InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nine Lives For Two ❯ Kuukan ( Chapter 4 )

Kuukan

 

“KAZE NO KIZU!!!” The lunging demon was ripped to pieces.

Inuyasha growled at the rest of the minor youkai, daring them to come forth and face him. The youkai screeched in alarm and fled the scene.

“Heh, small fry!” Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga.

“YAY!” the villagers watching cheered with joy.

Inuyasha, unsettled by all the attention, turned beet red and chuckled nervously.

 

A strange man hobbled into the village. His untamed hair sported light, flashy colors of patchy green, blue and pink. His eyes were dull and black, sight long absent from them. A purple kimono and hakama of a sickly green hung from his thin frame. Ratty sandals and a bent walking stick gave him the image of a homeless bum.

“Excuse me, kind village folk,” said the newcomer, “could you, by chance, spare some food for a poor blind man?”

The head-man of the village regarded this dirty figure.

“Y-you're a demon!” he finally said.

“True, I am. But, rest assured, I pose no threat to you or this quaint little village. I am blind, remember?” said the stranger.

The new demon started. Scenting the air, he turned in the direction of Inuyasha and Kagome.

“Something the matter?” asked the head-mad gruffly.

“No, nothing.” The youkai turned his sightless eyes towards the ground and closed them. “Will you let me take shelter here? Merely for a few days, no more.”

“O-of course, but………if we feel threatened, we will chase you out of our village” the head-man said.

The demon bowed. “Fear not, I would be incapable of attacking even if I wanted to” he said calmly.

“What's your name?” asked the head-man.

“I am called Kuukan” answered the youkai.

The head-man walked off, grumbling to himself.

 

Inuyasha sniffed the air and turned to glare at the strange demon. Kuukan growled back at him.

“What's wrong?” Kagome asked, worried. She followed Inuyasha's gaze towards the scruffy youkai nearby. The demon bowed to her.

“Calm down, I don't think he's one of them” she said.

“How can you be sure?” Inuyasha asked her.

“Shippo had a stronger aura than he does” Kagome told him, and started walking back to the hut they'd been staying in.

“Hey, wait up! Why are you so anxious to get back?” Inuyasha called after her.

“I'm tired, I'm hungry. That's it.” She answered.

The pair headed back to the village, holding hands.

“Feh,” scoffed Inuyasha, “you're not gonna ask for some weird dish again, are you?”

“Well, I could go for some toast choked in whipped cream, showered with candy sprinkles and topped with a nice, fat maraschino cherry.” Kagome said thoughtfully.

Inuyasha stopped walking.

“…eh?”

Kagome stopped walking too, waiting for him.

“Oh, it's nothing,” she said, smiling. “Come on”

As the happy couple reached their hut and went inside, Kuukan seemed to be watching them, even though his eyes did not work. He ushered a low, throaty growl.

 

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The next day…

Kagome still slept peacefully. Inuyasha gazed at her with the calmest expression. The moment was shattered by the all too familiar sound of panicked screaming. His white dog ears pricked to it and he stood up.

“Hmm…what is it?” Kagome asked, groggily opening one eye.

“Blood”

She was fully awake now.

“Blood?!”

Inuyasha nodded. “Lots of it, too. Wait here” he left in a hurry.

 

On the edge of the village, pale glowing lights swirled around a mass of dead bodies. Kuukan was pressed up against a hut wall, seemingly terrified.

Suddenly the lights turned on Inuyasha. He simply slashed at one of them and it faded away. Inuyasha growled and swiped at the others. They also faded away. More appeared from behind the hut Kuukan was sheltering against. Inuyasha was surprised at this, but determined. He slashed at those too. Eventually the lights stopped coming.

Inuyasha turned to look at Kuukan, but the demon wasn't there anymore. His confusion lasted for only a short while.

“Time for you to leave this world, we can't have you interfering anymore than you already have!” snarled a harsh voice behind the hanyou.

