InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ And all else will fade ❯ Courage needs no age... ( Chapter 4 )

Shippo

 

Something was wrong.

 

It was just not mine and Kirara's demon senses telling that, either: the furrowing of Sango's brow, the drops of perspiration that flowed down like glaciers down the hill of her nose, spilling over the tip, to land on the soft pink lands of her lips; involuntary shudders that shook her otherwise steady hands and the movement of her eyes that darted everywhere were signals from the demon slayer, more eloquent than words, that something was wrong.

 

And, in a demon slayer's dictionary, wrong meant evil.

 

I walked even closer to Sango- at least as close as I could get without banging into her legs- apprehensive. It wasn't just Sango's and Kirara's moods that scared me, however; it was the forest itself. It was so… so dark- a blemish of black nestled within the gold and green of the surrounding landscape. I could hear the growls of fearsome animals all around me, and I instinctively wished that Kagome were beside me. Of all the people in our group, I felt that she was the only one who really understood me the best.

 

Note that I say best, not completely.

 

The incredulous look she gave me while I explained the legend of the Soul Eaters to her hurt me in a way that didn't even fully strike me immediately. But now, as I walked through the forest, the reassuring Tetsusaiga, and its slightly less-than-reassuring wielder on the other side of the jungle, fear and concern sloshing around in my insides, my brain got plenty of time to work on the conversation we had.

 

I've noticed, for quite some time now, that people generally consider me as the weakest of the group, being the youngest and most vulnerable. People's expectations of me are not very high, and, I was sorry to find out, nor is Kagome's, the person I thought who understood me. I've mulled and despaired over this for a very long time, wondering desperately how to overcome the shortcomings of childhood (in demonic terms at least), how to prove myself to others, how to grow up faster. But the recent incident involving Miroku caused me to rethink everything, change my perspective about the world, about myself.

 

Maybe youth isn't so bad, after all.

 

I mean, if adulthood, or at least maturation, the growing of complexity of the mind, is what led to the tight spot that Miroku was now in, the consequence of Sango suffering, Kagome and Inu Yasha worrying… maybe it isn't as cool as I thought it was. And it's not just Miroku, you know. I've known for ages what Sango goes through about Kohaku and the massacre of her family; Inu Yasha about what he suffered in childhood, then the affair with the priestess Kikiyo, and the subsequent betrayal that destroyed their love and their lives- a cruel trick played by Naraku; Kagome about her strong feelings for Inu Yasha, marred by the fact that Inu Yasha still loved Kikiyo, and also the fact that Kikiyo came back from the dead to take her lover with her into the lands of the dead. All this leads into a huge tangle of hidden emotion that is simply a delicious feeding ground for a Soul Eater.

 

If that sort of situation was what adulthood was all about…

 

Well, three cheers for childhood!

 

My train of thought was abruptly derailed as Sango stopped in front of me, grabbing her Hiraikatsu, and I crashed into her legs. Kirara transformed into her true demon self, growling and hissing, her fur standing on end. Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

 

“Um, Sango?” I whispered tentatively. “What is it? Is it the Leaf?” We hadn't `sensed' the Leaf at all since entering the forest, and I was beginning to wonder if it had all been a bunch of balderdash.

 

But I wasn't going to say that to Sango, of course.

 

The demon-slayer shook her head. “It's something else,” she said quietly. “It feels like a- demon!” The end of her sentence was punctuated by a grunt as slimy, dangerous looking spikes shot from nowhere, at us. She put up the Hiraikatsu just in time, deflecting the spikes and sending them scattering.

 

Just at that moment, knife-like spikes shot from everywhere.

 

“Oh, shit!” Sango hissed. She gathered me into her arms, and jumped onto Kirara, who immediately took to the sky above the canopy, where we were in relative safety. Sango finally seated me in front of her.

 

“Wha- what was that?!” I asked, still shaken.

 

Sango gazed out in front of her. “A demon,” she said simply. Like I didn't know that.

I sighed. “How are we going to find the Leaf now?”

 

Sango's brow creased, and Kirara gave a low growl of sympathy for her mistress. “I don't know, Shippo,” she said. “Maybe we should--” Suddenly, she broke off, her eyes glowing. “I got it!” she whispered in elation.

