InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Dreams ❯ Clash of the Hanyous ( Chapter 33 )

Broken Dreams

 

This chapter is dedicated to Zenad, who has graciously given up his/her time to re-read my earlier chapters and fix any spelling and grammar mistakes I missed. Thanks a lot Zenad!

 

Chapter 33

 

Clash of the Hanyous

 

“Are you sure she hasn't been found?” Yoshi shook his head.

“I am sorry wolf, but your mate has not been in this village, nor have we been able to find her in any of our searches.” He explained. Kouga growled and wrapped a claw around Yoshi's neck.

“Then why do I still detect her scent lingering here?” He grated. Yoshi opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to cover his tracks. Luckily, Miroku stepped in to cover for him.

“Kouga, it is irrational to accuse him of lying based on an old scent. Please, let him go, lest the villagers become hostile.” He said. Kouga growled and dropped Yoshi to the ground.

“Her scent isn't the only one I recognize…” Kouga muttered to himself. A distinct scent of forest hung in the air as well, not much older then Kagome's. Kouga racked his brain as he tried to remember where he had smelled the smell before, but shook his head and gave up. He glared at Miroku. “Come with me, we're going to search the valley.” He growled, marching past him. Miroku sighed and kneeled for Shippo to hop off his shoulder before grudgingly following Kouga into the forest.

“Here, let me help you.” Sango said, helping Yoshi to his feet. She led the headmaster back to his hut.

“Thank you, taijya.” Yoshi smiled. He sighed and bit his lip. “I was worried your wolf companion would have gone hostile, and with our monk on a journey, we would have no protection against such dangers.”

“Kouga is cruel, but he cares for Kagome nonetheless. And her safety is first and foremost in his mind.” Sango explained. Mentally, she laughed at her own words. Kouga care for Kagome? Maybe he thought he did, but to them? “Why did Kouga detect Kagome's scent in your village? Are you sure she did not come here?” Yoshi busied himself with a boiling pot of tea in his hearth.

“She was here.” He muttered. “She came, left, then came and left again. She headed out of the valley with our monk Toga, in pursuit of an old friend she had met in the valley.” He handed Sango a small cup of the tea before turning back to get his own. Sango frowned.

“She found a friend in the valley? Who?” She asked. Yoshi shrugged.

“He had been living here for a couple years now. He had lost his memory, so we just called him Youkai. But Kagome knew his name, as I recall. Inuyass, Inuyassa, Inu-something…Inuyasha, that's what she called him.” Sango gasped and jumped to her feet, her cup falling in her wake and gently cracking apart on Yoshi's floor.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Raijin's Kobushi-no-Raidin soared through the air, electrifying the air around it. Kagome stood stunned for a moment before diving for cover, sure that it would be too late to avoid Raijin's assault. Then, the ball exploded as it impacted. And no where near Kagome, either.

The tentacles holding Inuyasha superheated and exploded as the thunder struck home. Naraku roared as the appendages crackled with lingering electricity. He turned to face Raijin as the hanyou leapt forward in a whirlwind of claws. Raijin ripped through the claws as fast as Inuyasha, maybe even faster. He had started to sliced near Naraku's body when a flurry of tentacles struck him in the back, wrapping around his waist.

“You traitorous little wretch!” Naraku roared. “You dare to strike your creator, your master?” Raijin growled.

“Creator yes, to my never ending-shame. Master? I'll die before I ever obey one such as you ever again, Naraku! What madman creates a sentient being only to kill? Have you lost your mind?” Naraku snarled and flung Raijin into a tree. He then got a painful reminder that he was fighting two hanyous, not one.

“Sankon Tessou!” four long gashes raked down Naraku's back. Inuyasha, for the most part, didn't want any part of killing, save for Kouga. But that was before he remembered just who was responsible for his deformities. Kouga had the ultimate hand in Kagome's suffering, but his own? His own suffering was Naraku's fault. Inuyasha sliced away a trio of tentacles coming for him at the right, and Raijin jumped up to tear up more on the left. Naraku's tentacles kept reforming, but between the inu-hanyou and the raidin-hanyou, they were being chopped down faster then they regenerated.

“Kobushi-no-Raidin!”

“Sankon Tessou!” Naraku roared as Raijin's attack tore a clear hole through his tentacles. It its wake was Inuyasha, landing a direct blow on Naraku's chest. Even more tentacles burst from the sides of Naraku's cloak, now tattered with the claw attacks Inuyasha had landed on both sides. The tide evened as the added attackers began to hold off the hanyous.

“Naraku seems tireless, which is more then I can say for them.” Toga muttered. Kagome realized he was right. Naraku's attacks were just as fast now as they were when he first appeared. Inuyasha and Raijin, however, were hard pressed now only to avoid the attacks, but also counter them. All it would take would be one of them to tire just enough for Naraku to gain the edge, then…

Kagome raised her bow and aimed. She aimed for a point just below Naraku's neck, where she was sure the youkai puppet would be. Inuyasha and Raijin moved the fight to either side, granting her a clear shot. With a breath, Kagome released the arrow, watching as it flared pink with miko purity. Then, Kagome's eyes widened.

“NO!” She screamed. But it was true, Inuyasha's point of attack has shifted, putting him directly between Naraku and the arrow. Inuyasha was too bust trying to strike as Naraku's head to register her scream. But Raijin saw the stream of pink light heading for the three hanyous. He tore loose the tentacle around his wrist and dove through the air. He sliced and knocked away the tentacles around Inuyasha, and in the process cut the hanyou a bit as well. But the deed was done. Raijin's momentum carried Inuyasha out of the arrow's path. However, his admirable attempt to save Inuyasha had one small flaw he hadn't taken the time to consider.

The arrow streaked behind him, and burned its way into Raijin's back, just over the spider-burn that all Naraku's incarnations carried. The arrow itself hit Naraku, but not before its aura burnt Raijin's back. The arrow imbedded itself in Naraku's neck, and poured its power into him. Naraku exploded in a blaze of light, the clay figure inside him vanishing into dust. Inuyasha and Raijin hit the ground. Kagome dropped her bow and ran to Inuyasha as he pulled himself from Raijin's grasp.

“Are you ok?” She asked. Inuyasha nodded.

“Yeah, I'm fine. But what about…” He turned and stared at the motionless body behind him. Raijin lay face down on the ground, his leg twitching and his back still smoking along the black burn mark Kagome's arrow had left.

 

Oooooo, Kouga's hot on the trail, and Sango knows about Inuyasha now! How long before they meet up? And will it be long enough for Inuyasha to figure out how to break Kouga's mark?