InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nikanaru ❯ FLASHback ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: Koday

Previous Chapter Illustration:

www.deviantart.com/view/29345462/

I had a hell-iest hell of a time trying to figure how to make their eyes glow in just such a way that they look spooky an' scary, an' shit. I really Hope this does the trick.

That's Infested Souta at the front of the pack, by the way. How axe-murdery is that expression? Oh, and those are infestation tendrisl popping and wiggling out of his finger tips. Eeewww.

Those eyes in back, though, I copied and pasted off an official Naraku image.

Also, a little note: I edited chapter four and added a quasi-masturbation scene.

Yes, you that read right.

Nikanaru

Chapter 10

FLASHback

Vomit, Violence and Competitive Penises

She should have known better.

But perhaps she had known, somewhere deep within herself, ever since day one. It may have been that it was an idea so terrible and saddening that she'd pushed it away from her mind, never giving it the chance to surface and become a conscious thought.

He was given to her a baby. An infant with a completely clean slate. He'd been innocent of all sin, free of a past that could haunt him, free of vice and hatred. It hadn't mattered to her where he'd come from. It hadn't mattered what he was. All that was important was that he was a pure, fresh life that had been entrusted by whatever act of fate into her hands. And she'd been determined beyond all determination to give him a life that was his. That was defined by who he was, and not what he was.

At least, that was the principle by which she raised him by. But what he was, was something that she'd barely even understood. Something that she'd spent most of her life believing to be a myth. Who was she to say that she could guarantee him innocence? Who was she to say that she could absolve him of whatever his being a demon would mean for him?

She couldn't. She was ignorant. Ultimately, all she could offer him were words and rhetoric. She could always tell him that she loved him unconditionally, and that whatever kind of creature he was would never have a gripping effect on his life. All she could ultimately hope to do was protect him from his own fears and doubts, as they were the only things that she believed could ever hurt him.

What's more was perhaps her own selfishness in the matter. From whence she'd been ripped of one child, a pain unfathomable for any caring mother, another child had, through whatever act of fate, been delivered unto her care. Just having Max around, caring for him, raising him, and watching with pride as he grew into a young man, demon, or whatever it is that he was…it had brought a light into her life. A light that she, by her own admission of weakness, had desperately needed.

Nothing could have been done to fill the void left in her heart by Kagome's disappearance, just as nothing could be done to fill any void in her heart that would be left if, God forbid, something ever happened to Souta. But just having Max around…he didn't fill any void left by Kagome, but he did earn a new place in Sakura's heart. A brand new part of her life that managed to give her joy in addition to the son she still had left. Max had become a part of her life in the same way that her two children had been, and she could never fathom losing him either.

And that is, perhaps, why she chose to delude both herself and him into believing they could live here peacefully and be safe, demon inheritance or not.

She should have known better.

And now, she was paying the price for her delusion. Or rather, Max was.

Horror and resignation simultaneously coursed through her as she watched her adopted grandson trade his life for theirs. She wanted desperately to at least tell him how sorry she was, but there was nothing left to do but see him convulse backwards as Naraku infested him…

********

Eight Years Ago

There was a certain irony to having a demon child who was already disguised with a mystic crystal dressed over with yet another layer of costuming. But Sakura could hardly care about any of the semantics.

What mattered above all, as far a she was concerned, was that Max looked undeniably ADORABLE in that little businessman outfit. A nudge to Souta indicated that she wanted him to start filming, seeing as how the curtain going up hadn't tipped him off. She'd assigned that task to him, seeing as how she simply couldn't figure out how to operate these latest camcorders, no matter how idiot-proof they supposedly were. With a grumble, Souta obligingly filmed.

“What?” She whispered over to him.

“Just sympathizing with the poor squirt.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eh…just remembering when they made me do a stupid school play like this.”

“Stupid?? I love these things.”

“Well of course YOU do. Meanwhile, all us kids have to degrade ourselves in front of a bunch of cooing parents wearing stupid costumes and reciting lines written by a some failed children's story author. This is pretty much the public humiliation of the primary school curriculum.”

“Oh, nonsense.” Grandpa huffed at him. “Just because they made you one of the flying monkeys…”

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. “Petrified” didn't even begin to describe what Max felt when those curtains arose. There were people out there. Lots and lots of PEOPLE! All focused on him! It was an damn good thing he only had to stand there for the first few minutes of the play while the other kids recited the introductory lines. Frankly, he didn't think he could move if he tried.

“Things were not well on the Island of Magical Oni. A terrible sickness had stricken all the faeries and pixies, so they could not deliver happiness to the people of the world…” Hikari went on with her introductory narration.

It hadn't at all been like this in rehearsal. There'd been no people there, and no pressure…it had just been him and his class fooling around! Being put on a stage and having a sea of people all looking on him with expectations instilled a kind of stage fright in him that made him wish he'd actually paid attention during the teacher's pep-talk rather than having a funny-face contest with Joe.

When Sari stopped speaking, that was his cue. Panic gripped him instantaneously, as he looked out over the audience and the play paused, waiting for him to deliver his line.

“Uh…uh…” His pipes felt as useless as the rest of him. All those eyes focused right on him felt like a massive pressure pushing up against any of the words trying to come out of his mouth. “…ah…” Seconds passed with Max unable to speak, everyone, especially the other kids onstage, expecting him to DO something. A cough from the audience was more audible than he was right now.

