InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ BROTHERS' WAR ❯ QUARREL : Part I ( Chapter 4 )

QUARREL

Disclaimer: I, Grifter, do not own any of the characters used within this fanfic. I have yet to receive any reviews, other than the one I already have. I will continue with my ideas and keep writing until I finish the entire BROTHERS' WAR series or just get tired of writing it. Enjoy and review!!

Recap: Inu Yasha was given his first task for his training. It was to fill 10 enormous buckets with water and then return them to the original place they were taken from. This seemed like an impossible task, but with the help from the mysterious girl from the midnight forest, Inu Yasha completed the task. Once completed, both Inu Yasha and the girl rested for a bit and then the girl left. On her way back to her village, Inu Yasha and the girl declared their love for each other. Inu Yasha also inquired about the girl's name and she gave told him that when he gives her the answer to her riddle, she would tell him her name. With that the girl departed and Inu Yasha headed back to the resting grounds where he and his father ate a roast boar each and then went to sleep.

Riddle: What's always howling, but never here; Always soaring, but never clear; Can bring ye close, yet keep ye afar; Make ye glad, or give ye a scar; The one thing that ye cannot skew?

Inu Yasha awoke suddenly, due to a strange noise that he heard from a distance. At first, whether it was due to the great distance between him and the source of the sound or just because he was still half-asleep, it was hard to determine what the sound was. Inu Yasha strained his ears trying to listen for the sound again but there was only the sound of the crickets. Unable to hear any other sounds, Inu Yasha stared up at the starry sky. The stars gleamed like diamond dust; the moon hung in the dark sky like a watchful eye; and the crickets played a symphony all through the night. Then Inu Yasha's sensitive hearing picked up the faint noise once again, but this time it seemed to have gotten closer than it previously was. After a couple of seconds he heard it again. It was a faint scream of a girl! Startled, concerned, and curious, Inu Yasha got up from his sleeping ground and ran towards the next position of the noise, that he estimated. On his way out, Inu Yasha noticed that Sesshomaru was not in his spot again! Nowhere in the sleeping grounds!

Inu Yasha:

*I wonder where Sesshomaru could be? Doesn't he have to train too? Is he doing some special training since he is a full demon? Or maybe …*

Just then the sound of the girl screaming resonated through the silence of the night and interrupted Inu Yasha's thoughts. It seemed that the crickets stopped their chirping just as the girl screamed. Inu Yasha ran faster now, he could smell something in the air; something that made the air thick and heavy. He could not determine what it was, but he knew that he had smelt it before, just not as strong as this. He ran through the forest now, determined to get to the girl that was screaming before anything happened to her, if not already. Inu Yasha sped by trees; weaving in and out, avoiding any collisions with the trees. Inu Yasha was travelling faster than he had ever travelled before, at least using his own legs. This was something new but Inu Yasha did not take any notice of it; all he could think about was the girl's screams. Inu Yasha kept getting cut from the branches that hung low, as he sped past. Each time he got cut below his neck, a piece of his clothing ripped and soon his top was just barely clinging on to him; while his pants seemed to be just a cloth with multiple holes all through out. Inu Yasha neglected the cuts and rips as well; for each step he took, the intensity of the smell increased. The more Inu Yasha smelled the scent, the closer he got to remembering what it was.

Inu Yasha:

*… I know this scent! I have smelled it at the village whenever the hunters came back with the food! But what can it be? Is it the smell of prey? I am a half-demon after all! Am I craving for live prey or something? … No! It can't be! I don't eat humans! That's just sickening! … Wait a minute! ... Now I remember! It's the smell of blood! SHIT! The girl is in serious trouble! I have to get moving or I might be too late! It couldn't be that girl from before because the voice seems different but I can't be sure just yet!*

Finally, after 15 minutes of intense running, Inu Yasha cleared the forest and came to an open patch of land where the girl should have been. He took a few seconds to gather his footing, catch his breath, and to survey his surroundings. There seemed to be nothing around! This was truly odd, for Inu Yasha could smell the strong scent of blood still lingering around that very area!

