InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ For the Love of Another ❯ Pain and Punishment ( Chapter 2 )

For the Love of Another

By Jin Ryu

 

Pain and Punishment

 

 

The bitch could really run.

InuYasha had finally come to the end of Kagome's scent trail in a large clearing by the stream he had used earlier. There were trees, rocks, and a bubbling little brook in the clearing. And no Kagome.

“Damn that girl! Where did she get to?” InuYasha growled his frustration to the unhearing trees, now slightly worried about his self-appointed charge. She hadn't grabbed her bow when she left camp in a huff and her miko powers weren't developed enough to use alone. She was in danger.

A scream penetrated the darkness to InuYasha's right. His ears perked up and a low growl started in his chest. As he took off in a sprint, a single thought ran through his head. `Kagome!'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kagome backed away from the large youkai that had appeared out of the darkness. Its aura was so stiflingly evil, she wondered how she had missed it before. It was turning her stomach.

The youkai snarled as it advanced. Its huge paws made surprisingly little noise on the leaf-carpeted ground. Five sharp, deadly claws graced each of its four paws; two pearly fangs peaked from beneath a curled lip. Well-trained muscles rippled beneath tawny fur, attesting to many battles fought, and won.

Into the face of this terrifying beast Kagome stared, utterly defenseless. She glanced this way and that, trying to come up with some escape route, some chance she could live.

The clearing she was in was on the opposite side of the stream from camp, explaining why InuYasha couldn't pick up her scent through the water. The stream ran about fifty feet to her left, effectively blocking her escape in that direction. To her right was a sheer rock cliff, impossible to climb and too long to go around. Directly behind her, however, was a dense copse of trees.

`If I can just make it to those trees, I might have a chance. The youkai is too big to slip through easily; it'll have to tear up the trees to get to me. Hopefully, by that time, I'll be long gone,' she thought, glancing back at the copse again. `I'll do it.'

Spinning around suddenly, Kagome made a dash for the trees. The youkai, momentarily startled, blinked at the girl before snarling and bounding after her.

Kagome's legs pounded the ground; her heart palpitated in her chest. She had to make it, she just had to! She had to see her family again! Pictures and memories of her loved ones flashed in her mind. Her mother, always with a smile on her face, providing a never-ending stream of supplies without a complaint. Grandpa, with his failed, but well-meaning, spells and supporting love. Souta, always confident in his sister, always there to put a smile on her face. Sango and Miroku, with their support and friendship throughout their travels. Shippou, with his childish love and confident smile. And InuYasha, InuYasha with his gruff voice and seemingly uncaring actions, but who was always there, who always took care of her. InuYasha. InuYasha!

“InuYasha!”

Kagome dived for the trees, rolling over sharp rocks and crashing though brambles. Slim and lithe as she was, she was able to slip through the incredibly dense underbrush into the relative safety of the copse. The youkai size, however, proved to be a detriment to him and forced him to stop outside the grove. In order to get to the girl, he would now have to rip through the trees and brush that surrounded her.

Kagome cast a fearful glance behind her as she scrambled up to run on. The tawny beast was not ten feet away from her, snarling and slashing though the brush. Kagome gasped.

`Why is it still following me? Surly another target would be easier now. Why does it persist on pursing me?!'

Eyes wide with fear, she turned to run on only to be confronted with a sheer rock wall. She had made a deadly mistake.

The place that the group had chosen to stay that night was right in the middle of a unique geological feature. To the right of the camp was the stream where InuYasha had cleaned up and where Kagome had wandered by to think. To the right of that was the small forest that had provided their meal that night, and beyond that was the clearing where Kagome had encountered to monstrous youkai. To the east (left) of the clearing was a large, rocky cliff that rose almost perpendicular to the ground to a height of about 100 feet. It ran north for twenty feet past the clearing, and then curved around behind the grove where Kagome was now hiding. She couldn't have seen the cliff behind the dense copse of trees, and it was too dark to see above it. She had made the dash in hopes of escaping through the trees while the youkai was occupied. Now, with a rock wall behind and to the left of her and the stream-turned-river to her right, she was trapped.

