InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Act Two ❯ Enter the Hero? ( Chapter 5 )

"Act Two"

~E. Marie

E-mail: Emw712@aol.com

February 4, 2004: The roommate's gone, the dorm is unusually quiet…nothing to do but fill the soundless void with the voice of Howie Day and the tapping of my fingers, typing away on my keyboard! Unfortunately, this means I am forging on, blindly ignorant of how the readers felt about Chapter Four: "Costume Change". Eh, me no worry. Odds are, there won't be that many reviews, anyway. Slowly but surely, slowly but surely…^_^. Please, read on and review!

Chapter Five: Enter the Hero?

The reflection of a young woman, her pretty face haunted by eyes full of fear, was caught on the shining surface of the old sacrificial knife, arthritic fingers curled tightly around its handle. Kagome's body tensed, waiting for the moment when the old woman would lung at her with the glittering weapon, ready to lash out at just the right moment and make her escape. Wordlessly, Kaede leaned towards Kagome, but the knife staid by her side. Kagome's eyes, if it was physically possible, widened further in disbelief as the priestess stooped to cut the make-shift bonds about her wrists and ankles, only to gasp in surprise to see that they were false, that the girl was already free.

"How didst thou...?" queried the old woman. Pushing the ropes aside and extended her arms, wrists pink from the remaining warmth of her miko energy, Kagome admitted to using her spiritual ability to burn through the ropes. The wrinkles around Kaede's mouth doubled in number as her face was illuminated by a smile.

"I knew ye were being truthful! I could feel the power of the Shikon no Tama, radiating from your body, but I could not be certain…."

"Why didn't you just tell the villagers that, Kaede-sama?" asked Kagome, her voice taunt with frustration. "Why make me go through the test? The chance of being tortured and killed?!?! If you really believed I was Kikyou's reincarnation, why do all this?"

Kaede's smile did not fade at the young girl's reproach. "But, child, I did not truly know, until even after the test had condemned thee. After sunset, I recalled that the first time Kikyou attempted to pierce the knot in a demonstration of ability before the villagers, to show her prowess, she missed and hit our father in a rather uncomfortable place, shall we say?"

Kagome was torn between laughter and disbelief. `Kikyou? She missed, too? So, she wasn't so perfect after all…or, at least she wasn't here….'

That last thought brought Kagome back to the problem at hand: escaping death in the past, a new past. Kaede, however, had come prepared to aid with this task. Opening one of the crates in the temple warehouse, she drew out an aged bow, as well as a quiver full of unused arrows. Blowing the dust from their surface, she handed them to Kagome.

"These were to have been Kikyou's arrows and bow, a present from me. She never touched them in this life, and I am glad that you can have them to protect you in yours, as much as your ability will allow. Child, as much as I have missed the sight of my sister's visage and her saintly spirit, ye must take leave now, whilst the village slumbers. The nightly guard has been thinned, according to my orders, to make thine escape less arduous."

"Kaede-sama…" began Kagome, overwhelmed by the kindness of the woman she had grown to love and respect all over again. "I am in your debt a hundred times over, once again…but where do I-"

"I would return to the Bone Eater's well, dear girl, to make thine escape homeward. The power of the Shikon no Tama inside you will see you to your own time. I pray that malevolent forces will save you having to return here, as much as I would like to see you again."

Words were beyond Kagome, and embracing the teary-eyed elder priestess, she gathered her new weapons and slipped from the temple warehouse, shielded by the night. Kaede lingered in the darkness of the store room a moment longer, thoughtfully fingering the charred pieces of rope that had bound the miko from the future. Unable to remain longer, she rose and left the temple grounds, stopping to say a prayer at Kikyou's grave before returning to her simple hut.

The night was dark, the crescent moon's pale light now obscured by the black clouds that dotted the midnight sky. A sinister glow, coming from the direction of the god's tree, was all that lit Kagome's path, and she reached the clearing where the ancient well offered her escape from this nightmare, perhaps only into another nightmare. Standing at the edge and staring into the maw of darkness over the side of the well, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and Kagome turned to face that malicious glow, the one that surrounded the place where her past-future lover was imprisoned. His soul had been trapped there for half a century…and now, perhaps Inuyasha would remain there for all eternity.

`I should go free him!' Kagome thought, before apprehension overcame her. `But what if I do, and he doesn't know me? What if he attacks me, like he did the first time we met? Kaede won't be there to put the subduing spell on him, and I'll be a goner for sure!'