 

“Got what?” I asked a trifle cautiously.

 

“The Leaf!” she answered, in that same high-pitched whisper. “I can feel it!” She patted Kirara's head, pointing toward a clearing some distance ahead. “It's there; Kirara, girl, take us there!” The fire-cat complied, and the wind rushed back against our faces, Sango's ponytail flying back like a flag, as Kirara increased speed, heading like an arrow to the clearing her mistress had pointed out.

 

Soon we landed in the area, the lush grass seemingly glowing in the noon sun. A single, gnarled tree stood in the middle, like a wart against the beauty, and on the tree was a single, beautiful leaf.

 

I could sense immediately that there was something different, something special about this Leaf from the time I set my eyes on it. It glowed with its own inner light, shining like a green, gold-laced lantern against the worn brown bark of the tree.

It had to be the Leaf of Holiness.

 

Sango walked slowly toward it, mesmerised. Kirara turned back into her small form, mewing in wonder. However, before I could revel in my own awe, a sound came from behind us- the sound of something emerging from the dark foliage. I jumped while Sango turned around sharply. The foliage rippled more, as the… something approached us. Finally, like a dolphin bursting through the surface of the ocean, two beings tumbled out of the thick vegetation. I relaxed as I realised who they were.

 

Inu Yasha and Kagome.

 

Sango smiled and helped Kagome up, while Inu Yasha bounded to his feet, shaking leaves and stray twigs out of his silvery hair. “Damn the forest!” he said, quickly brushing off more leaves and dirt off his person. Just then, I noticed something odd.

 

“Inu Yasha,” I said slowly. He glanced at me. I decided to take the plunge. “What's that on your lips? Blood?”

 

Inu Yasha's clawed fingers immediately flew to his lips. “Blood?!”

 

To my surprise Kagome came forward, blushing. “Oh, that's just my lipstick,” she said, looking highly embarrassed. Eh?

 

Sango, however, gave an understanding smile and placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. “I'm glad for you, Kagome,” she said.

 

While I stood blinking in confusion, Inu Yasha blushed with enough ferocity to rival the colour of his dress and turned away. “Feh,” was all he said.

 

Kagome cleared her throat to break the awkward silence. “Well, I'm glad we were all able to find our ways to the Leaf. Let's get this thing done with now, shall we?”

 

We nodded in agreement, though Inu Yasha's was mingled with profound relief. For what, I could not understand. Sango moved toward the tree, her hand reaching slowly to pluck the leaf. My fists clenched and unclenched, as did Kagome's and Inu Yasha's, for each of us wanted desperately to hold the Leaf in our hands- a Leaf so alluring, so magical, that it seemed to induce a whirlwind of desire within me… overwhelming…

 

Hey, wait, some distant corner of my mind cried out. Desire… emotion?

 

“Sango!” I shouted, my own voice breaking the dream-like trance my mind was suspended in. “Don't touch it! It's a trap!”

 

She turned to look, no, glare at me, an angry frown curving her lips. Her hand, however, moved resolutely toward the Leaf. I realised with saddening clarity that she had already fallen. Sango was known to be one of the best concealers of emotion, but the damned Soul Eater knew how to bring out anything out of anybody, how to hit on the right spots.

 

To save Miroku was more than enough reason for Sango to put her life on the line.

 

However, I was far from giving up. No Soul Eater was going to outsmart our group!

 

I took a flying leap, and latched onto her outstretched hand, pulling it back, while Inu Yasha and Kagome watched, half-dazed that I would even be doing such a thing: spoiling the seemingly only chance Miroku had for survival.

 

“Shippo! Get off me!” Sango growled, shaking her arm vigorously to try to get me off her. “Are you mad?!” Finally, she did manage to get me off, and I was sent flying off to the side.

 

Her fingers closed around the Leaf.

 

And my worst fears were proved right.

 

The Leaf, which had formerly been glowing with a golden aura, now started pulsing black light, the darkness of which surrounded Sango's hand like a halo. Tendrils of darkness so black that they gleamed; that I could see my own reflection distorted on their glossy surfaces, snaked slowly down Sango's arm, while she, a bit too late, commenced a futile struggle to pull her arm back. Inu Yasha and Kagome rushed forward to help, but were stopped by the very Soul Eater we had faced a few hours ago.

