InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Facets of the Living Jewel ❯ Amantes sunt amentes: Ventus Ictus ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters. Ms. Takahashi does.

 

Fonts for thoughts:

[Inuyoukai]

(Inuhuman)

`Inuyasha'

 

 

Amantes sunt amentes: Ventus Ictus

By Licentia poetica

 

Inuyasha was, for all practical purposes, flying. Although he had run from Kagome's house, it was not in fear of her reaction or even to find a way to release his sexual tension.

 

He was running to express his absolute, unadulterated joy.

 

`Keh. I miss the trees in my forest, but this will have to do.' Bounding from building to building, running across the rooftops, he pushed his body to its physical limits to provide an outlet for the elation in his heart.

 

`She loves me! She wants me!' He knew it as surely as he knew he was a hanyou. `Scents never lie.'

 

He had learned to read the scents of the people around him at an early age. At first, he had been confused that their words did not match the feelings he got from their smells and body language, but as he grew he had learned to rely on his nose and instincts.

 

[Her scent! She wanted us as much as we wanted her.]

 

(We didn't even need words.)

 

`Keh. She said enough with her body.'

 

Her heart had begun a rapid beat as they kissed. He had heard it and had sensed the flush of heat in her skin, heard the soft sounds of need that she had made, felt her tremble against his body. When she looked at him before he ran off, her eyes had held a warm glow that surpassed the love in his mother's eyes.

 

`She's responded to both the human and the youkai sides! She responded to me!'

 

As he ran he could not keep a smile off of his face. Spotting a speeding car, he leaped to the pavement and darted in front it, startling the driver. Letting out a whoop of excitement, he bounded off the hood and pushed off the top of the car, blithely ignoring the screech of brakes and astonished cursing coming from inside the vehicle as he raced away. `Where's a big, ugly demon when you've got this much energy to burn off?'

 

He neared the edge of the city and came upon some fields of grass already beginning to brown a little in the summer heat. He flashed through them, flushing some rabbits, and headed for a small hill with some trees in the distance. Increasing his speed, he made a fifty foot leap into the branches of the tallest tree. Hanging on with one hand and balancing on one foot, he let the rest of his body swing around the trunk as he looked back towards the city.

 

`Her kiss! I've been kissed before, but Kikyou's kiss was like a midnight candle compared to Kagome's noonday sun.'

 

Throwing his head back, he gave voice to his euphoria. “OOHHH, YEEAAAAHHH!”

 

All the dogs in the nearby vicinity began to howl in response. He laughed, but his youkai cautioned him.

 

[They are responding to us. We are powerful together and they want to know their new alpha.]

 

“Let's let `em know who's boss!” Taking a deep breath, he howled back at the dogs, modulating his previously human words to make the sounds.

 

“OOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEAAAH!” He swiveled his ears to listen to the answering howls, then paused and really listened.

 

“Pack Leader! The Pack Leader!”

 

`Keh…I can understand what they're saying!' He gave a short laugh as the dogs continued to call back to him. `Everyone's callin' me alpha these days…too bad the mangy wolf isn't here to hear it! I don't understand the wolves in my time, and I guess I never bothered to listen to the dogs before.'

 

[You've never used me to listen. I remember now that wolves have a different dialect.]

 

(Who cares about the damn dogs! We need to release some energy here!)

 

Drawing the Tessaiga, he called on his youki and jumped from the tree. Bringing the Tessaiga down in an overhead slash, he shouted, “WIND SCAR!”

 

The resulting explosion was three times the size of the normal blast.

 

“Damn!”

 

[I told you, when we act together, we are strong.]

 

(I wonder what happens if we use the kata forms.)

 

He settled into the ready position that Yourei Taisei had taught him: weight on the balls of his feet, knees slightly bent, the Tessaiga held forward in both hands. Concentrating, focusing his energies, he thought of the dojo kun. `Hitotsu. Defend the path of truth. Hitotsu. Cultivate courage and tenacity; give it maximum effort.' Raising the katana he lunged forward in a two-handed overhead strike. “WIND SCAR!”

 

The blast rivaled that of the Dragon Twister of Sou'unga. The dust from the Wind Scar rose in the morning light as debris rained down a half mile away; furrows left by the power looked like a giant bear had clawed at the ground. A little sobered by the damage, Inuyasha looked at the transformed Tessaiga. It didn't appear to have changed in any way.

