InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Drama of an Online World ❯ Chapter 22
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: NovaDemoness 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.20.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 254 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.20.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 254 | Status: Completed
Last time...
****************
"Such a pretty little thing... Do you think she'd work Hiten?"
"She's the most beautiful one yet, brother. She'll work just fine!"
He could feel a crackling in the air, he could almost see it, sparking and igniting the very air around him. The booming sound of thunder was terribly painful to his ears, almost enough to make them bleed. He dropped the torch and pressed his hands against his ears, crushing them to attempt to drown out the sound. The laughter had started again, and he could feel the presence of two demons. He could smell them, but he couldn't see them.
A deafening scream pierced through the thunder, and before he could reach out and grab her, Kagome's presence was gone.
****************
"Put me down, put me down, PUT ME DOWN!" she screamed, kicking and flailing and desperate to be let go. But regardless of how she struggled, her captors had no intentions of letting her go. That much was clear. She had the worst luck ever.
The one carrying her chuckled, "Now why would we do that?"
"Because either you're going to let me go... Or I'm going to kill you!"
Oh, and he found that terribly funny. Laughing up a storm... No pun intended. "Fiesty, too. You're sure to work for Manten!"
That ceased her struggling. Made her even kind of scared. "What are you talking about? Who's Manten?"
"Surely you've heard of him, of us." When he felt her shake her head, no, he went on. "We're the Thunder brothers, and you are going to be used in Manten's potion."
'Potion? Oh God... WHAT?!' She was really freaking out and even though she knew it was futile, she started struggling again. She had to get away... Far, far away. At least get back to Sanosuke. It was the least he could do... Getting her into such a situation. 'He'd better be following.'
****************
And he was. Between her screaming, her scent, and the sound of the thunder billowing to the right, following them was no problem at all. He wasn't running at full-speed, best to let them get to wherever they were going and let them think he'd abandoned her, than confront them and have them think he was... Protecting her or something.
But if he was correct, and of course he was, then these were the guardians of the Rain Fountain. Who else would reside in the Thunder Caves? Unless they had killed the guardians and had unsuccessfully taken over the sacred duties... That could also be a possibility. A less likely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.
So in the event that these were the true guardians... What did they want in exchange for rain?
He was still hoping for a violent encounter, but he was doubting it. Probably a puzzle of some sort... Maybe not a puzzle. Something to do with women. Why else would they kidnap Kagome?
... At that thought, he decided he really didn't want to answer that question. 'Better to leave that question for later.'
****************
The Thunder brothers carried her to a room she thought was most likely in the very heart of the moutain. Torches lined the walls on all sides, looked more like candles than anything. There were caves branching off in two directions, and as far as she could see they were nearly endless.
In the middle of the room, the Rain fountain stood in all it's pristine glory.
The Fountain turned out to be more beautiful than she'd expected. It appeared to be made of something akin to porcelaine, possessed a fragile beauty that astounded her. It was connected to the ground by something that looked like roots, but there were no trees so that would be out of the question. It rounded into a large circular din, the edges flaring out to look almost like waves of the ocean. In the center, there was a... Pedestal. Intricately designed, coiling 'round and 'round like a spiral staircase.
And there, in the pedestal, she thought that would be where the Thunder Staff was supposed to be. But it wasn't. One of her captors had it strapped to his back, the one called Hiten.
She came to the conclusion that they must have abandoned their duties for... The potion. She still had no idea what it was, or what it was used for. All she knew was that she was needed. Which meant she needed to get away. Fast.
****************
He had slowed down when the screaming and the thunder had eased off. He was walking, creeping... Sneaking, along the walls of the cave. He could see a light not too far ahead of him, not only a light, he could see a room. More than a room... Whatever. He could hear them talking amongst themselves, all three of them. Not just the kidnappers, but the kidnappee also. 'Well, she's making the most of her situation.'
"So what exactly do you guys do all day?" he heard her ask, thought she sounded genuinely curious. Her scent was telling him otherwise. She was thoroughly afraid, attempting to prolong her life.
"Make it rain, sit around... Next to nothing," was the reply. The voice sounded bored, like he was waiting for something. That might not be a good thing.
Kagome's voice was confused when she asked, "But don't you get bored?" Either she was getting louder, or he was getting much closer. While he was still hidden by the dark, he could clearly see nearly the entirety of the room her voice was coming from. Couldn't see Kagome, or the one she was talking to, but he was getting close.
