InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inexcusable Nature ❯ Emotional Swordplay ( Chapter 22 )

Inexcusable Nature
Just A Starving Writer

Disclaimer: nope, not mine.

Author's Plea: Please, please, please forgive me for the delay. It was unintentional.


Part 22: Emotional Swordplay

Kagome was finally started to calm down again when she stopped suddenly, senses alert.

"Kagome?" someone, anyone asked quietly, afraid to push the girl into another rampage.

"Something is coming. Something big. And evil. With lots of shards."

Of course, everyone had to exit the hut at that declaration. In the main path of the village they met up with the monk and hanyou who were already preparing for the battle that was surely just beyond the darkened horizon.

"Naraku." Inuyasha's voice was cold, full of hatred and anticipation. It was the voice of someone who was ready to kick some ass.

"No," solemnly stated the young miko. "Not now, not today. No one is going to mess with me today."

And, unfortunately for the poor demons who were in front, that was right when the first wave of minions burst into view….before they were easily decimated by a charged arrow. Everyone looked at Kagome in shock. Sine when was she that powerful?

However, before interrogation could begin, more demons poured from the black sky, heading straight for the village and all hell broke loose.

*

Naraku sat back and watched with glee as his foolish little swarm attacked the shard hunters. He hadn't been expecting quite this much resistance, but it would all be over soon enough. Without the demon lord's assistance or the miko's weapon, it was only a matter of time.

Speaking of the miko, perhaps it was time to have a little talk with the irritant. And how lucky it was that the girl was low on arrows. Lack of ammunition was surely in his favor.

He smirked. Everything was surely going his way tonight.

*

She wanted her sword. She needed her sword. She was desperate for her sword. Even as she pulled back yet another arrow, her hand clenched in agony over not holding the sword.

But it was not here. It was with him. And for that, he would pay. Arrogant bastard…

But now was not the time to think of that. For now, she could only wish for the sword and do the best she could with the bow. Though it was her first weapon, and possibly the one she was strongest with, it was also night. While her intense emotions were granting the arrows more power than ever before, it was still hard to get a lock on anything without any light.

And now she was out of arrows completely. Following Inuyasha's example of cussing loudly, she looked about for a weapon she could pilfer for the time being.

Until she realized she was not alone.

"Hello, Kagome," the hated voice said, a hint of seductive malice in the tone.

Looking up, she came face to face with the real deal, the true enemy.

"Naraku," she said softly as emotion fell from her face. It was best not to let him know what she was feeling, lest he use it against her. Of course the being who taught her this tactic would remain nameless.

"I believe you have something of mine."

"I was just about to say the same thing to you."

*

Ignoring the katana was simply not possible. The weapon was intent upon returning to its master and would stop at nothing to do so. However, little did the sword know who it was up against. The demon lord was not one to take being controlled lightly. To him, it was just another opportunity to prove his all encompassing power.

However, little did the demon lord know what it was he was up against.

After a short struggle, the sword got the upper hand by forcing him off his feet. In no time at all, the proud youkai was being dragged backwards. Finally, in a desperate move to retain at least some dignity, the lord found his balance and decided to go with the sword willingly. That couldn't be considered defeat, now could it?

*

The old saying was true. Talk really was cheap. And so it was that after a brief exchange of insults and scathing comments, all civility ceased between evil hanyou and good miko.

It resembled a barroom brawl more than anything and, surprisingly enough, the hanyou was being at least slightly fair in that he had yet to take a weapon against her. Of course, the odds were still largely in his favor, what with him being a manipulative half demon with possibly unlimited strength and an ever changing body and her being a small human miko with untested strength and an easily broken body.

It wasn't a pretty fight, that was sure. But still, one had to admire the miko for how well she was doing barehanded against her arch nemesis. However, after one more hit to a particular part of the half demon's anatomy that left him winded and talking with a slightly higher pitch, he decided he had toyed with the girl enough. He had played his part as the villain and now it was far passed time to act more villainy.

And so, without further ado, he pushed the girl to the ground and transformed himself into the traditional mass of writhing tentacles. It was time to get serious. If torture was what it took to get the girl to reveal the location of her section of the precious jewel, then torture was how it was going to be.