 

`No wonder Sesshoumaru thought my Wind Scar was a little breeze. He must have seen our old man set off some of these.'

 

[The power is all of us, working together; the hanyou using both the human and the youkai powers.]

 

`Yeah, so what? I'll destroy everything in my path if I use this!'

 

(Maybe we can control it.)

 

Inuyasha went back to the ready stance and concentrated on the dojo kun. `Hitotsu. Develop self control.' Lunging to the left, he slashed the katana downwards in a one-handed inner block. “WIND SCAR!”

 

A third explosion traveled to the left, but it was not as powerful as the previous two. Nodding his head in satisfaction, he shifted his stance and tried a two-handed outward slash. “WIND SCAR!”

 

A fourth explosion resulted, traveling to the right. It was still not as powerful as the overhead strike, but stronger than the one-handed grip. He laughed triumphantly as the ground in front of him steamed; the grass at the edges of the power scars was burning.

 

Preparing to try yet another form, he paused as an unnatural wailing sound began in the distance.

 

`Shit, those are those `siren' things that Kagome's talked about.'

 

[What does it mean?]

 

(Trouble. Fire or sickness.)

 

`Or a bandit. We need to find out where they're going! If it's a bandit, I don't want the bastard anywhere near Kagome or the Pack.'

 

[Find out where they're going and we'll follow.]

 

(If it threatens them, we'll take care of it ourselves.).

 

Sheathing the Tessaiga, he jumped back into the stand of trees and concealed himself from the nearby road as the sounds grew louder.

 

`The sirens are coming closer.'

 

Four police cars, two fire engines, and an ambulance pulled up next to the area where Inuyasha had been practicing. The humans within the machines boiled out, running with cries of alarm toward the craters that the Wind Scar had created. The fire engines sprayed water over the smoldering grass fires and Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at the smoke.

 

`Damn, they're scared…and it's because of the Wind Scar!'

 

Smirking, he took another look at the area. The far ends of the field were covered in mounds of dirt and boulders and the scars in the earth were at least ten feet deep, radiating out from the area where he had been standing.

 

`Impressive damage. I'd like to see what the Tessaiga could do to Naraku now.'

 

He swiveled his ears, listening to the humans talking about it.

 

“It must be some kind of bomb, chief. Look at the amount of debris that`s been moved!”

 

“I've never seen a bomb crater with these...trenches. What kind of a weapon does that?”

 

“Maybe it's terrorists?”

 

“Oh shit. Here comes the press!”

 

A white van with oddly shaped metal poles on its roof screeched to a stop near the fire engines. A few numbers and a television were painted on its side.

 

`Keh. That strange TV box is on the van. Maybe I'll finally get to see how they get the moving pictures to fit in there.'

 

New humans ran up to the scene, carrying black boxes with red blinking lights. One of them was a woman, who gestured to the men carrying boxes and thrust a black stick at the man called Chief.

 

“Can you tell us what has happened here? What was the cause of those explosions a few moments ago?”

 

Chief scowled but spoke politely. “We can give out no information at this time. This area will be closed for investigation. No further comment.”

 

`Keh. Like they would understand the Wind Scar in this time.'

 

The woman persisted, shoving her black stick into Chief's face. “People are frightened. Is there a terrorist threat?”

 

“No comment.”

 

As the woman pursued Chief across the blackened remains of the field, Inuyasha considered his options. `Damn! I didn't mean to frighten anyone. I'll have to leave here and find another place to practice.' He watched with interest as the woman finally turned from Chief and gestured to the men following her with the black boxes. `Are those boxes how they shrink people to fit the TV? They don't look like they're magical, but it must be some kind of spell.'

 

The woman spoke to her black stick as the men pointed the ends of the boxes at her, but to his disappointment she gestured again and the men lowered the boxes and returned to the van. `She must be some kind of priestess; she's the one telling them what to do.'

 

One of the fire engines drove away as the woman got back into the van with her followers. `Keh. This is getting boring. I can't practice here and I've burned off some energy; maybe I'll go see what Kagome's mom made for breakfast.' He tapped into his youki and moved faster than the humans could see as he ran back toward the city.

 

As he neared the dwellings on the outskirts of the city, he slowed as he became aware of the sounds and scent of several dogs. `What the hell?'

 

[They seek us.]

 

He went over a rise in the ground and stopped abruptly as he came upon a pack of about twenty dogs, all of different shapes and sizes. They were shivering, hunkered down on the ground and whimpering.