Whirling around, Kagome looked fearfully at the raging beast. There was nowhere to run, and she knew it. Scanning around her feet, She spied a sharp, dagger like piece of slate and picked it up. `I'm not going to go down without a fight. I may meet my death here, but I will meet it in a manner that would make my family proud,' she thought, visibly paling. `I'll fight with everything I've got.

The youkai broke through the last of the shivering trees and bore down on her, snarling clawing. Kagome readied herself to meet it, her feet apart, teeth clenched. Before she could even strike, however, it reached out and, with one powerful swipe, throwing her roughly against the rocky cliff. She cried out in pain, bloody scratches now adorning her back. Gritting her teeth, she got back up, only to be knocked down again. Salty tears and blood mixed on her face as she made herself stand once more. Taking a few shaky steps, she held her dagger in front of her and waited.

Knowing its prey was wounded and in pain, the youkai circled slowly, its eyes watching Kagome warily. Pain and fear can make anything dangerous; even the most helpless animal can become deadly with strength born of desperation. The youkai knew this lesson well, as did every other animal in the wild.

Kagome lifted her head proudly and stared defiantly back at its glowing eyes. No, she would not die a weakling. She would fight, fight to the end. Already she had given it a few wounds. Every time it had rushed her, she managed to get a few slashes in before she was thrown back. The cuts now shone red again the beast's tawny fur. They were not deep nor life threatening, but an accomplishment nonetheless.

At the same time the combatants rushed each other. The youkai raced in, claws extended, intent on snagging the girl, this time fatally.

Kagome darted in with her dagger raised and slipped silently between the outstretched claws. Then, with a wild cry, she plunged her makeshift weapon deep into the creature's breast.

Yowling and spitting in pain, the youkai swiped blindly with its claws, catching Kagome off guard and throwing her to the ground. In one swift motion, it brought its monstrous paw down on her chest, pinning her to the ground. Kagome felt something in her snap, and she gave a cry as pain lanced through her side.

`This is it. I'm going to die,' she thought, struggling to breath against the youkai's weight. `I'm sorry Mom, Grandpa, Souta. I love you…' She closed her eyes as the second paw descended, determined to be brave to the last.

“Kagome!”

“Wha-” Kagome's eyes snapped open and for an instant, she thought she was going blind.

Blurs of red and silver flashed before her astonished eyes, then suddenly the crushing weight of the monstrous paw was lifted from her chest. She gasped in the cool, refreshing air, filling her deprived lungs with the precious oxygen. Painfully, she sat up, her arm wrapped around her stomach and side where the youkai had crushed her ribs.

Putting her free arm behind her and pushing with her legs, she scooted slowly and painfully away from the battle that was raging in front of her.

When InuYasha had burst into the clearing, his heart had nearly stopped at the sight of Kagome under the youkai's paw. He could see she was badly wounded and barely conscious. The small area around her was covered in blood. Her blood. The overpowering scent of it filled the air and turned InuYasha's stomach. Slowly, his fear turned to anger, then from anger to rage. His eyes flashed red. How dare he! How dare that bastard touch what was his!

“Kagome!”

With a growl, InuYasha launched himself at the animal just as its paw descended for the final crushing blow. Knocking it aside, he dived at the beast. The force of his blow knocked them both off balance and he and the youkai fell together, rolling over and over. InuYasha leaped up, but had no time to check on Kagome before the youkai was up as well and charging. The enraged hanyou ducked under the blow, using the creature's own momentum to drive his hanyou claws deep into its side. It howled in pain, then turned and swiped again with its claws. InuYasha was caught off guard and was thrown roughly against one of the remaining trees. Grunting on impact, he managed to dodge the next swipe and roll to the side as the force of the blow decapitated the tree.

Now it was InuYasha's turn to go on the offensive. He started to reach for Tetsuiga's hilt, but stopped. No, he wanted to kill this bastard with his own hands. His youkai side was screaming at him to wet his hands in the blood of the enemy, the blood of him who dared to hurt his mate.

Making his decision, he reached to his side and pulled Tetsuiga, sheath and all, out of his sash and threw it to the side. Slowly he started to change.