Inu Yasha:

*Damn it! I can still smell the blood, yet there is nothing in sight! But where can it be emanating from? Not even a trail, puddle, or even a drop of blood anywhere! This is truly strange!*

Just then the dove came fluttering out of the woods, following the same path as Inu Yasha had taken. It came swooping towards Inu Yasha and at the last moment, noticing that Inu Yasha's eyes were upon it, it swerved up towards the sky.

Inu Yasha, still following the dove's movements tentatively, suddenly opened his eyes wider; dropped his jaw; and just froze in place. Inu Yasha saw a sight that drained the blood right from his brain and left him gazing at the source of the scream and the reason for it, with no power to run, fight, or move.

A gigantic demon bird, with wings spanning the size of two of the regular village huts; a body that was 5 times the size of Inu Yasha's; claws that were the size of wagons; and a beak the size of a large tree. From within a crack in the beak and due to the sound of something being crunched, Inu Yasha made out a hand, which he soon deduced to be that of the girl who was screaming just seconds ago.

The demonic bird also seemed to take notice of the dove and moved towards it in an attempt to devour the dove. Inu Yasha heard a rustling that came from a distance but could not move, due to his state of shock. Then all of a sudden something zipped past the dove and stabbed the demonic bird in its left wing. Inu Yasha still stood gazing up at the demonic bird trying to see what had just hit it. The bird flapped its wings harder in an attempt to keep afloat in the air but to no avail. Soon it landed hard on the floor, just a foot away from Inu Yasha, causing a cloud of sand dust to fly out from the spot it landed on. A moonbeam shone on the surface of the object's head, which revealed an arrow head.

Soon after the bird crashed to the ground, the person who shot the arrow came from out of the bushes and trees on the opposite side. It was the mysterious girl who Inu Yasha seemed to be in love with. The girl released 5 more arrows into the bird as she walked towards Inu Yasha.

One arrow hit the bird's alternate wing; 2 other arrows hit the bird's neck, around the adam's apple, and the last two arrows each hit the bird's eyes. The impact of the arrows sent a ripple of pain through the bird's body. As the bird shuddered in pain, it released its immobile victim from its grasp. The bloody and battered body of the girl twitched slightly, and Inu Yasha saw the girl gasp for some air. She seemed to be unconscious or just in a state of shock, for she did not attempt to get up or scream. Her eyes remained closed and the blood from her multiple cuts were flowing out like a stream of water. Suddenly Inu Yasha heard the mystery girl speak to him.

Girl:

"INU YASHA! GET MOVING! I WILL KEEP SHOOTING MY ARROWS AT THE DEMON. WHILST YE GO AND RESCUE THAT GIRL! … I ONLY HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT SO YE BETTER GET MOVING!!!"

Finally out of his gaze, Inu Yasha started moving towards the girl as fast as he could, while keeping an eye on the movements of the demon just inches away. The mystery girl bombarded the demon bird with a swarm of arrows while Inu Yasha moved towards the broken body of the victim. As Inu Yasha approached the victim, the bird, enraged from the arrows, swatted Inu Yasha 3 feet into the air. Inu Yasha landed hard on the ground and groaned. After a couple of seconds Inu Yasha rose from his fallen state and rushed back towards the victim. This time the bird slammed the ground on the opposite side, opening a door-way between the victim and Inu Yasha. Inu Yasha pounced on the opportunity and lift the victim to safety. All the while, the mysterious girl kept bombarding the demon bird with her arrows until she was finally out of any more. The bird finally stopped its thrashing and lay on the ground, its life-force slowly sapping out of its body.

Girl:

"Inu Yasha, take the girl to the stream a mile down to the south, and clean her wounds. I will go to my village and retrieve some bandages and herbs. We need to clean her wounds and cleanse them quickly or else she will become a demon as well!"

