coughed and gagged, a thin stream of acid bile hung from his lips. Having long ago puked up everything that was in his stomach, only the acidic liquids remained.

“It's been sometime since we've had visitors.” The man said, his red eyes glowing from the sockets of the pelt.

“Who the fuck are you?” Hiten demanded sharply, glaring daggers upon the taller man.

“Did I say you could speak?” The red eyes narrowed slightly in a scowl. A hulking man appeared a few seconds later, heaving the body of a young woman behind him, a rope wrapped tightly around her upper body, her hands and feet bound and a gag placed firmly in her mouth. Jinenji and Hiten both had to look away at the sight.

Her face was frozen in a silent scream, as she gasped, desperately, for air. Her eyes flashed from side to side, upon landing on the two demons, she mouthed the words `Help me' to them as best she could. A choked whimper escaped her mouth as she was dragged over another sharp rock; her skin gave no resistance and was easily torn from her bones.

The young woman's naked body shook from a fear experienced solely by those who had been brutally tortured. The bruises black, against her obviously pale skin. Her ribs poked sharply through her flesh, her entire skeleton practically bursting from the confines of her skin.

Her eyes landed upon the man in the baboon pelt and a muffled scream rushed forth from behind the gag. Terror filled her eyes, and she continued to scream something so animalistic, so bone chilling, Hiten gagged and spit more bile upon the floor.

What bothered him most was the glee that filled the man's eyes. Her petrified screams intensified as she was hoisted into the air and tossed down into a deep cavern. A few moments later they heard a faint `thud' as her body hit the bottom. Her screaming had stopped but the joy in the demons' eyes tripled.

“Now, where were we?” He asked as he turned to face the two.

XXX

“Naraku…” Pausing to take a breath, Ayame shuddered and huddled herself closer to Kagome, “Naraku is evil personified. The spawn of Satan himself. He’s not demonic and he’s not human. We don’t know what he is.”

“Do you know what he wants from our friends?” Miroku asked.

“To torture them.” Eri's voice came hauntingly from the corner. “He gets his jollies from causing everyone else pain. He's only taken them to torture them. He lives for other people's pain. He thrives on it. He's a monster.” Her voice cracked slightly as she whispered the last part, and she let loose her own torrent of tears.

Ayumi nodded her head in agreement as the sadness in her eyes alone overwhelmed the members of the Tetsusaiga. She held Eri to her and rocked back and forth, working to sooth the upset girl in her arms.

“But why?” Kouga asked, looking to Ayame for an explanation.

“Why? Why does anyone torture another being?! He does it because he's sick and twisted and he has no heart. I don't know. He just does…okay?” The demoness wiped at her face as she stared off into the distance.

“So what…he just kidnaps people and gets his rocks off torturing them?” Inuyasha asked, staring hard at Ayame.

“Yeah, I guess.” She whispered; her eyes glazed as she was whisked away into her own mind.

“Sounds a bit far fetched to me.” The captain said, snorting. He always had been one to be suspicious. His cautiousness had saved his sorry ass more than once.

“How dare you…” Eri whispered dangerously to the man. Her eyes narrowing to slits in her anger. “You have no idea what that man is capable of! At least, not until the dead bodies of your men start showing up. And they will, just you wait.” She rose then from her position on the floor and stormed off to lock herself in the tiny bathroom.

Ayumi lowered her head and sighed. Inuyasha just looked confused. “What the hell's her problem?” He finally asked.

“What? You think this is some kind of joke? You think we just made all of this up?” Bankoutsu said rising from his seat on the couch. “More of your people will go missing, I can guarantee it. Two isn't enough for him. They'll bore him soon and he'll come back for more. He's not done with you yet.” Bankoutsu stalked from the room and a few moments later they heard the curtains of one of the bunks slide shut.

“Maybe…maybe we should start from the beginning.” Ayumi offered as she folded up the blanket and took Bankoutsu's seat on the couch.

OOO

A long expanse of white sand was littered with bruised and battered bodies. The rain beat down upon humans and demons alike, groaning in pain. A few of the survivors who fared better than the rest, checked up on those who were hurt and some pulled the wading luggage onto the shore.

A demoness with flaming red hair rose from the blue-green sea, “I've got another one!” she shouted, a small child cradled in her arms. A few of the survivors came forth and took the babe from the demoness.

