InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All Things Come Full Circle ❯ Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter 17

The group was forced to stop for a few hours to rest and heal their wounds. They were also forced to wait for Inuyasha’s and Inukigo’s noses to recover from the overwhelming scent of smoke they had encountered in the burning village. Once they started travelling they double-timed back to where they knew Kouga’s scent trail would be. Inukigo wondered why they just couldn’t go straight to the wolf den from where they were, seeing as that was where Kouga would be. Inuyasha’s reply to that idea was that Kagome and Shippou were the only ones who had even been to the wolf den, and both confirmed that they couldn’t remember it’s location. Inuyasha also added that there wasn’t much use in just heading towards the mountains and trying to sniff out the den, because the area was so thick with the smell of wolves it would be impossible to find.

They were only partway back to where they had split up with Kouga when nightfall came and they were forced to stop. Inukigo protested, but Miroku reassured her that Kachuu would need at least a few days to heal the wounds dealt to her, so they had plenty of time. Inukigo wasn’t happy about it, but relented and settled down for the night with the rest of them.

They managed to find a trace of Kouga’s scent a few hours after the sunrise the next day, but then things started to slow down. After about three days, Kouga’s scent was starting to fade, often forcing Inuyasha and Inukigo to backtrack after losing the scent. After two days Inukigo’s worry was beginning to grow. Both herself and Inuyasha were fully healed, but she had no idea how long it would take for Kachuu to heal her wounds. She hoped that they would have enough time to reach Kouga before Kachuu found him because she had no idea how he would fare against the fire demoness. It had taken all of them to injure Kachuu, so how would Kouga be able to stand up against her?

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“Dammit,” Kachuu cursed as she made her way slowly through the forest.

Kagura had left her to her own devices four days earlier, saying that Naraku hadn’t ordered her to stick around. She had just pointed Kachuu in the direction of the wolf den and was on her way. Kachuu would have appreciated a ride to her destination, but she had to admit she probably wouldn’t be able to stand up to anyone in her present condition. While she did have the use of her arm back, she wasn’t completely healed, and it wouldn’t be very smart to go up against the wolf demon unless she was at her best.

“Damn miko,” she cursed again as she rested against a tree, “I’ll be lucky if I’ve healed before I find the wolf’s den. She’ll pay for this, along with all the rest of them.”

Kachuu moved away from the tree and began walking again, but only made it a few feet before the wind shifted suddenly, causing her to stop in her tracks. After a moment of looking to the sky curiously, she saw Kagura’s tell-tale white feather. Seconds later, the wind witch landed before the fire demoness.

“Yo.”

“Kagura,” Kachuu stated, “Why are you here?”

Kagura pulled out her fan, and crossing her arms, tapped it against her shoulder in an annoyed sort of way.

“Naraku sent me. Seems that his plans for you have changed slightly.”

Kachuu looked at the other woman in confusion for a moment, and was about to ask a question, but then her face took on a blank, lifeless look and her eyes seemed to stare straight ahead into nothing. Kagura found the whole display rather creepy. When Kachuu came out of her daze she began to speak.

“I am to kill Kouga, as well as the hanyous and humans on their way to his den to warn him of my arrival,” she then focused her gaze more firmly on Kagura, “You have jewel shards for me.”

Rolling her eyes, Kagura pulled the two jewel shards from inside her kimono and tossed them and Kachuu, who caught them easily. She stared at the small pink fragments that rested in her palm for a moment, when Kagura spoke.

“Those will heal your injuries, and should give you enough power to defeat the inu hanyous and the wolf demon. Naraku has given me other duties, and you already know where the wolf den is, so I’ll be on my way.”

With that she pulled a feather from her hair and floated up until she was out of Kachuu’s sight. The fire demoness paid little attention to the other woman’s departure, instead focusing on using the power of the Shikon shards to her advantage. She carefully placed shards on her forehead, then closed her eyes and released a deep breath as the power coursed through her body. When she opened her eyes again, they glowed a bright red with their own inner light. She stood there for a moment testing her shoulder and the rest of her body’s movements, and was happy to learn that she was completely healed. A dark grin came to her face and in the next moment she started off running to where she knew the wolf den to be.

High in the air, Kagura had watched the entire scene and now shook her head.

‘The fool. She doesn’t even realize how Naraku is using her. Two jewel shards will do nothing against Inuyasha, his sister, and Kouga, not to mention the miko, the demon slayer, and the monk. She’s no more than a pawn, just like the rest of us, and he’s using her to buy himself time to grow stronger.’