With this said, the mystery girl left Inu Yasha and headed off towards her village, which Inu Yasha noticed as being in the western direction. Both of them, the mystery girl and Inu Yasha, with the victim upon his left shoulder, ran along their own paths, towards their destinations.

Inu Yasha could not understand why this girl was cut or why this girl had been attacked. Her scars ranged from the tip of her arms to the edges of her toes. She had cuts all over and each one was bleeding a different amount. She had a broken arm and a broken leg. This was obvious because of the way in which her left arm and leg were twisted. Appendages were not supposed to bend that way! The rest of her body was mangled and there was nothing but a small patch on her right hand, close to her knuckles that was unscathed. Inu Yasha ran as swiftly as he could but he tried his best not to cause any further injuries to the girl, while he ran. After 5 minutes of his running, Inu Yasha made it to the stream and slowly lowered the girl to the ground. Resting her upon the green grass, Inu Yasha ripped off what was left of his top and soaked it in the water from the stream. Then he slowly dabbed the soaked cloth over the girls many wounds, starting with the ones gushing the most blood. After about 15 minutes, the mystery girl returned to see Inu Yasha trying to soak and clean each cut individually.

Inu Yasha heard the rustling of leaves and the sound of the dove calling and turned around to see the mystery girl approaching. She seemed to be walking in a manner that did not suite her. It was definitely different from her usual way but then again, maybe she was shocked by the suffering of the victim. Whatever the case may be, there was no time at the moment to determine the reason! It would have to wait till the victim's wounds were bandaged and cleaned.

Inu Yasha:

"You finally came! I have been cleaning each of her wounds individually but nothing seems to have happened. The blood still continues to pour and my cloth is just soaking up the blood. Did you get the bandages? Why did it take you so long?!"

Girl:

"Yes Inu Yasha! I did get the bandages! Never ye mind why I was delayed! Just stop yer cleaning of the wounds and place the girl into the water itself! The flow of the stream will cleanse the wounds and the blood will not stop unless we place some of these herbs on them."

Inu Yasha, not wanting to waste any more time, does as he is told without another word. As he placed the girl into the water, Inu Yasha noticed that the blood from the wounds flowed out like rain.

Girl:

"That's enough Inu Yasha! Get her out before she loses all her blood!"

As quickly as he could, while still keeping the girl as comfortable as possible, Inu Yasha pulled her out of the water. He placed her on the grass, as quickly as he could, once she was out of the water. The mystery girl soon after applied the herbs and bandages on the wounds of the victim. Once done, Inu Yasha picked up the victim girl and placed her on a section of the grass that had no rocks or debris that would make the girls recuperation process as comfortable as possible. Then Inu Yasha left the girl and started to walk back towards the mystery girl.

Inu Yasha:

"So now that this situation has been dealt with, I think it's about time for you to let me know your name. I mean, I think I earned the right to know, especially since I am the one who saved the other girl!"

Girl:

- Smiles awkwardly - "Well you have to answer my riddle to find out my name."

Inu Yasha:

"Well then. Why don't you just tell me your name now because I already have the answer. So in fact, you are just delaying the inevitable! So how about it? … … … Fine! It's love! That's what it is! It is love!"

Girl:

"Sorry Inu Yasha but you are incorrect. You must still come up with the correct …"

The girl studdenly loses her footing and begins to collapse but Inu Yasha grabbed her before she hit the ground. He placed her hand over his shoulder and then pulled his hand away, the one that was around her waist. Upon retrieving his hand, he realised that there was blood on it and it was not the blood of the victim girl.

Inu Yasha:

- His face changed into a seriously horrified look - "What happened to you?! Let me know! Right now! What happened?!"

Well that's all for this chapter! This is just the first part of this chapter. Next time find out what happened to the mystery girl during her journey to and from her village. I need to know what people who are reading these ones I write think of it so far! I only got a very few reviews letting me know. I don't know if all the readers think that it's good or if it is heading in a bad direction. Please let me know how it is so far! And what do all the readers, those of you who have read the Tranning chapter, let me know what you think the answer to the riddle is!

Peace!