Creeping and sneaking, getting closer and closer... 'Just a little bit farther.'
"Well of course we get bored. That's why we need you."
"I'm going to be entertainment?"
He could see her sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, looking over at a demon he didn't recognize. Black hair, red eyes, maybe 5'11". His armour was... Sexy. Really. If he were a woman, he'd be drooling all over the place. It was shining, glossy, in the center of the breastplate was a crack of lightning. Beautiful trademark. It was traditional styled, adorning his body almost like a second skin.
When he felt a wetness on the side of his mouth, he lifted his hand to inspect it.
... He was drooling.
****************
"No, you're not going to be entertainment. You're going to be used to bring the entertainment... To us." The smirk on Hiten's face was not cool. At all. She was scared enough just without the smirk, but with the look he had on his face... She was almost terrified. 'Sanosuke had better get here soon...'
"How am I going to do that?" she asked tentatively, her voice sounding far too meek for her liking.
The answer didn't come from Hiten, but from his brother, Manten, who was just emerging from one of the branching caves. "You're going to be used in the hair tonic to make me beautiful," the voice of the reptilian looking demon explained. He was coming towards her, cooing as he did. "Going to cook you alive and bathe myself in your hair and flesh. You're so pretty it's sure to work!"
Her eyes widened as far as they would go. 'This is so not good.' She was very freaked out. Incredibly so. Oh God, all she wanted was to escape them alive... Fuck the quest!
****************
That was not good. Not good at all. It wouldn't work, they'd just end up with a very dead Kagome. But he'd heard of a demon stealing away beautiful young girls and never returning them... 'Could this be what they're being used for?' he thought to himself, just as desperate to get her out as she appeared to be.
"Couldn't you just... Cut my hair off and glue it on?" he heard her ask. The air was drenched in the scent of her fear and he really didn't like it.
The brothers were laughing, evil and maniacal and menacing. It was only making her more afraid. His eyes were beginning to bleed... "Of course we can't, silly wench! It'll just fall off!"
"So will all of your limbs if you don't let her go," he shouted as he walked into the room, clearly visible for all to see.
Manten was panicked, but Hiten stood his ground like a true warrior. "Ahh, the consort. And just why should we let her go? Who are you to demand such things of us? In our own domain no less?" The thunder was returning with each syllable and the air was crackling again, raising the fine hairs on the back of his neck.
"I am Ses-" He broke off there a moment, quickly correcting himself. "I am Sanosuke, Guard of Miriva. And she is mine."
****************
AN: I was thinking about just leaving it there... Another cliffy. But I won't.
****************
Her eyes narrowed on him, she didn't belong to anyone, but she made no move to correct him. He was close to losing control, and as sexy as that was, she really didn't need to be ripped to shreds by an over-aggressive dog demon. No way, no thank you. She could sense his anger, she could feel it all around her. And she knew it wasn't just Hiten's thunder, nope, not even close.
His eyes were almost completely blood red, his hands clenched tightly and she could see small droplets of acid falling to the cave floor. 'Not good at all.'
She needed to find a way out of the situation. Fast. Very fast. Something to do with hair, something to trade... Some kind of spell. Make them a deal, a real spell, real potion that would work and make Manten beautiful. She shuddered slightly, not wanting to think of the reptile that was slowly backing away from Hiten and Sanosuke. A trade... The potion for rain. It could work...
"She isn't yours anymore, filthy dog," the angry voice of Hiten said, reaching around for his Thunder Staff.
Sanosuke was snarling, growling, he shouted, "She will never be yours, vermin!"
She stood up slowly, backing herself further into the corner so she wouldn't be noticed. She just really hoped Kaede would be online to receive her message. She opened the screen, the voices of the angry demons heard even through the haze of the messaging page.
Kagome:: Kaede?! You online?!
The reply was almost instant, and she silently praised any and all Gods that had allowed her such a blessing.
****************
He was baring his teeth, just like a real, very pissed off dog. The acid in his claws was itching to be used, to flow through the veins of his arrogant opponent. He crouched, keeping his eyes on the brother with the staff, poising himself to attack. He snarled, when the staff came into contact with Hiten's hand, the gem sitting in the center at the top coming to life from the energies of its wielder.
He lunged forward, not even bothering to take out his sword, one hand rushing forward and the other waiting behind him to attack. Hiten jumped back and out of the way, kicking his heels and raising his arms as he was lifted into the air. His eyes narrowed, he stood at his full height, pulling his right wrist back, he flicked it forward and his acid whip snapped against the shinguards of the enemy's armour.
