InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delving Into The Mysteries Of The Past ❯ The Past Continues ( Chapter 5 )

 

“It's Kaikatsu Gin Kiraitsu!” Shippo-chan whispered again. I could only stare at him. I didn't know whether or not to believe him. Shippo-chan was young, and he may have been overreacting, but then again, Shippo-chan did say he saw him once. Maybe he had been boasting. I didn't know. The only thing I could do was hold Shippo-chan close and watch the fight between InuYasha and Yura of the Hair.

 

He was losing. The wound on his back was still bleeding heavily, and his movements were becoming sluggish. He must have lost a lot of blood. If he kept on fighting, there was a possibility that he would die. Besides, Yura had the advantage. InuYasha couldn't see the hair, and he had already gotten caught in it several times. If it weren't for his strength as a half-demon, he would have lost his head. Shippo-chan stirred in my arms.

 

“Kagome,” he whispered. “We need to leave.”

 

“I can't leave him behind,” I said. “He saved my life!”

 

“But it's Kaikatsu Gin Kiraitsu!” he exclaimed. I shook my head.

 

“He can't be him. Kaikatsu Gin Kiraitsu would have killed us already.” Shippo-chan looked at me.

 

“But I saw him,” he insisted. “It's definitely him!” I wasn't paying attention to him. I had turned back to the battle in time to see InuYasha get pinned to a tree with hair. He was struggling, but the hair was tightening around his neck. Before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself running towards him. I didn't know why, but I was feeling a sort of duty to him. He had saved my life once, now it was my turn. I tripped over something. It was a skull. I gasped.

 

“Idiot! Get back!” I looked up. InuYasha was glaring at me. He had gotten free from the hair.

 

“What is this?” Yura called. “Kaikatsu Gin Kiraitsu protecting a human?” Even Yura thought it was him. I looked up. InuYasha had gone tense again, but it was so fleeting that I thought I had imagined it.

 

“Yeah, whatever,” he said mockingly. “You're going to have to better than that to kill me!”

 

“Stop,” I pleaded. “You're bleeding too much! You'll die!”

 

“Feh,” was his only response, and I quickly moved out of the way, as the battle resumed. I looked at the skull that I had tripped over. I could sense an evil aura coming from it. It was different from the other skulls that were scattered everywhere. It was red, and the hairs that Yura was controlling seemed to come from it. Yura's scream made me look up. InuYasha had run her through with the Tetsusaiga. He pulled it out, the blade shining with blood.

 

“That took a long time,” he said, turning away. He didn't notice Yura throw her sword at him.

 

“InuYasha!” I screamed. “Move!” He turned around just in time. She had aimed for his neck, and it would have hit if he hadn't moved. Her Crimson Mist grazed his cheek, leaving a long line of blood on it.

 

“What the hell?!” he asked in amazement. I was thinking the same thing. How had she survived being run through with a sword?!

 

“I didn't tell you?” she asked, mocking his tone from earlier. “You can't kill me. I'm immortal!” Oh God, I had forgotten to tell InuYasha that. That was one of the reasons why Yura could only be sealed away. No one knew where she hid her soul. That was the only was to destroy her, to destroy the object in which she had hid her soul. I looked around. She probably had it hidden somewhere close to her. It wasn't hidden in Crimson Mist, I was sure of that. It was too risky. The sword could be broken in battle. She would have hidden it somewhere where no one would look. I looked at the red skull. Yura was upset when I had accidentally destroyed her hairball. Could she have hidden her soul in the skull? I looked to make sure that Yura was still busy with InuYasha. If I didn't so something, InuYasha was going to lose. He already fatigued from blood loss, and I didn't have enough power to fight her hand to hand or to seal her away. I snuck over to the skull and drove my arrow into it. Almost immediately Yura noticed me.

 

“Stay away form there!” she yelled, throwing her sword at me. InuYasha was too tired to do more than to yell for me to move and to try to knock the sword away. I hit the skull again with my arrow, and a thin crack formed. I didn't have much time. The sword was closing in fast. I hit one final time with all my strength, and the skull cracked in half, revealing a comb, neatly cracked in two. The Crimson Mist fell inches away from my head. Yura disappeared, leaving only her jewel shard and clothes behind. I let go of the breath that I was holding. It was over.