Finally, he spotted Souta, Grandpa and his Sakura in the audience. He kept his eyes squarely on them for a few more seconds as though they were his comfort zone. Sensing his stage fright, as it was quite painfully obvious at the moment, Sakura motioned with her hand for Max to just go for it.

Looking back onto the audience, Max shiveringly opened his mouth to deliver his line. He'd get it out there, no matter how scared he was…

“HhhHHUUUURRRAAAAAGGGHHPPHHHPPLLL!!!” Instead, what he got out there was puke.

Now, hunched over as he was, Max was way too mortified to even look up after pulling a number like that. Gasps and murmurs of disgust were being elicited all over the auditorium, and Max pretty much felt like dying right then and there. Out loud from over all those murmurs, someone burst out in a fit of laughter.

Looking up, he saw none other than Souta slapping his knees in hysteria. Max would've though that Souta was making fun of him if not for the thumbs up his uncle gave him, as if telling Max “Well done!” Despite themselves, Sakura and Grandpa couldn't seem to keep themselves from chuckling as well. Their laughter appeared to have a rolling effect on a few other members of the audience, many of whom joined in the giggling.

The real funny thing, though, was that just seemed to do it for Max. It was as though he'd expulsed all his fear and anxiety from his body (in addition to his lunch). Sort of like when you get dizzy and hurl, then instantly feel better after. Giving his mouth a quick wipe, Max stood back up straight and delivered his line with fearless zeal:

“But despite this terrible sickness, the people of the Island of Magic Oni were determined to perform their sworn duties, no matter what.” Roaring laughter came forth from the entire audience. Max looked out over the sea of people with a huge smile.

“Did you get that?” Sakura called to Souta over the laughter.

“Are you kidding?”

*********

Present

He felt like throwing up.

Wh…arrgh. Why is…Oh, Christ, it HURTS!

It was kind of akin to phantom pain; that thing that happens when you lose a limb, but your mind still fools you into thinking you can feel it. Max had just lost all feeling in his stomach, and said feeling was so icy cold that he mistook it for sheer pain. He'd gladly vomit just so he could make sure that his stomach was still inside him.

It was happening again; everything felt as though it were happening in slow motion, like it had those other times earlier today. The dark tendrils from Naraku penetrated into his system less than a full second ago, but every agonizing fraction of a second felt as if it were a minute. Even now, he could see the spit he'd coughed out at his first convulsion still dangling in the air in front of his face.

The darkness was spreading throughout his body, and he damned whatever force of nature decided that he'd have to experience it in such a torturously slow way. At this frozen moment, all that was with him during what would be his final moments was, alongside the pain and the floating spit, the visage of his uncle, warped miles away from the friendly face he'd always known.

Not wanting this to be the last thing he'd ever see, Max forced his eyes shut while he could still control them enough to do so. Again, it had felt like the task took several moments when it had really taken a shorter burst of time than one might ordinarily even notice. When each lid connected with its opposite, he could resign himself to the oncoming darkness, with only his thoughts and memories to keep him company.

*********

Six Years Ago

The Haunted Horror of Hamburg: Part III

“Bingo!” He'd wanted to see this one for a long time, but the opportunity for it had been an elusive one. Tonight, with his mom and grandpa out for some historical society meeting, Souta could finally bring this blood n' guts fright-fest home and watch it without having to worry about the extreme content offending his elders. “Okay, squirt, you got yours?”

“Yeah.” The kid followed behind. “I got Hurricane Squad Movie.”

“Haven't you seen that already?”

“Five times! It's that awesome!”

“Heh…must be. C'mon.” He motioned as he headed for he cash.

********

After the credits had rolled on that weird little kiddie anime his nephew was so obsessed with, Souta prepared for his grown-up theatrical enjoyment. A new bowl of popcorn, some more soda and…Max? The kid was still sitting on the couch, awaiting Souta's movie.

“Hey, shouldn't you be going off to bed?”

“Huh?”

“It's nine. It's a school night.”

“I don't sleep much. Remember?” If he hadn't been carrying food in both hands right now, Souta would have smacked himself. He'd completely forgotten to take Max's unique sleeping routine into account when planning this out. Originally, he'd intended to sit through Max's movie, send him off to bed and then watch his R-rated horror flick in privacy. This was, according to the rave reviews, an exceptionally bloody and explicit feature, not at all suitable for ten-year olds. His mother wouldn't approve of this at all.

“Well…why don't you go play some computer games up in your room?” He tried, hoping that might keep Max occupied for the next hour and a half.

“Uh…why? I wanna see your movie, too.”

“I…well, I kinda wanted to watch this one alone.” At the look on Max's crestfallen face, Souta wished he'd had chosen his words more carefully. Although Souta was technically his uncle, Max had taken after him as though he were his big brother. It showed in the way he would sometimes follow Souta around like a loyal puppy and always want to do all the thing he did…soccer, video games, giant robo model kits (although that one was to remain strictly between the two of them)…

Plus, the fact that Souta didn't want Max seeing this movie only made it that much more appealing to the kid.

“Pleeeaase?”

“Now, you sure you want to see this? This is a really scary movie.”

“So?” He courageously shot back. “I'm a man.”

“Uuuuhhh…so you are. Okay, you can watch this, but don't tell mom I let you, all right? If you're a man, then this is a secret between men.”

“You mean like those model kits we…”

“Secrets mean we don't talk about them, Max!”

