InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Imperfect Curse ❯ True Colours ( Chapter 5 )

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Glossary

Ningen - human

 

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Chapter Five - True Colours

 

Kaia's nose wrinkled in disgust at the unearthly scent. That rat bastard is definitely here. She crept cautiously along the cold, dank wall, her senses alert and her cat-like pupils expanding in the dark. Her sight, being half lioness, was very acute in this dark dungeon, unlike Jaken's. He could see only a few paces ahead from the faint light of the entrance, which was barely piercing the dark and getting more obscure as the duo progressed.

 

Jaken was tiptoeing carefully behind Kaia, trying not to stumble over the jagged rocks that littered the floor of the tunnel. When he nearly tripped, he grabbed her slender tail to balance himself. She bit back a growl for the sake of silence, and allowed the nearly blind toad to use her tail as a guide through the shadows. On any other occasion Kaia would have left Jaken to his own instincts, but this time absolute quiet was essential for their approach into the unknown.

 

Soon the dim light from the entry dissipated, leaving the two souls in the never-ending darkness. They inched their way forward, making not a sound. After what seemed like an eternity, they prowled stealthily into a huge circular cavern. The centre of the great hall dipped down slightly, creating a sort of sinkhole. It contained a strange veil of mist collected in a pool, shining with an otherworldly light. Long stalactites and stalagmites shot up from the floor and down from the ceiling, glistening in the damp air of the cavern. They cast eerie shadows across the rocky dirt.

 

Kaia slipped through the shadows along the wall soundlessly. She peered around the underground chamber, her eyes wide, and with a strange brightness they mirrored the ghostly light of the mists. Jaken shuddered at the sight. He could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest, and hoped that the anticipation of a conflict in this cave wouldn't kill him, even if the battle itself did. The toad heard a sharp gasp come from Kaia as she caught sight of what they were looking for.

 

Sesshomaru…Kaia stood in awe. He was pinned up against the far wall. His arms and torso were entangled hopelessly in the pale green web, and his legs hung down below him in a paralyzed state. His head drooped to one side so that only half of his face was visible, and his skin was a ghostly pale with dark circles encompassing his closed eyes. The dark maroon coloured streaks across his cheekbones greatly contrasted this ashen complexion, and his shining silver locks fell about his shoulders, reflecting the unnatural light. In this comatose state his brow was knotted slightly, hinting at either pain or anger—or both. This eerie sight of him sent shivers through the hanyou. It's almost…beautiful.

 

Jaken squirmed in discomfort as the almost deafening silence seemed to press against him. The sight of his master up on the wall had made him stop and stare in a mixture of dread and relief. At least they'd found him, but…we have to free him, but how?

 

Kaia had been thinking the same thing. She needed to get him free from his webbed chains, for she knew that this entanglement was the reason for his current condition. Swiftly and with a practiced grace, she freed her bow from her back and drew a feather-tipped arrow from the quiver on her right shoulder. Carefully she sidestepped out of the shadows, not letting down her guard for an instant. She moved closer to the wall where Sesshomaru was suspended, notched the arrow, and concentrated hard as she took aim, her narrowed, sapphire cat eyes gleaming in the dimmed atmosphere. The gauntlet on her wrist pulsed with an icy blue light, which spread to the arrow and illuminated her refined features.

 

Just before Kaia was going to let the arrow fly, she felt an ominous presence, accompanied by a flash that lit up the cavern. A rank odor suddenly plagued her senses. Jaken yelped a screechy warning, and she turned around to face a strange demon of a great size. There was no hesitation—she shot it down as it moved to attack. The toadish youkai finished it off with a powerful explosion of his demon flame.

 

“Where in the hell did that thing come from?” the half-lioness snarled. She leaned over the brute, examining its expired form. It was definitely a man-eater—a huge, bear-like creature with a few too many eyes. Saliva dripped from its open jaw, a jaw that sported large carnivorous teeth. Jaken gave an obvious tremble of disgust.

 

“It emerged from the veil of mist in the centre, nearly blinding me with the flash of bright light!” he shrieked angrily.

 

Kaia's feline orbs flicked over to the pool, her pupils dilating. It's here…

 

More of the brilliant bursts of light shot out from the pool, blinding both of them. When the light dimmed, there stood three more of the grizzly man-eaters ready for a fight. Their claws elongated from their gigantic paws, clicking together menacingly. Kaia dropped her bow and drew her sword, holding it out in challenge. The blade glimmered lividly in the eerie glow of the mists, but not as lividly as the half demon's intense blue eyes, full of anger and excitement for the battle. She bared her fangs in a wicked smirk, and charged head on. She attacked with full force, Jaken on her heels with his staff ready.