 

“You did it Kagome!” Shippo-chan yelled, as he ran into my arms. “You did it!”

 

“Nice job, Kagome,” InuYasha said walking over. Shippo-chan jumped out of my arms and stood in front of me.

 

“St-stay away from h-her,” he said, trying to act brave. “I kn-know it's y-you, Kaikatsu Gin Kiraitsu!” InuYasha snorted.

 

“Don't insult me,” he snapped. “You're only a little trouble-maker.” Shippo-chan flushed.

 

“You have to be him!” he insisted. “I saw you! You have the same silver hair, the same dog ears, the same smell, and the same red eyes…you have gold eyes!” Shippo-chan stopped and stared at him. InuYasha glared at him.

 

“Are you finished?” he asked. “Kagome? What's the matter?!” He asked me. My face must have been pale, but I couldn't help it. I had seen Kaikatsu Gin Kiraitsu too. He had killed my father. That's why no one ever mentioned his name in front of me. It all made sense now. I took several deep breaths.

 

“Sorry,” I said. “I'm a little nauseous,” I lied.

 

“Blood bothers you?” InuYasha asked me. I nodded. It wasn't a total lie, blood did bother me, but I was more afraid for him than I was for his blood.

 

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked him.

 

“Feh! Of course I'm okay! I'm not a weakling like you!” he said, haughtily.

 

“Oh really,” I replied. “Remind me next time not to save you.”

 

“Shut up,” he said, wincing a bit as he moved.

 

“You're not okay,” I said, taking full authority. “Shippo-chan, can you take this cloth and wet it in that stream that's around here?” I asked him, amid protests from InuYasha. He nodded solemnly and left. I turned to InuYasha. “Let me see your wounds,” I said.

 

“No,” he snapped.

 

“They're gashes from a sword! They could get infected!” I yelled.

 

“I'm not a weakling mortal,” he said. “I'm not like you!”

 

“In that case, why haven't you sheathed Tetsusaiga yet?” I asked him. He glared at me. “Now let me see!” He began to walk away. I cursed under my breath.

 

“He is so difficult!” I thought. “I'm only trying to help!” I snuck up behind him and kicked him in the back of his knee. He fell down cursing.

 

“Bitch! What was that for!?” he yelled, trying to get back up. I sat on him, effectively pinning him down. “Get off of me!”

 

“Let me see your wounds!” I yelled at him, seizing his shirt. He grabbed my wrists. “Just take your shirt off!”

 

“No!”

 

“Take it off!”

 

“Beg me to!”

 

“Should I come back later?” Shippo-chan interrupted. “You two look kind of busy.” I'm not sure he meant it in an innocent way, or if he was implying something, but the one thing I was sure of was that my face had to be turning as red as a tomato. InuYasha stood up, pushing me off of him.

 

“You're dead!” he yelled, diving for Shippo-chan. I didn't bother trying to stop them. I was too busy trying to control my blush that has spread over my face and neck.

 

“You shouldn't run around with those kinds of wounds,” I commented, when I could look at him again.

 

“Stupid! What wounds?” he snapped. I looked at him, confused. He sighed impatiently. “My body's different.” He lifted his shirt to show me his back. The wounds were gone.

 

“They've already healed?!” I asked, amazed.

 

“They were only scratches from a sword. My body heals faster than yours does,” he said, as if he were talking about a skinned knee. I could only shake my head. I had a lot to learn about InuYasha.

 

“You're so weird,” was all I said. “Let's go.”

 

It took us another two weeks before we reached the next town. It was small, but at least this one hadn't been attacked by demons. We wandered around for little until a young woman came by.

 

“Are you new here?” she asked us. I nodded.

 

“We're looking for a place to stay,” I explained. She smiled.

 

“I work at an inn. Would you like to stay there?” she asked.

 

“That would be great!” I replied. I was tired of sleeping on the ground at night. A bed would be a welcome luxury.

 

“Let me show you the way,” she said, leading us to a small inn that looked nice.