“Oh… Righty-o then!”

*********

20 minutes into the movie, Max was backed up against the cushions of the sofa, clutching his own tail like a security blanked as the suspenseful music crept out the television speakers. The poor little demon looked as though he wanted to just tuck his face behind it for the remainder of the film, but then he'd occasionally glace to Souta sitting next to him, crunching away at his popcorn and watching with zeal. This encouraged Max to try to “man” his way through the scary parts.

Not completely oblivious to the youngling's discomfort, Souta would occasionally tell him:

“You don't have to watch this if you don't want to, you know.” But Max would always reply with a quick shaking of his head. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of one of his role models.

**********

An hour into the movie, the kid was on the edge of his seat, staring bent-over, wide-eyed at the screen, tail and feet wagging in excitement. That ominous music was playing again, a classic indication that at any moment one of the movie's protagonists was about to be offed.

“Oh man, oh man, ohmanohman, here it comes!” Souta was really not sure what to make of the almost bubbly glee with which Max anticipated the upcoming onscreen death. His eyes turned back to the screen just in time to jump at the character's sudden and very grisly demise.

“COOL!!!” Max squealed in delight. “Did'ja see that? He totally got split into, like, five pieces! Man, this is SO wicked!”

Souta was scared, but not on account of anything in the movie. Now Max would have to be talked to about the difference between fantasy violence and the real-life kind. Usually, these kinds of lectures were his mother's domain, but that would mean making her aware that Souta had allowed Max to watch this in the first place. So that left…

“What…did…you…do?” He quietly chastised himself.

********

Present

His body was pretty well infested now. He could feel the spreading darkness all throughout him. He wasn't even sure where he was or what he was doing now. Guessing, he could be on the ground would be a safe one, as he'd been falling down when he'd shut his eyes. And now, he could feel the first inklings of the same darkness invading his mind.

Pfff…and they say the mind is always the first thing to go…I…AAAHH!!! Having the infestation spreading throughout his body was a horrific sensation, certainly, but it was like nothing next to the feeling of it hitting you in the head. When you start to have involuntary movements in your muscles, it's akin to a spasm. But when your mind starts having involuntary thoughts, it's like a nightmare. Only a nightmare you couldn't wake yourself up from.

But it was when it hit his mind that Max, in his fleeting moments of consciousness, experienced feelings and thoughts that clearly weren't his own. No, these emotions were malicious, horrible, deadly, dark kinds that came at him like an invasive swarm of bats. They could only belong to Naraku.

Feeling the same thoughts, the same emotions as Naraku, what was left of Max's conscious mind snapped back into alertness.

No!!!

********

Two Years Ago

“No??” Grandpa repeated the words of the stingy tourist as though they were bile. “How could he say `no' to this? This is a one-of-a-kind sutra!”

“No it isn't.” Countered Max, coming up to the souvenir booth carrying a stack of boxes.

“Well, he didn't know that!” The poor old man leaned against the interior of the booth. “Sales had been lousy these last couple of months.”

“Hey, we are in a recession.” The boy offered as he set the boxes down.

“Pff! I've been through more recessions than I've been through underwear and I've always come out on top.” Bragged the old man, missing entirely his great-grandson's repulsed expression. “I don't understand…am I losing my sales technique?”

“I dunno, but I'm guessing you might've insulted the guy when you told him the sutra was a remedy for impotence.”

“What? That's a hot ticket selling point. Look at how lucrative those hanky-panky drugs have been doing lately!”

`Hanky-panky drugs'? Oh, dear Lord.

“I know, but that still probably shouldn't have been the very first thing you said to him.” As he finished placing all the merchandise on the shelves, Max turned around to see Grandpa giving him the glare of all glares.

Holy shit, what did I do??!

“Okay, wise-guy, then why don't you take the next customer?”

“Huh?”

“You think you're so smart? Think you can trump sixty-plus years of sales experience? Fine. Show me.”

“Wha…no, I didn't mean…”

“Oh, what? Scared now? Afraid to put your money where your mouth is, kiddo?”

Oh, Chrissakes… Much as Max loved the geriatric, sometimes the old guy could be just a childish as…well, Max. And the kid was hardly one to turn down a challenge.

“Fine.” He haughtily stated, striding up to the counter. “Sales you want, sales you shall have.” The two trash-talked each other for several more minutes until a new tourist approached at the booth.

“Goo-o-o-od afternoon.” Max began, sounding perhaps a bit too much like a used car salesman. “What can we do for you this fine day?” The man looked over the trinkets and such in the booth, until he picked up a cheap, but pretty-looking wooden figurine.

“This is nice.” The man mused, turning it over in his hands.

“Yeeaah…” Max replied disinterestingly. “…that's one of the more popular ones. Not really that effective, though.”

“Excuse me, `effective'?”

“See, that's one of those mass-produced trinkets, made to be cheap and pretty-looking for tourists.” He explained. “It's actually the uglier ones, like, say, this charm here that's best to ward off evil-spirits.” At this, the man scoffed.

“Uh…sure. Listen, I'm just looking for something nice to bring home to my wife. No offense, but, just save this spirit crap for another some other sucker with a big wallet.”

