InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nikanaru ❯ A Split Second of Hope ( Chapter 8 )

Previous Chapter Illustration:

 

www.deviantart.com/view/23680389/

 

I went with graphite pencils this time as opposed to my usual inking. Not a bad effect, I suppose.

 

I showed this to my fucking roommate, and he told me it looked like Al was jerking Max off. Now I see it too, dammit.

 

…and…uh, now you do too…dammit.

 

Nikanaru

 

Chapter 8

 

A Split Second of Hope

 

Or

 

Asshole Author Suddenly Remembers that he's Supposed to be Writing Something and Shamefully Returns with an Installment You Could Crush With Your Pinky Toe.

 

???? Years Ago

 

Early rays of reddened sun began to splay their way across the green landscape, seeping through small cracks in the foliage that was the roof of the forest. A time when days began anew, when creatures of all shapes and walks of life awoke to continue their existence. The sun blazed into the pink morning sky particularly brightly, as though inviting all life to the awakening of a beautiful and enjoyable day.

 

But none answered that invitation. There was no life. Barely were there the stirrings of any creatures. No howling of roosters from nearby villages. No chirping or singing of any birds. Even the air itself was stilled, as no branches swayed in the breeze. The spotty, shadowed canvas covering the forest floor was unnaturally still. The dawn greeted the morning virtually alone.

 

Perhaps they had known what was coming. Many held a belief that nature itself could foretell the comings of misfortune in an environment, and act accordingly. Rats would abandon a ship in anticipation of it sinking. Birds would flee the trees moments before violence broke out in the grounds below. And here, all forms of life had fled, if they were capable of it, from something. If the degree of desertion in the forest was of any indication on the severity of this danger, then it was something of truly fearful proportions.

 

But the forest wasn't deserted. Not completely. At least two people were there, although not by choice. There were places far safer than this, where they were far less likely to be hunted down and killed. But that would have only delayed what he had already accepted as inevitable. His exhaustion was evident, as from the torn, sweat-stained clothing and the heavy bags under his eyes. This was not the result of merely running for hours, but fleeing for days; Running, hiding, walking when possible, but never stopping. Not once resting from his given task. It was the maddening kind of resolve that could only come of one who had already accepted that his fate was sealed. There was nothing he could do…nothing that would matter, nothing that would change anything, nothing that would make a difference, except for one thing…and by the Gods, he would do it.

 

He was running for salvation. Not for himself, but for the wailing baby in his arms.

 

“Please, Nikanaru…” Stragled from the endless running as those lungs were, the pleas he hopelessly laid upon the child were uselessly hoarse. But he tried anyway. That's what he'd always been taught, no matter what the situation. He would not give up, not on this mission, nor the child. “…c'mon, quiet down. Please. They'll hear you.” But the child wailed on, and no one could blame him. Three days of suddenly being separated from the bosom of his mother, three days of meals barely adequate for any healthy child, three days of being harshly held in the arms of a caretaker constantly on the run, and three days of barely any sleep. If the child were old enough to understand what was going on, understand the danger they were in, then perhaps he would have withheld voicing his displeasure with the current circumstances. But as it was, he was an innocent baby deprived of everything he should have, and was crying its lungs to pieces over it.

 

All that the child's fox demon caretaker could hope to do at this point was pump his already exhausted paws even harder against the ground. Nikanaru would not appreciate the greater jolts in movement, but there could no placating the infant now. They were too close now… but so was Naraku. To stop now would be failure. It would be his life…and the baby's.

 

“Easy…” The kitsune soothed, petting the child on the head. It may have been fruitless to even bother to calm Nikanaru down at this point, but what he did, he did out of love, not for the sake of survival tactics. “…we're almost there. I promise you'll be okay.” The more they raced on, the more and more he was starting to recognize the territory he was in. It had been almost two years since last he'd last been here, but it was all just as he'd remembered it, save for the lack of any animal or insect life whatsoever.

 

Almost there.

 

An unnatural wail screeched across the landscape. It was close, and the kitsune dared to look behind him. Thundering footfalls could now be heard, and trees were being carelessly slammed off to the side by whatever lunged through the forest canopy. It was coming for them, and coming fast. It seemed impossible at the time, but he managed to push himself even further and run even harder. It had barely made a difference, though, as the menace came crashing through the trees at an unholy speed, and would easily overtake him. Tactfully, he suddenly turned himself 90 degrees and leaped forth, barely dodging the lunging behemoth.

 

All of his training this past year had clearly paid off, as that lunge sent him flying several yards away from his pursuer, whose momentum was still sending it off in the wrong direction. Soon, he found himself dashing out from under the trees and into the clearing of a familiar village. He had originally intended to go around it so as to not lose the stealthy cover that the forest could provide, but seeing as how the enemy had already found him, the best option available to him was a direct beeline for his final destination.