 

The first of the youkai fell quickly, as Kaia ran it through from the junction of the shoulder and neck, down into its heart. Jaken was successfully shooting both of the others at the same time, blinding them and dulling their senses. The sick stench of burnt flesh filled the cavern, and out of the smoke and dust the female warrior rushed, cleaving another's skull in two. Jaken jumped out of the way as its disfigured form slumped to the ground. The third man-eater lunged at the strange, deadly missile darting around it, but Kaia evaded it and agilely vaulted upon its back. Another blazing explosion from Jaken's staff made it toss its ugly head in anger, and the clever hanyou took the opportunity to slit its throat. As the dead youkai hit the ground beside its fellow man-eaters, Kaia landed on the floor beside her toadish sidekick, roaring thunderously.

 

“Is this all you've got?” she laughed mockingly. “Oh, don't hold back on my account. I can slaughter any pathetic beast you throw at me!”

 

That low, terrible voice snickered through her head. Oh the beautiful anger that is Kaia, the half-breed. You fool. You're mother was beautiful as well, but you cast shadows on her memory, being so naïve.

 

“How dare you speak of my mother!” she roared. She stood straight and her eyes narrowed to burning slits of rage. “You are now nothing but a pitiful pool of magical essence which Kuruna reduced you to. Isn't that it?”

 

“Ah yes, but not for long. You will feel the bite of my wrath soon enough,” it laughed.

 

“I'll bet.”

 

Another sickening laugh rang through the cavern.

 

“Yet I wonder where you're dear mother found the power to defeat me in the first place? Perhaps she acquired some new found power in some Shikon shards?” the voice asked mockingly.

 

Kaia clenched her teeth and cracked the joints of her fingers. A low, rumbling growl was building louder in her chest. He will not insult my mother.

 

“Kuruna would not lower herself to the level of an ignorant, power-hungry fool who relies on strengths that it does not possess.”

 

“And what strength do you rely on, I wonder? What makes you so confident that you will live through this battle? I will destroy you,” it stated simply. “You're nothing but a filthy half breed, one of the most hated, despicable creatures that walk the face of this earth, and yet you stand here as proud as a full blood. Do you enjoy being despised; being an abomination of two races, with tainted filth for blood pulsing through your veins? Stupid girl. Hanyous should all be wiped off the planet…starting with you.” The murderer's malicious tone echoed throughout the cavern, reaching the delicately pointed ears of Sesshomaru.

 

The great demon stirred, his head pounding and blood rushing in his ears. That voice, he thought as he opened his heavy-lidded eyes. He recognized the deep sound as being the voice that had emanated from the strange mists. Some of his senses began to return to him, and he began to take in the scene below.

 

Jaken… As he caught sight of the toad, he immediately scanned the cavern for Rin. Instead of finding his human companion, his honey amber eyes fell upon a different person, one who was much taller than the human child. It appeared to be female, and her back was to Sesshomaru, so he was unable to identify her—until he saw her tail…a slender tail of a lioness that flicked constantly in anger. Her long golden waves of hair and demon armor made him even more certain. Even though he had only met the hanyou briefly, Sesshomaru was not one to easily forget anything.

 

Blinding flashes of light marked the arrival of more flesh-eating minions. The great youkai tried again to transform into his full demon shape, but to no avail. He could not remember a time in his life when he had felt weaker than at this moment, and he burned with rage. Weak and powerless…like a ningen.

 

Kaia slashed at an oncoming demon, and dodged the swipe from the one behind her. Damn, there's so many of them! She and Jaken were outnumbered, ten to one. She could barely keep up on the offensive, and was forced to concentrate more on evading and blocking attacks. With a powerful swing of her katana, she beheaded a foolish demon, brilliant blue light radiating throughout the cave. This will be a difficult battle, she thought bitterly. Her first priority was to free Sesshomaru from the entanglement of demonic spider webs.

 

The hanyou girl streaked past a man-eater, gutting it by slicing through its vulnerable side, spilling the dark blood onto the ground. She turned her attention to the demon lord, and was surprised to find him awake. I need my bow, she realized, and then spotted it a few metres away.