Dammit! Max begrudgingly rang up the wooden figure, sparing the occasional glance at Grandpa, who wore an arrogant smirk that said it all. God, he'd probably going to go on about this for the next week. It was getting late, and they'd have to close up shop soon. It was likely that this would be their last client for the day, so there weren't going to be any other chances. Just as the man started to walk a few feet away…

“…The hell?” The man spun around again, his hand on the back of his neck as though something had just hit it. He looked all around for something, whatever it was, but couldn't find it anywhere.

“Something wrong, sir?” Max inquired.

“Something…brushed up against me. It felt like…fur or something.”

“Oooh.” Max exaggerated his expression of realization. “Neko.”

“Wh..what?”

“Neko, the inu spirit.” He explained further. “He's a dog spirit, but he's a bit of a pill because he got named after a cat. Apparently, his parents…kind of hated him.”

“I…” The man jumped again when he felt the same brushing sensation right up in his face. He looked around again, and found nothing that could explain what he was feeling.

“Oh, don't worry, he's harmless.” Max assured him. “He just likes to bug people. Eventually he'll get bored and leave you alone in a few days.”

“D-days?!” The man jumped again when he felt the same furry sensation brush up against his hand, almost making him drop the wooden figure.

“Wait…do you own a cat?” Max asked. “Because he totally has it in for cat people. Really stubborn around them.” Dodging to the side as if anticipating another swipe by the invisible inu spirit, the man jumped over back to the booth.

“Do…do you have anything to…get rid of him??”

“Oh…uh, well, there's this charm here.” He let the man examine a rock with an engraving on it. “This keeps him out of our house.”

“I…” Feeling the brush against his back again, the man laid down the money on the counter and grabbed the rock. Taking a few steps back, the man held out the rock like a pistol, waving and pointing it in all directions. As no more brushes were felt, the man settled down and began to jog away.

“Sir, your change!” Max called out.

“K-keep it!” The man yelled back.

“Oh! Well thank you. Be sure to remember us the next time you get haunted!” He called out as the man left the shrine. When he was gone, Max turned around and waved the big, juicy bill boisterously in his great grandfather's face. Grandpa could only glare back at him.

“You…you did something didn't you?”

“Sorry, can't hear you. My money's too loud.”

“Why…you cheated!” Grandpa accused, finger pointing and all. “You did something with that tail of yours, didn't you?? You know you're not supposed to do that! And you tricked the clientele!”

“Let's see…'yes', `yes', `so what?', and…'yes'.” For the longest moment, Max wore his arrogant smirk with pride while Grandpa narrowed his eyes at him. Then, in a sudden movement that one would never expect form a man in his eighties, Grandpa pulled Max into a big, loving hug.

“I-have-never-been-so-proud-of-you.”

“Uh…?”

“Just…don't tell your grandmother.”

“Uh…???”

*********

Present

No! No, no, no, no, no, NO!!! You lied!

`Evil' is a word that gets thrown around an awful lot in modern society, so the real, fundamental meaning of the word tends to become diluted in people's minds. Max was no different. He'd used “evil” to describe such nuisances as telemarketers, mosquitoes, that one cafeteria lady …

It wasn't until that moment, that very moment were he was able to feel, however lightly, the mind of Naraku, that he truly understood the significance of that word. There was simply no other single word that could be used to properly describe what he sensed in Naraku …it was rage… hatred… jealousy… deceit… greed… lust… darkness… torment… all of it. All of the worst conceivable emotions for a person to have.

YOU LIED!!!

Everyone has those emotions. Max certainly did. But what was so abhorrent about Naraku was that all of these feelings were…reveled within. They weren't just there, they were DOMINANT. Whenever Max had felt any of these dark emotions, it had always been a result of something happening to make him feel that way, and had usually receded with time. But with Naraku, nothing had to stimulate these feelings, they were already there. Naraku's soul bathed in them like warm water.

Even though only the barest amount of Naraku's mind had made itself apparent in Max's, the sheer darkness emanating from it was choking him. If a person's mental state could be regarded as something more physical and tangible, then Max's was being grabbed and attacked with a swarm of glowing red hatred that he'd never have imagined was possible for anyone to possess.

You BASTARD!!

And it was in feeling that touch of evil, just getting the merest sense of how Naraku's mind worked, that Max realized what a huge mistake he'd just made.

There was no way in hell Naraku was going to let his family go.

He'd lied. Max could feel the deceit. It was swallowing him up, and he couldn't do a damned thing about it.

*********

It was rather impressive the way Al had managed to keep herself alert and responsive, even flowing neck-deep as she was in chaos, hostility and utter confusion.

The Higurashi family was being attacked by some unnatural being that could possess multiple bodies: that's all she'd been able to garner about the current situation, but she was nevertheless able to reach than conclusion and simply accept it at face value, without letting herself be paralyzed by the zillions of underlying questions it presented her with. Who, what, when, where, how and why were, at the moment, irrelevant. What was important was what she knew now, and that she just went with that.

The problem was, there wasn't much anywhere she could go. An arm by one of said possessed people still held an iron grip around her neck, and she wasn't stupid enough to give him a reason to squeeze. Like both Sakura and Grandpa, all she could do was watch as…whatever this thing was, did…something to Max.

Whatever that “something” was triggered a series of seemingly involuntary spasms and seizures in Max, just like it had done to Souta. Max was on his knees, trembling horribly and making throaty growls, a kind of monstrous sound that could never have been made by any human. She'd never heard anything like it before, but there was no mistaking it was an indication of the pain Max was in.