Giving an indifferent shrug, Kagura turned her feather in the direction on Naraku’s current castle, for he had ordered her to return once she was finished with Kachuu.

‘What could that bastard want with me now?’

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Kouga sniffed the air carefully while standing outside the entrance of his pack’s den. Since early that morning he had felt that something was amiss, but couldn’t place it. Now it was near midday, and his fur bristled, his senses screaming ‘danger!’ Normally, he would avoid whatever was emitting such a dangerous aura, but it seemed to be heading straight for his den and there was no way he was going to abandon it just as he was beginning to rebuild what Naraku had taken away from him. The pack was nowhere near its former number, and there were more normal wolves than there were demons, but they were making progress and he wasn’t going to back down.

“Kouga.”

The wolf youkai’s attention was drawn to the owner of the new voice.

“Ginta,” he replied, “You feel it as well?”

“Aa, the other wolves do too. They’re getting restless. The ones that just came back from patrol are the worst. They say that they could smell the fires of hell coming for them.”

“Fires of hell?” Kouga asked, “What did they mean?”

“I picked up a wiff of it myself,” Ginta replied, “Whatever it is that’s coming this way smells of brimstone.”

Kouga was silent for a moment as he took Ginta’s words into consideration.

“Take Hakkaku, and start moving the pack away from the den. Chances are that it’s coming for me anyway, no use in endangering everyone.”

“You want to face it alone?” Ginta asked with concern.

“It’s my duty isn’t it? I will protect my pack at all costs. You should know that by now…” he trailed off, then turned as he curiously sniffed the air.

“Kouga?”

Ginta’s voice was ignored as he registered the scent that had found it’s way to his nose.

“Inukigo?”

A few moments later, that very person emerged from the tree-line, the rest of her companions following closely behind her, and ran straight for Kouga. He thought that she would stop before she reached him, but in a very forward display she jumped when she got close and wrapped her arms around his neck. Kouga’s arms came around her waist to steady her, and he looked at her in surprise. He looked in the direction that she had come from and saw the rest of her group had hung back, then glanced over at Ginta who was still standing rather close to his side. All of them were staring rather intently, and Kouga found his cheeks warming with a light blush. Putting aside his tiny amount of embarrassment, Kouga once again looked back down at the woman in his arms.

“Inukigo, what are you doing here?”

She looked up at him, then seemed to realize the position that she had put herself in and removed her arms, stepping back from him slightly. She blushed fiercely when it struck her that her brother, her friends, and most of the wolf pack had seen her pounce on Kouga. Fighting to hide her embarrassment, she focused on answering his question.

“About four days ago, we fought with a detachment of Naraku, called Kachuu. She escaped, but I heard her say that she was going to come for you. She sort of gave us a hard time, so I was worried about how you would do against her,” her voice then softened as she continued, “I’m glad that we made it here first.”

Kouga smiled at her for a moment, but then his expression turned grim.

“I doubt you’ve beaten her by much. All day I’ve been able to sense something coming, and the wolves have smelled it as well. They’re starting to get restless. And if it’s one of Naraku’s demons, that just makes things worse.”

Inuyasha and the rest of the group approached the two, now looking worried. At Inukigo’s questioning look, Kagome explained.

“I can sense jewel shards heading this way. There’s no way to know for sure, but there’s a good chance that it’s Kachuu.”

Miroku elaborated on Kagome’s theory.

“Naraku probably gave them to her to speed up her recovery, but it is likely that he also knows that we were on our way here to warn Kouga. The power from the shards will make things a little harder for us.”

Inuyasha scoffed and folded his arms over his chest.

“Keh! As if any demon spawn of Naraku could beat us.”

“Inuyasha,” Kagome scolded, “Try to take this a little more seriously.”

“Feh.”

“Heh,” Kouga laughed, “For once you’ve got something right, inukuro,” he said, surprising everyone. Kouga seemed to take no notice of their expressions and turned to Ginta, who had been joined by Hakkaku during the conversation, “The two of you move the pack away from here. You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to be on my own now.”

The two wolf demons nodded and took off, though they whispered quietly to each other as they ran.

“Did you see that?” Ginta asked, referring to Inukigo’s rather enthusiastic greeting.

“Yeah,” Hakkaku replied, “Way different from their first meeting,” he said, remembering when Kouga had kicked Inukigo into a tree.

“I’ll say. They seem to have gotten very close.”

“Kouga will probably ask her to be his mate soon,” Hakkaku agreed, though his tone was solemn, “They seem like a good match, but the tribe elders still won’t like it. They’ll make more than their fair share of trouble.”