Indecision. She lingered for a moment which ran into many moments. The leaves on the haunting trees rustled in nearly silent communion as the wind curled around her lithe body, bringing with it the scent of-

"Smoke…" murmured Kagome, as she turned to face back at the village. The horizon glowed with a faint orange hue, and for a moment, she thought it was the coming of the dawn, until she noticed the silhouette of smoke against the lapping tongues of fire. Even from the Bone Eater's well, she could see the unearthly orbs of youkai energy, as they continued their assault on the village.

"The villagers! Kaede!" cried Kagome, as she returned the way she had come as fast as her legs could carry her, drawing an arrow from the quiver to aid in the protection of the village. Even though the humans there would have killed her at dawn if given the chance, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that whatever minor army of demons was attacking the village had been drawn there by the power of the Shikon no Tama, which was somehow still nestled in her body. If Kagome hadn't been in such a desperate hurry, she might have thought to herself that some things never change….

The sight that greeted her at the edge of the village was a harrowing one. Bodies, some human, some inhuman, some mauled almost beyond recognition…the dirt paths stained with the dark red blood of humans and the stinking, black blood of demons…it would have been far too much for her to have handled three years ago, but at this point, her soul had grown numb to the sights of such carnage. Kagome continued on to Kaede's hut, in hopes of saving the elder priestess from a similar fate, slaying demons of all kinds with her spiritual arrows along the way. Her aim was poor, because her body remained untrained, but by concentrating her spiritual energy into large cones about the arrows, she could demolish even the larger youkai if her arrow was merely close enough.

Kaede's hut was being torn apart by three dragon demons, each hissing in murderous anticipation as they searched for the Shikon no Tama among the smoldering ruins. Fear for the priestess' safety filled Kagome's heart, but holy anger ruled her mind, and with a swipe of her hand, she was able to incinerate the black hearts of all three demons. Watching their bodies collapse, lifeless, to the ground, she blinked in surprise at her own power.

`I was never this strong, even in that last decisive battle with Naraku. Could it be that the Shikon no Tama, still hidden somewhere in my body, is giving me this power?'

Such thoughts had to be delayed, for at that moment, a rather pissed off dragon demon, perhaps a friend of one of the three she had just zapped, jumped her from behind. Sharp claws dug into the skin of her back. Surprised and in pain, Kagome fell and cried out for help.

Deep within the dark forest, a body fifty years at rest pulsed with mystic energy. Silver hair shimmered in the darkness, and sharp canines glistened in a demonic smile, ready to be freed.

In the clearing of another forest, in another time and place, the eyes of a dog hanyou glowed red with rage. His human heart was being devoured by anger and the miasma's poison, but his youkai consciousness knew that his mate had been harmed, maybe even killed, by his arch rival. As Naraku withered at the loss of the Shikon no Tama, he didn't quite seem to notice the cracking of tendons behind him in murderous hands that knew not mercy for a foe. The monk and the demon slayer were too engulfed in grief for the loss of the young priestess and the youkai swarming about them to notice that their hero's heart was being engulfed in darkness….

From a vantage point far above the battlefield, Kagura muttered a mantra of her own making, praying for deliverance….

The Tessaiga, the sword of his father's fang that was meant to contain his demon blood, lay uselessly on the ground, its power lost without the presence of the human girl he had wanted to protect most dearly. Naraku was too busy letting his cries of bitter disappointment echo to the heavens to notice the approach of his true enemy, and once he did notice, Naraku simply wasn't fast enough without the proximity of the shards to stop the five lethal claws that penetrated his chest and removed from the bleeding void a black orb. Lips curled in disgust, Inuyasha crushed the dark sphere with his bare hands.

A cry of unimaginable pain resonated high above the battlefield, as the demoness of the wind toppled from her magic feather, plummeting to the ground with a mind blank of all consciousness. At that same moment, in a castle hidden from human eyes, a mirror shattered into countless pieces, and a girl with gleaming white shin, the demon Kanna, faded from existence.

Before Kagura's body could be crushed by the impact of her empty flesh with the ground, a flash of white silk and silvery fur snatched her away with one arm. Setting her on the ground with a moderate amount of care, the demon lord drew the Tensaiga.

"This Sesshomaru is growing too soft of heart," he declared in measured tones, before slicing the amazing sword of life through Kagura's body.

The dragon demon churtled at her easy victory. "Shhhhhhaaaahahahaha! What easy prey is the keeper of the Shikon no Tama! I will eat your flesh, puny one, and become the most powerful de-GAAHH!"

Sounds of arrows and spears connecting with scales and flesh resonated as meaty thuds in Kagome's ears, as the dragon demon's threat died on her lips. Kagome would have celebrated being saved from death by dragon dinner, but the weight of the dead youkai's body bearing down on her ribs was slowly crushing the air from her lungs. A host of shadowy figures she couldn't make out clearly heaved the oppressive corpse from on top of her, and Kagome saw that her saviors were none other than the villagers!

