InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Journey of the soul: The panther devas' plot ❯ To save an arm ( Chapter 12 )

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 11: To save an arm

 

"Well, if I had any doubts, they've just been cleared big time," observed Shunran as soon as Kikyo disappeared from view.

 

"What do you mean?" shot back Karura in confusion.

 

"Well it's rather obvious that neither of you guys is totally human. Inuyasha was pretty obvious, but you and that miko were a bit harder to spot."

 

"What gave it away?"

 

"For Kikyo, it was general behavior. No matter how you look at it, she acts like an alpha female... and that's not typical human behavior. As for you, it was your unusual regenerative powers. The wounds you had when we met yesterday are already mostly healed so again that made me suspicious."

 

Karura chuckled slightly at this. "You're pretty damn observant, I didn't think you'd figure that much out after only a day."

 

"Well, I do have the reputation of being the smartest of my tribe," shot back the youkai with an arrogant smirk.

 

"Yeah... and also the one with the biggest ego," snorted the woman in derision.

 

"Hey! Take that back!" countered the youkai playfully.

 

"Make me," shot back Karura with a mischievous smirk.

 

"You're gonna regret those words!"

 

With that said, Shunran launched herself at Karura with all the speed she could muster. When she was within range, she threw a punch at her opponent, but met only air as the other woman had dodged sideway. For a split-second, surprise caused her to drop her guard, but it was enough for Karura to ground her own fist in her gut causing her to stumble backward as all the air was forced out of her lungs.

 

"Is that all you've got? I was expecting a little more," mocked the woman, making Shunran snort.

 

"Don't get too cocky. I'm just warming up."

 

Then started a furious exchange of blows and dodges that went by so incredibly fast that it was impossible to follow it with the naked eye. Being prepared for everything this time, Shunran did not let surprise stall her movements and as such, she was easily able to block whatever Karura aimed her way. On the other hand, she couldn't seem to land a single hit on the woman either. Whatever she did, the human would evade with an agility that rivaled her own.

 

However, fate decided to play in the youkai's favor because just then, Karura's foot caught in a root and she stumbled backward. Seeing her opening, Shunran promptly launched herself forward and tackled her opponent to the ground. She immediately brought her claws to the human's throat, thus stopping her struggle to get free.

 

"Now then, what was it about me being too full of myself?" she asked victoriously.

 

Karura opened her mouth to answer in kind when suddenly, a red blur collided with Shunran and sent her sliding at least ten feet away. Hardly understanding what was going on, Karura could only watch in surprise as Inuyasha bounded forward, claws extended, his intentions evident. Luckily, the youkai was swifter and she jumped to the side, quite effectively avoiding the assault.

 

"Dammit dog breath! What the hell's your problem!" snapped Shunran.

 

"I'm the one who should be asking you this. We welcome you, treat your wounds, give you our help... and what do you do to thank us? You practically kill Karura!"

 

"I wasn't about to kill her you idiot!"

 

"Of course you weren't! You had your claws at her throat!"

 

"STOP!"

 

One word, yet it sliced through the air like a knife through butter. At once everyone froze in mid-motion and turned to the source of the voice that had just spoken. Kikyo was standing a few paces away, her eyes smoldering with barely contained rage.

 

"I want a full explanation and I want it now!"

 

"Shunran and I were getting bored while waiting for the two of you to return so we decided to spar. Inuyasha just happened to walk in on us while Shunran had me pinned to the ground and he drew the wrong conclusions," explained Karura hastily.

 

The miko's eyes immediately locked on the panther youkai, mutely demanding some sort of confirmation.

 

"She's telling the truth. We were just having a bit of fun."

 

Kikyo's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she took in the scene once more and her frown intensified. But after a few seconds of scrutiny, she snorted in derision and whirled around. "This is stupid," she muttered as she walked away.

 

When she was gone, it was as if a hidden weight had been lifted from everyone's shoulder and a collective sigh of relief could be heard echoing through the surrounding trees.

 

"Damn, that was scary," commented Shunran.

 

"Tell me about it," agreed Karura.

 

"If you two idiots weren't so damn misleading then we would have avoided this whole situation!" snapped the hanyou irritably.

 

"So we're to blame for this!? What about you? You immediately passed me on as guilty without even giving me a chance to explain!"