Wrapping a tentacle securely around her ankle, luckily enough for her the one that hadn't been weakened, he began to drag the wench backward towards his menacing form. There was to be no escaping this time. If the girl didn't start talking about the whereabouts of the jewel, she would die at his hands. Of course, if she did let up, he would still kill her, but it was best to hope she wouldn't realize that.

Too bad for Naraku, Kagome wasn't stupid. Despite her human heritage and the disadvantages it provided her, she wasn't willing to give up so easily. Death was literally at her foot. And so her nails dug into the hard ground and she used every last reserve of strength she could find to hold herself back.

O! How she longed for the comforting grip of her sword. The katana had become so damned important to her in such a short time. And now, it really would come in handy. Sure, Naraku didn't need a weapon, but it was foolish to believe she didn't. Hell, at this point a rock would have been welcome.

So, of course, it was just when she was thinking fond thoughts of hard blunt objects that her poor nails were dragged from the difficult soil to an unrelenting hidden rock. Not only was it too deeply embedded for her to use it as a weapon, it also completely spoiled her hard earned grip that had been delaying the inevitable. Even as she struggled to reacquaint her bleeding fingers with the ground, Naraku jerked her toward him harshly. Flailing and suddenly terrified, she closed her eyes and wished fervently that something, anything, would spare her from the torment she was no doubt about to endure.

And, as if in answer to her prayer, something worked its way into her hands. Something familiar. Something wanted. She didn't stop to reaffirm the object's identity. It wasn't necessary and she didn't have time. Nor did she allow herself to wonder at the convenience of it. Long ago these sorts of things had ceased to amaze her. Part of her was even ashamed that she hadn't seen it coming. But none of that mattered in that instant her ragged fingers wrapped around the comforting coolness of the white hilt. Instead, all that was important was the energy that sprang to life in her tired body and the enemy that she needed to dispose of.

With a ridiculously happy smile plastered all over her dirt covered cheeks, she slashed the tentacle on her foot with one clean swipe. Immediately she was standing, intently holding Naraku's gaze even as she beckoned him forward with a mocking tilt of her blade.

"Let's dance," she said assuredly, certain she was stealing a line from at least a few movies but not really caring.

And once more, the fight was on. Of course, Naraku's weapon of choice was himself. Why bother with a sword when you can have a mass of writhing tentacles at your disposal?

However, he soon found that even a half demon as powerful as himself has weaknesses, and his apparently was a small human miko with dance experience and a controlling sword. As accustomed as he was to Inuyasha's brash attacks and Sesshoumaru's well choreographed moves, he had no experience with a girl bending in odd but greatly alluring ways. How did she get her back to do that? It was amazing really, but his preoccupation came with the price of loosing more than a few tentacles.

"You will not succeed," the Great Enemy stated proudly even as he took yet another unexpected blow. How the hell was she doing that? She'd never shown such skill previously. Was it possible that she had studied combat while she was in hiding? Ah well, it didn't matter. Soon she would be dead and the jewel would be his.

Or at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Oh, shut up!" she retorted with slightly less tact. "I'll kick your ass!" And she proceeded to so. It was quite the rush, really. Sure brought a smile to her face.

But of course, overconfidence is truly a disability. Had it not been, the miko would have promptly finished off her opponent but, alas!, she allowed her head to get a little too big and thus it was that she found herself upside down, hanging from a sneaky little tentacle, struggling to regain her bearings and keep her grip on a sweaty-hilted katana.

And her competitor? Well, he was the one smiling now. Luckily enough for her, overconfidence is an illness that knows no discrimination. And thus it was that she found herself falling with a hard thump to the ground once more as a new player entered the deadly competition.

"HEY!" she cried in retaliation as she tried to stand.

"Stay back wench."

"No way! I can do it!"

"Back."

"Not gonna happen, jerk."

Of course, them not being siblings had the bonus of them being able to put aside their differences long enough to cooperate in beating their enemy. Poor Naraku was put into the unpleasant position of being in between a battle hardened, royally pissed demon lord and an enraged miko with very interesting skills, otherwise known as a rock and a tempting hard place.

It was almost disappointing, really. All the trouble the damned hanyou had caused and he was being so easily cut down due to his own underestimation of his enemies. There was no question about it now. Naraku would be dead soon, it was just a matter of the damage he would do before he went down.