She didn't care that she didn't understand the situation. Or that she didn't even fully understood Max. She still knew him well enough to know that he was, in spite of his fair share of flaws, a good person and didn't deserve this. She wanted to do something about it, but, for the life of her, couldn't.

But hadn't that always been the way things went? Most of her life, she'd given so many of her thoughts and prayers to injustices and wrongs happening throughout the world, yet had scarcely lifted a finger to do anything about it. Not since…not since her parent's divorce. Not since all the fighting and her epiphamic realization of how useless all effort was. Not since she'd decided for herself what a horrible and hopeless place this world, and its people were. She hated this place, and resigned herself to simply living in it, no matter how angry the stupidity of humanity made her. She wouldn't contribute to the problems of the world, but she couldn't bring herself to try and stop them if she was only to be met time and time again with the heartbreaking failure. It was inevitable, since that was, after all, human nature.

Watching Max keeling over in pain, she gripped the arm contracting around her throat. Frustration made her pinch into it while tears threatened her dry cheeks. The Infested holding on to her didn't even acknowledge her actions. He too, seemed enthralled with the sadistic beauty of seeing the demon boy's agony.

Somehow, she found that she couldn't just resign herself to failure. What was happening now was too intense, too dramatic to ignore. She felt the desire again…the desperate desire to DO something. Anything to stop the horror happening around her. The sheer wanting now was too powerful to become suppressed like her previous altruistic aspirations. She WANTED to help. She wanted to do ANYTHING at all, rather than just stand and resign herself to useless misery again.

How ironic that the one time in years she truly wanted to make a difference again, she couldn't. Ironic that even though she knew she'd be doomed to failure if she tried, the same failure that was the reason she hadn't even bothered with more trivial problems than this… she still couldn't stop wanting to. Squeezing her eyes shut, all she could do was mutter a plea, useless as she knew it to be, but unable to stop herself all the same, to whatever was listening.

“Please…” She chocked out though her tight throat, releasing all her irrational hope into her voice. “…please…just please make it stop…”

Someone must have been listening, because it did.

********

One Year Ago

Another ethnic war breaks out in some South African country. The U.N. and all powerful countries in a position to help won't do dick. It wasn't the exact headline of the article, but that pretty much summed it up. Why on earth did she even read these things?

“Bullshit!”

“Dude, I swear to God I'm not kidding.”

“What, like, with Sary?”

“Gee, who the hell else have I been dating for the last five months?”

“Well, I figure the only chick willing to give it up to you must be one who didn't know you that well.”

“Fuck you, virgin.”

“What was it like??” Joe, Kato, Max, Ciro and Dai's voices were regrettably clear as Dai bragged quite loudly to his flabbergasted friends. Suddenly surrounded by 11th grade mentality, Al remembered why burying her face in newspapers was, despite it all, the preferable option.

“Well…” Dai's confidence was a little shaken as he seemed to search for the right words.

“What?” Joe inquired.

“We didn't…we didn't go all the way.” Dai finally admitted. “I just got sort of in between second and third base.” An air of utter disappointment hit the rest of the group.

“The hell, dude, you said she made a man out of you!” Ciro growled.

“She did! Boob-touching is the line you cross to achieve manhood!”

“No, it's full-contact sex, you loser! Ask anyone!” Max spat at him.

“Loser? Excuse me, would everyone here who has held a tit in their own hands please raise their arm?” At his own suggestion, Dai immediately raised his. The rest of the group sheepishly left their arms pinned by gravity. “Yeah, maybe you should all shut up.”

“Fine…then what did those feel like?” Joe asked again.

“Oh, man, it was awesome! They're just like bowls of…”

“Hey, assholes.” Al finally called over. All five assholes turned around. “I'm pretty sure Sary's not going to be ecstatic about you discussing her mammary glands right in goddamned public.” Her words hit Dai the same that indignation did, and irritation came pouring in droves out of four of them. Only Max cringed a little, sensing an oncoming shouting match.

“Look, cunt-rag…” Dai began, voice seething with venom. “…why don't you take your holier-than-thou bullshit and…”

“What?” Max loudly interrupted. “It's not like women don't discuss guys' wangs when they get a glance at `em.” All heads snapped back around to address Max's statement.

“They…what the fuck?? They do?!” Kato sounded genuinely concerned about that.

“…No we don't.” Stated Al.

“Oh, maybe you don't.” Max continued, addressing Ciro. “Remember how I once overheard this conversation Son's girlfriend was having with her gal pals? You know… the one where Son bends a few degrees to the right?”

“No shit?” Dai asked.

“Nope. We're being rated, boys.” The guys all paused to look each other over. Where there was once an air of fraternity between men united by love of breasts, there was a sudden tension created by everyone wondering whom amongst them would have the most critically acclaimed shlong.

“I'd totally get the Academy Award.”

“Up yours, you wouldn't even get an honorable mention!”

“Hey, you know…they, uh, they say it's not the tools, it's how you use them.” Kato semi-nervously kidded.

“Fine, so you'd walk away with best special effects. Now, me, I'd bring home the best performance award!”

“Yo, I would totally nail the best stunts category.”

“Yeah, you need some actual production values to qualify that, buddy.”

“I wonder if there's a category for best costume design?”

“Dude, seriously, what the hell??”

The anger they had had against Al was long forgotten as the gang quickly began delving into more fictitious penis-awards they could get nominated for. As they walked away, Max discreetly ducked out of the conversation he'd masterfully instigated so a fight could be avoided, and took a seat next to Al.