 

"Well it's your damn fault for being in such a threatening position! What was I to think with your claws at Karura's throat!"

 

The said woman couldn't help but roll her eyes as the argument started to degenerate into childish bickering. Shaking her head, she got back to her feet and dusted herself off before stretching her sore back. She was about midway through her motion when her eye caught the shape of a bee sitting on the branch of a nearby tree. Not really finding this discovery worth noting, she continued on with her stretching and stopped, the gears of her brain suddenly spinning into motion.

 

Inuyasha and Shunran were standing about seven feet away and the tree was easily twice as far. At such a distance, it would have been impossible to spot a bee on a branch. Not even giving herself time to finish her reasoning, she drew her sword and darted forward, blasting beside the arguing pair with such speed that they both stopped and stared in wonderment.

 

Noticing the rapidly approaching threat, the insect promptly took to the sky. Reacting instantly, Karura jumped up on the branch the bug had vacated a second before and propelled herself upward toward her target, bringing her sword down in a vertical swipe. However, at the last second, the creature altered its course and the blade that should have chopped it in half cut only air. Still, the air disturbance caused by the passing of the sword was enough to make the insect lose control of its flight and start spiraling down toward the ground.

 

Just as it was about to crash, the creature managed to stop its fall and right its trajectory... only to be met by the imposing form of Shunran who barred its escape path. In a totally unexpected gesture, the bug threw itself at its opponent and plunged its stinger in the youkai's arms. Crying out in pain, the panther youkai plunged her claws in the bee's abdomen and violently threw it to the ground where it remained motionless.

 

"Shunran, are you okay?" questioned Karura worriedly.

 

"I'll be fine, I just didn't expect this thing to act that way."

 

"But it stung you. Doesn't that worry you? I mean we have absolutely no idea what that thing was."

 

"Keh! Don't worry, that thing's too small to do any real damage to a greater youkai. That thing's venom is probably meant to act as a deterrent on lower-class youkai who are much weaker," cut in Inuyasha as he managed to catch up to the two women.

 

"My, is that a compliment? That's a first for you Inuyasha," teased Shunran with a suggestive smile.

 

Looking at the panther as if she had just lost her mind, the hanyou put his hands in his sleeves and snorted in derision. "I'm just stating the obvious. If you want to take this as a compliment then do what you like!"

 

With that said, he whirled around and walked briskly away, leaving the two women to stare at his rapidly retreating back.

 

"Well, I suppose that settles it. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

 

"Yeah, yeah. Stop worrying over nothing. I don't feel anything anymore."

 

"Well if you're sure," shrugged the woman in dismissal. "Still, what do you suppose that was?"

 

"No idea... but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say Naraku has something to do with this."

 

And Karura could only snort in response to the obvious statement.

 

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Something was wrong with her. Things had started shortly after they had resumed their progression. Her arm where the creature had stung her started feeling slightly numb. Thinking the sensation would eventually go away, Shunran hadn't paid much attention to it... and was now paying the price. The numbness had gradually started spreading until she could barely feel her arm at all. And as if that wasn't enough, now her vision was beginning to waver.

 

"Shunran? Are you sure you're okay?" questioned Karura when she noticed the youkai stagger.

 

"Y... Yeah," muttered Shunran weakly.

 

"I'm not buying it!"

 

"M... Mind your... own business!" snapped the youkai. "I'm telling you... I'm... perfectly..."

 

But the panther never got to finish her sentence because just then, she collapsed forward, unconscious before she even hit the ground.

 

"Shunran!" exclaimed Karura in alarm.

 

Immediately, Kikyo and Inuyasha were there, the miko promptly kneeling beside the sick youkai and turning her over on her back. Placing her hand on Shunran's forehead, the miko grimaced.

 

"She's burning up. What on earth happened to her?"

 

"Well hum," stammered Karura somewhat sheepishly. "Remember the little incident with the bee we talked about earlier today?"

 

Kikyo nodded, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Well... she sort of got stung on the arm."

 

Grunting in frustration, the miko lifted the youkai's sleeve and everyone gasped in horror. Shunran's normally peachy skin was now a sickening purple all over with red stripes mixing in the lot.

 

"It seems that 'bee' had quite a potent venom. Who had the bright idea of not telling me about this?"

