InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of a Thief ❯ Demon ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I own nothing InuYasha-related and make no profit from this fic.

Chapter 7: Demon

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It was not long before the snows came and buried the land under a downy layer of white powder. Kuromu hadn't been out to the archery range since the dream that had initiated the falling out between himself and Shikaeru, and it was becoming inevitable that he would soon lose his spot in the hunting group. Just the thought of going out to the range brought back vivid images of the dream, but his fear was not so much of the images but that the soldier might have been right. At first he denied it, trying to ignore that fact that his left hand was the one to automatically extend to take something rather than his right, that when he began walking it was often his left foot that took the first step, that he favored his right arm more than his right for carrying heavy loads. He didn't want the soldier to be right. He couldn't let the soldier be right.

But it became apparent to him that his left side was his dominant side. His mind knew what he had to do to get a final, definitive answer, but he had been avoiding the test as if its outcome would determine whether he would live or die. No more, he thought one night as he stared up into the darkness above his futon. I can't run from it anymore. I have to know.

He carefully stepped past the futons of the others and was able to get out of the room without any complications, unknowing of the eyes that watched him as he made his way towards the room where the hunting equipment was kept. The heavy silence of the caves fell over him like a thick blanket as he traveled in such a silent manner that he wondered if he maybe he wasn't set out to be a thief after all. Shaking aside those stray troubling thoughts, he went straight for the rack where the bows where when he got to the equipment room. Taking the first bow his hand fell upon, he quickly restrung it with lightly trembling hands before grabbing a half-filled quiver. Why do I feel I need this answer so much? Why can't I just forget archery all together and go on with my life? he though as he hesitated for a moment. Don't question it now. Just get it over with…

His mind barely registered the walk to the range, despite the icy cold air that stung as it bit at his bare arms. The snow came up to his ankles at the range, but he could still see the target so he didn't care. He grasped the bow with his left hand while his right went to the string with an arrow. His fingers wrapped at first awkwardly around the worn but almost silky bowstring. Just one arrow. I'll shoot one and then I'll leave. He drew back the string, hearing it creak softly in the cold morning air.

The arrow was flying from the bow even before he could tell his fingers had released the string. A dull thud reached his ears. Maybe just one more. That was probably just a fluke, he thought as he prepared another arrow. Another thud. And another, and another. As the last arrow left the string, it hit the target with not only a thud but the sound of cracking wood as he split an arrow. His grip tightened on the bow until his knuckles turned white. “No,” he whispered. “It isn't fair. It isn't fair, damn it!”

“Kuromu?” came a gentle voice to his left even as the echo of his last words hung in the frigid air.

He turned to see Shikaeru standing a few feet away, arms crossed in an attempt to fight the cold that crept around the edges of the loose, thick robe she wore. “The dream,” he started, jaw wavering as he began to finally register the cold and shiver. “In the dream, I was told I should be shooting from the other side of the bow.” He closed his eyes only to open them again as he felt the heat from Shikaeru's body as she came to stand by him. “The dream was right, the soldier was right,” he finished in a whisper as she wrapped the robe over his shoulders so that it encompassed both her and his shivering form.

“But at least now the others can't tease you about your ability to aim,” she mused with a small smile as she took another glance at the arrows all clustered closely together at the center of the target.

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Morning revealed the result of Kuromu's midnight visit to the range, leaving the other archers perplexed as to whose work it was. “Ah, so the rookie is back,” one of the archers spoke up upon seeing Kuromu. “Take a look at this,” he said, gesturing to the target of concern. “Someone must have done that in the night since it was here when we first showed up, but I wonder who it was?”

“It was me,” Kuromu answered decisively.

A hush fell over the group as all eyes turned to him. He was not surprised when, a moment later, laughter broke out. But he just went straight to the shooting line and grabbed an arrow. He shot every arrow in his quiver at a blank target, one right after another. He was done in a few short minutes and turned to leave the others gaping at the target that looked much like the first. He passed through the crowd, bumping into one of the archers on his way. “You owe me a bow,” he shot over his shoulder. “Though it could be argued that you owe me two since I split that middle arrow.”