 

“It's quiet, don't you think,” Kage asked. I had gotten into the habit of calling him InuYasha whenever he transformed and Kage when he was in his human form.

 

“We don't get that many visitors around here,” she explained. “Not many people travel to here, especially this close to nightfall.” Kage didn't look convinced.

 

“You're being paranoid,” I told him. Kage was always on the edge, ready to jump into battle at any time, even if it meant showing his half-demon form.

 

“It's okay. I'm not offended or anything,” the woman said. “I haven't mentioned my name yet. I'm called Sadako.”

 

“I'm Kagome,” I said. “And this is Shippo and Kage.” There was no need to be formal. We would probably just stay the night and then leave the next day. Surnames were of no importance.

 

“Would you like two separate rooms or one large one?” Sadako asked.

 

“One large one,” Kage answered. When I looked at him he explained, “So we don't get split up.” I rolled my eyes.

 

“It really doesn't matter. I don't think anybody's going to attack us,” I whispered.

 

“I don't like this place,” he insisted. “There's something creepy about it.”

 

“Once again, you're being paranoid,” I said, annoyed.

 

“I don't feel anything creepy,” Shippo-chan offered.

 

“Nobody asked your opinion runt,” Kage snapped.

 

“Kagome! He's being mean to me!” he whined to me.

 

“Kage, be nice!”

 

“Like you can make me!”

 

“Are you married by any chance?” Sadako asked us, one eyebrow raised. I shook my head.

 

“'Just traveling together,” I said. Kage mumbled an affirmation. Sadako nodded.

 

“Otoki!” she called. “We have guests!” A girl a few years younger than me came running.

 

“Guests?” she asked, looking at us, with an expression I couldn't quite place. “They're staying the night?”

 

“Yes. Please show them to their room,” Sadako told her. Otoki looked at us once again before showing us down a long hallway.

 

“Are you new here?” she asked us.

 

“Yes,” I said.

 

“There's another town a few miles from here. They have an inn too. Why don't you stay there? There's still a few hours of sunlight left.”

 

“Are you driving us out?” I asked her, confused. She bit her lip.

 

“Bad things happen here,” she whispered. “You should leave while you still can.” I stared at her, but she wouldn't say anything more. “Here's your room,” she said at last, staying only long enough to unlock the door before vanishing back down the hallway.

 

“What was that all about,” I wondered out loud. I looked to Kage for help. He shrugged.

 

“Do you want to leave?” he asked. Before I could reply, a roll of thunder crashed outside, and a heavy downpour began. I sighed.

 

“I guess we can't, I replied.

 

The downpour lasted a few hours and then let up. By the time the sky cleared, the sun was already setting, and it was too late to journey to another town. Otoki's warning still sounded in my head, but I banished it when Kage asked if I wanted to explore the town with him.

 

The town itself was small, but very busy. People were rushing everywhere, as if trying to reach their destination before nightfall. It all seemed a bit peculiar, but I figured it probably had something to do with demon attacks at night or a curfew of sorts. I accidentally bumped into an old man.

 

“I'm sorry!” I said, bowing.

 

“It's alright, it's alright,” he said. “No harm done.”

 

“Where are you rushing to, old man?” Kage asked rudely. I glared at him.

 

“Got to get home before nightfall,” he said, looking at the rapidly declining sunlight nervously.

 

“Is there some kind of curfew set here?” I asked.

 

“No, no curfew, he replied. “But the haunts come out at night.”

 

“The haunts?” Kage asked skeptically. The man nodded fervently.

 

“Yes, the haunts! They'll kill anyone foolish enough to travel at night. You best be on your way too!” With that, he was gone. Kage and I looked at each other.

 

“Should we go back?” he asked he. I was beginning to think that that was his way of making fun of me. He was trying to prove his point that the village was creepy.

 

“We can always go back if you're frightened,” I said. Two could play at that game. Kage glared at me.

 

“Feh! Who said I was frightened?” he snapped.

 

“Whatever Kage,” I said mockingly. He grumbled the whole way back.

 

“You're still here.” Otoki commented when she brought dinner. “The rain kept you?”

 

“Yeah, we really didn't want to travel in the rain or at night,” I said. Otoki looked grim.