 

Not surprisingly, Kikyo's question was only met with silence and downcast eyes. "Nevermind, we need to treat this immediately or she won't make it!"

 

Looking around, the miko quickly made her decision. "Help me take her over there," she ordered, pointing to a small cave not far from where they currently were.

 

A short staggering walk later, the sick youkai was lying on the ground, away from any further prying eyes. "Karura, water, lots of it, as much as you can bring me! Inuyasha, a strong fire with lot of wood enough to last the night! NOW!" she snapped as she herself started to rummage through her bag for her medical supply.

 

Understanding the urgency of the situation, the pair promptly scurried away in search of the desired items. One look at the sun made Kikyo grimace. At most, she had about an hour of daylight left, meaning that Shunran would most likely be sick through the night. With Inuyasha and she losing their youkai powers, it left only Karura able to defend them should a threat arise. Their situation wasn't looking good at all.

 

"One problem at a time," she berated herself. "We'll deal with outside threat when and if they come. For now, it's Shunran that matters."

 

A while later, she wasn't sure when, Inuyasha and Karura both returned with what they had been set to fetch. Thus armed with a strong fire and plenty of clean water, the miko set to the task of trying to save Shunran's life.

 

The first thing she did was take a small surgical knife and open a long slice in the woman's arm. A sickening green liquid immediately oozed out of the cut and hissed as it touched the ground. Witnessing this, Kikyo looked at her blade and, sure enough, it was beginning to melt under the corrosive effect of the substance. With a snort, she threw the now useless tool aside and rinsed the wound with clean water.

 

"Will she be okay?" questioned Karura worriedly.

 

"Difficult to say. The acidic substance oozing out of her wound renders pretty much every treatment I can provide useless. Herbs would be dissolved without having time to act... and that's only if I can touch her long enough to actually apply something without losing a finger myself."

 

"So there's nothing you can do?"

 

"I'll keep rinsing the wound with water in hope that it will draw out enough poison to actually save her. Otherwise... I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut her arm off."

 

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Karura in outrage.

 

"It's the only way to keep the poison from spreading. Believe me, I am not finding this any more amusing than you do, but to save her life I will not hesitate."

 

"Why?"

 

The word was hardly above a murmur yet, at once every head whipped around to stare at the youkai in disbelief.

 

"Why would... you go to such... length to... save me?"

 

"You are being silly and you are wasting valuable strength Shunran," scolded the miko. "Life is not something so trivial that it deserves to be taken away needlessly."

 

"Yet... you... never... would have... treated... a youkai... before... would you?"

 

Such a simple question, yet the shock it caused Kikyo was absolutely phenomenal. The sick panther was absolutely right. Not even a month before, she wouldn't have lifted a finger to save a youkai's life. She would even have finished it off without a second thought. However, there she was, fighting desperately to keep this one alive. What had changed so much? Could this be another side-effect of Inuyasha's blood or was it something else altogether?

 

Shunran's weak chuckle brought the miko out of her musing and she firmly pushed these needless thoughts out of her mind for the time being.

 

"Save your worthless rhetoric for later. I mean to save your life regardless of whether it contradicts what I'm supposed to stand for or not!"

 

"Suit... yourself, but I doubt... you will... manage to do... anything. The only... thing that... could save me... are sennensou berries... and none grow... in this... area."

 

"Where's the closest patch you know of?"

 

"On the slopes of... rocky mountains... they sometimes grow there."

 

"The closest mountain we've seen is days behind us now! Don't you know any other way to treat you?" snapped Inuyasha irritably.

 

"Cut... my arm?" whispered Shunran with a wry smile on her face.

 

"You are extremely funny Shunran... but now is not the time to joke. I do not wish to have to cut off your arm."

 

"Neither... do I."

 

"It would seem that we agree for once. Now why don't you just lie back and get some sleep. You're going to need all the strength you can muster."

 

"Fine... mother," chuckled the youkai before closing her eyes.

 

After that, Kikyo returned to her treatment and no more words were exchanged. As the minutes ticked by, it quickly became apparent that the miko's action were not having much of an effect at all. The poison continued its slow progress up Shunran's arm and Kikyo saw with growing dread the time when she would have to cut the youkai's arm off.