“You okay?” He asked with some genuine concern. “You seem a little moreso irritable today.” Max had a talent for diffusing tense situations, but she wondered why he had even bothered with her. Just yesterday, the two of them were having a spiteful argument about a 20-yen tax-hike at the supply store to help improve the school's recycling program. The funny thing was, Max was pretty rare to anger, and even when he did, it was quickly forgotten the next day, usually with him making some overbearing gesture of conciliation. In this case, saving Al from a fight by making his friends self-conscious about their manhoods.

“You know.” She conceded to his sympathy to some extent. “Just the same old crap.” Max leaned over a bit to look at the headline of the periodical in her hand, and “ooh”ed in understanding. As he did, she didn't resist an urge she had to just glance quickly at his golden pupils and those strange markings on his face…the ones nobody else but her seemed to see.

That was her odd little joy in life. She may never come to understand why she saw what she did whenever she looked at Max, but she was glad she could. The fact that there was something unique to this world, something that the stupidity and greed of this people couldn't see and couldn't touch, it gave her the comfort that not everything was completely depressing. The sight was hers and hers alone to behold, even it was something intangible…or, alternatively, a sign of her own insanity. She just…loved the aesthetics of this creature she saw, whatever the reason she did, and she loved the bit of peace it offered her.

“Well, you know what I do whenever I'm down?” Grinning goofily in anticipation, she sensed another bout of stupidity was about to exit his mouth. “I like to just…sing.” Oh, Lord, had she ever called it. “ You remember, those old kiddie show songs? Got my spirits up when I was three, and they still do today!”

“Max…” And this was the whole problem. Max had this most unique and wondrous appearance, one of the few things in this world she could actually look foreword to and enjoy, plus he had an overly friendly and forgiving personality, making it nearly impossible for her to drive him away. But that character would infuriatingly always prove, sooner or later, to have the same immaturity, the same deliberate hedonism that plagued the rest of the world.

“Remember this one?… Do you… Actually, I forget most of the words, but it went something like this: Do you know the Captain…uh…something…Ooo ooo, oooo ooo. What do you think he'd gonna do? Hoooray for the Captain! Make way for the Captain!” Oh, she kenw that one, all right…an old Captain Kangaroo song. There was an ethic war gong on that will likely result in a death toll in the thousands, and he was singing a goddam Captain kangaroo song.

“Max…” She repeated more firmly, fixing him with a murderous glare that could stop a bullet cold. “…no matter how depressed I am or will be, I will always be in a constant state of readiness to reach out and strangle you the second you start singing.”

“Eesh. You and the rest of the world. I'm not THAT bad, am I?” Again! Again he took a serious threat and diffused it into a joke. Another moment passed with the two of them sitting there in silence. “Look…” Max began as he sat up, a merciful seriousness now in his voice. “…there's this meditative gathering that my Great Grandpa leads at the Shrine every Thursday night. If you want to try and get out of your funk and focus yourself…well, it's something.”

Meditation? Well, that is something she'd never given much consideration to. Personally, she didn't put much stock in those kinds of new-age… or old-age therapy junk, but it certainly beat trying to distract oneself with sitcoms.

“Maybe.” She conceded. “Uh…thanks.”

“Not at all.” He cheerfully said while giving her a quick noogie on the head and retreating before she could retaliate. “See you later.”

As he descended down the halls, his back turned to her, Al look the opportunity to gaze at that giant, poofy tail resting on his shoulders, swinging this way and that to avoid passersby. The slight tug at the side of her lips was barely visible.

*********

Present

“EEEYYAAAARRGGHH!!!” The arm around Al's neck snapped away as though it had been dunked in molten lava. Opening her eyes and spinning around in confusion, Al completely missed the dying pink glow emanating from her hands as the Infested man clutched his arm in agony. Specifically, he nursed what appeared to be singe marks where those dark veins underneath his skin once were …somehow, they'd been burnt off.

As mentioned, Al had an impressive ability to act as opposed to react in a given situation. So she only allowed herself to stand dumbfounded and wonder what the hell had just happened for only two seconds until she wisely decided to take advantage of the situation. Making a dash for where she saw Max now rolling on the ground, spasming violently, she moved as fast as she could before the mob of Infested closed in on her.

“Get away from him!!” Naraku/Souta turned around, acknowledging the approach of the girl. A flash of his hand, and Al's throat was surrounded by powerful fingers, cutting off her oxygen.

“Interesting.” He mused, only entertained as she clutched at his arm desperately. He pulled her in closer, examining her terrified eyes with his own violet ones. “I was right. You do have some holy powers.” Not understanding what he'd meant by that, she was only deadly relieved when he relaxed his grip just enough to allow her to breathe again. He stared at her still while she gasped and coughed in new air, appearing to wait patiently for her to finish so that he could properly address her again. “Good. Infesting you will be a little bit more of an effort, but with Nikanaru doing it for me, that shouldn't be a problem.” The grip maliciously increased pressure again. “In fact, you'll be the first one.”

Suspended slightly in the air, just barely on the tip of her toes, she looked over to Max again. Now he lay on the ground barely moving at all, as if in his final death throes, just as Souta had been before his infestation was complete.

“Mrr…m-Max…”

********

Al?

Through all the invading darkness and through all the panic, his ears had just barely been able to pick up what sounded like his oldest friend calling his name.

