InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ghostly Ambition ❯ Where Darkness Dwells ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer - I do not own InuYasha or any of the original characters; they are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation for personal and shared enjoyment of true InuYasha fans that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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-- Chapter Seven: Where Darkness Dwells --

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The girl in pink flannel continues to advance with a frenzy of sword strokes and Sango is running out of ideas, `I can't hurt Kagome!' She jerks back to avoid a swipe at her head and blocks a second swing with her makeshift weapons. Her training is barely holding up against the fighting skills of her opponent and the unusual power behind each blow is quickly wearing her down. She concentrates on defending herself and avoids looking directly into Kagome's eyes; the virulent hatred blazing in them is too distracting.

'How can this be Akunin?!' She grunts as another cut appears when she is too slow to stop it and moves back again, breathing heavily and doing her best to keep up with the rapid attacks. Every move the girl facing her takes has Akunin's style written all over it and Sango suddenly realizes, 'He's toying with me!' She feels anger supplant most of her fear and takes advantage of a deliberate opening to deliver a hard thump to the girl's leg, hoping to knock her off balance.

Unfazed and unstopped, the girl's grin widens, "That's it! Fight back!"

Sango's heart drops as she continues to back away, only defending herself and no longer looking for a chance to strike. 'He wants me to hurt Kagome…' she grits her teeth at the realization and prays silently for help. "Damn you Akunin! I won't!"

Akunin steps back and lowers both swords, staring at the out-of-breath woman standing defiantly before him. His anger burns coldly through his stolen body and fuels the abnormal strength and endurance granted by tiny jewel fragments. He sees her denying him all over again and with narrowed eyes, he resumes his battle stance and says in a low tone filled with venom, "Then I have no more use for you."

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InuYasha rushes past the vacant stream and the scent of blood leads him to the small clearing where Miroku lay. He kicks up dust as he skids to a stop, quickly placing a hand on the Monk's chest, 'Good…he's breathing.' His ears twitch towards the sounds of fighting, bringing his head up. Trusting that Kaede and the others would soon arrive, he leaps forward, leaving his unconscious friend behind.

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If Akunin was holding back before, Sango was left in no doubt that he wasn't now. Her attempts to block were pitiful compared to the power behind each strike, and she picked up more than a few cuts as she retreated. With almost contemptuous ease, the snaking blade twists and knocks one of her weapons out of her grasp, the golden rings jangling into the bushes, and leaving her with a painful gash across the back of her left hand. Its sudden numbness frightens her but she doesn't dare look for fear of loosing something worse.

Her one-handed defense falls short too many times and she backs away faster, praying she doesn't trip. Finally, her remaining piece of staff is forcibly swatted aside with one hit as the other blade follows to ram through her right shoulder. She gasps loudly, dropping the length of wood, both hands now useless, and sees the crooked smile on her friend's face. Sango stands there in shock, her breathing shallow and staring back into those insane eyes, searching. 'Oh…Kagome-chan…where are you?'

Akunin tilts his head with a considering look, "Ah…it seems to me…that we've been here before." With a malicious twist, he yanks the sword out and Sango drops to her knees, a low keening sound escaping her throat. A low chuckle at her defeat has her glaring up at him, her undaunted spirit stealing his feeling of victory. He raises the sword; determined to erase the lack of fear in her eyes.

The sword falls - Sango flinches involuntarily - and the blade goes flying from the swift kick delivered by the arriving hanyou's quick reflexes. InuYasha lands a few feet away in a cautious crouch, the lost weapon lying far beyond him. He stares at the girl in pink standing over the bloody Taijiya, his heart racing and unable to break eye contact with this wild-haired girl that is staring back with blazing hatred. He frowns, "Kagome…?"

"Damn Filth!" Her voice sounds strangely guttural and the sneer on her face is completely foreign, "I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

Sango takes this moment of distraction to scramble painfully away while InuYasha watches the sword switch hands before swinging in his direction, his confusion beyond measure as he sniffs the air, 'I'm looking at her…but I can't smell her!' He cocks his head and stands, "Kagome, what-?"