Even the enemy himself seemed to be aware of this. His sickening little life was flashing before his disturbing eyes even as he struggled to hold off the two swords. That was until his general life plan came back into focus. Pain! That's what he was here for, making others suffer. Might as well do that the best he could before he kicked the bloody bucket.

Kagome wasn't privy to this personal moment, therefore she wasn't expecting the failing half demon to reach out and hold her against him. She was a poor shield, what with her small frame, but it didn't matter. He was going to kill her in just a moment anyways. Had the pointy tentacle aiming for her heart and everything. Yup, she was going to be dead soon.

Or at least she would have had Naraku not, once again, underestimated his opponents. Taking a chance and forcing the sword to accept her own will instead of instinctively blocking the threatening tentacle, she thrust it backwards, into his damaged body just as another, infinitely more masculine weapon succeeded in beheading the dreaded enemy. What luck that the bastard hanyou had dropped his barrier to grab the girl! It made it so much easier to deal the death blows as surely no entity could survive headless and heart punctured.

But the fact that the great enemy was dead did nothing for the miko. In fact, if anything she was even more irritated. Why? It was simple. First, she was still on a pretty decent battle high. Second, she was now drenched in demon blood. And third and most importantly…well the guillotine master had come very close to slicing Kagome's head off as well. Gasping as a tentative hand came down from her head with yet more severed locks of black hair from a formerly beautiful up-do, she glared at her savior.

"YOU BASTARD!"

And the fight was back on, this time between former allies.

"WHY?!" she screamed as she forced the sword to aim for his own white strands. "What is it you have against MY HAIR!?"

"Cease, wench."

"NO I WILL NOT `CEASE'!"

Parrying yet another blow, the demon lord merely tried to get the girl to calm. Had he truly affected her this much? Were those tears pouring down her dirty cheeks? Certainly looked like it. But then again, she did cry a lot so it could have nothing to do with his return.

"The battle is over, wench."

"NO IT IS NOT!" she demanded even as she succeeded in trimming a good three inches from the lord's locks. "You LEFT ME! And without my sword! I COULD HAVE DIED!"

Well, he very well couldn't deny that truth.

"You are alive."

"Yeah, well, you're lucky! If I had died, I would have haunted your sorry ass!"

Another 2 inches fell from his hair as he attempted to hold off the enraged girl. The important lesson was finally being learned: never mess with a girl's hair.

However, the falling hair did not even register. Neither did his mechanical movements to block the girl from doing too much damage to his person. Instead, he had stopped and was concentrating on one important fact that he hadn't fully comprehended until just now.

She could have died. She was achingly mortal. And it crushed his heart to even think of life without her alive.

"You bastard, how could you leave me?!" she was saying as tears blinded her vision and her hair cutting attempts were made with less gusto.

"It matters to you?"

A real, true question? How the hell did that happen? Of course, she was much too distraught to appreciate it. That is generally the way of the world.

"Duh, it matters to me! I'm in love with your sorry ass!"

And all movement ceased. All breathing stopped. All injury assessment came to a screeching halt. All eyes were glued to the odd couple. And what a sight it was.

The miko had finally been overtaken by her emotions and had sunken to the ground weeping with a combination of joy, surprise, and sorrow. The demon lord was by far the most watched as it was so rare for one to witness such blatant emotion on his face…and survive. The surprise written across his countenance was open and honest and extended into his very body language as his powerful weapon dropped to scrape the ground. O, how the mighty hath fallen by the fevered proclamation of a loving heart!

And the scene might have been touching had he then rushed forward to deliver his own declaration. But, alas, it was not in his nature to be so bold with his feelings. So it was that even as the hanyou was floored with the loving terror filling his brother's heart, the demon lord departed without another word. Or maybe fled is the better description.

Either way, it was a sobering and somber experience for all as even those who could not feel the miko's heartbreak personally, could sympathize.

*

It took three days to get everything at least somewhat stabilized in the little village.

The first day after the nighttime battle was spent attending to wounds and resting.

That night and the second day were spent in a sad attempt to comfort Kagome. It was a fruitless venture but they managed to at least get her to stop crying and get a little sleep.