 

“You really should leave,” she said again, with a nervous glance at the door.

 

“Why?” Shippo-chan asked her. She looked at the door again, and then decided to speak.

 

“There's a well near the south end of the town,” she said. “Legend says that a girl committed suicide by drowning herself in it. They say that her spirit haunts this town and comes out at night to find it's victims.”

 

“Ghost stories,” Kage said, looking uninterested. Otoki shook her head.

 

“It's true. As long as her body is still in the well, she will still kill. Her name was S-”

 

“My Otoki, you're very chatty tonight,” Sadako said pleasantly from the door. She had opened it, unnoticed by anyone. Otoki gasped and jumped up.

 

“I'm sorry,” she said, bowing quickly. “I was just leaving.” She all but ran out of the room.

 

“You'll have to excuse Otoki,” Sadako said with a smile. “She tends to like to tell ghost stories all the time to our guests. Sometimes, she even scares them away. None of them are real of course.” I nodded. Kage was looking at her through narrowed eyes. “Why don't you eat? You're food is getting cold,” she said, gesturing to our plates before leaving. It would be rude to refuse, I reasoned, so we ate it. Almost as soon as I was finished, a wave of sleepiness washed over me. Shippo-chan yawned.

 

“I'm so tired,” he said, stretching.

 

“So am I,” I said, yawning. Even Kage seemed tired. My eyelids were heavy, and as soon as I lay down, I was lost to a dreamless sleep.

 

What seemed like an eternity later, I was awakened by something dripping onto my face. At first I thought it was a leak from the downpour, but whatever was dripping was warm. I forced my eyes open, and looked up. All thoughts of sleep vanished.

 

Otoki looked down at me though blank eyes, her mouth opened in terror. She was plastered to ceiling somehow, as if an invisible force was holding her up there. Her blood was dripping onto my face, from the deep slash in her abdomen. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

 

“Kage,” I whispered hoarsely. “Kage, where are you?”

 

“Uhhnn,” he replied. Too late I realized that the food had most likely been drugged.

 

“Kage! Get up!” I was beginning to panic, and panic was making me start to cry.

 

“Whaddayawan,” he mumbled sleepily, looking at me though the darkness.

 

“Look up,” I said. He did. As soon as his mind registered what he was seeing, he cursed.

 

“Damn it!” he said softly. “Kagome! Where's the damn light switch!” Before I could answer, the door opened, and Sadako walked in.

 

“Oh, you're awake,” she said. “I would have hoped you would have stayed asleep.”

 

“You creepy witch!” Kage said, getting up slowly and jerkily. “What the hell is going on here!”

 

“Otoki said too much,” she said simply. “That was the only way to shut her up.” She laughed evilly.

 

“You killed her?” I asked, horrified.

 

“Just as I'll kill you three,” she said, in that same genial tone she used when she had talked to us when we first met. I shivered.

 

“You know,” Kage started out. “A lot of people have said that to us, and none of them have left alive.” He unsheathed Tetsusaiga and swung the blade at her. “I'll kill you!” The blade went through her.

 

“How can you kill me, when I'm already dead?” she asked, her image changing. Her pretty face turned into that of a corpse's, gray and decaying. She reached out to me with her hand, also gray and with no fingernails. I flinched and moved away. “You can't kill a ghost,” she said, laughing.

 

“You,” I said. “You're the girl who drowned herself in the well!” I said. Otoki had been trying to warn us! Sadako frowned.

 

“Yes, that was me. But I had my reasons,” she said bitterly. “But I won't bore you with the details,” she said, regaining her genial tone again. “If you want to know why, then you can find them in hell!”

 

“Kagome! You and Shippo get out of here!” InuYasha yelled. “Go find the well! I can hold her off for a bit!”

 

“Don't make me laugh,” Sadako said. “A mere half-demon such as yourself cannot begin to dream about defeating me. Not when countless other demons and priests and priestesses have tried and failed!” I looked at InuYasha, who signaled for me to leave, and then grabbed Shippo-chan and fled down the hallway. I could hear Sadako yelling after me. Only when I made it outside, I began to breathe again. But didn't have time to waste. The longer I delayed, the greater the chances of InuYasha dieing became. I began to run in the first direction I chose.