Crimson crept into the gold of his eyes until both were totally changed to a deep, blood red. Three jagged stripes appeared on each cheek. Both fangs and claws grew at a phenomenal rate, becoming sharper, deadlier. InuYasha felt himself growing stronger, more powerful, and yet his mind remained much the same. He still knew Kagome, still knew his friends, but looked on them in a different light. Kagome, his mate, he was prepared to die for. Sango and Miroku were the female and male betas of his pack, Shippou the pup. InuYasha realized this was the most in control he had ever been as a full demon. This is what he wanted to achieve. This, and not the half-crazed beast who had slaughtered to bandits.

Kagome watched this transformation with horror. No, he can't!

“InuYasha! What are you doing? You can't do this! You can't do this to yourself!” `You can't do this to me!' “InuYasha!”

Injured though she was, Kagome scrambled to her feet and walked unsteadily toward him.

“InuYasha, please!”

Growling, the transformed hanyou whipped around. Why was his mate on her feet? She was injured, damnit! He dashed over to her and scooped her up, leaping a little ways from the battleground to a safer area.

“Stay here and don't move until I get back.” He growled. He quickly licked her cheek, then set her down gently against a tree. Giving her one last look, he turned and sprinted back to her attacker.

`He's full youkai now, but he recognized me and even brought me to safety. What's going on?' She brought a trembling hand to her cheek. `And did he just lick me? That's like a kiss in dog demon, right? What is up with him?'

Unable to fathom the meanings behind her dog demon's actions, she pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed, wincing in pain as she did. There was nothing to do now but wait.

InuYasha raced back to the battle scene. He had to finish this quickly; Kagome had already lost a lot of blood and was rapidly loosing more. If he didn't stop the bleeding soon…

A piercing howl reached InuYasha's sensitive ears as the youkai launched itself from behind a crack in the rock face. InuYasha dodged easily and struck back with his elongated claws. The beast was getting desperate and had tried to catch InuYasha off guard. Now that that had failed, it had no choice but to strike with its claws and hopefully keep the hanyou at bay. Fearful and in pain, it had now turned into the deadly creature it had feared Kagome would.

Any other wild creature would have known to draw back a bit and wait at this point. InuYasha, however, did not know this and, in his anxiousness to get back to Kagome, charged right in.

As soon as InuYasha was in reach, the youkai lashed out with its claws, catching InuYasha by surprise and slashing a gaping wound in his arm.

Gritting his teeth in pain, the injured dog demon struck back, though with only half of his usual force. Using the youkai's distraction to his advantage, he jumped back to assess his wounds.

`Shit, this is bad. I can't use my left arm.'

InuYasha's arm had been ripped open to the bone. The wound was not wide, but long and deep and, while not life threatening, would be a serious hindrance.

`Can I even beat this thing with only one arm?' InuYasha thought, worried. `Is it even possible?

`Yes, I can! I have to! Kagome is counting on me, and I will not let my mate down!'

Confidence restored, InuYasha went back into the clearing.

“Is that all you got? You filthy vermin! You don't deserve to live!” InuYasha taunted. “You die here, now, by my hand!”

InuYasha dug his hand into his wounded arm and with a cry, threw his deadly youki blades with blood-covered claws.

The creature roared in pain and they struck him in the chest and legs, leaving steaming gashes in their wake. Momentarily distracted, the youkai did not see InuYasha dart around behind him until it was too late.

InuYasha dived under the youkai's belly, slashing and ripping as he went. His first strike ripped through the tendons on the beast's back legs, crippling it severely. His next strike caught the animal on the inside of his front right leg.

Now barely able to stand, the youkai howled in fear and rage, trying desperately to get the hanyou out from under him and away from its unprotected belly.

With one mighty wrench, InuYasha plunged his claws deep into the youkai's stomach, then ripped out through the skin. Blood gushed from the fatal wound, drenching the hanyou in the crimson essence of life.

Howling and spitting in agony, the dying youkai collapsed, crushing InuYasha beneath its weight. It let out an almost pitiful whine with its last breath, then expired.