 

It was around then that something strange happened. Busy as she was, she hadn't really paid much attention to what was happening inside of her, but she had still been vaguely aware of her youkai blood stirring inside of her in anticipation of the coming new moon. Since it had been this way all day long and she knew what it meant, she had grown to ignore it. However, she was completely unprepared for what it would feel like when the sun actually went down.

 

It all happened extremely suddenly. She felt a ripping sensation, as if a layer of skin had just been peeled away from her. Then, a searing pain exploded all over her body as everyone of her nerve cells seemed to awaken at once. She opened her mouth to scream, but even her voice failed her. Luckily for her, the sensation subsided after only a few seconds, leaving her a panting mess on the floor.

 

"You'll get used to it after a time."

 

The voice made her stiffen in surprise. It was at once extremely familiar yet completely different than what she was used to hear. It was masculine and every accents and intonations definitively belonged to Inuyasha. Yet it completely lacked its usual coarse quality, making it sound soft and almost musical. Feeling somewhat apprehensive of what she might be confronted with, she raised her head and froze dead in her tracks.

 

Before her stood an Inuyasha the like she had never imagined before. His long and silky black hair fanned out on his back, framing a face that somehow managed to achieve a perfect balance between roughness and kindness. The two violet eyes staring down at her complimented the ensemble wonderfully and the miko found her throat running dry despite herself.

 

It was quite possible that things might have gone a bit further than casual staring had Karura not coughed lightly, thus breaking the moment. At once, the two literally jumped away from each other, the hanyou going to stand at the entrance and the miko busying herself with checking up on Shunran's wound.

 

"What do you think Kikyo? Will you be able to save her arm?"

 

"Unless you know a way to purify the poison in her arm then I'm afraid anything I might do will only delay the inevitable."

 

"But you're a priestess aren't you? Aren't your spiritual powers enough to get rid of that thing eating her arm?"

 

"When I drank Inuyasha's blood, my powers realigned. I no longer have the ability to purify anything," answered the miko sadly.

 

"Not tonight," cut in the hanyou.

 

"Not tonight? What do you mean?" questioned Kikyo curiously.

 

"You're human tonight Kikyo... have you already forgotten?"

 

The miko's eyes widened in both surprise and realization at this. Inuyasha was right, her youkai blood had just gone into dormancy... taking with it every single ability and side-effects she had been forced to endure for the past month or so. In other words, she was now completely human, both physically... and spiritually.

 

"Seems like we're lucky in our misfortune. Kikyo, do you think you can do this?" asked Karura hopefully.

 

"I shall try my best. Still, this will remain a delicate operation. Shunran is a youkai. If I misjudge the amount of energy I pour into her, I will end up purifying her instead of the poison."

 

"That's at least better than nothing. Do you need us for anything?" questioned Karura eagerly.

 

"No. My powers will nullify her youki for a time so I plan on making things as short as possible for her sake. I will fire one concentrated blast of energy straight into her arm and then hope for the best."

 

"I see, so even now there's the chance she might lose her arm."

 

"Yes... though now there's also a chance she will keep it."

 

"Well that's good enough for me."

 

"Good... then I advise both of you to step back. Shunran's reaction to my powers will most likely be a violent one."

 

"What about you? Will you be all right?" questioned Inuyasha worriedly.

 

"With my powers enveloping me, Shunran will not be able to touch me so I will be fine."

 

Not looking at all convinced by this explanation, the hanyou threw one very skeptical glance at the miko before walking of the cave, followed closely by Karura. Once she was all alone with her patient, the woman took a deep breath to steady herself and summoned up her powers.

 

Gazing down at the youkai's wounded arm critically, she tried to gage the amount of power she would need to purify the poison without causing too much harm to Shunran. The poison ran deep and it was extremely potent so she'd need a strong blast. She also needed the energy to be widespread so it could encompassed the entire sick region and take out all of the poison in one shot.

 

"Strong and widespread. I suppose that's as precise as I can ever hope to be," she reflected grimly.

 

Focusing her powers into her hands, she let it build up for a few seconds to the desired intensity and when she was ready, she set her features and offered one last prayer to her patient.

 

"Shunran, I hope you will forgive me... for this is going to hurt."

 

And she let the blast go.

 

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Author's note: Well, I suppose I lost interest for a while and that's why I stopped updating. But now, that interest has been sparked anew. We'll just have to see where it leads me. Expect a bunch of updates in the next few days as I catch up with my backlog.