"Hurry, oh great mistress! Priestess Kaede is trapped by the shrine of your former self, keeping the demons at bay with only a spiritual ward!" cried one, his voice desperate.

"Please, miss! She was wounded, and we are grievously afraid! We know now your power is great, for we have witnessed your holiness at work against the demon army," said the headman, as he kneeled at her feet, despite the wound in his thigh her arrow had inflected earlier.

Capable of only a nod, Kagome turned and ran to the temple, her bow drawn, ready to save the elder priestess, at whatever cost.

A hundred demonic snakes, giant moths, ogres, and other horrific figures rammed their bodies into the faint, glowing ward, only to be repelled back by crackling mystic energy. Kaede's good eye was humorless as she regarded the successful but temporary shield she had put up around the temple. Blood oozed, thick with youkai poison, from a deep wound in her shoulder, but she paid it no mind, even though it was slowly sapping away her life force. Many of the village women and children were gathered in the shrine house behind her, shivering in fear. A few of the warriors stood at her back, ready to delay the inevitable slaughter of the innocents for as long as possible, once the ward failed. With a sigh, Kaede closed her eye and began to chant an ancient prayer, begging for deliverance.

That prayer was answered when bursts of pink energy erupted outside the edge of the ward, and the cries of dying demons rang clearly in the air. Kaede looked up in surprise as the young woman from before, that Higurashi Kagome, felled all the demons that were attacking the holy citadel. In a few moments, the sky was clear of all attacking youkai, and the ground was slippery with their blood.

The villagers in the temple house cheered as Kaede created a temporary opening in the ward, to allow their young heroine through. Before the thankful women and children could swarm her with their hugs of gratitude and praise, Kagome knelt next to the elder priestess, who had sunk to her knees due to loss of blood from the wound at her shoulder. Kaede's vision blurred from the demon poison in her body and the unshed tears in her eye.

"Why hast thou returned, child? Thou should have gone whilst thou had the chance, but I am greatly sorry that I will not much longer enjoy your company in this world," croaked the old woman before she let loose a series of wracking coughs, blood trickling from her mouth.

With a look of determination, Kagome put her hands, now thick with demon blood, on the edges of Kaede's mortal wound, and shutting her eyes, began to concentrate all of her pure, spiritual energy on the spot. A sizzling sound and the scent of ginger filled the air as Kaede sucked breath in through her teeth, stifling a cry of pain, but in a moment, the pain was gone, and all that lingered around the wound was that faint, pink glow that seemed to be the signature of the younger miko's powers.

Kagome wiped the sweat from her brow, a grin on her face. "I guess I know how to do more than I thought," she said, before hugging a speechless Kaede. The elder priestess would have hugged her back, to express all of her surprise, relief , and gratitude, had not another swarm of demons appeared from the heavens to crash menacingly against the shield.

In disbelief, Kagome hurriedly gathered her weapons. Turning to the speechless priestess, she said with a voice tight with regret, "I am very sorry, Kaede-sama, but it appears as though the power of the jewel inside my body is calling to these demons each time I use my miko abilities. There is only one way we can beat them all now!"

Kaede placed another ofuda at the edge of Kikyou's shrine in a final attempt to strengthen the ward. The village mothers gathered their children and returned to the shelter of the temple house and the surrounding huts, waiting for their inevitable demise. The village farmers turned holy warriors stepped back to the edge of the ward, and with a few whispered instructions to one of the men, Kaede strode toward Kagome and, grabbing her by the arm, headed to the opposite edge of the temple compound.

In a low tone, the old woman began, "I believe that thou doth plan to release Inuyasha from his slumber, for only he is capable of slaughtering so many demons at once?"

"Kaede-sama…."

"Child! Doesth thou not know that the pernicious one hath a conscience miserly enough to slaughter all the demons AND the villagers, with a single slice of his bloody claws, to gain the Shikon no Tama for himself?"

"Kaede! Whether or not you believe me, Inuyasha has a good heart. I've come to know that in a way I don't think I could ever explain to you!"

The demons crashed against the other end of the ward with a terrifying clamor, and the blue magic of the ofuda sputtered from the force of the attack. Kagome grabbed Kaede's arm and dragged her through another temporary hole in the spiritual shield.

"There's no time, Kaede-sama! I'll explain on the way. Inuyasha will be our hero!"

Author's Note: Please review, and feel free to e-mail me if you need any clarification!

March 11, 2004: House keeping? Fluff your pillow? Just kidding! I decided to do some tidying up of the story as a whole, before I post Chapter Six. This is the "newly remastered" Chapter Five, predominantly typo free. Enjoy!