InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delusions ❯ Chapter Sixteen ( Chapter 16 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author’s Notes: Here we are again looking at things from Amaya’s perspective.

 

 

 

 

Delusions

 

Chapter Sixteen

 

Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language)

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

 

 

 

 

“‘Stay in the room’, she says” Amaya said mockingly. With a groan she threw herself down on a hastily made futon. She had thought the Feudal Era would be a little more exciting, but her second trip through the well had really not provided much of that. At least the first time she was attacked by a monster. She laughed at herself, ‘Here I am actually wanting some action like a crazy person!’

 

It wasn’t that she craved the thrill of action. Far from it. It was the newness of it all. Her normal life in the present held little excitement or surprises for her. She was already at the top of her class and excelled at both that and sports. Every day was fairly monotonous and predictable. She did not feel challenged in life and everything was planned. Amaya really thought that her life made her happy but now she had been presented with another option.

 

Now, she was relishing in strength, senses, and abilities that she never knew she possessed. That and she had no idea of what to expect from moment to moment. Even so, Inuyasha had seemed intrigued by her life as they had spoken on the trip to this inn. She rather enjoyed having his apt interest in her, even if she did think her life was particularly boring. She didn’t get much in the way of attention from her father back in the present. ‘Well, I guess he really is not my father. I suppose that would make him my step-father?’

 

All Amaya knew now was that she did not want to be kept cooped up in this room while everyone else was out doing something else. ‘I’ll just take a look around outside. That won’t be so bad,’ she surmised.

 

The inn was situated on the outskirts of town and overlooked the countryside that splayed out in every direction. Night had fallen and swathed everything in darkness but the moon stood high in the sky and with her heightened senses, Amaya could see, hear, and smell everything with within the perimeter. Thankfully, Inuyasha had spoken to her on how not to let them overwhelm her, though she would get better with practice. The room did not offer much in the way of practice. She could hear the murmur of voices from adjoining rooms and she could smell lingering scents of the meal they had eaten not long ago; nothing of which that interested her.

 

The room that Miroku had procured for them had a door that opened up to a balcony, so Amaya decided to take advantage of that and take a peek around and be back before her mother realized that she was gone. She was not exactly sure why her mother felt the need to shelter her now, of all times. ‘I doubt that there is anything out there that I can’t handle!’ She felt confident in her ability to protect herself when she was human, now that confidence was amplified.

 

She slid the door open and quietly closed it behind her. She leapt off of the balcony to land on the ground below. She walked around the perimeter of the inn just to get a look around. It was easy to avoid people with the inn’s location and it being night. Not that many people were out. She did not really want to be noticed, either. Her outfit stuck out like a sore thumb and she did not want anyone to talk about seeing her and having her mother find out by chance. ‘Maybe I should look into getting some clothing from this period,’ she wondered. She would have to look into that later.

 

After circling the inn she came back around to her starting point and ventured further away from the building. She could hear a stream in the distance so she tried her hand at running as fast as she could.

 

The scenery moved at a blur and the feeling of moving so fast gave her pleasure she didn’t know she could get from running. She could hear the stream much stronger now so she skidded to a stop, ungracefully losing her balance on a slight decline, plopping on her side, and coming to a stop with her legs enveloped in the flowing water of the stream. “Great, just great!” she groaned. She stood up and brushed off blades of grass that had gotten stuck to her side and mud that now caked her clothing. “So much for that idea,” she said to herself.

 

With her heightened hearing she heard a chuckle, most likely at her expense. “Who’s there?” she demanded. No one answered. She was to angry to be afraid that something or someone could hurt her out here. “Laugh it up, why don’t you?” she called out.

 

“Oh, don’t worry. I am,” said a voice. Amaya looked over to the direction of the voice and saw a form, engulfed in moonlight, sitting against a tree facing the stream. A shadow hid his face.

 

He stood up and stepped out of the shadow of the tree and Amaya felt her anger melt away to be replaced with embarrassment. It was Sōrin, the quiet guy who hung around Inuyasha. “Oh, it’s just you,” she said lamely.

 

“If you’re going to be this clumsy, you’re probably better off going back to where you came from. You’ll just get in the way,” he said in a low voice. He had a look of annoyance cross his features and settle into an unflattering scowl.

 

She couldn’t believe this. “Ugh!” was the only sound that she could think to make in her disbelief. “Who died and made you king?” she asked with indignation coloring her voice.

 

His scowl softened a bit, but his dark eyes were still narrowed in what she assumed was contempt. “Look, it’s nothing personal, kid. It’ll just be easier if we don’t have to pick up your slack. At least your mother is an accomplished archer, but you don’t even know what you are doing.”

 

“Kid?!” Amaya was outraged now. “You’re practically the same age as me and I can hold my own, BOY!” She crossed her arms and began to stomp back to the inn. She didn’t have to take this.

 

“Prove it!” he called from behind her.