Ginta nodded, then the two were silent as they went about rounding up the pack and moving everyone to a safer location.

“Shippou-chan,” Kagome said softly, “Maybe you should go with the wolves to a safe place.”

“Aw, do I have to Kagome?” the kit pouted from his perch on her shoulder.

“This fight will be dangerous Shippou-chan. I don’t want you anywhere near it if I can help it.”

Shippou looked around support from one of his other companions, but it seemed that everyone agreed with Kagome. Even Inukigo shook her head when he looked her way. Defeated, he sighed and jumped down from her shoulder.

“Alright, Kagome.”

Kagome smiled and knelt down to ruffle his hair.

“Behave yourself, okay Shippou-chan?”

He nodded, then bounded off towards the two wolves that had been there moments before.

Kouga watched as his pack moved away from the den, then turned back to the group beside him.

“So, now what? Should we stay here and wait, or go and face this Kachuu head on? Personally, I would rather that my den not be damaged.”

The others seemed to agree.

“It is likely that this area would receive a large amount of damage,” Sango pointed out, “The village where we fought her before was completely destroyed.”

“Alright, then we’ll go to her. Let’s get moving so we can keep the fight as far away from here as possible.”

With a plan formulated, the group headed off towards the threat that awaited them. Inukigo and Kouga ran in front, followed by Inuyasha with Kagome on his back, and Miroku and Sango riding on Kirara brought up the rear. They moved quickly, hoping to keep Kachuu as far away from the den as possible. They hadn’t been running very long when Inukigo put her nose to the air and shivered.

“I smell brimstone.”

Kouga heard her comment.

“Yeah, the wolves on patrol picked it up too. They thought that the fires of hell were coming for them.”

“Kachuu didn’t smell like this before. Now that she has Shikon shards, she very well could be able to call up the fires of hell.”

Kouga shivered, unnerved by her words. Again he got the feeling that he should be avoiding something this dangerous, but one look to his side squelched the feeling. This demon was coming for him, so there was no point in trying to avoid her, and his woman was beside him, ready to run into battle. There was no way that he was going to let her fight and not be there to protect her now that he could help it. If he had his way, Kachuu wouldn’t be touching Inukigo at all.

After a few more minutes of running and Inuyasha pulled up to run even with his sister.

“The scent is getting strong. She’s around here somewhere.”

Inukigo nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. We should probably stop so we can find out exactly where she is before we run right into her. If she does know that all of us are with Kouga, then she might be waiting-” she cut off abruptly and her ears perked along with those of every other demon present.

“Move!”

The three running on the ground managed to jump aside just as a wave of flames, nearly ten feet across, roared through the trees towards them. The fire burned so hot that it didn’t even get the chance to spread to the surrounding forest. It burned itself out almost instantly, destroying the trees it swept through in seconds.

And at the head of the burnt out path was Kachuu, standing proudly with a sword in her right hand, the arm stretched out at her side after executing a wide swing. Flames still licked the blade and a devilish smile graced her face.

“It took you so long to arrive. I was beginning to get tired of waiting for you all.”

‘Damn,’ Inukigo thought, ‘She did know that we were coming.’

“Hey, bitch,” she called out, drawing her sword and pointing it at Kachuu, “Long time no see. You ran out before we could finish our last battle. Maybe those jewel shards will give you enough courage to see things to the end this time.”

Kachuu’s smile faded and was replaced by a heavy frown.

“They have given me far more than courage. The power from these shards will be more than enough to defeat all of you.”

“We’ll see,” Kouga said as he moved to stand beside Inukigo, “Though I’m going to make you pay for planning to challenge me at my den and endanger my pack.”

“Really?” she questioned, her smile returning.

She calmly reached back with her left hand and pulled out her second sword, holding both out at her sides.

“You all managed to evade my first fire blade, but let’s see how well you fare against these.”

Kachuu began slashing quickly at the air, each swing producing a blade of fire, similar to the first she had shot out, but these were smaller and faster than the last one had been. Not anticipating the speed of the attacks, Inuyasha and Inukigo sported a few nicks before they were able to readily dodge the blades. Kouga’s shards granted him the speed to keep ahead of the attacks, and Kirara managed to avoid them by keeping airborne. After a few moments it was clear that the blades were meant to kept them at a distance and tire them out in anticipation for a larger attack. Inukigo scowled, then got an idea as she glanced at a bloody gash on her upper arm. Digging her claws into the cut with a wince, she called out to her brother.

“Inuyasha!”

When he looked her way, she held up her bloodied claws and saw him nod when he caught on to her plan. He followed suit and held up a bloody hand as well, then they called out in unison.