…No, in fact, that wasn't all. Now that he was listening, he also heard the sound of his grandmother and great grandfather screaming out for him in the distance too.

And now, this deep into Naraku's infestation as he was, he could also swear hearing his uncle's screams…a scream from one dying soul to another.

NO!!!

Resist. He had to try to resist again! Do everything possible to push back against the evil that was suppressing his own soul in his body. He knew now, having brushed minds with Naraku, as horrendous an experience as it was, that the devil had no intention of leaving this place in peace. It was a soul filled with an almost preposterous amount of hatred, and would never leave innocent lives be.

You can't have them!!!

He'd been willing to sacrifice himself for their sake…ready to die…and for them, he'd also fight with every ounce of power his soul had left in it to. He'd fight the darkness!

Grandma!!

His family…his friends…his entire world was in danger from this despicable creature!

Grandpa!!

This world and these people he loved more than anything…no matter how badly it hurt, he pushed against the cover of darkness as hard as he could, looking for something, anything he could use to break through.

SOUTA!!!

But the darkness was everywhere. He clawed and clawed at it frenzily, but found nothing giving way. Still, this only made him push harder…force himself back into control of his body, no matter how much of this evil presence had swept over his being.

AL!!!!!!

It became progressively fruitless. The darkness was about to cave in on him, crushing Max Higurashi once and for all. And with it, his hopes, his dreams, his life, his world. Everything was about to be smothered in this oozing hell, and no matter what he did, he couldn't stop it from happening.

PLEASE!! DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!! SOMEONE HELP!! SOMETHING!!!

ANYTHING!!!

PLEA…*

Screams were drowned out when the Infestation was about to hit the last of him. Max's conscious mind was snuffed out.

…Only… it wasn't the infestation that had done so.

Something else answered Max's pleas.

Max had just woken something up.

*********

“Hrrrrrrrrrgggggghhhhh….”

She went from gasping for oxygen to yelping in pain when Naraku/Souta dropped her. Something urgent had caught his attention…something was going wrong with Max's infestation. It should have been finished by now, but the boy was shaking again…the renewed twitching becoming more and more violent, but not in the same way it had before; he was growling again, yet not in what sounded like it was pain…rather, it sounded aggressive; like he was fighting.

“Damn you, Nikanaru…” Not willing to take any chances, Naraku/Souta once again unleashed the tendrils from his fingertips and moved in to infest Max further.

“HrrAAARRRGH!!!” To the complete shock of the infested man, the demon's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed Naraku/Souta's wrist. While still twitching violently, Max got on his knees, snarling horrendously, challenging Naraku with a glare right in his eyes. Again, Naraku was taken aback when he saw Max's eyes were glowing back and forth between the purple glow of the infested and… a strange, hazy blue light?

Max looked like a television receiving two conflicting signals from its antennae. Each shake and seizure his body had, each inhuman growl to escaped his lips represented a blow being fought from within him to purify himself of Naraku. With another raspy gasp, he suddenly jolted back, releasing Naraku/Souta's wrist. Sensing the opportunity, the infested man went in to deliver another dose of his tendrils, but Max recovered from the stun just in time jump to his feet and shove Naraku/Souta away with a powerful roar. Naraku went flying several feet back, while Max stumbled around on his feet, spasming all the more violently.

“M…Max??” Al slowly got to her knees, eyes on the strange spectacle presented before her. Breathing heavily, Max's eyes continued to flicker between a purple glow and a blue one. A solid burst of purple sent a fierce shock throughout him, elicited another loud growl and sent him to his knees. Naraku/ Souta had gotten back on his feet, he and all the other Infested now approaching the boy. Max seemed to double over while the infestation kept hitting him harder and harder.

Finally, his head snapped up, his back arched and his tail shot out as erupting from the depths of his throat emerged a feral roar, earsplitting in its sheer volume. While this sound shredded across the landscape, pupils once again shone hard blue light. Both the glow and the primal scream grew in intensity until it seemed like Max was about to burst.

“Max?!” Al began crawling toward him, but was knocked back a moment later.

He did burst.

A flash. A light. A wave. An explosion. All could be used to describe what happened when Max's entire body lit up as blindingly as the sun, bathing the entire shrine grounds in white-hot luminance. Simultaneously, something that almost sounded like a bomb going off came out of him, as did a wave of…something.

She didn't know what it was that exploded out of Max. It didn't hit her physically or mentally, but she definitely felt it. She'd somehow felt it with a sense she didn't even know she had…almost as if the blast had slammed into her very soul. Whatever it was though, it hit hard and intense enough for her to stumble back in complete shock.

And this explosive pulse of soul-shaking energy blasted across the shrine grounds, down into the city, and off even further. It hit every single lifeform for miles around, but was actually felt by only few. Upon being blasted with it, the Infested all screeched as though they'd been hit with a wave of flames. Grandpa and Sakura were released, falling to the ground in confusion as their captors suddenly started wrenching about. The two of them felt absolutely nothing, only seeing and hearing the screaming white light coming from the body of their grandson. Every one of the Infested fell to the ground, still screaming and writhing, despite that, to the naked eye, nothing had touched them.

“RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHH!!!!” Max's uncontrolled screaming still only became worse, as did the light. Unable to see at all, this light so intense, Al covered her eyes with one hand while crawling towards where she heard the screaming. Try as she might to call out his name, she couldn't even hear her own voice over Max's. He now boomed out across the horizon like an air raid siren, while the light itself became powerful enough to warm Al's very skin as she got closer. To some, it almost looked and sounded as though an atomic bomb had been detonated at the Higurashi Shrine.

Though blinded as she was, she reached out with her hand, feeling wherever she could to try and find him, still uselessly calling out his name. Infested or not, it was clear that Max was not in control of himself at the moment. Whatever was coming out of him, it was coming in wild, unrestrained waves, and only getting worse every second. A few moments of waving her hand through the maelstrom of light and waves of energy later, she finally latched on to one of his hands. As soon as she did, his hand clamped down on hers in an instant. The screaming suddenly stopped and the luminance faded out like a light bulb had been switched off.

…………wh…uhu…what…what the hell?? Glow faded from his eyes…golden pupils slowly dilated back into focus as the conscious mind that was Max Higurashi briefly returned into being. The first thing that happened was a reactionary intake of breath, as his lungs felt mortally depleted. This, in turn, made him realize what absolute pain his entire body was in, and that every muscle in his body was now uselessly limp. He was conscious again, but it wouldn't be for long.

The hairs on his head breezed back as his torso waved uncertainly in its upwards position. However subconsciously done, however possibly done, Max had output an immense amount of some kind of energy, and in doing so, had created a sort of vacuum of energy space around his immediate person. A swirling vortex began to form as that space began to fill itself up again.

Eyes focused foreword through barely opened lids as Max didn't even notice the wind picking up. His senses where slowly fading out, but before they could, he had to see at least one last thing. The view ahead of him blurred in and out of focus until he spotted the shapes of his grandmother and great grandfather off in the distance, looking back at him…and a few yards ahead of them was Souta's body, still breathing and now free of all those black tendrils.

They're alive…He smiled with his last, happy though before he plummeted foreword, now willing to allow the exhaustion to take him. Al caught managed to catch him in one arm, only strong enough to make sure that he didn't hit the pavement hard.

There wasn't any time afforded to either of them. Air imploded around them at an alarmingly fast rate, going form a strong wind to an outright hurricane. Dust and rocks from all over pelted them while she screamed, holding on to him for dear life. The vortex of gale force winds pulled and pulled from all directions, wind now screaming ferociously loud.

She felt herself being pulled in the very center of her being. Now scared beyond reason, all she could manage herself to do was just keep a grip on Max while burying her face in his chest.

********

Sakura had hurt her ankle when the Infested had dropped her, but she still tried desperately to limp over to Souta and Max. It almost helped that the wind had was nearly strong enough to pull her foreword.

“Souta!! Max!!” Both of them were unconscious, though she'd seen Max give her one last smile before he went out. Whatever threats the Infested had posed, it looked like it was finished now. But now something else was going wrong. These unnatural winds were very nearly tearing her clothes to shreds. Grandpa, meanwhile, had hit the ground a bit harder than his daughter, and was unable to move. Regardless, he could still yell out for all of his children and grandchildren.

“Sakura!! There's…there's something wrong with this wind!” He couldn't explain why he knew that, but there was unquestionably an occult element to the air blowing around them. It was not of this world, that much he was certain of. “You have to get away from it!” That's exactly what Sakura was trying to do, but she couldn't move fast enough. Max and a screaming Al were being pulled up a few feet off the ground, while Souta's limp body was slowly being dragged towards it.

With a desperate lunge, she managed to grab her son's leg, but that's all she could do. In the next instant, a massive sonic boom erupted.

The air suddenly then stilled. At last, the shrine was quiet again, with only a large group on unconscious people scattered around it. Looking around, Sakura sought out Max and Al, but couldn't seem to find them anywhere.

They were gone.

“M…mom?” Looking down at her barely conscious son, Souta struggled to open his eyes.

“Souta…” With the relief of any mother would have, Sakura wrapped her arms around him, sobbing gently.

“Mom…” He managed to whisper out. “He did it. He destroyed Na…” The man took another breath.

“Shhh…” She tried to still him. “Please, just breathe.”

“…I felt it. Max… mom, he… saved us…all of us…” With those last words, Souta fell into consciousness.

“Max…” She looked up again, all around the Shrine, but he was nowhere in sight. That wonderful little boy who had brought so much joy back into her life was nowhere to be found. Just had fate had miraculously brought him into her life, so miraculously was he taken away.

He was gone.

Nothing left at the Higurashi Shrine but several unconscious bodies, an injured Grandfather, and a broken mother and her tears as held her one remaining child.

If Souta had been conscious just a bit longer, he would have told his mother something else too:

Mom, I saw it in Naraku's mind…

…Sis is still alive.

End Chapter 10

A/N: …Aaaand BAM! Now the adventure really gets started! And that only took…ten chapters…shit.

…TEN chapters?? Holy shit. I actually wrote ten whole fucking chapters! Sonuvagun, I almost feel kinda sorta maybe proud. I knew this story was going to be long when I started it, but it still feels pretty special just having made it into the double digits. And special thanks be to all of ye who've been supporting and critiquing this fic, thus inspiring me to keep going.

Cheapening the achievement, however, is the announcement that I'm trying shorter chapters from now on so that I don't have such huge lags in between updates. With any luck, this'll work out better for everyone.

By the by, I heard the most fascinating thing the other day: Apparently, authors really, really like reviews.

Isn't that wild??

Koday.