He could hear the sizzle of the acid melting the armour, it was music to his ears. He snapped the whip in wide arcs towards Hiten, pleased when he came straight at him with his staff raised to attack. The sound of his sword whistling free of the scabbard and through the air to meet the Thunder Staff was all he could hear through his heartbeat.
He could feel the sizzling energies of the staff, and he snarled and threw his full weight into his sword, pushing Hiten back to where he'd been before.
"Stop!" Kagome was shouting, but he couldn't hear her through the beating of his own heart and the blood that was rushing through his veins, couldn't recognize her through the fog.
****************
"DAMNIT! I said STOP!" Kagome rushed forward to stand slightly out of the way, but in the middle of them, shouting as she pulled her katana from the scabbard, "AKHIEER TOU NEHKAI!" She shouted this twice before plunging the katana into the ground, the pulsing energy billowing from inside her, releasing in great bouts of raw power. The force of it through her sword threw Sanosuke and Hiten against opposite walls.
When she pulled her katana free of the ground, both demons dropped to their knees. They were both snarling, looking at each other like they were going to fight in a duel to the death. If they really wanted to, they could do it later.
"When I tell you to stop, you stop!" she shouted, her voice carrying all throughout the caves.
Sanosuke was the first to his feet, his eyes glowing, but the blood had drained away. "Why have you interrupted us?"
"Because I'd rather neither of you were dead, dumbass! And I have a fucking solution!"
Hiten had made his way up, but he was crouching, looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Solution to what?"
"A solution to both of our problems," she said, sighing as she did. "Sanosuke," she ignored the growling she could hear from him when she said his name, "and my self are on a quest to make it rain in Miriva. And Manten wants to be beautiful, right?"
They both nodded their heads, following her so far.
"Manten's so-called potion will never work. It's sickening to even think it could. But a woman I know has such a potion written in one of her books. She, just as I am, is a priestess. Lady Kaede is, as we speak, sending a message with all the items we'll need to prepare it. In exchange for this potion, you will make it rain."
"And if I refuse?" Hiten asked, his gaze trained on Sanosuke, who looked like he'd love to rip out his throat.
She glared at him, her hand tightening on her katana. "I'M NOT GIVING YOU A CHOICE!"
****************
"Such a pretty little thing... Do you think she'd work Hiten?"
"She's the most beautiful one yet, brother. She'll work just fine!"
He could feel a crackling in the air, he could almost see it, sparking and igniting the very air around him. The booming sound of thunder was terribly painful to his ears, almost enough to make them bleed. He dropped the torch and pressed his hands against his ears, crushing them to attempt to drown out the sound. The laughter had started again, and he could feel the presence of two demons. He could smell them, but he couldn't see them.
A deafening scream pierced through the thunder, and before he could reach out and grab her, Kagome's presence was gone.
****************
"Put me down, put me down, PUT ME DOWN!" she screamed, kicking and flailing and desperate to be let go. But regardless of how she struggled, her captors had no intentions of letting her go. That much was clear. She had the worst luck ever.
The one carrying her chuckled, "Now why would we do that?"
"Because either you're going to let me go... Or I'm going to kill you!"
Oh, and he found that terribly funny. Laughing up a storm... No pun intended. "Fiesty, too. You're sure to work for Manten!"
That ceased her struggling. Made her even kind of scared. "What are you talking about? Who's Manten?"
"Surely you've heard of him, of us." When he felt her shake her head, no, he went on. "We're the Thunder brothers, and you are going to be used in Manten's potion."
'Potion? Oh God... WHAT?!' She was really freaking out and even though she knew it was futile, she started struggling again. She had to get away... Far, far away. At least get back to Sanosuke. It was the least he could do... Getting her into such a situation. 'He'd better be following.'
****************
And he was. Between her screaming, her scent, and the sound of the thunder billowing to the right, following them was no problem at all. He wasn't running at full-speed, best to let them get to wherever they were going and let them think he'd abandoned her, than confront them and have them think he was... Protecting her or something.
But if he was correct, and of course he was, then these were the guardians of the Rain Fountain. Who else would reside in the Thunder Caves? Unless they had killed the guardians and had unsuccessfully taken over the sacred duties... That could also be a possibility. A less likely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.
So in the event that these were the true guardians... What did they want in exchange for rain?