“Hijin Kessou!”

The combined Blades of Blood attacks cut through Kachuu’s fire blades and went straight through to the fire demon. She was surprised when she saw the attack coming her way and was forced to stop for moment as she jumped back out of the way. The delay gave Kouga just enough of an opening that he was able to jump in close and kick the sword out of her left hand. Kachuu snarled and hurled a fireball at him, but he dodged it easily and proceeded to jump on her sword, then yanked up on the handle, snapping the blade in half.

Kachuu’s eyes burned with rage at the loss of her sword.

“Damn you, wolf!”

Kouga smirked at her over his shoulder, but it was gone in an instant when he was forced to dodge a flurry of fireballs. Taking advantage of Kachuu’s attention being directed elsewhere, Inuyasha gave Kagome over to Kirara as Sango and Miroku took to the ground, giving the fire cat a firm look that meant he was trusting her with his future mate’s safety. Kirara gave what amounted to an affirmative nod and took once again to the sky.

Kouga was still drawing all of Kachuu’s attention, giving the others the time to surround the fire demoness. Unfortunately, when the first attack was thrown, it was apparent that Kachuu was well aware of anything coming her way. Miroku was the first to give it a try, throwing a number of ofudas in her direction. Kachuu simply glanced over her shoulder when the charms got close and swept her arm in a wide arc, causing each piece of paper to burst into flames. All the while she kept up her attack on Kouga.

Sango was next.

“Hiraikotsu!”

The boomerang flew towards its target with blazing speed, but Kachuu saw that coming as well and managed to jump over the flying bone as it made its pass. This did however force her to stop throwing fireballs for a moment. Inuyasha jumped up at her while she was still in the air, his sword poised to cut her in half. Kachuu managed to block it, and the two struggled for a moment before pushing off and jumping away. Inukigo was there when Kachuu touched down and was ready for her.

“Kaze no Kizu!”

The blades of power tore through the ground towards Kachuu, and the fire demoness barely managed to avoid the attack. As it was, she had a few scattered cuts on her left side when the dust settled.

Kachuu was seething, and flames were visible around her body. When she attacked again no one was prepared for it. She raised her palms to the sky, and her power shot up almost like a firework, but then it exploded and the resulting balls of fire rained down in a shower. Miroku managed to get a barrier up around himself and Sango, since neither would have been able to outrun the attack. Kagome and Kirara were safe high above in the air. The other three demons however were running madly trying to keep out of the path of the fire raining down on them. Inuyasha and Inukigo had even put away their swords in favour of greater manoeuvrability.

They couldn’t keep it up forever, and it was Inukigo who ended up taking the first hit. One the fireballs took her in the right shoulder, and though she was protected greatly by the fire rat fur she was wearing, the force of it was enough to knock her to her hands and knees. The pause was all that Kachuu needed, and instantly all of her attack was focused on the fallen half demon. Both Inuyasha and Kouga saw what was about to happen, but neither could stop it and called out to her in a panic.

“Inukigo!”

“Watch out!”

Inukigo looked up over her shoulder and her eyes widened at what she saw coming at her. She had only enough time to drop flat to the ground and cover her head before her back was bombarded by the fire raining down from the sky. After a few very long seconds, Kachuu held off on her attack long enough for the dust to settle. What appeared was a battered and burned Inukigo, who was still for a moment, but then groaned and attempted to get her hands under herself to get up.

Kachuu frowned, apparently disappointed that Inukigo had survived the attack. She seemed prepared to fix that, and began gathering her energy over her head in a very large ball of fire. Inuyasha saw what she was getting ready to throw at his sister and took off in her direction, determined to stop her. He pulled out Tetsusaiga and was about to call upon the Wound of Wind, but Kachuu finished building power sooner than he hoped and threw the fireball in Inukigo’s direction. He could only watch with wide eyes as it struck the ground right where Inukigo had been laying. His grip on Tetsusaiga tightened until his knuckles were white as he waited for the dust to clear. When it did, he saw something that he hadn’t expected to see.

Inukigo lay curled up on her side with her arms protecting her head. She had felt the attack coming her way, and had even felt it hit the ground around her. But as her mind caught up with what was going on, she realized that she herself had not been struck by the blast. Cracking her eyes open slowly, Inukigo peered up carefully, but then her eyes widened in shock and her arms dropped from shielding her head.

“K-Kouga…?” she said softly.

The wolf demon smiled down at her but his eyes clearly displayed the pain he felt. He was on his hands and knees above her, his body having completely shielded her own.