 

She stopped and turned around to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

 

He stepped back over to the tree and picked up his staff and twirled it around effortlessly before planting it in front of himself and stepping into a battle stance. “Prove to me that you won’t get in the way. That you can hold your own.”

 

Amaya was astounded, “You can’t be serious right now?”

 

He gave a half smile that mocked her, “Deadly serious.”

 

“How is that even fair? You have a weapon and I don’t,” she pointed out. She realized that she may have put her foot in her mouth when she said that she could handle her own. She knew what to do but she hadn’t applied it outside of controlled situations. She’d let her confidence get the best of her and it made her angry.

 

“You don’t need a weapon. You’re a hanyo, aren’t you? I shouldn’t prove to be difficult being only a human,” he told her.

 

She growled, something new for her, “Fine!”

 

He moved first, too fast for her to see, and he landed a blow against her side before she could even react. She grunted, clutched at her side, and fell to a knee. She could hear him laughing at her and it filled her with fury. She stood up and tried to keep her eyes on him.

 

Sōrin was spinning his staff and the low hum that it emitted distracted Amaya as she tried to focus. She really had no idea how to attack him and prove herself. Except, that she did. She was in Judo, after all.

 

Sorin attacked again, but this time with an overhead horizontal strike. Amaya threw herself in a roll in order to dodge but he recovered from his miss faster than she could recover from her dodge and he thwacked her again on her arm. She sucked her breath in from the sting but before she could cradle her arm he was coming at her again.

 

He moved like lightening, always striking and never in the same place twice. It took all of her energy to jump back from each attack. Finally he stopped assaulting her and smiled at her, “Guess you are all talk.”

 

Amaya glared at him. How dare he insult her?! He did not even know her, or what she was capable of! ‘I can’t even believe I thought he was cute, the bastard!’ her thoughts screamed.

 

She stood straight and cleared her mind, breathing in and out. She fixed her mindset to the teachings from Judo club at school. While they only practiced in the club, and never with weapons, she was sure she could adapt the teachings if she put her mind to it. ‘Maximum efficiency, minimum effort. I just have to get past his staff.’

 

With a smug smile he came at her again, this time with a sweeping strike. She knew that her reflexes were much quicker and she needed to take advantage of it. Focusing on the movement of the staff she waited until his swing was mere inches from striking her and jumped nimbly over it. He recovered from the miss quickly enough and tried to jab at her but, still focusing on the movement of the staff, spun away.

 

She was getting pretty good at dodging his attacks and it seemed as though his failed attempts to hit her were angering him. However, dodging was not getting her anywhere. She had to show him she could at least defend herself by more than not getting hit. She kept dodging until he made the mistake of jabbing again, trying to land a blow in her gut. She side-stepped and when the staff did not connect with her she reached out and grabbed the staff.

 

She thought that by grabbing the staff, it would give her an edge so that he couldn’t use it against her anymore but he was much more practiced than that. With his smug smile he threw in a laugh, lifted the staff, - her along with it - and smacked it into the ground.

 

Amaya was not expecting this and the force nearly knocked the air from her lungs. She had to recover fast and she jumped up to await his next move. She kept circling him as he spun his staff to try and disorient her. Her hands were clenched into near fists as she waited her opportunity to get close to him. That was her only chance at this point.

 

He moved to strike again but she did a neat flip over him and landed behind him. This surprised him and she was happy to see his eyes widen in shock. She grabbed him by the back of his haori and flipped him over so that he landed on his back. The look in his eyes was enough of an attack on their own. The smile that he had worn throughout the entirety of their fight had faded and was replaced with a look of determination. Before she could blink he took the staff that he still held and swept her feet out from under her.

 

She landed on her rear with another grunt. He stood over her and pointed his staff at her chest. “Do you give up?”

 

“No,” she said simply. He thrust the staff forward to hit her but she grabbed it and used all of her strength to push the staff back at him, hitting him square in the chest. This time he grunted and she kept her hold on the staff and snatched it from his grip and spun it menacingly before pointing it at him. “Do you give up? She asked.

 

His lips lifted up into a small smile and he threw up his hands in defeat. “I surrender”

 

He wasn’t even breathing hard, nor had he broken a sweat. It infuriated Amaya that she probably looked worse for wear and he looked like he’d just gotten up from a nap. She was sure that a scowl painted her face and she threw his staff back at him before retreating back to the refuge of the inn.

 

She didn’t notice as he watched her tromp back up the small incline that she had so recently skidded down, her long silver hair swaying in the moonlight.

 

 

 

 

Next time on Delusions……

 

….Kagome was still enjoying the warmth of laying into Inuyasha while Miroku was away with Sango. The peace and quiet was suddenly disturbed when a mud-encrusted and seething silver-haired girl slammed open the screen door and stomped over to where she and Inuyasha sat.

 

Amaya boiled with anger and she stopped in front of Inuyasha who eyed her skeptically. “Good, you are still here.” She had not even looked at Kagome.

 

“You need to show me how to fight -- now!” she demanded….