 

The village was abandoned. No doubt word had gotten to the people and they'd fled. Mercifully, there were no stubborn stragglers vowing to defend their land at all cost. Lady Kaede was a strong and respected leader, and had doubtlessly convinced everyone that they had no choice but to leave. Dashing through the fields and cutting around the huts, he once again heard the infuriated wail of the creature behind them. Daring to look back once again, it crashed through the trees and into the fields, and he was able at last to discern what infested creature was perusing them.

 

Appropriately enough, it was a massive, house-sized tarantula demon. Naraku had always had a penchant for arachnids. Normally, despite their immense size, tarantula demons were quiet and stealthy hunters. However, under Naraku's infestation, it was like a volatile bull, charging recklessly and unstoppably at its target. And with those multiple legs pumping furiously, it was gaining on them fast. Despite the distance that the kitsune had managed to put in between himself and the monster, he could tell already that it would overtake them before he reached their target.

 

This is where the combat training would come in handy. No longer was he some childish prankster who relied on illusions and tricks to confuse and distract opponents. He had made a vow to protect her, and her child, and he had had to become strong in order to fulfill it. And even if he had already failed to protect her, he was sure as hell not going to give up on Nikanaru.

 

Within him, he began charging up his energy, or as much of it he had left in him. Just as he'd managed to clear the village and head for the forest path, the tarantula had already started smashing through the huts between it and its prey as though they were nothing. Only a few yards left to cover…he had to time this right if he was going to succeed. He knew he wasn't strong enough to destroy the tarantula entirely, but he could wound it enough to give him the precious few seconds he needed.

 

And suddenly, off in the closing distance, there it was…the Bone-Eater's Well.

 

No sooner had he spotted it than the tarantula unleashed a battle cry as it leaped into the air, lunging for them again. Turning around fast, he took careful aim at the skyborn arachnid.

 

“FOXFIRE!!!” Ages ago, it would have simmered forth from his fingers with barely enough intensity to light a paper on fire. Now, however, it blasted out with a rush of fierce concentration and power. The green fireball blazed across the morning sky and struck true, managing to blast off one of the tarantula's legs. Screeching in pain, the beast lost its balance and came crashing clumsily down into the ground a few meters behind them. Not hesitating for a second, he leapt for the well, timing his jump perfectly to leap down into it.

 

Truth be told, he hadn't been entirely certain if this would work at all. He knew only certain few people could travel through the well, and Nikanaru had never tried before. But he was her son, so he prayed immensely that whatever it was about a person that permitted them to use the well was hereditary. In any event, he had to try. The child would be unquestionably doomed if it stayed in this world.

 

His faith, his hopes, and his efforts were justified to him when a familiar blue light began to shine as he descended a few feet into down into the wooden shaft.

 

And it was all torn away when the leg he'd burnt off the tarantula fell in after them, grazing the baby in the head. That brief, split-second touch was all that was needed for the black tendrils in the decapitated leg to whip out and imbed themselves into the child.

 

“NO!!!!” His wail echoed against the right walls as he wanted to stop, wanted to do something… but it was too late. Nikanaru was de-materializing in his arms, the light of the well taking him. When the kitsune struck the bottom of the well, and the light was gone…and so was Nikanaru.

 

“No…no, no, no, no, no!” Desperate, beyond reason, he leapt back up and down into the well again, logically knowing that it would not work for him. But he tried anyways, and was predictably treated with nothing but gravity and a dirt-bottom. No blue light. No warp.

 

No hope.

 

Clutching his red hair, he fell to his knees in the agony of his own failure. Now things were even worse than they might have been had he chosen to do nothing…not only was the child he had sworn on an oath of honor and love to protect now infested, but that infestation had been sent to the other world, where it could once again begin to spread and conquer, just as it had here.

 

Looking up out of the rim of the well, he saw that the infested tarantula had recovered, staring down at him through the rim of the well with murder and rage in its eyes. It was too big to fit down the narrow passage, and it wouldn't dare try to destroy it in order to get to its prey, but it had him hopelessly cornered.

 

“Kagome…” He murmured, clenching his watering eyes in defeat. “…I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…”

 

 

 

Author's Notes:

 

Short chap. Yes, I'm just throwing you all a bone, here. I never thought I'd sink so low. I had intended for this to be the lead in for what I'd intended to be the whole chapter, but, I swear to God, this is all I've been able to write this month. University's been wrapping up for the winter, so between that and my job, I've pretty much had to kiss my free time goodbye.

 

Well, I SHOULD have something more substantial within a week or so. So, apologies to those of you who've been consistently reviewing. You people are the main reason that this hobby is so worthwhile.

 

Stay cool, baby.