"No!" Sango has managed to stand on shaky legs to lean heavily on a tree, "It's not Kagome-not really! It's Akunin!!"

InuYasha backs a step, glancing at her in disbelief, "WHAT?!"

"Shut up Bitch!" Slowly advancing on the hanyou, the bigger danger now, Akunin snarls without taking his eyes off of his new opponent, "I'll take care of you soon enough!"

'Tha-that's not possible!' InuYasha jumps back to avoid a wild swing, leaping out of range, "Sango what-" another dodge, "-how?"

Sango shakes her head, finally allowing the tears to surface, "I don't know!" She keeps one eye on the cat-and-mouse display while edging towards the discarded sword, not wanting to remain weaponless. 'Although, I don't know if I can use it,' the pain in her hand and shoulder throbs with each heartbeat.

With every swing and miss, Akunin's fury grows, "Stand and fight!" He lunges forward only to miss again and he yells in frustration, "Coward!"

InuYasha suddenly changes direction and leaps in close, making a grab for the sword in an effort to disarm and gets a stiff foot directly in the chest, knocking him back several yards. He tumbles into a roll and lands on his feet, pain spreading from the impact and trying to catch his breath. 'How…?' He resumes his defensive stance, circling with the other who is and isn't Kagome and suddenly remembers the empty bottle. 'The Shards!' He frowns, finally understanding that this wasn't going to be easy and calculating fast, "Sango! How many Shards did Kagome have?"

She had almost reached the sword when he calls out and Sango looks over at him, her eyes widening in shared understanding. Her eyes snap to the girl in pink with horror spreading over her face, "Eight!"

InuYasha nods, "That's what I thought."

Akunin had calmed while listening to their exchange, head tilted and focused on the circling hanyou, "Oops, my little secret is out." He straightens and sheathes the sword with a small chuckle, flexing slender shoulders and raising delicate hands into a martial pose with a crooked grin, "Come on then, Freak…I'm in the mood for a real fight. I'd rather tear you apart by hand anyway!"

'Shit!' InuYasha keeps his distance, knowing he can't do anything to hurt Kagome no matter who might be in control right now. "What have you done to Kagome?"

Another soft chuckle, "I ate her!" Akunin leaps forward blindingly fast and slams the unprepared hanyou with a combination kick to the head and torso, spinning InuYasha with the first hit and knocking him back with the second. He shakes his head and tsk's in disappointment, "Too slow Hanyou!" The word is drawn out in a derogatory way.

InuYasha barely avoids the next blow only to be pummeled by a following fist doing its best to shatter his jaw. He rolls back with it, trying to get out of reach and hears the rushing sound of another swing that just barely misses him. He jumps back forcefully to gain more distance, watching wide-eyed as the slim girl follows, leap for leap. 'Fuck!! What do I do?!?' He dodges one hit and takes the second on his shoulder, flipping backwards to land on all fours before pushing off the ground powerfully, up towards the treetops. He looks back long enough to make sure the girl/whatever is taking the bait, '…that's it…follow me…' and heads for the next tree, and the next…and the next; hoping that the tangled maze of branches will buy him some time to think.

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A small ray of sunlight blinking through the shifting leaves overhead finds him, the brightness lancing painfully through sensitive pupils and he closes his newly opened eyes. '…Maybe that's not a good idea…' The intense throbbing at the base of his skull overrides any thoughts of trying to move and he tries to remember why he's lying on the ground. The kitsune's high-pitched voice calling his name has him gasping and sitting up reflexively, "Shippo!" He grabs his head with a groan, slightly hunched over, as the world spins dizzyingly and nausea threatens to disgrace him. He shuts his blurry eyes tightly and hopes for the quick return of his equilibrium.

"Miroku!"

"Houshi-dono!"