 

One of the mindless beasts blinded by Jaken's flame charged aimlessly at her, taking her by surprise. She vaulted straight into the air, the tips of her toes just grazing the crown of its ugly head. As she hit the ground, Kaia tumbled between the tree trunk legs of another of her enemies. She snatched up her bow and pulled out an arrow, notching it in place, and aiming at a section of coarse webbing just above Sesshomaru's head. The arrow shone with the glimmering power from her demon gauntlet and she let it fly. One of the youkai lord's eyebrows rose as he watched the missile streak towards him, but he knew where it was going to hit.

 

An icy cool sensation came over him as the azure gleam from the arrow disintegrated a portion of the netting that had restrained his neck and shoulders. He felt some of his strength return to him, and found it in himself to struggle against the bindings. If only the girl will free me from the rest of this entrapment.

 

Suddenly a surge of magic twisted through the webs, causing it to contract against his body. The excruciating pain that it inflicted upon him was unimaginable as it stripped the strength and life from his being. Blood poured from the cuts at his wrists as the web tightened into a tortuous vice grip. He was clenching his teeth to keep from crying out, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

 

Another surge of even more torture caused him to open his eyes, and they rolled back into his head as a vision flooded his mind. Evil eyes of green shone through darkness…boney, scabbed hands protruding from a black cloak…a hunched body straightened, the shoulders squared. A supernatural mist surrounded it…

 

The searing, tearing pains only escalated as he thrashed in the entanglement's hold. His eyes now burned as red as freshly spilled blood, and his fangs grew in size. His teeth clenched as he tried to maintain his sanity, but it was just too much. He yelled out involuntarily, the cry ripping at his throat as the anguish increased with a savage intensity. This torment was even greater than when he had been hit with the Tetsusaiga's wind scar, Tenseiga's influence or no.

 

Kaia whirled around at the sound of Sesshomaru's pain-filled outcry, and gasped at the sight of him in this agonized state. I have to free him! Pulling out another arrow from her quiver, the hanyou prepared for another gauntlet-powered shot.

 

A monstrous beast plowed into her as she began to charge the arrow, sending her tumbling across the cavern floor. Landing on her hands and knees, she quickly scrambled for her bow, which had been thrown from her grasp and now lay only a few paces in front of her. That same hungered beast jumped up and landed on top of Kaia, crushing her body to the floor. She roared in pain as her ribs were compressed, just on the verge of cracking. Frantically she stretched out her free arm towards the bow, her claws raking the dirt, but her efforts proved nothing. The flesh eater tensed its mighty paw, cracking its knuckles, and fiercely raked its sharpened nails along the side of her body, letting her crimson blood spill out and stain the rocks and grimy dust. Releasing another roar of infuriation, the half demon's eyes scorched a blazing, crystal azure, wide and filled with deep suffering. Baring her fangs, she pried free a dagger from her hip and stabbed the curved blade deep into one of the monster's eyes over her shoulder.

 

It stopped, shrieking in anguish, and now she took her chance to stab it again in the gut. It thrashed angrily upon her, and she wrestled the creature off, the effort causing even more blood to surge from the wounds in her side. She grasped her bow and shot the partially blinded beast before her. It fell in a bloody heap.

 

Suddenly all of the other man-eaters disappeared and another demon was summoned in their place. Kaia knew as soon as it appeared that it was a formidable foe. Its immense size and large muscle mass was intimidating enough. The beast took the shape of something like a great cave troll, yet its mighty head was crowned with curved horns, and massive demon wings sprouted from its shoulders. In its giant boulder-sized fists it held a torturous looking mace. The hanyou believed that this monster was once the inhabitant of this cave, but just like the great forest spiders, it had been somehow twisted and manipulated by her enemy.

 

She clutched her bloody side and stared up in hatred at the troll. She growled menacingly and bared her teeth to hide her pain and rapidly weakening state. An insane laugh echoed in her mind. The voice spoke. Here's a little surprise for you my dear. I suppose it can be your farewell gift. Enjoy. The terrible voice laughed once again, amused by its own sick humour.

