InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Journey of the soul: The panther devas' plot ❯ Enemies ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the actual work of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own them in any way.

 

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Chapter 5: Enemies

 

"This is... horrible," murmured Kikyo in horror.

 

The word was weak for the spectacle she and Inuyasha were witnessing. Before them, the entire village lay in ruins. Not a single house remained standing, they were all flattened to the ground as if a giant had taken great pleasure in crushing them beneath his foot. However, what really turned the stomach about this whole picture was the bodies. They were all lying around in various positions and all of them were half-melted by the shouki present in the air. Sickening black fumes rose from several corpses and sometimes, a liquefied piece of flesh would fall to the ground with a sickening slurping sound.

 

"Disgusting would be my description," muttered the hanyou with a grimace.

 

"Yes, most definitively," agreed the miko. "How long ago do you think this could have happened?"

 

"Judging from the state these corpses are in, I'd wager not too long ago. But the time doesn't really matter... because the youkai who did this is most definitively still in the area," answered the hanyou grimly.

 

"How can you be so sure?" asked Kikyo curiously.

 

"There are two reasons for a youkai to leak shouki into the environment. The first is when his life is threatened. He'll shoot out a burst to confuse his enemy and escape. However, considering the state of the village right now, I doubt this reason's the right one," explained Inuyasha.

 

"So what is the second reason then?" questioned the miko.

 

"The bastard's marking his territory," answered the hanyou with a disapproving frown. "It's a very common practice but never in my life have I seen it do... that."

 

"Which means that this youkai must be quite above average then," deduced Kikyo logically.

 

"That's an understatement," agreed Inuyasha grimly.

 

"So if he's still in the vicinity... do you think he'd notice if his shouki suddenly got purified?" asked the woman.

 

"If that bastard doesn't notice that, then I don't know what it would take to get his attention," answered the hanyou with a smirk.

 

Allowing a small smile to grace her features, Kikyo set her backpack to the side carefully and drew out her bow. Notching an arrow, she aimed straight up and... remained perfectly immobile.

 

"Huh... Kikyo? What are you..." asked the hanyou, but just then, the miko cut Inuyasha's question short by firing her arrow.

 

As soon as the projectile started its course, Inuyasha knew something was wrong. The bluish- white aura usually surrounding Kikyo's arrows wasn't there. In its stead was a strange purple light that fluctuated oddly as the arrow got higher into the evening sky. Then, just as it reached the pinnacle of its course, the light abruptly expanded into a glowing sphere.

 

As if that wasn't strange enough, a strange wind started blowing upward toward the sphere, forcing the pair to actually shift their weight in order to compensate for the pull.

 

"The fuck's going on!? Your arrows never did that before!" exclaimed the hanyou in confusion.

 

The miko did not answered her baffled companion. She was too troubled by this unexpected result to formulate a reply. True, when she had absorbed Inuyasha's blood, she had more or less expected some changes to occur in her powers. After all, she couldn't very well have purification energy inside her... with youkai blood coursing through her veins, that was a bit of a contradiction. However, she never expected the change to be this... dramatic.

 

The purification property which she had been so proud of was now completely gone. The shouki which should have dissolved on contact remained completely unaffected by this... thing hovering in the air. Or was it?

 

Kikyo jerked as she noticed something different about the air surrounding them. "Inuyasha... the shouki..." she exclaimed in sudden realization.

 

"Yeah, I know, it's getting lighter... and that's not all... Look at the sphere!" pointed the hanyou.

 

"It's... turning black," whispered the miko, realization suddenly dawning on her face.

 

Glancing at her companion, she was able to see that he had just reached the same conclusion as her.

 

"So this orb is... drawing in the shouki from the air around us," concluded Kikyo.

 

"Yeah, but..." trailed off the hanyou as the sphere started crackling with energy. "... what's going to happen when this thing reaches its limit?"

 

"I cannot say I am very eager to find out," agreed Kikyo as the energy began to shot out in small lighting. "However I don't think this sphere will wait for us to take cover before it..."

 

Just then, the orb seemed to reach its saturation point because, with a sharp popping sound, it abruptly exploded like a balloon, scattering hundreds of blackish embers that quickly dissolved into nothingness with an audible hiss.

 

"... pops," finished the miko a bit lamely.

