InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ New Journey ❯ 27 ( Chapter 27 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Inuyasha was struggling with the tomcat a bit.
"Earth Acopolyse!" He shouted. Bits of dirt started
swirling around the tom, cutting into its flanks. The
tom smiled, baring its ugly fangs. Inuyasha tensed, but
the tom didn't attack. It whirled around and grabbed
Kagome, using her as a shield.
"Can't hit me now, huh mutt? Your woman is mine!" the tom
made to move away, but what the cat didn't expect was how
angry Kagome could get, and how violently she could attack
when mad.
"I am not your woman! Get your hands off me!" Kagome slapped
him, drawing blood where her claws raked against his cheek.
The tom looked shocked for a moment, but then recovered.
"Is that any way to speak to me? Do you know who I am?!"
"A tomcat?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, but I am also the second Lt. to the second-in command!
I should get some respect!" The tom looked proud of himself,
but then his chest exploded forward and he fell. Sango was
behind him- she had hit him with her spikes.
"Thanks." Kagome said.
"No problem, just help us with our youkai!" Sango yelled.
Kagome nodded and attacked with her sword.
"Mikos Tears!" A large water blast exploded from her sword
and hit the youkai hard. "Inuyasha, take over. I'm going to
help Shippo and Koga with that kitsune!" Kagome cried.
Inuyasha nodded.
"Song of the Sea!" Sango cried. A keening sound came from the
sword. The others were annoyed, but the youkai's ears started
bleeding. It screamed and clawed at them.
"Sango, Kagura, get clear! Inuyasha, you too! I'll suck it
in!" Miroku yelled. The youkai turned to Miroku, not expecting
much of a challenge. Miroku didn't look all that formidable,
just like a cloak floating in the wind.
"What are you going to do to me, little man?" it asked, baring
it's muddy teeth, not noticing or not caring that the others
were backing up. Miroku hefted his sword, calling out:
"Space Vaccum Obliteration!" A black hole formed at the end of
the sword, sucking the unsuspecting youkai into its depths.
Miroku closed the black hole with a thought.
"Let's go help Shippo." Kagura said. They all turned to the last
battle. inuyasha watched with avid eyes. Kagome and Shippo were
fighting Kagome. Waitaminute, that couldn't be right. With dawning
horror, the group realized that while they battled the youkai, the
kitsune had transformed into a copy of Kagome. As they watched,
Koga was knocked out. Shippo had been out long before. Kagome was
left to face the copy, whichever one that was.
"Sango! What do you know about adult kitsune?" Inuyasha yelled at
her.
"They are great at putting up illusions. If they choose to copy
someone, they are rarely found out, if ever. Extremely skilled kitsune
are able to mimic their prey perfectly, and no one can tell that someone
is being impersonated unless they have witnessed it or are about to be
killed." Sango shrugged helplessly. "I can't tell you more. A friend
of the village was killed by a kitsune who was impersonating his wife.
The only advantage we have is that the kitsune sometimes slip up, but
otherwise, we have no chance. Kitsune like this can impersonate people
down to their clothing and attacks." Inuyasha gritted his teeth. He had
no way of knowing which was his Kagome and which was the kitsune.
*Kohaku/Nari*
Kohaku had been crying for what seemed like ages, but had only been a
few minutes. He thought about how he and Nari had met, how scared that
they had been after Inuyasha's apparent death........ Wait! Hadn't
Kagome brought Inuyada back, using her hand to stimulate his heart and
her breath used to fill his lungs? Kohaku might be able to do the same
thing! He tried to remember everything that Kagome had done. Inuyasha
had been laid on his back, away from any but Kagome. He glanced around
with disgust. Fat chance that they'd be interrupted here. He glanced at
the floor, quickly assessing the ground. Bloody, but that was the least
of his concerns. He gentely placed Nari on the floor and tipped her head
up, like he had seen Kagome do. He thumped once on her heart and listned.
No response. Again, and again, no response. He tried a third time and
her heart started beating again weakly. He opened her mouth slightly and
breathed in. He did this over and over until he heard Nari cough and say
his name.
"Ko.... Koha....ku?" She cried out weakly. He seized her hand, gripping
it like it was made out of glass, a priceless treasure.
"I'm here Nari. I'm always here." Kahaku was crying again, happy that he
had her back. Nari started crying.
"I was so... scared!" Nari cried as loud as she could, still not
completely over her near-suffocation. "I was worried that you wouldn't
get here on time!"
"I nearly didn't. You were dead Nari, I came too late, but I saved you
using that technique that Kagome used on Inuyasha when he nearly drowned.
I nearly lost you, and if I had......" Nari hugged him, sitting up a little.
"It's okay, you couldn't have done anything. You saved me, that's what counts."
"But I nearly lost you, and it would have been all my fault. It was all
my fault that you died, if only for a few minutes."
"It's not your fault. I seem to remember a certain someone saying something
to me, a long time ago. 'It's not your fault. I like my life as it is now.'