 

If it wasn't the dark figure that chilled us, it was definitely the glittering, contemptuous smirk that traced itself on the black.

 

It laughed. Abruptly the smirk disappeared, and the darkness shimmered. “Soul Eaters are often compared with demons, do you know that? I find that comparison the crudest form of human thinking… Demons have no flair, no subtlety… they wield their claws and swords, under the misconception that they are the strongest weapons on Earth, while… it is not.”

 

I wondered distantly why the thing was telling us this.

 

“Emotions… the ability to play around with them… ah, that is the strongest, and most profitable weapon of all. The monk was an ideal breeding ground, and when I grew enough to sense the emotions of others… his friends… I knew that this was it- my destiny… to become the strongest Soul Eater of all, to lead my kind out of the uncertain existences they lead.”

 

“Cut your crap!” Inu Yasha cried, reaching for the Tetsusaiga. Way to go, Inu Yasha.

 

The Soul Eater raised a hand, and this time Inu Yasha froze, paralysed, unable to move. It regarded the half-demon with amused interest. “You…” it said. “You were one of the ones that were the most fun to play with. Such strong temper, conflicting desires… love… that little romantic interlude in the forest was nothing but my doing, to get you so enraptured in each other… the result of the opening of emotions kept inside for too long… so that I could have you two too, eventually.” Again the high laugh.

 

That blessed shred of sanity that had wedged itself in the corner of my mind spoke up again. The talking… it was all a distraction… to accomplish…

 

Sango!

 

I ran toward the demon slayer again, whose torso had by now been engulfed in the dark tendrils. I caught onto her leg, pulling her with all my strength. “Inu Yasha! Kagome!” I shouted. “Snap out of it! It's just trying to distract you!”

 

My voice seemed to arouse Kagome, at least, for she blinked and shook her head, bringing her mind into focus. She looked at me and Sango, and grasped the situation immediately. She ran toward me, and, putting her arms around my waist, began to pull. I could sense Inu Yasha struggling to join us, but the strange power that the Soul Eater had over him didn't facilitate that. I pulled harder.

 

The tendrils grew faster.

 

The deadly tug-of-war could have continued for ages, had not the Soul Eater, in a sudden, surprising (an understatement!) move, waved his hand toward us, releasing the hold he had over Inu Yasha, and causing the tendrils to retract and the leaf to crumble into a pile of ashes. Sango, now free of the dark hold of the leaf, tumbled on to Kagome and me, thanks to our momentum.

 

The Soul Eater transformed into the dark cloud again. “This is not over…”

 

With that chilling warning, it was gone.

 

Inu Yasha rushed toward us as we got shakily to our feet. “You all right?”

 

Kagome nodded, helping Sango up. “Thanks to Shippo,” she said, smiling. Sango, though ashen, most probably because there was no way to get Miroku back now, concurred with a nod and a deep breath. “Yeah. If it weren't for Shippo… God knows what might have happened.”

 

I, predictably, blushed. “I see,” Inu Yasha said slowly, leaning against the tree. “Anyway, didn't I warn you that this could be a trap? I told you, but you didn't listen. If--”

 

“Shut up, Inu Yasha,” Kagome said tiredly. But that didn't end Inu Yasha's rant.

 

“If only you had listened to me, you wouldn't have been in this kind of danger, and Shippo wouldn't be in the danger of getting a swelled head…” Hey! “… and you--”

 

Kagome drew in her breath, most likely to `sit' Inu Yasha, but unfortunately, before she could do it, he stopped himself. His ears flattened themselves against his skull and he stood straight.

 

“Do you sense something, Inu Yasha?” Sango asked.

 

Inu Yasha nodded mutely, while Kagome's eyes flashed suddenly. “Don't tell me that- that person is coming…” she muttered darkly. Sango and I exchanged confused looks.

 

Finally, our confusion was answered, for a white figure emerged out of the dark woods. Sango and I gasped as one.

 

It was Kikiyo.

 

***********

 

A/N: A big thanks to those who've reviewed so far! And, *smiles slightly* the story's barely started yet, so the plot may not be startlingly clear in the first three chapters itself. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!