 

"Somehow, that wasn't exactly what I had anticipated," commented the hanyou, a bit taken aback by the rather anticlimactic experience.

 

"Neither did I," admitted the woman. "But regardless of the means, the end was still met. A great deal of the shouki has been purged from the air."

 

"Yeah, which means that..." began the hanyou before he was cut short yet again by a low rumbling sound that rapidly got closer. "... we should now have a fight on our hands."

 

No sooner had Inuyasha said this that an enormous serpentine shape burst out of the surrounding woods and stopped five feet in front of them. "Who daressss to trouble the peaccccefulness of my territory?" questioned the youkai in a hissing voice.

 

"We have you overgrown lizard!" exclaimed Inuyasha while cracking his knuckles menacingly.

 

"Meassssly hanyou! Leave thissss place before I deccccide you are worth my time," exclaimed the serpent in visible disappointment.

 

"We might not be worth your time... but you are most certainly worth ours," snapped Kikyo, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

 

"Miko... sssso you can withsssstand my sssshouki... you might prove a ssssuitable entertainment after all," hissed the youkai while rearing himself up on his tail and towering over the pair menacingly.

 

"Keh! I'll make you eat your tail!" boasted Inuyasha confidently.

 

"Know your placccce hanyou!" countered the serpent right before it lunged at them.

 

Not wasting any time, Inuyasha scooped the miko in his arms and jumped safely out of the way. "Kikyo, you take cover. That bastard's mine!" he ordered upon touching the ground once again.

 

The woman simply cast a piercing look at the serpent before scurrying away to safety.

 

"You sssshall not esssscape miko!" exclaimed the youkai, shifting his attention to his fleeing opponent.

 

However, before he could lunge again, a red blur of motion abruptly connected with his neck, causing more than half of it to explode into tiny pieces. "You shouldn't have looked away!" spat Inuyasha with a smug smile.

 

"You underesssstimate me hanyou!" shot back the snake as the shattered pieces of his neck converged back to their original place, thus completely healing the wound just inflicted.

 

"Keh! So it seems like you actually have some powers after all," answered Inuyasha with a smirk. "Well that's good them... it makes the fight all the more interesting!"

 

Then began a lethal dance of lunging and dodging for the two opponents. While at first, it appeared as if the two might be evenly matched, it quickly became obvious that the hanyou was no match for the snake. No matter where he stroke or how severe the injury, the snake would always regenerate in seconds and come back at full power. And so it was that in the end, Inuyasha found himself backed up against the wall of a hut, panting in exhaustion and staring at his completely unscratched opponent.

 

"The fight wassss indeed interessssting hanyou! But now it'ssss time to end it," hissed the serpent arrogantly.

 

Helplessly, Inuyasha watched as the snake reared itself as much it could in preparation of the lethal strike. However, before it had a chance to strike, a glowing arrow suddenly hit him square between the eyes. The same purple orb that had appeared in the sky earlier then engulfed the youkai's head completely. The serpent began to howl in pain and trash about as it felt his powers being drained away from him.

 

"Resistance is futile. My arrow will not be so easily dislodged," said Kikyo, appearing beside Inuyasha.

 

"K... Kikyo... you," stammered the surprised hanyou.

 

"This snake draws its powers from a crystal implanted in its forehead," replied the miko impassively.

 

"Why the fuck didn't you say anything then!?" exclaimed Inuyasha in both surprise and frustration.

 

"If I had, then this serpent would have come after me instead of you... and I needed a clear shot," answered the woman.

 

"Dammit! Forget about your fucking clear shot! If you had told me, I would have gone for his forehead from the start!" barked the hanyou, angry at the role he had been relegated in.

 

"This crystal burned right through this youkai's thick scales and embedded itself deep under the skin. If you had so much as touched it, it would have burned right through your hand, dealing you a lethal dose of youki in the process!" shot back the miko levelly.

 

A strange expression flashed across the hanyou's features then. An odd mix of surprise and something close to betrayal that made Kikyo's heart constrict painfully in her chest. But then, gruffness came back full force and Inuyasha whirled away just as the snake youkai crashed to the ground not three feet away from where they were standing.

 

The pair watched as its body slowly started melting away, leaving only blackened chunks of flesh behind. Slowly, the miko made her way to what had once been the youkai's head and started to search through the rotting flesh. After a while, she came up with a small and completely transparent fragment of what appeared to be glass.