 

The town seemed deserted. The only noise I could hear was the pounding of my heart and the sound of my uneven breathing. I couldn't see where I was going, the moon was hidden behind thick clouds, and I didn't even know what direction I was heading in. All I could think about was Otoki's blank face staring down at me, and Sadako with her decaying flesh reaching out to me.

 

“Kagome, look!” Shippo-chan pointed. It was the well. Made of white stones, it stood out against the darkness. We had made it. I walked over to it and examined it. The lid was closed. I would have to open it. I pushed with all my strength, but it wouldn't open. Shippo-chan jumped up and tried to help me, but it didn't work. I fell to the ground crying in frustration. In my anger, I kicked the well, and to my surprise, the stones at the top loosened and fell in. causing the cover to fall off. I looked into the well. It was dark and murky, and I couldn't see the bottom. I was overcome with chills when the evil aura hit me. I took several deep breaths and then turned towards Shippo-chan.

 

“Shippo-chan, I'm going to have to go in there,” I said. “I need you to wait out here. If anything happens, run.” He began to nod, but stopped, his eyes becoming wide. “Shippo-chan, what's the matter?” I asked him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Finally he pointed behind me. I turned around.

 

A skeleton was making its way out of the well; it's dark hair falling in front of it. It must have been Sadako's body. I bit back a scream, and tried to move away, but my legs were paralyzed in fear. The skeleton grabbed my arm.

 

“You can never escape,” it said, coming closer. I screamed, and my aura exploded around me. The skeleton screamed, an unearthly sound, as it disintegrated around me. I breathed heavily.

 

“We did it, Shippo-chan!” I said. He nodded. “Why don't we go back and find InuYasha,” I said getting up.

 

“Did you say InuYasha?” a new voice said, from the direction of the forest. This part of the town had no fence surrounding it, probably due to the well. I turned around.

 

“Who's there?” I asked. As if in answer, two hands grabbed me and dragged me into the forest.

 

“Scream and I'll kill you,” he whispered. I froze. I could hear Shippo-chan yelling for me, and then all was lost in the darkness of the forest.

 

I was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground, a few miles into the forest. I glared at my captor.

“What are you doing?” I snapped at him. He looked down at me.

 

“Do not try my patience mortal,” he said. “I want you to tell me where InuYasha is.” He said InuYasha's name as if it were some kind of plague.

 

“What makes you think I'll tell you anything?” I said. I was trying to talk big, but in reality I was frightened. I could sense his tremendous demonic aura, and I knew he could kill me without even thinking about it.

 

“I said do not try my patience. Now tell me where InuYasha is,” he said again. His face showed no emotions. I was suddenly struck by how much InuYasha and he looked alike. This demon was definitely order, but they had the same silver hair and the same golden eyes. I couldn't tell if the purple stripes on his face were scares or not, and a crescent moon marked his forehead.

 

“Are they…brothers?” I thought. Out loud I said, “What if I don't feel like telling you anything?” It was a stupid thing to say, and I immediately regretted it coming out of my mouth, but that didn't change the fact that I had said it. Instantly, he had me pinned against a tree, his hand at my throat. I couldn't breathe.

 

“I'll ask you one more time,” he said, his tone darker than before. “Where is the one that calls himself Kage?” I didn't answer, not out of defiance, but from lack of breath. He held me there for a few more seconds, and then released me. I fell once more to the ground, gasping for breath and clutching my throat. “It doesn't matter,” he said. “He'll come looking for you.”

“What do you want with him?” I asked, when I had found my voice again.

 

“I want to kill him.” I gasped.

 

………………………&# 8230;………………………… …………………….

 

And because I'm lazy, I'll end here. I kinda had to make Sesshoumaru-sama the bad guy in this chapter `cause that's just how it turned out. Don't worry, Sesshy-lovers…if any of you are reading this…he won't always be the bad guy! Oh yeah, there were a few jokes in here that some of you might not get. Sadako was the girl that comes out of the well and kills you in Ringu, the Japanese Ring. Otoki was a character in the InuYasha game Secret of the Cursed Mask. She died. R&R!