He was still hoping for a violent encounter, but he was doubting it. Probably a puzzle of some sort... Maybe not a puzzle. Something to do with women. Why else would they kidnap Kagome?
... At that thought, he decided he really didn't want to answer that question. 'Better to leave that question for later.'
****************
The Thunder brothers carried her to a room she thought was most likely in the very heart of the moutain. Torches lined the walls on all sides, looked more like candles than anything. There were caves branching off in two directions, and as far as she could see they were nearly endless.
In the middle of the room, the Rain fountain stood in all it's pristine glory.
The Fountain turned out to be more beautiful than she'd expected. It appeared to be made of something akin to porcelaine, possessed a fragile beauty that astounded her. It was connected to the ground by something that looked like roots, but there were no trees so that would be out of the question. It rounded into a large circular din, the edges flaring out to look almost like waves of the ocean. In the center, there was a... Pedestal. Intricately designed, coiling 'round and 'round like a spiral staircase.
And there, in the pedestal, she thought that would be where the Thunder Staff was supposed to be. But it wasn't. One of her captors had it strapped to his back, the one called Hiten.
She came to the conclusion that they must have abandoned their duties for... The potion. She still had no idea what it was, or what it was used for. All she knew was that she was needed. Which meant she needed to get away. Fast.
****************
He had slowed down when the screaming and the thunder had eased off. He was walking, creeping... Sneaking, along the walls of the cave. He could see a light not too far ahead of him, not only a light, he could see a room. More than a room... Whatever. He could hear them talking amongst themselves, all three of them. Not just the kidnappers, but the kidnappee also. 'Well, she's making the most of her situation.'
"So what exactly do you guys do all day?" he heard her ask, thought she sounded genuinely curious. Her scent was telling him otherwise. She was thoroughly afraid, attempting to prolong her life.
"Make it rain, sit around... Next to nothing," was the reply. The voice sounded bored, like he was waiting for something. That might not be a good thing.
Kagome's voice was confused when she asked, "But don't you get bored?" Either she was getting louder, or he was getting much closer. While he was still hidden by the dark, he could clearly see nearly the entirety of the room her voice was coming from. Couldn't see Kagome, or the one she was talking to, but he was getting close.
Creeping and sneaking, getting closer and closer... 'Just a little bit farther.'
"Well of course we get bored. That's why we need you."
"I'm going to be entertainment?"
He could see her sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, looking over at a demon he didn't recognize. Black hair, red eyes, maybe 5'11". His armour was... Sexy. Really. If he were a woman, he'd be drooling all over the place. It was shining, glossy, in the center of the breastplate was a crack of lightning. Beautiful trademark. It was traditional styled, adorning his body almost like a second skin.
When he felt a wetness on the side of his mouth, he lifted his hand to inspect it.
... He was drooling.
****************
"No, you're not going to be entertainment. You're going to be used to bring the entertainment... To us." The smirk on Hiten's face was not cool. At all. She was scared enough just without the smirk, but with the look he had on his face... She was almost terrified. 'Sanosuke had better get here soon...'
"How am I going to do that?" she asked tentatively, her voice sounding far too meek for her liking.
The answer didn't come from Hiten, but from his brother, Manten, who was just emerging from one of the branching caves. "You're going to be used in the hair tonic to make me beautiful," the voice of the reptilian looking demon explained. He was coming towards her, cooing as he did. "Going to cook you alive and bathe myself in your hair and flesh. You're so pretty it's sure to work!"
Her eyes widened as far as they would go. 'This is so not good.' She was very freaked out. Incredibly so. Oh God, all she wanted was to escape them alive... Fuck the quest!
****************
That was not good. Not good at all. It wouldn't work, they'd just end up with a very dead Kagome. But he'd heard of a demon stealing away beautiful young girls and never returning them... 'Could this be what they're being used for?' he thought to himself, just as desperate to get her out as she appeared to be.
"Couldn't you just... Cut my hair off and glue it on?" he heard her ask. The air was drenched in the scent of her fear and he really didn't like it.
The brothers were laughing, evil and maniacal and menacing. It was only making her more afraid. His eyes were beginning to bleed... "Of course we can't, silly wench! It'll just fall off!"
"So will all of your limbs if you don't let her go," he shouted as he walked into the room, clearly visible for all to see.
Manten was panicked, but Hiten stood his ground like a true warrior. "Ahh, the consort. And just why should we let her go? Who are you to demand such things of us? In our own domain no less?" The thunder was returning with each syllable and the air was crackling again, raising the fine hairs on the back of his neck.