Recognize those words?" Kohaku smiled as he recognized the words that he had
said to Nari when she was feeling guilty.
"But-" Nari put a finger to his lips.
"But nothing. It wasn't your fault. I'm alive, you're alive, the others are
fine. We escaped. We have to find them though. They could be in danger.
Could you help me up?" Kohaku stood up and offered a hand to Nari. She took
it and, hand-in-hand, they walked off into the corridors of the dark castle.
*Inuyasha*
"Kagome!" Both of the Kagome's in front of him turned to look at him. He swore
under his breath. The kitsune wouldn't be easy to find.
"What is it Inuyasha?" The Kagome on the right asked.
"What's wrong?" the other said at the same time. Inuyasha looked at them. they
were exactly alike, kind of like twins. Twins......... Kikyo and Kagome
looked like twins, before Kikyo had been put to rest. Inuyasha was struck
by a thought. What if he....? He gulped. It was his only course of action.
"Kikyo would've had this youkai dead by now Kagome, you're slipping." he
said, hating himself for doing this. 'Please forgive me Kagome.' "Maybe
I should have gone to hell with her. Then I wouldn't be stuck around a
useless and stupid girl like you."
"Inuyasha! OSUWARI!" the Kagome on the left yelled. Inuyasha ran to the
one on the right and slashed downwards. As the Kagome died, it reverted
back into a kitsune.
"Inuyasha! How could you say-" she was cut off as Inuyasha strode over to
her and crushed her into an embrace.
"Thank you. Please forgive for saying that. I didn't know another way to
find out which was the kitsune. I didn't mean any of it."
"It's okay Inuyasha." Kagome wrapped her hands around him. "But that hurt
you know."
"I know. It's better-"
"Inuyasha! How did you know which was the kitsune? What if you had gotten
it wrong?!" Sango yelled at him.
"I wouldn't-"
"What if you killed Lady Kagome instead of the kitsune?" Miroku asked him
angerily.
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH!?" Inuyasha yelled. Everyone grew quiet. "I wouldn't
of killed Kagome because only she would get mad enough at me to forget about
the rosary being off and try to 'osuwari' me. I knew that my comments
would set her off and she'd attempt to 'sit' me. The kitsune wouldn't know about it."
"You still took the risk!" Kagura said.
"It's okay. Inuyasha wouldn't of hurt me. He made sure that I was
me in the only was he could." Kagome said. "Now, let's continue on."
They all nodded, though some of them still shot Inuyasha dirty looks
from time to time. Inuyasha resumed following Kohaku's scent trail,
praying that he wasn't too late and Kohaku was alone, or that the boy
had been foolish enough to confront Rysuki on his own.
"Come on! He went this way!" Inuyash ran down the middle passage, the
others close behind.
*Kohaku/Nari*
"Okay, come on Nari, we're almost at the end of the passage." Kohaku was
supporting half of Nari's weight on himself. He couldn't use his stronger
demon form either- he had morphed human when he brought Nari back- because
she was hanging onto his hands- hands that would become chain sickles if he
was a demon. Just then Inuysaha came hurtling around the corner.
"Inuyasha!" Kohaku called out. "Come help me with Nari!"
"Oi, Kohaku! We've been trying to find you for ages!" inuyasha took Nari
and carried her on his back. "The others are close behind. We have to get out
of here. Who knows how many youkai Rysuki sent on us before he completely
disappeared." Kohaku nodded. They were just about to move to where the others
were, when they heard a rumbling sound. They darted back into the room,
hoping that the youkai wouldn't notice them. No luck. It stuck its massive
head into the room.
"Shimatta! How far behind are the others?"
"Only a few feet! I was in a bit of a rush to find you. Since they're not
here, I think they got lost. Kuso, that means we're on our own." Inuyasha
swore.
"Do you have teamates?" the youkai asked. It stretched its mouth into a wide
smile, baring its fangs. "More meat!" The youkai's smile extended, almost too
big for its face.
"We have to fight." Kohaku said quietly to Inuyasha. "This is a rock youkai I
believe. Tough to kill, but the Air element would help. Nari doesn't have enough
energy to transform, and Kagura isn't here to use her birds. Miroku isn't here either.
Earth and Metal won't be much help. We have a long battle ahead." Kohaku recited
from memory what he had learned from Kagome days ago.
"Do you remember what our weaknesses are?" Inuyasha asked tensely.
"You are weak to Air, and I have a weakness against Fire. Your strong against
Water, and I can defeat an Air element youkai, but that doesn't help. Good thing
Kagome isn't here, or Sango. They'd be hurt bad by this guy. Rock youkai= Earth
element." Kohaku readied his blade.
"Okay, here's the plan-" Inuyasha was about to lay the plan out, but something
interrupted them. As they had been talking, the youkai had been veering for a good
position. It attacked from behind. Kohaku barely had time to block both himself and
Inuyasha, who was still holding Nari.
"Set her down and help!" Kohaku yelled. Inuyasha complied, setting Nari far from the
battle then joining it. This would not be an easy battle........