The third day was spent cleaning up the damage and restoring everything to its former glory. And finally, that night was spent celebrating the victory, short one devastated miko.

Kagome couldn't stand to watch it. It was entirely too happy.

An un-cursed Miroku had succeeded in getting Sango drunk enough to accept some of his advances while he reminded her of a certain promise made a few years before regarding his children.

A seductively dressed Kagura was shamelessly flirting with an attention starved Inuyasha.

A relaxed Shippou was sharing a lollipop with one of the young village girls.

A smiling Kaede was discussing the benefits of a few select herbs with an older villager.

A grinning Kikyou was shyly batting away a man twice her age she had recently tended as he tried to get her to dance with him.

And Kagome was sick of it all. Entirely too happy for her current palate. Taking leave, stopping only to accept the well wishes of a few people, she sought out the comforting silence of the night.

Before long she came to the beginning of it all. The well looked innocent in its moonlight bath, but she knew better. Damned thing, really. Causing all these problems and totally screwing up her life, or more importantly, love-life. She had been quite content, thank you very much, before she had come across a certain family of dog demons.

At least there was no painful decision to make now. After the celebration, she would say her goodbyes to those she had grown to love and seek refuge in her own time to rebuild her shattered heart. It was for the best. It probably wouldn't have worked between them anyways.

But that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

Sitting with her back against the hard wooden planks, she pulled out the jewel piece that had been recovered from Naraku's remains. Even in her despairing state she had managed to complete her job. It gave her hope that eventually she could make a life without a certain arrogant demon.

She was reminded of her katana's presence when the blade bit into the bare skin of her leg. Unfortunately for her poor thigh, the bastard lord had taken her sword's sheath with him when he left. The cuts running across and up her leg provided yet another reason to be angry at the demon. For that she was grateful, as at this point, anger was all she had to keep herself together.

But of course, as Life is wont to do, the cuts only made her remember him who she missed and her sullen anger turned into tearful sorrow.

"I can't do this! I can't just forget him. It's like he took the sheath just so I wouldn't. Pompous bastard! And he's not even my boyfriend!"

It is the way of the world that just when you say something embarrassing, the person you least wanted to hear said words has been standing behind you the entire time. Thus it was that a familiar arrogant half snort interrupted her thoughts.

The emotions that raced through the strained miko were far too complicated to ever relate, but those connected to her would later explain that they had instantly been floored and briefly taken across the conscious threshold.

But did the young woman bother to turn around and acknowledge her visitor? Not at all. At the moment, her irritation overrode everything else. Lucky too, for if it hadn't the demon might not have lived to tell about it.

"Now, I know there's not a pompous, egotistical, asshole of a demon behind me. There can't be because he ran away like a little girl," was her scathing comment.

The distinctive sound of a sword being drawn made her wince slightly. Suddenly she realized how foolish she had been to say such a thing to him, even if she had already been foolish enough to give him her heart. Ah well, since he'd already taken her heart, why not her life?

"You dare compare this Sesshoumaru to a little girl," the voice behind her stated. Odd though, because she almost swore there was a hint of emotion in the otherwise flat tone. She must be imagining things.

"Yes, I dare. That's the second time you've run away from me AND with at least some part of my sword. I'm beginning to think you don't like me. And are a kleptomaniac," she retorted as she drew her own katana, cringing as the blade scraped her battered leg once again. That did it. If nothing else, the bastard would pay for her leg's brutal treatment.

Did the taiyoukai know what a klepto was? Not one bit, but he did recognize an insult when he heard one. However, he was going to be lenient on her today, if only because she had a point. Still, she didn't have to be so damn difficult and for that he would gladly teach her a lesson.

"You have to earn respect, wench," he stated, purposefully baiting her into striking first. Strange how exhilarating fighting against her was. Even without the threat of death, he found a battle with this one human to be well worth his time. It was just one of the dozens of things he had been discovering he enjoyed about the girl lately.

"We've been through this already. I have earned your respect. And you can't keep denying it."

"This Sesshoumaru does not deny anything." This time it was his turn to be aggressive as he swung his weapon toward her. For her benefit he had opted on using his non-lethal sword.

She smirked as she blocked flawlessly.

"Yeah, right. You're only fooling yourself."