"I am Ses-" He broke off there a moment, quickly correcting himself. "I am Sanosuke, Guard of Miriva. And she is mine."
****************
AN: I was thinking about just leaving it there... Another cliffy. But I won't.
****************
Her eyes narrowed on him, she didn't belong to anyone, but she made no move to correct him. He was close to losing control, and as sexy as that was, she really didn't need to be ripped to shreds by an over-aggressive dog demon. No way, no thank you. She could sense his anger, she could feel it all around her. And she knew it wasn't just Hiten's thunder, nope, not even close.
His eyes were almost completely blood red, his hands clenched tightly and she could see small droplets of acid falling to the cave floor. 'Not good at all.'
She needed to find a way out of the situation. Fast. Very fast. Something to do with hair, something to trade... Some kind of spell. Make them a deal, a real spell, real potion that would work and make Manten beautiful. She shuddered slightly, not wanting to think of the reptile that was slowly backing away from Hiten and Sanosuke. A trade... The potion for rain. It could work...
"She isn't yours anymore, filthy dog," the angry voice of Hiten said, reaching around for his Thunder Staff.
Sanosuke was snarling, growling, he shouted, "She will never be yours, vermin!"
She stood up slowly, backing herself further into the corner so she wouldn't be noticed. She just really hoped Kaede would be online to receive her message. She opened the screen, the voices of the angry demons heard even through the haze of the messaging page.
Kagome:: Kaede?! You online?!
The reply was almost instant, and she silently praised any and all Gods that had allowed her such a blessing.
****************
He was baring his teeth, just like a real, very pissed off dog. The acid in his claws was itching to be used, to flow through the veins of his arrogant opponent. He crouched, keeping his eyes on the brother with the staff, poising himself to attack. He snarled, when the staff came into contact with Hiten's hand, the gem sitting in the center at the top coming to life from the energies of its wielder.
He lunged forward, not even bothering to take out his sword, one hand rushing forward and the other waiting behind him to attack. Hiten jumped back and out of the way, kicking his heels and raising his arms as he was lifted into the air. His eyes narrowed, he stood at his full height, pulling his right wrist back, he flicked it forward and his acid whip snapped against the shinguards of the enemy's armour.
He could hear the sizzle of the acid melting the armour, it was music to his ears. He snapped the whip in wide arcs towards Hiten, pleased when he came straight at him with his staff raised to attack. The sound of his sword whistling free of the scabbard and through the air to meet the Thunder Staff was all he could hear through his heartbeat.
He could feel the sizzling energies of the staff, and he snarled and threw his full weight into his sword, pushing Hiten back to where he'd been before.
"Stop!" Kagome was shouting, but he couldn't hear her through the beating of his own heart and the blood that was rushing through his veins, couldn't recognize her through the fog.
****************
"DAMNIT! I said STOP!" Kagome rushed forward to stand slightly out of the way, but in the middle of them, shouting as she pulled her katana from the scabbard, "AKHIEER TOU NEHKAI!" She shouted this twice before plunging the katana into the ground, the pulsing energy billowing from inside her, releasing in great bouts of raw power. The force of it through her sword threw Sanosuke and Hiten against opposite walls.
When she pulled her katana free of the ground, both demons dropped to their knees. They were both snarling, looking at each other like they were going to fight in a duel to the death. If they really wanted to, they could do it later.
"When I tell you to stop, you stop!" she shouted, her voice carrying all throughout the caves.
Sanosuke was the first to his feet, his eyes glowing, but the blood had drained away. "Why have you interrupted us?"
"Because I'd rather neither of you were dead, dumbass! And I have a fucking solution!"
Hiten had made his way up, but he was crouching, looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Solution to what?"
"A solution to both of our problems," she said, sighing as she did. "Sanosuke," she ignored the growling she could hear from him when she said his name, "and my self are on a quest to make it rain in Miriva. And Manten wants to be beautiful, right?"
They both nodded their heads, following her so far.
"Manten's so-called potion will never work. It's sickening to even think it could. But a woman I know has such a potion written in one of her books. She, just as I am, is a priestess. Lady Kaede is, as we speak, sending a message with all the items we'll need to prepare it. In exchange for this potion, you will make it rain."
"And if I refuse?" Hiten asked, his gaze trained on Sanosuke, who looked like he'd love to rip out his throat.
She glared at him, her hand tightening on her katana. "I'M NOT GIVING YOU A CHOICE!"