“How many more?” said a man approaching her, his brown hair in a long braid down his back. He sounded suspiciously feminine but the demoness left it alone.

“Only a few…but I don't think I can go back down.” She panted. “The plane has sunk too far, the pressures too much.” Coughing slightly, she put her hands on her knees and looked up at the man.

“Do you have an estimate?” He asked his face solemn.

“About five, I think.” She shook her head and sunk into the wet sand, the waves of the ocean lapped at her back. A few moments later another man emerged from the sea, sputtering and coughing as he gasped for air.

The demoness and the man rushed forth to drag him up on the land. “Are you alright?” They asked.

“I tried to get him,” he stopped to gasp for air some more before he continued, “but the pressure was too much. I couldn't take it. I had to get out.” The man broke down weeping, his head in his hands.

“What's your name?” The demoness asked

“Irving…my son…he's still down there. You have to save him!” He cried out, desperation pouring from his eyes.

“We can't do anything. The plane…it's sunk to deep. If we send anyone down there, they'll surely die.” The man with the braid said, looking away from the sobbing father before him. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked.

“I don't think so…but my son…please…” He grabbed at the demoness; the desperation in his voice alone tore at the girl. Her own sadness reflected deep within her eyes.

“Why don't we get you cleaned up?” She said, eyeing the large gash on the mans' forehead. “My name's Ayame.” The man with the braid turned away and left to go tend to others with more serious injuries.

XXX

The wailing of heartbroken mothers, lost children and the dying filled his ears. It was too much. He liked peace and quiet. He wasn't used this. Looking over at the pile of the deceased he shuddered. There were so many, too many, and it continued to grow even now.

He watched as one of the men, heaved another body onto the pile. He didn't know what the count was by now. But then again, he didn't really want to know.

A woman grabbed at his pant leg, tears streaming down her face, she spoke in a language he didn't understand but he got the gist of it. She was one of the mothers who had lost a child, no doubt the young one was buried somewhere in the ever-growing pile.

He pried her fingers away from his pants and continued walking down the beach. Bits and pieces of the wrecked plane washed ashore and he shuddered, knowing he would never step foot on another one of those evil contraptions again.

Sitting away from the mass majority of survivors he pulled his legs to his chest, slung his arms over his knees, and buried his face in them. It was all too much. He let his own tears fall within the safety of his arms.

He felt someone sit beside him. Silently, he prayed the person would go away. The man finally lifted his head and glared at the man beside him, hoping he would get the point.

“I've worked in a morgue the past three years and I don't think I've ever seen so many bodies before.” His feminine voice startled him and he looked questioningly at the man.

“I'm Jakoutsu.” He said finally.

“Shouldn't you be off helping take care of the injured? You are the closest thing we have to a doctor right now.” He said rudely.

“Maybe, but you looked like you could use a friend.” The feminine man smiled sadly at him. His only reaction was to scowl.

“I saw you try to save that little boy.” He finally said. Jakoutsu lost his smile and bowed his head again.

“It seems I didn't do a very good job.” He chuckled cynically at himself and stared over at the pile of bodies.

“Bankoutsu.” He finally said, smiling slightly when Jakoutsu shot him a peculiar look. “My name is Bankoutsu.” The incredibly feminine man smiled at him again and nodded his head. They looked out to the sea as thunder rolled overhead and lighting cut through the air farther back on the island.

XXX

It had been four days since the plane had crashed. Another person seemed to die every hour, it had let up some this morning and Ayame was happy. She hated seeing people hurt or die. She wasn't quite sure which was worse, being the one dying, or watching everyone around you die.

By now the fifteen or so people who had survived had moved farther back into the tree line, seeking the shelter it provided from the harsh weather. They had built makeshift tents, and later in the afternoon they were to begin the digging for the mass grave.

It had become harder to breathe as each day passed, the sun would bake the carcasses each morning and well into the afternoon until nightfall came and the rain would come. They had set out anything they could use to hold water to catch the rain each night; they still hadn't found any fresh water.

It had become a dreaded task, they knew eventually the bodies had to buried, but no one was willing to do it. Many were still upset and healing from the crash. A small body came crashing into her leg and Ayame looked down.

A small girl the age of nine had attached herself quite firmly to her calf. She beamed up at the older demoness, showing off her tiny fangs. Her blonde hair was almost brown with days of grime and it saddened Ayame. She was such a pretty little girl.