“Hey, you okay?”

Inukigo could only nod as she processed what had just happened.

“Good.”

“G-good?” she almost cried, “B-baka! Why did you do that? I’m wearing fire rat fur! I wouldn’t have been hurt that badly! Now you’ve gone and hurt yourself,” she said in a panic as she stretched out and rolled onto her back.

Kouga continued to smile but a sweat broke out on his brow from the strain of keeping his body up.

“I know. But I can’t go letting you get hurt if I can help it, now can I?”

“I-Idiot,” Inukigo whimpered.

Kouga gave a short laugh, then his eyes rolled shut and he collapsed on top of Inukigo. Inukigo grasped his arms and tried to shake him awake.

“Kouga! Kouga?!” she cried out desperately.

It took her a moment to feel his even breathing on her neck and she calmed down. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and cradled his face to hers. She kept her eyes shut tightly to fight back tears.

“Stupid idiot,” she whispered softly.

Kachuu glared at the scene, still disappointed that her targets were alive. She was about to build up another attack, but was interrupted by a red clad figure wielding a large sword standing in her path.

“Do you really think that you can stop me, half demon?”

Inuyasha snarled.

“Why don’t you finish and we’ll see.”

“As you wish. You make my job easy for me.”

Inuyasha waited as Kachuu began gathering energy once again, and when she released it in his direction he smirked.

“Bakuryuuha!!”

Tetsusaiga cut into the fireball and almost instantly it was transformed into numerous fiery twisters, and all of them shot straight at Kachuu. The fire demoness’ eyes widened in horror.

“W-what? NO!”

She could do nothing as her own attack was turned against her and she was engulfed by the flaming tornados. When the dust settled, there was nothing left.

Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief and sheathed the Tetsusaiga. Kirara landed close by, and Kagome hopped off and ran to him.

“Are you okay, Inuyasha?”

“Yeah,” he saw Miroku and Sango approaching them, “Why don’t you go and get the jewel shards. I’ll check on Inukigo and Kouga.”

Kagome had seen what had happened from the air and knew that he was worried. She nodded and moved towards where Kachuu had last been standing. Inuyasha went off towards his sister and Kouga.

Inukigo and slid Kouga off and was now sitting up beside him.

“Hey,” Inuyasha called, catching her attention, “Are you alright?”

Inukigo looked at him with sad eyes.

“Mostly. It’s nothing serious,” she replied, then looked back down at Kouga.

Inuyasha crouched down beside her.

“Is he okay?”

She shook her head.

“He’ll be alright soon,” he tried to reassure her, and she nodded but still looked downtrodden, “Inukigo, he chose to protect you. It’s not your fault.”

“How can it not be?” She protested weakly, “I needed to be protected and he got hurt because of it. It is my fault.”

Inuyasha sighed and put an arm around her.

“I understand how he feels,” he said.

Inukigo looked up at him.

“What?”

“What do you think I feel if I think Kagome is about to be hurt? I almost panic and force myself to give everything I have to keep her safe. That’s exactly how he felt when he saw that attack heading for you.”

Inukigo nodded and lowered her head. Inuyasha stood and pulled her to her feet.

“We’ll get him back to his den and you can take care of him okay? Think you can run?”

She took a moment to stretch her legs.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, help me get Kouga up on my back. I’ll carry him and Kagome can ride with Miroku and Sango.”

Inukigo did as he said and the two of them walked back to their companions. They had all witnessed Inuyasha voluntarily lifting Kouga on to his back and just managed to keep their shock hidden.

“Is Kouga alright?” Miroku was the first to ask.

“He will be. Let’s get him back to the den before I start to stink of wolf.”

They relaxed at the very Inuyasha-like reply. Kagome climbed onto Kirara with Miroku and Sango without needing to be told, and together the group headed back towards the wolf den.

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It’s a little bit later than I said it would be in the last chapter of Shingetsu Inc. (which I am also working on updating), but I still managed to get it out much sooner than last time. I’ve got the next chapter pretty much planned out, so hopefully I’ll be able to get it written within a week or two. I just want to give you a little heads up for the next chapter, there will be long overdue fluff! That’s all you’re getting. About posting pics on Otaku…oops…I’ve pretty much completely forgotten about that site…I’ll see what I can do about that. Oh, and because I forgot to mention these things before, Koorimizu means ‘ice water’ and Kachuu means ‘in the fire/flames.’

Since there aren’t really any questions to be answered in the reviews, I’ll just say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed last time on both sites, and I hope that I get plenty more this time :P Until next time!