 

"This crystal... it empowered this youkai by infusing its body with youki. But after a time, it became the only thing keeping it alive. Onigumo... What were you really after when you sent this creature after us? Surely you must have known it would be no match for us," she questioned herself mentally.

 

"Are you planning on contemplating this dead carcass all day?" snapped Inuyasha harshly. "There's nothing left for us to do here! Even the villagers' bodies are too mangled to bury!"

 

Glancing up Kikyo felt a slight twinge at being confronted with her companion's back. Earlier, no matter how much she pushed him, he had never looked away from her... yet now, she felt as if a wall had just sprung up between them.

 

"Inuyasha..." she whispered, not knowing what she might have said to upset him so much.

 

"Come dammit or I'm leaving you behind!" he barked and the woman practically bounded to her feet.

 

Hastily pocketing the tiny crystal, she scampered toward her discarded backpack and slung it back on her shoulders. Inuyasha did the same with his own bag of supplies and without another word, the two were off once again. The silence between them rapidly grew to deafening proportions so it was just as well that they found a clearing not too far from the village that would be a suitable place to settle down for the night.

 

As the hanyou busied himself with starting the fire, she fished out a few rice balls from her bags and started munching on them without much appetite. No, she wasn't hungry at all right now. She wasn't even wondering about Onigumo. What filled her thoughts right now was... Inuyasha.

 

He was purposefully avoiding looking at her right now. She could feel hostility radiate from his being in waves after suffocating waves. What had she done this time to warrant such a reaction? What did she say or do to make him so... angry? She had done what needed to be done to win the fight with the fewest number of casualties possible. If anyone could understand the dynamics of battle, it was Inuyasha... so why was he taking things so badly?

 

"Inuyasha, why are you so... angry at me?" she finally resorted to questioning, unable to bear the silence any longer.

 

At this, the hanyou finally did look at her... though this fact did not bring the relief she thought it would bring. His gaze was a searching one, cold and piercing, full of the hurt and betrayal that made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. She held his eyes as best as she could, even though she wanted nothing more than to look away. After an interminable scrutiny however, Inuyasha let out a long and weary sigh and turned his attention to the fire instead.

 

"So you really don't know what you've done have you?" he questioned sadly.

 

"I... indeed have no idea," she agreed quietly, hoping it was the right answer to give.

 

"You said so yourself Kikyo. If we're to prevail against Onigumo then you and I must act as a team... so why on earth do I get the distinct impression that you don't want me around?" he demanded, his tone cold and firm.

 

A physical blow would probably have had less of an impact on Kikyo than this simple question. The rice ball she had been eating fell limply to the ground, forgotten as her brown eyes stared at her companion with a shock so great that her very brain seemed to stop functioning. After a few mortal seconds of silence, she was finally able to recover enough to wheeze one tiny little word past her constricted throat.

 

"Why..."

 

"You dare to ask me that!?" questioned Inuyasha, his tone rising in anger. "After all you've put me through for the last two days... you still dare to ask me that!?"

 

"I..." she whispered.

 

"You make me sound like an idiot every time you find an opportunity! You refuse to eat the food I bring you! You call me a fucking liar! And now, you don't even trust me with critical information in the heat of battle! Dammit Kikyo what the fuck is wrong with you!? What is it you're after!? What is is you're trying to make me do!?" exclaimed the hanyou, unable to take it anymore.

 

"I..." murmured Kikyo, her mind desperately fumbling for an answer she did not have. "... don't know."

 

"You don't know?" snarled Inuyasha angrily. "You don't know!? What sort of lame answer is that!?"

 

This time it was Kikyo's turn to explode, and explode she did. Jumping to her feet, she brought herself to her full height and did her best impression of towering over the hanyou while being a good half-head smaller than him. "I DON'T KNOW MEANS I DON'T KNOW STUPID!" she yelled and immediately recoiled, surprised at her own outburst.

 

Taking a deep breath, she took a step back and continued, in a more normal tone. "Ever since I ingested your blood, half of the things I do or feel are alien to me. So, I don't know why I keep trying to make you sound like an idiot. I don't know why I refuse to eat your food. We've already covered the liar thing and as for the battle, I told you I needed a clear shot, so I had you act as a decoy," she explained levelly.