 

Sesshomaru was now free of the ripping pains that had been inflicted by the cursed sorcerer. His senses returned slowly and he focused in on Kaia. He smelt fresh blood and recognized it as hers. Still holding her torn side, the lord heard the hanyou's fierce snarl and watched her crouch, picking up a stray arrow that had fallen from her quiver. Her left wrist began to glow as vivid blue light emanated from her gauntlet, and the light spread to the arrow, giving it a divine power. The huge cave demon saw her movement and charged at her, lifting its enormous mace above its head. Swiftly she notched the arrow and took a careful aim, both eyes open. She let the arrow go, and it took out the evil creature's left eye. It continued to charge in anger, half-blinded and on a rampage of rage.

 

Kaia was growing tired, mostly from the blood loss. Her kimono was soaked with it, and it caked on her ripped up armor, as well as in her hair. It spilled down the leg of her short hakama, and pooled on the jagged rocks that littered the floor of the cavern. The pain was nothing right now, for she had one fixed priority. Sesshomaru. He was the only one who could get them through this, the only one who could help her defeat the demon. Jaken stood by the wall where his master was pinned, trying in vain to burn away some of the webbing. As powerful as his flame was, it would not reach the height of where the taiyoukai hung. Kaia could not clearly see the ceiling, only the widely spaced spikes of stalagmites that hung from the gloom.

 

She had evaded its last charge, and now the troll had lunged anew. Since her speed was greatly reduced, she got away only just in time. She rolled out of its way, leaving a trail of dark crimson blood across the dusty rock floor.

 

She's losing too much blood, Sesshomaru thought. He watched in amazement as the huge beast raised its huge mace high above its head again, making to crush her, and yet she pushed herself up and sliced open its exposed gut with her murderous claws, roaring defiantly.

 

The troll shrieked with confusion as it was forced to endure the frigid slash attack. It backed off slightly, giving Kaia the chance she needed.

 

More blood traced her steps as she ran to pick up her bow again, and she pulled out an arrow. Aiming in the demon lord's direction, she sent a rapid-fire of two arrows, one right after the other. The energy from her gauntlet was great, and a whirlwind of an impressive size blew throughout the great hall, whipping the long golden strands of her hair all around her.

 

The demon lord yelled out a warning as he realized the danger she had put herself in.

 

Just as Kaia let the second arrow fly, the huge beast of a demon swung his titanic mace into her, sending her flying into the opposite wall. Her shattered body fell to the ground, her left side connecting with the hard rocks.

 

By now the blue streaks of arrows had found their marks, just to the left and right of Sesshomaru, freeing the rest of his body from the entrapment. Immediately he felt his normal strength return—and he was more than ready for his payback.

 

His blood boiled in his very skin as his strength built up, and his eyes glowed red through the dark, with the pupils in the centre now just a bright blue. An unnatural wind gusted around him; swirling his silver locks and buffeting his lean, armor clad body. The western lord's appearance was changing rapidly, his face paling and elongating into a dog's snout, complete with razor-edge fangs. His pointed ears grew longer and disappeared as tufts of silver fur engulfed them. His entire body seemed to shift as he grew a long, shaggy tail and his hands and feet transformed into huge paws. Streams of red magical essence whirled about him. He landed on the floor of the cave, his body now completely covered in a shining silver mane. The only recognizable features were his maroon-striped cheeks and the blue crescent moon upon his brow. A purple coloured substance dripped from his mighty jowls—it was the taiyoukai's poison, and soon there was a greenish veil of acidic mist surrounding the two opponents. Sesshomaru was showing his true colours now.

 

Sesshomaru seemed to have a pale golden light that emanated from his very being, and it reflected brightly in Kaia's heavy-lidded orbs. She watched in awe as this magnificent creature showed off his true form as he circled his opponent slowly. Is this real? The extreme fatigue that tugged at her mind finally began to defeat her, and she fell into a dark void of pain.

 

The troll faced his new opponent, who matched its own size and posed an obvious threat. Angered by the intrusion to the previous battle that the beast had been winning, it spread its blackened wings and took flight, trying desperately to avoid the mist of poison. Sesshomaru growled, deep and rumbling low in his chest, and followed the monster into the air.

 

He continued to circle it, toying with it, until he lunged and collided with the monster, which was sluggishly slow in comparison to the vengeful youkai lord. His claws sliced through its tough skin as if it were paper. The pathetic troll screeched in pain as its opponent backed off again. It lunged at the great youkai, but was surprised to discover his extreme speed. Before the cave demon knew it, Sesshomaru was behind him, ready for another of its inferior attempts. The frustration bellowed from the troll's mouth as it realized the position it was in.