Now, she swore that looked like sick amusement under his mock glare. What put him in such a good mood?

"I am no fool," he stated coolly even as he laid a good slice on the sleeve of her mended sweater.

"Somehow I don't believe you," she responded even as she retaliated with a carefully aimed swipe at his hair. Her goal was to make him pay for every inch of her own hair he had harmed, and boy was it going to take a lot. Kagura had done her best, but Kagome was still reduced to locks barely scraping her shoulders.

Of course, then it occurred to him exactly what she was doing and for an instant he was shocked until he realized that the worst thing anyone seemed able to do was underestimate this slight wench.

"You have gained control of the sword."

She smiled broadly, practically gushing inwardly at being recognized by him in this area where she had been vulnerable for so long.

"You think?"

"Hn. Perhaps not."

"Oh, you're half right. I can tell it where to go now. But it does still steal my strength and hidden abilities to carry out my orders." Taking a precisely aimed swipe, she cut off a slight chunk from his bangs without touching his beautiful face. "You could say the sword and I have reached an agreement."

"Hn." He responded with his own attack, leaving a tiny slice in her sweater on her scapula.

"You are still only human," he said with a superior but amused smirk.

"And you can't get enough of this human," she boldly rebutted. "`One can only suppose you find me attractive.' Though you still know nothing about women or me."

He recognized his own words and his smirk strengthened into a slightly disturbing grin.

"You are still incorrect. It is obvious I am well versed on both subjects."

"Oh, really? Then tell me, what do I want? Come on, smart-ass, if you understand everything so well, tell me what I want more than anything right now!"

It was asking for trouble, she knew that beyond a doubt, but she figured it was also the only way to get him to ever admit to any possible feelings about her. A long, rather uncooperative interrogation with a particular hanyou had given the miko some insight into the lord's strange mind, but it meant nothing until he was willing to acknowledge it.

"Foolish girl."

"Well, that's certainly not it."

"Hn."

"As much as I love your non-verbal responses, I don't want them either."

"Wench…" he warned even as he neatly sliced a portion of her sleeve off her poor sweater.

"Nope, never cared for those either."

"You are an irritating creature," he stated even as he fought the grin spreading into a smile across his countenance. The girl was really quite stimulating, much better at holding his interest with her words than anyone else. How had he failed to notice this?

"And you love me, so we're even."

Well, she hadn't meant to spill it quite like that. Hadn't intended for it to come out like that at all. But then, he wasn't stopping his playful attacks either.

"True, but you are still quite worthless."

They both stopped when full realization of their words impacted on their weary hearts. For a second, the darkness swallowed them whole, stopping time just to allow them a moment to fully understand what had been said.

And as instantly as the almost holy silence started, it ended. Kagome broke into laughter, having to resort to using the well to steady her feet to keep from falling to the ground. It was a far cry from any romantic gesture her teenage mind had ever dreamed up, but she figured it was enough. However, acceptance didn't make it any less humorous.

For all his attempt at glaring, the taiyoukai could not resist raising an eyebrow as he swiftly approached the miko with a slightly predatory gleam in his narrowed eyes. Within a second, the girl's chuckling died under an assault by his lips until she pushed back to continue laughing. A bit put off by her childish behavior, something he was quite sure would take some time to fully appreciate, he casually dropped his sword in favor of her chin. Forcing her to meet his gaze, her giggles slowly died until she was almost mesmerized by the moonlight reflecting off his eyes.

It could have been a special moment had his pompous nature not gotten the better of him. Impressed with how much power he had over her with a simple look, his eyebrow lifted mockingly. Unfortunately, it had quite the opposite effect on Kagome. Busting into laughter again, she playfully poked his chest with her free hand, steadying her feet against the well to give her finger more punch.

Of course, he, the almighty Lord of the West, wasn't about to take this, even if he did completely love the damn girl. Releasing her chin, he pushed her backwards, merely intending to dislocate her finger from his chest. However, it didn't quite work the way he wanted it to, for the same well that had given her the strength to brutally assault his chest with her finger also tripped her and before either was quite aware of what was going on, Kagome fell backwards into the dark well.

With a flash of blue light that temporarily blinded his night accustomed eyes, the miko disappeared.

*