 

[Greet them. The Wind Scar has frightened them.]

 

He growled a greeting and the dogs stopped whimpering, their noses twitching as they processed his scent. Tails began to wag as they cautiously moved toward him, and his ears twitched as several said in Inu, “Pack Leader? You are The Pack Leader?”

 

One of the largest dogs crawled forward, belly to the ground, wagging its tail. “Pack Leader? Will you accept me?” the dog whined.

 

Inuyasha stepped forward and the dog cringed as he raised his hand. He let the dog sniff him before he pushed its head aside and scratched its exposed throat. He quietly began the Pack Call and the reaction in the dogs was immediate: they rushed forward, tails wagging, licking his face and begging for attention. Each tried to get at his face to give him a lick, and he gave a warning growl. They flattened to the pavement in response, acknowledging his control.

 

(Maybe we can learn some things and we won't need to talk to Sesshoumaru after all.)

 

“Are you one pack?” he asked the large dog who had first approached him, using their language.

 

“No, Pack Leader. Many packs. Many Loved Ones.”

 

“Loved Ones?”

 

“We protect them. Loved Ones look like you. You are Pack Leader. You call. We come.”

 

[They have a strange dialect. The dogs in our era speak more clearly.]

 

(Maybe they've been around humans too long. If they're by themselves they won't have other dogs to speak with.)

 

Inuyasha thought for a moment.

 

`This isn't going to help. They all have human owners and that means that they don't know Pack Law.'

 

“Damn!”

 

He began to walk towards the town and soon found himself surrounded by a leaping, licking tornado of dogs. He couldn't move fast because the dogs kept bounding in, trying to play with him.

 

[They are now our Pack.]

 

`Damn! I don't mind them thinking that but they have human owners.'

 

(If we're ever going to eat we should send them back to their homes.)

 

“Keh! Go to your Loved Ones when we pass their dens, you mutts!”

 

They whined to let him know they weren't happy about it. The biggest dog jumped up and placed its paws on his shoulders. “You are The Pack Leader! We stay with you! We bring Loved Ones!”

 

`Damn. The last thing Kagome will want is a pack of dogs running around the Shrine.'

 

[Let me handle this.]

 

At that moment the television van, which had been driving back towards the town, caught up with them.

 

The reporter, seeing a strangely dressed man surrounded by a retinue of dogs, opened her mouth in astonishment before her journalistic instincts kicked in. “Pull over! I want to talk to that man over there! This looks like a story anyway, but since he's walking in the area of the explosions, he might be a witness!”

 

As the van screeched to a stop in front of them, spewing a cloud of exhaust and dust in the air, the pack of dogs began to mill around Inuyasha, growling.

 

`Shit. I should've brought that damn hat of Kagome's.'

 

The followers spilled out of the van and began grabbing their black boxes as the female stalked toward him, doing something with her black stick.

 

`Maybe that stick shrinks things so that they fit into the TV box?'

 

[Then now would be a good time to leave.]

 

“Damn!” Turning to the dogs, he barked to them, “Go home to your dens! Protect your Loved Ones!” He projected his youki into his voice and snarled, “Now!”

 

They whined but began to run in different directions away from the van.

 

`Finally, room to move.' Giving one final glance back to the black boxes he leaped away.

 

The reporter was left blinking stupidly at the empty space that had just been occupied by the strange white-haired man in the red clothing. She whirled and stared back at the live-feed cameras. “What happened? Where'd he go?”

 

Flying back to Kagome across the rooftops of the buildings, Inuyasha grinned as he heard her distant yell. `Keh. Slow human.'

 

[We are learning to control ourselves and learning to control the Wind Scar.]

 

(We should wait until we're back in our time to practice, though.)

 

`Keh.' He laughed again, racing back with a feeling of elemental satisfaction in his heart. `Kagome loves me as a hanyou. Maybe there are some good things about it.

 

[(Yes.)]

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Translation:

Amantes sunt amentes: Ventus Ictus. Latin; Lovers are lunatics: Wind Scar (bolt of wind).

 

Hitotsu: Japanese; from the Japan Karate Association version of the Dojo Kun, the code of ethics in karate. Hitotsu means one and is used to show that each koto (thing or matter) should be first; in other words, each of the principles is equally important. The phrase, “Hitotsu. Doryoku no seishin o yashinau koto,” translates roughly into, “One. Cultivate courage and tenacity or put maximum effort into everything you do.” I have paraphrased it.