 

Rounding again, the great dog attacked, now clamping his solid jaws around the troll's throat as he slammed it into the ground. Sesshomaru let out a strong blast of acid, hitting the monster directly. It thrashed madly, clawing at the lord in vain, making no more than scratches upon his hard muscled body. Soon, however, the poison took effect and stole the monster's life.

 

The demon lord shook the monster's body savagely, making sure that it was dead by snapping its thick neck. Then, as calmly as ever, Sesshomaru stepped over the body and shrunk back into his everyday form, the crimson magical essence surrounding him completely. He walked over to where Jaken stood over Kaia's inanimate body. The toad was trying to wake her, but she would not stir. He looked up at his lord.

 

“Thank the gods that you're alive!” he screeched, bowing deeply. A fleeting panic traced his toadish features as he noticed the scratches that his master sported. “Sire, you're bleeding! Are you in much pain?”

 

“It is nothing, Jaken, pay my wounds no mind.”

 

“As you wish, milord, but I don't believe that this woman is as fortunate as you. She is wounded badly. I am not sure that she will survive.”

 

Sesshomaru looked down at Kaia, lying on her left side. He crouched down and carefully pushed her over onto her back. He was surprised to find so much blood, as it had pooled beneath her. The scent of death did not plague his senses, however, but her heartbeat was weak. He lifted one of her eyelids to find them entirely an intense blue colour, telling him that she was definitely out cold, but regenerating her strength subconsciously.

 

He examined her wounds. There were ragged tears down the length of her left side from the flesh eater. Her armor had been completely torn open on that side, and that's where she was losing all of her blood. The gashes were quite deep, and they caused the most damage. There were cuts on her right arm, as well as a small cut on her temple, but those were more than a day old, to be sure. Other than that she was just battered and bruised, and he could tell that she had been affected somewhat by his poison, mostly by the fact that her lips had turned slightly blue, but she was still breathing on her own.

 

“What do you plan on doing sire?” Jaken questioned.

 

Sesshomaru said nothing, but he thought carefully for a moment. He would bring along this half-breed girl for now so that she could recover and Rin could tend to her wounds. After all, she did assist him in escaping that sorcerer's trap, and he hated being in debt more than anything—especially to a half demon. Rin wouldn't let him leave her anyhow. Where is that child?

 

“Where is Rin?”

 

“She is safely in hiding outside, my lord, and she still carries the fur you gave her. She was most distressed when you were gone, frightened to death. I'm sure she will be happy to see you!”

 

The lord only nodded and gently lifted Kaia from the pool of her own blood, instructing Jaken to gather her weapons. He walked swiftly out of the cave, carrying the hanyou's broken body. They would need to find a safe place tonight, out of the way. Sesshomaru would need to give her some antidote soon, or else the poison in her system would kill her. Her wounds would need to be cleaned and bandaged as well.

 

He sighed as he emerged from the gloomy depths of the eerie cave, looking up at the stars and the face of the nearly full moon. Jaken dropped Kaia's weapons on the sparse mountain grass, and stalked off into the bushes, obviously going to get Rin.

 

The human child was the first to emerge, awkwardly lugging along her pack. Her eyes lit up and she ran, dragging the bag along behind her as she caught sight of the taiyoukai. Before she clung to him, Sesshomaru quietly asked for one of the blankets. Rin pulled it out and spread it on the ground, so that he could lay Kaia down upon it. He wrapped it tightly around her torso, trying to keep pressure on her wounds in attempt to stop the bleeding. The human girl looked down at her injured friend in dismay. She turned her gaze back to Sesshomaru with a forlorn look in her eyes. He crouched before her.

 

“Do not worry, Rin. As soon as we find a safe place, you can tend to her.”

 

She nodded in understanding, but as she looked from Kaia to Sesshomaru, her lip began to tremble and the demon lord could smell the salt of her unshed tears. The girl was obviously overwhelmed, happy that her master had been returned safely to her after a worry-filled day, but now her new friend was seriously injured. He patted her head gently, and she suddenly sprang on him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. He rubbed her back lightly, trying not to get his own or Kaia's blood on her. The girl's shoulders shook slightly as she sniffed quietly, and he pulled her away gently to look her in the eye.

 

“We must go.”

 

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I'm not gonna lie guys, I love this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!!

 

Thanks for the review, Heartstar! I hope you keep reading

 

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