The sudden, squirming weight landing on his lap and the firm hand on his shoulder identify both speakers and he squints down at the kitsune peering up at him in concern only a few inches away. "Shippo," he sees the old Miko's red hakama at the edge of his view and tries to turn his head, "Kaede-sama." The pain holds him immobile and he settles for looking back at Shippo, "You're…all right?" The youngster's answer is interrupted by Kirara's enraged roar sounding directly behind him followed by the swift padding of the huge cat-youkai running off heavily through the undergrowth. Startled, "What-?" he turns automatically and has to brace himself with a hand on the ground as blackness narrows his vision.

"She must be going after Sango!" Shippo hops to the side and grabs the man's arm, still a bit wobbly himself. "She's fighting…with Kagome…" his voice trails off in confusion.

Miroku stares at him, not sure he heard him right, "With Kagome-sama?" He hears Kirara's roar again a short ways off and frowns, trying to clear the fog in his head, "Sango?"

"Can ye stand?" At his careful nod, Kaede hooks her hand in his armpit to help him up, taking a better hold on his arm as he sways unsteadily. He takes a step forward and would have fallen if she had let go. Knowing he won't be stayed, she drapes his arm across her shoulder.

"Arigato Kaede-sama," he grits his teeth against his pounding head and leans heavily on her surprisingly sturdy support, determined to find the Taijiya…and to find out what's going on.

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Sango is leaning against a tree with her eyes scanning the forested canopy worriedly when the cat-youkai's cry reaches her ears and she turns to see Kirara barreling out of the trees. "Kirara!" She drops to her knees and rests her forehead between the large pointed ears as the cat butts her head against the woman's chest, needing contact.

A largish branch crashes noisily down, thudding to a stop a few yards away and they both turn to look up, seeing a flash of red disappear followed by an equally swift glimpse of pink. Leaves torn loose by the two forms racing unnaturally fast through the lush foliage rain down, filling the air with their fluttering. Kirara grumbles deep in her throat and Sango raises her right hand slowly to spare her shoulder, burrowing her fingers into the thick fur, "Stay…there's nothing we can do."

"Sango!" Shippo bounds out of the bushes and quickly crosses to her, landing in her lap and gripping the front of her yukata, his eyes wide at her disheveled and bloody appearance.

She touches his cheek and forces a tiny smile of reassurance, "Shippo, you're ok?" At his nod, she gives him a gentle nudge and takes hold of Kirara again to pull herself up, leaning against the strong feline to catch her breath and wait for her knees to stop shaking. A movement in the direction the cat and kit had come from draws her attention and upon seeing the Monk on his feet, very much alive and accompanied by the old Miko, she plops back to the ground, weak with relief and whispering, "Houshi-sama…thank goodness." Another crash overhead has her looking up, the others as well. Leaves continue to fall like green snow all around them.

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InuYasha lurches off the branch, barely avoiding the powerful downward flying kick that causes said branch to snap and fall; crashing noisily to the forest floor. 'Those damn Shards are making her too fast…too strong!' He puts out a clawed hand to grab an upper tree trunk to swing around and change his direction without stopping, leaving deep gouges in the rough bark. Doubts surface and he mentally shakes them away. 'I refuse to believe that she's not in there…' he glances over his shoulder at the dark haired girl dogging his every move unflaggingly with a twisted grin on her face and shadows in her eyes, '…somewhere.'

Zigzagging, up and down through the arboreal tangle in a surreal game of follow-the-leader, InuYasha stays just beyond the girl's reach. 'If he got in there…' he stops on a wide limb, looking behind and waiting for her to catch up, '…he can just get the hell out again!' He rests a hand on the upright trunk, looking cautiously from side to side. 'Maybe Miroku and Kaede…' his thoughts halt and his eyes narrow, vivid gold glinting under lowered brows, '…where is she?' Unable to catch the girl's scent, he strains his ears, flicking them back and forth nervously. A single leaf floats past his nose, 'No way!' He looks up and sees her swinging down from an overhead branch to slam him in the back with both feet, hurtling him forward off the limb. Several branches fall victim to his uncontrolled tumble from the treetop, his body spinning with each impact; leaving silver strands of his hair snagged on jagged splinters and picking up scratches and bruises in return.