 

Inuyasha stayed silent for quite a while, digesting the information he had just been given. But then, after a time, a snort escaped his lips followed quickly by another... and yet another. The snorts then resolved into a light chuckle that kept growing until it turned into a full-blown laughter.

 

"Inuyasha?" questioned the miko, puzzled by this rather unexpected reaction.

 

"Some of the side-effects are much worst than death eh?" he quoted when he had calmed down. "That damn bastard wasn't kidding!"

 

"I'm afraid I do not see what is so funny," replied the woman, even more confused.

 

"The two of us," answered the hanyou. "We've been so busy worrying about Onigumo that we never realized there was another more immediate enemy we needed to take care of first."

 

"Another enemy?" asked Kikyo, not sure where her companion was going with this.

 

"Ever since you drank my blood, you've been struggling with the side-effects haven't you?" inquired the hanyou knowingly.

 

Kikyo did not answer, she merely dropped her gaze to the ground and nodded.

 

"Then that's what we're going to tackle first. Until you can fully understand what's going on inside of you then Onigumo will have to wait," replied Inuyasha seriously.

 

"Do you realize what you are saying!? Any delay only increases Onigumo's power and influence, making him an even more formidable enemy to strike down!" exclaimed Kikyo in disbelief.

 

"We can't fight him as we are now and you know it!" snapped the hanyou sharply. "You're changing because of my blood and the confusion you feel is dividing us. As much as I may want to kick Onigumo's butt right now, I'm not so stupid as to think we stand a chance as we are now!"

 

"And what do you propose then? People undergoing the same change as I are not exactly a common occurrence in case you had not noticed," shot back the miko angrily.

 

"Maybe... but it still doesn't mean no one can help you now does it?" answered the hanyou cryptically.

 

"You mean you actually know someone who..." blinked the woman in total astonishment.

 

"Yeah I do. In this entire world, I don't think anyone knows more about youkai... than the old Rishido," answered Inuyasha gravely.

 

******

 

Sitting in the room he was now confined in, Onigumo or, as he was now known, Naraku, waited patiently for his spy to return. After the little incident with Toran the other day, the youkai had quickly realized that if he wanted to live to see his plans coming to fruition, he would have to bide his time. He did not really mind his present state though as it allowed him to experiment with his powers. That was how he was able to find out he could actually create an inverted barrier that would shield him from the outside world while being totally undetectable at the same time. A pretty nifty trick that insured that whatever he did in his room stayed in his room.

 

Finally, after an interminable wait, the familiar buzzing at his window announced the arrival of his spy. Sliding the frame open, he allowed his trusty bug inide and waited as it reported what it had saw.

 

"So it is as I predicted after all," he commented with a satisfied smirk. "Kikyo's powers have been defiled by the youkai blood she acquired from Inuyasha and she no longer has the ability to purify it."

 

As the report progressed however, his satisfaction was gradually washed away by amusement. "Interesting. Do they really believe things to be so simple that consulting an old hermit will put an end to their problem?" he chuckled darkly. "They are more foolish than I thought."

 

Standing up, he walked to his wardrobe and fumbled through its content for a few seconds before extracting a matching pair of wooden figurines and a small pot of damp soil. Glancing at it for a moment, he allowed yet another smirk to grace his features as he remembered how easily it had been to manipulate the guards at the door into bringing him this. Toran might think she had him confined in this chamber, but if he wanted, all he had to do to escape was walk right out the door and nobody would be able to stop him.

 

Coming back to the present, he placed the pot carefully on the ground and fished one of the two wooden figurines into the soil. He then muttered a small incantation and the figurine he had kept in his hand flashed once with an ominous red cloud before becoming completely still once again.

 

"Of course, it would be no fun if Kikyo actually did manage to find all the answers she's currently seeking now would it?" he questioned to the empty air.

 

Then, turning to the small bug hovering patiently in the air, he threw the enchanted wooden figure it and smiled. "Make sure to deliver this to our friends when they reach the old hermit my faithful saimyoushou. It should provide them with a good enough entertainment," he ordered and the bug flew out the open window.

 

He watched the rapidly disappearing form of his faithful servant for a while before he allowed a cold chuckle to escape his lips. "Oh yes, a very good entertainment indeed," he repeated before sliding the shutter close.