Kuukan lashed out with his walking stick and tripped his prey. Placing his foot squarely against Inuyasha's throat, Kuukan readied himself to strike out when a mob of the remaining village men came running into the scene, armed with torches, pitchforks and the like. The demon was momentarily distracted and Inuyasha saw his chance. He punched Kuukan forcefully on the jaw, causing the youkai to leap back in surprise. Kuukan swore out loud and turned to glare at the villagers.

“Blind, eh?” spat the head-man.

 

Kagome rounded the corner of one hut. Kuukan shot a glance in her direction. Inuyasha didn't miss this gesture, and he stepped protectively between her and the youkai, growling all the while.

“Blind in the aspect of direct visual sight, yes. Blind to shapes and colors.” Kuukan grinned a wry fanged smile. “I see souls. My eyes, useless as they may seem, are finely tuned to all that is not visible on the outside.” in a swift jabbing motion, Kuukan's clawed hand darted out at the villagers. They froze on the spot and softly pulsing white lights were slowly drawn from them. One by one, their lifeless bodies dropped to the ground. One of the still-lit torches fell into a house wall, setting fire to it instantly.

“How come I didn't notice you?” Kagome asked him.

“Because, little miko, I am able to mask my true aura behind the souls of my prey” the demon narrowed his dull eyes in a vicious sneer. “Your soul will make an excellent addition to my collection. I shall take it now!”

“Like hell you will!! KAZE NO KIZU!!” Inuyasha snarled, swinging Tetsusaiga hard.

Kuukan dodged the attack by leaping up onto the rooftop of a nearby hut.

“Kagome, get away!” Inuyasha called out.

“Huh?”

“You heard me, go!!”

“But--”

“No `buts', just go!!”

He looked really upset. Kagome gave a small nod and ran into the forest behind the village.

Inuyasha turned to face Kuukan but a blinding flash of light caused him to flinch.

A huge maroon cat leapt at him from the flash, claws extended, and roaring.

 

In the forest, Kagome met up with one family from the village, crouching behind a thicket of bushes. They were all talking in hushed voices.

“A hanyou is fighting that other demon?! Oh great, now I'm really scared!” whined a little boy that couldn't be older than 7.

“What do you mean?” Kagome asked the kid.

“I mean, that big cat-type-thing eats souls, right? Odds are the white-haired guy's already dead.” He answered. Kagome gasped.

 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kuukan circled each other, each eyeing the other warily. Both were completely focused on what the other's next move could be. The huge cat, covered in shimmering scarlet-magenta fur and with a mane and tail tuft of flowing light, faked a strike at his prey. Inuyasha attacked with kaze no kizu, but Kuukan dodged to the side and tackled the hanyou, slamming him into a house wall. Pinning him against the wall with unsheathed talons, Kuukan smirked and then opened his gaping jaws wide. Inuyasha froze. The lion roared and began to swallow the white light coming off its helpless prey.

 

Back in the forest, Kagome ran back towards the village. Please be alright! She thought.

Upon arriving at the demolished area, Kagome saw Kuukan's cavernous mouth filled with a glowing white substance. She also noticed Inuyasha's limp form pinned against a wall, also glowing, and gasped. Picking up a bow and arrow that just happened to be lying nearby, Kagome took aim.

Wait, what did Yuugure warn me about last month? Gah! This is no time to be worrying about that! The bow twanged loudly as the arrow blazed with pink sacred energy, hurtling towards its target.

Kuukan loosed a tremendous roar when the arrow blasted half his face to hell. He gagged several times and retched….souls, then he stumbled backwards.

Inuyasha `woke up' just in time to see Kagome fainting. He yelled her name and immediately ran over to her. Meanwhile, Kuukan roared in pain and kept trying to pull the arrow out. His attention wasn't on the huge bits of diamond streaking towards him. They scored deep gashes in the lion's body. Strangely, Kuukan smirked. Craning his massive head back, the cat roared at the moon. Souls floated out of the dead bodies scattered in the area and Kuukan swallowed every one of them and instantly his wounds were cured, but the arrow was still embedded in his muzzle.