He didn't let the others see anything but a cool confidence, but as soon as he was sure they couldn't see his face, he broke into a victorious grin. I don't think I'll be getting anymore trouble from them anytime soon, he thought as he walked back to the caves, still barely believing he was no longer the main reason for lost arrows.

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An unpleasantly cold wind began to blow from north later that day. Kuromu noticed the first few strong gusts as he was coming back after going out to collect the stray arrows the other archers had overlooked and left behind. He pulled the heavy cloak he wore closer around him as flecks of icy, mist-like snow pelted against him and stung the unprotected skin of his face. The sky above was mottled with gray clouds that only allowed small glimpses of blue sky appear, but northward, the clouds grew dark. The bitter winds were pushing the dark clouds to the south, and Kuromu knew it was only a matter of time until they were directly overhead. He quickened his pace, despite slipping a few times, as he made his way up the steep hillside to the caves.

He didn't have to travel too far into the caves before the biting cold was staved off and was replaced by the permanent temperature that the caves held, regardless of the time of year. It wasn't a very warm temperature but it was much better in comparison to the winter weather outside. He turned a corner, angling towards the equipment room, when he noticed a small crowd formed around a speaker hidden by the observers. The speaker's voice carried above the murmuring of the crowd, “…will cause us nothing but trouble. This danger cannot be let to continue to reside here among us.”

Kuromu moved closer, trying to get a better look at who was making the statement. A few heads turned and the murmuring of the crowd escalated when people noticed him. The people shifted away from him and he soon had a clear view of speaker. Genkotsu stood before him, a hint of a smug grin flickering across his features for a moment. “I hear you've made some vast improvements of your archery skills,” the older boy said to him almost casually. “Tell me, how have you achieved such a feat so suddenly after weeks without practice, as if practicing ever made a difference, and without the help of another? None of the other archers have said anything about helping you when I asked about your miraculous mastery of the bow.”

Kuromu felt stunned, his words getting caught in his throat before he could speak them. “I didn't- it just happened-”

“Don't spread your lies here, demon.”

What? Demon? The crowd began to stare accusingly at Kuromu. They don't actually believe him, do they?!

“Only a demon could become so skilled so quickly. Don't even try denying it; you've sold your soul and body to a demon for your `talent' and now you've become one of those retched creatures yourself.”

“What?! I'd never do that, what are you-”

“Genkotsu,” the voice of Danuko suddenly came, a vale of silence falling in its wake. “You have misunderstood the situation. I'm glad you are trying to look out for the welfare of our clan, but you've jumped to conclusions before really investigated the matter. No, none of the archers trained him, but I did.”

The dream was right about that too? Kuromu thought, beginning to feel a sickening twist in his stomach.

“He is no demon, nor has he made any pact with a demon. He is simply Onigumo.”

Murmuring began to ripple through the crowd again. While Kuromu was glad for Danuko's interference with the beginnings of what possibly could have been his end, he still wished that the man's words hadn't helped to fulfill the prophecy that his dream seemed to be becoming. Someone gave a sharp tug on the back of his cloak that sent him stumbling backwards. He turned just in time to identify the person as Shikaeru before she grabbed his sleeve and dragged him after her as she started to run from the crowd. He didn't recognize the path she was taking through the caves and it wasn't long until he was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to easily find his way back to familiar surroundings. “Shikaeru?” he finally questioned when it seemed she wasn't about to stop anytime soon. “Where are we going?”

“To a place where they won't be able to find you.”

Her answer was too short to satisfy his curiosity but he thought it best to wait until they stopped to continue asking questions. Darkness soon fell around them and fear started to take hold of Kuromu as it seemed as if they were running blind through the seemingly endless cave system. Her hand left his sleeve and he halted, afraid to step forward into possible unknown dangers. “Shikaeru? Where are you?” his voice echoed around him as if the cavern he stood in were empty. “Shikaeru?!”

“Calm down, you don't need to panic,” came her voice a few feet away from him.

He heard a clicking sound and a few sparks flickered through the air in front of him before a fire suddenly came to life in a small basin that seemed to be holding oil. Light flooded the cavern, fighting back the darkness until he could easily make out his surroundings. He glanced around the strange cave for a moment before looking back to Shikaeru. His eyes widened.