“Aya! Aya! Look what I found!” She exclaimed, holding up a bright red flower for her to see. “Isn't it pretty?”

“It's very pretty Kirara.” She said, crouching down to the younger girls' height.

“I picked it for you!” Kirara grin expanded even more, if that was possible, at Ayame's chuckle.

Taking the brightly colored flora from the girl she said, “Thank you” and Kirara was off again, most likely to find some more flowers.

Bankoutsu and Jakoutsu approached her when the tiny demon left, and came to stand on either side of her. “She really does adore you.” Jakoutsu said, not taking his eyes off the little girl running around their encampment.

“How's her mother doing?” Ayame asked.

Jakoutsu frowned, “Her infection has gotten worse. I fear she doesn't have much time left.” Shaking his head he stared down at his feet and stole a glance at Bankoutsu out of the corner of his eye. The man had straightened and his mouth had hardened into a thin line. He winced and continued staring at his feet.

Turning sharply on his heel Bankoutsu left the two to check up on Kirara's mother. Slipping into the ‘Medical tent’ she was residing in, he disappeared from their sight.

“How much longer do you think?” Ayame asked, her green eyes following the young demon as she skipped from flower to flower, smelling them all. A small smile came to her lips. `Oh to be a child again,' She thought.

“A few days at least, but that's only an estimate. She could be better by next week. I'm not really sure.” Jakoutsu sighed and returned his sights to his shuffling feet. Ayame sighed and nodded her head.

All of a sudden a deep purple smoke filled the air. Coughing and covering her nose and mouth, Ayame searched out Kirara. “What the fuck?” She heard Jakoutsu whisper from beside her, he coughed violently.

“Cover your mouth!” She whispered back vehemently. “Kirara!” She called. “Kirara!” She tried again. People were screaming and running around. Most were dropping to the ground on their hands and knees, coughing and revisiting what little they had had for breakfast that morning. The few who had the sense of mind to cover their mouths did so.

A deep chuckle resounded around them and shook Ayame to her core. It was a sound so dark and sinister, so full of malice and hatred, it made her want to run and hide and never come out.

“Eeny, Meany, Miney, Mo...” She heard the voice and watched as a man in a baboon pelt drifted down from the sky and flashed forward toward the medical tent. He tore through the tent, Bankoutsu hanging from his arm, fighting tooth and nail. A large tentacle burst from beneath the pelt and speared him through the leg.

She watched as he took Kirara's mother from her bed and lifted them to the sky. Tears rolled down her face and her chin quivered. As the man left so did the miasma and soon she was able to breathe again. She checked Jakoutsu who had at some point passed out beside her.

Running over to where the medical tent used to be she crashed to her knees beside Bankoutsu. Blood poured from his wound as he rocked himself back and forth.

“Are you alright?” She heard herself ask, this all seemed so surreal.

“I'll be fine, but we need to go after him. He has Kioko.”

“I know.” She whispered as she held the shaking man to her.

OOO

“A few days later…we found her.” Ayame said, her voice quivered just the slightest and tears once again welled within her eyes. “She…her…her skin…was gone. It was gone.”

“There was evidence he raped and sodomized her, tortured for days and finally skinned her alive.” Jakoutsu said his eyes and voice matching in their hard edge.

“And he's going to do the same to your friends. He takes them first, tortures them for a few days. Sometimes if it's real quiet you can hear them screaming. Then, he'll display them, but only the first few he takes. The rest, no one really knows what happens to them. He'll leave you waiting between kidnappings, making you wonder if he's stopped, if he's ever coming back. You'll live in constant fear. Paranoid, who's going to be next?” Ayame's eyes were haunted as she looked between the remaining Tetsusaiga crewmembers.
A soft “Feh” escaped the captain's mouth in an exhale and he stared at the carpeting. This Naraku guy was certainly one sick fuck. He had to save his men, but at the same time protect what was left of them. Glancing up at Kagome through his bangs he came to one conclusion. He wasn't going to give up on Jinenji and Hiten but protecting the remaining members came first, no matter what.
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Author’s Note: Some parts of this like, some I don’t. Someone asked me what I listen to when I’m writing. For this chapter the soundtrack would go something like
Aiden: I Set My Friends On Fire.
Alexisonfire: Drunks Lovers Sinners and Saints.
Silverstein: Smashed Into Pieces.

So, tell me what you think. =]