“Dammit!” said Inuyasha, preparing to use the kaze no kizu on the big cat. Kuukan easily leapt out of the way of the oncoming yellow blaze, but Inuyasha was there in a flash, slashing a gory line down the length of the lions' flank. Kuukan's right hind leg buckled and he snapped at the hanyou, only to bite into Tetsusaiga. One of his long saber fangs cracked and the other broke clean in half! Batting out his large forepaw to maybe catch Inuyasha with it, Kuukan lost his balance and fell on his face. He lay on his side, panting heavily. Inuyasha raised the Steel Fang to deliver the final blow when the fallen cat's form glowed and out of the cavernous jaws shot a crackling blast of light. Inuyasha took advantage of this and used the Bakuryuuha, Tetsusaiga's ultimate technique, at the blast. The lion's attack whirled into the rushing winds of the attack and exploded in full force onto the youkai. This was Kuukan's final moment.

 

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In a dream…

“You fool!!” screeched Yuugure, her wings flaring, “did you not hear what I said last time?!”

“I'm sorry” Kagome said softly, flinching back from the hysterical white demon. Boy, was Yuugure pissed.

“'I'm sorry'?! `I'm sorry'?!! You could've died! You could've died and all you can say is `I'm sorry'!!! Doesn't that matter to you?!!” Yuugure shrieked at the top of her lungs. Inuyasha put a hand on her shoulder.

“Ok, that's enough” he said. She just turned her back on both of them with a `hmph!' and flicked her tail irritably. Inuyasha sighed.

“Look, point is Kagome's ok, she's alive and that what's-his-name is dead” he said in a calm tone.

“Kuukan” Yuugure snorted.

“Yeah, him, thanks. And that Kuukan is dead.”

“And the pup is still with us” Yuugure added.

Inuyasha just stared for a moment, utterly shocked. “The what?”

Yuugure had on a very sheepish look. “Wups”

“HA!” said Kagome, pointing at Yuugure.

“What pup?! Whose pup?!” Inuyasha continued, confused.

Kagome sighed. Turning to Yuugure, she said;

“Any chance you could make him forget this? I'm not ready to tell him.”

“Sure” Yuugure said, beaming, “I'll do that before he wakes up.”

“Why do I have to forget this?! Someone please tell me what is going on and what is with that `pup' you mentioned!!”

Kagome sighed again.

“That pup…it's yours”

“……………………&# 8230;………………………… …” lo-o-o-ong moment of silence.

“You mean…?”

“Yup” Kagome and Yuugure both said.

“And she's gonna…?”

“Yup”

“Hmm……” yet another moment of silence.

“I'm gonna be a dad?!” Inuyasha said finally.

“Yup”

“But you won't remember any of this conversation” added Yuugure, then she looked at Kagome. “In fact, it is better if neither of you remembers this”

“What?! Why me?!” Kagome protested. Yuugure grinned widely.

“Just because” she said, flapping her snowy wings. The pink diamond marking on her forehead glowed and she faded away.

 

Inuyasha and Kagome woke up a few seconds later.

“That was weird” Inuyasha mumbled, still half asleep.

“Yeah……what was the last thing Yuugure said?”

“Kuukan, I think”

“Oh right”

Kagome sighed. “How many more demons are left now?”

“Including Yuugure? I think…” nine minus three equals… “I think six” said Inuyasha.

“But we don't have to fight her”

“Ok, five then”

Kagome sighed again. “Would you mind if I asked you for permission to go home for a while?”

“Keh! Only if it's not for too long!”

Kagome smiled.

“Thanks!”

 

 

EXTRA BLAH STUFF

I know the `kicking-ass-with-da-walking-stick' was most likely the epitome of lameness, but go complain to meow_kuroro@hotmail.com about it, not to me.

I got a review asking why Kagome is 15 when this is after Naraku died, well inuluvr02; the way we figured it was that killing Naraku will probably take a little under a year. If you count all the new moons in the manga, that adds up to be just a bit over half a year, and the group are pretty close to killing him already, so it probably won't be long before they do. The manga has about 8 new moons, 8 months, not even a year. There's still 4 more months to go, and a lot of stuff happens in one month, like the Shichinintai (Band of Seven), for example.