InuYasha ploughs through the lower levels and hammers into the ground on his back, peppered by sticks and twigs that had followed him down. Akunin's guttural laughter in Kagome's voice drifts over him and he blinks up at her standing on a high branch above, with her hands on her hips and an almost-friendly expression on her face. Pushing himself out of the shallow depression created by his landing, he shakes his full sleeves to rid them of debris and rotates his stiff neck and shoulder, hearing bones pop. InuYasha frowns back, flexing his hands until the knuckles crack and shifting his feet into more secure footing, a part of him aware of the others somewhere behind him but keeping his focus here.

Akunin sneers, "Well Brute, it's been fun…" and takes an easy breath as his remaining sword is drawn from its sheath, "…but playtime's over!"

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---- ::Ready?::

Kagome nods and opens the door, looking at the dark mass swirling and pulsing with malevolent flashes of red that is blotting out the gray of her false world; swelling and enveloping it. She takes a deep breath and steps through the doorway; the room vanishing behind her…no longer needed. She allows her anger to build, feeling her strength growing with it, and yells out commandingly, "AKUNIN!!"

The clouded mass churns sluggishly, changing direction and shifting closer. "Ah," a satisfied laugh echoes across the void,"have you finally decided to accept the inevitable Little Bird?" Smoky tendrils snake out twistingly, reaching for her.

"No! I've decided to take back what's mine!!" Her power bursts out, pure and bright. The new radiance spreads rapidly with the girl at its center, overtaking the gray and black alike; reclaiming lost territory. "You're done hurting my friends!!" Her hands fist and she stands confidently, her voice strong and sure, "You're done hurting ANYONE!!" Another light, brighter still and more condensed, forms into a solid shape in front of her before streaking towards the formless hate-filled spirit…an incandescent spear tearing through the darkness. ----

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InuYasha braces himself for the attack that doesn't come, watching his unwanted opponent gasp and spasm jerkily, dropping the sword. He dismisses the falling blade as harmless and fixes his eyes on her as she stiffens, staring blindly.

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---- His attention turned inward, Akunin is unprepared as his captive turns the tables on him with an unexpected attack. Her brilliant luminescence burns deep into his control, ruthlessly breaking his hold on her and cutting off his escape. He feels the searing pain as the Shikon Shards are purified, one by one, rejecting his foulness before they are forcibly ejected beyond his reach. Without them to bolster his tainted desires, he diminishes, shrinking further into himself, unable to resist as the light within grows and surrounds him, routing him from every corner and bombarding him with the knowledge of how insignificant he really is.

The last thing he sees is the strangely dressed Kagome with the faint image of another female standing close behind her with a pale hand on her shoulder…a shared intensity in their similar eyes; innocence tempered with wisdom. ----

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The pink-clad girl perched above him in the tree is emitting a steadily pulsing light when her head suddenly jerks back and the light flares, causing InuYasha to flinch from the glare as the Shards are expelled from her body by the burst. The nimbus grows brighter, becoming painful to look at and almost obscuring the girl as she tips backward; falling.

His heart thumping hard, InuYasha jumps up, catching her limp form and feeling a jolt as they come into contact. The air surrounding her crackles and his skin tingles uncomfortably. He lands in a crouch, curved protectively over her and not letting go for anything. "Kagome?" He stares at her face as the light fades, his arms tightening anxiously. "Kagome??"

Her eyelids flutter before lifting, blinking slowly as she focuses. She stares silently at him and then looks around at the forest, hearing the birds in the distance and squinting up at the clouds in the blue sky. She feels the warmth of his arms around her and the breath of air on her skin and her hand rises to touch her own cheek, the smooth skin bringing more tactile proof of solidarity. Her heartbeat goes into overdrive and she reaches up, burying her hand in his long hair, flexing her fingers amid the thick, silky strands, "You're real!" A giddy smile starts in her eyes and spreads across her face, "He's gone!"

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Next up: Epilogue

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