InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Altercation ( Chapter 35 )

~~Chapter 35~~

~Altercation~

 

Bas glanced up from the map and slowly shook his head as Sydnie peeked into the rearview mirror before shifting her attention back to the road again. She was doing well, he had to admit. She seemed to feel better, driving as opposed to riding. Maybe it was the feeling that she had more control over the situation. “We're going to be close to Chicago soon. I'll drive when we get there.”

 

She nodded and shot him a cursory glance. Bas intercepted the look and smiled. “What's on your mind, kitty?”

 

She shrugged. “How are your shoulders?”

 

He grimaced at the reminder. She'd been beside herself when she had seen the deep lacerations that she'd inflicted on him just before he'd handcuffed her. Spending a good ten minutes thoroughly cleaning the wounds that had almost been healed when she'd discovered them this morning, she'd curled up on his lap, telling him over and over that she wouldn't complain ever again, if he wanted to handcuff her all the time. It might have been a little more humorous, he supposed, if she hadn't been so close to tears . . .

 

“Can we stop for awhile?”

 

“Stop? What for?”

 

“I need to stretch my legs, puppy.”

 

Bas tucked the almanac into the middle console between the seats and sighed. So far as he could tell, they weren't anywhere near a rest stop or gas station. She had been cooped up in the car all day, and while she hadn't seemed to mind, he knew that she was probably feeling restless. “All right, kitty, but just for a few minutes.”

 

She pulled over after carefully checking the mirrors and turning to make sure that everything was clear. Bas smiled despite the nagging feeling that something was entirely off; not with Sydnie, no . . . just an odd feeling that something was . . . strange.

 

“Good?” she asked, shifting the car into `park' and turning off the engine.

 

Bas reached over and ruffled her hair. “Perfect,” he assured her.

 

She giggled softly, the throaty sounds of a burgeoning purr coming through in the sound. Bas grinned then sighed. “Stay here, baby. Let me look around first.”

 

She wrinkled her nose but nodded as he climbed out of the car, pausing long enough to grab his sword before slowly staring at the empty road. A dilapidated old work truck clattered past. He didn't have to look to know that Sydnie was likely shying away from the door. A tap on the glass beside him drew his attention. Sydnie had crawled over the console and held her hands up at her sides in silent question.

 

Bas shook his head and narrowed his gaze, surveying the landscape once more. Dense trees on one side of the road stood quietly, the skeletal branches covered in undisturbed snow made all the starker in contrast with the dark shadows underneath. The barren field behind him still held the stubble of cut-off corn stalks behind a waist-high barbed-wire fence. So far as he could tell, there was nothing amiss, yet he still couldn't shake the unsettling notion that someone somewhere was watching them.

 

Sydnie tapped on the window again, a frown furrowing her brow. Bas opened the door and grabbed her hand. “Come on, kitty,” he said, striving for a neutral tone despite the sense of urgency that was steadily growing stronger. He couldn't keep moving. Driving into a city would only make it worse. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to themselves, and if his instincts were right, then best to get the altercation out of the way before they got to a place where youkai-style fighting would only more noticeable.

 

Sydnie saw right through his forced bravado. He took the keys and locked the car as he hurried her across the road and into the cover of the trees. He could feel the shift in the air; the stroke of foreign youki coming closer. The thing that bothered him most was that it wasn't a singular sense. No, it felt as though it were closing in on them, and if that were the case, then it meant that there were certainly more than one or two.

 

“They're coming, aren't they?” Sydnie asked softly, her fingers twitching nervously in his firm grip.

 

“It's okay,” he told her, his voice vague as he tried to pay attention to the area as well as reassuring Sydnie that everything would be all right. “You trust me, right?”

 

“Yes,” she answered a little breathlessly. “Sebastian—”

 

“I'll protect you, Sydnie. Don't worry.”

 

She bit her lip but didn't argue, glancing around nervously as he dragged her deeper into the trees. They were getting closer which meant that Bas didn't have much time to hide Sydnie . . . “Take to the trees, baby,” he told her softly, rounding on her, gripping her shoulders. “You stay up there, no matter what. Understand?”

 

She shook her head stubbornly. “No. I'm staying with you.”

 

“Sydnie—”

 

“I can fight, too!”

 

“You're the one they're after!” he argued. “You're the one they want!”

 

“They want you, too!” she insisted. “I'm staying with you, puppy!”

 

“Damn it, I—”

 

“You promised!”

 

Snapping his mouth closed on his arguments, he heaved a sigh and glowered down at her, wondering how she could remember something like that when she chose to ignore other things he'd told her. He could see it in her stubborn gaze, though. It didn't matter what he told her. She wasn't about to comply with his wishes on the matter . . . “Then stay behind me,” he commanded.

 

She nodded.

 

Bas took her hand again, darting through the forest. The trees thinned, and they skidded to a stop on the edge of a large pond. He could see smoke rising over the horizon on the other side of the water. `Far enough from prying human eyes,' he supposed. It wasn't the best set-up, but it was probably the best he'd be able to find.

 

Sydnie gasped softly, her grip on his hand tightening. Four shadows shifted in the forest, slowly drawing closer into the watery, gray light of the late afternoon sunshine. Discernable footsteps crunched through the snow as Bas pushed Sydnie behind his back and flexed his fingers. `Kitsune . . . fire . . . rattlesnake . . . bobcat . . . and there're more . . . I can feel them . . .'

 

“You're outnumbered, son of the Zelig,” the rattlesnake-youkai pointed out, his voice more of a hiss, golden eyes narrowing to mere slits. “Best to just give up, don't you think?”

 

Bas didn't answer, shifting his gaze from one to the other. The bounty hunters didn't look all that tough. He didn't doubt that they could fight, but they didn't look any tougher than the last bunch that he'd fought. The only thing that really worried him was the feeling that there were more lurking in the shadows.

 

“He's protecting his bitch . . . or would that be his pussy?” the female—a fire-based-youkai—spoke up. Bright red hair sticking straight up in sharp spikes all over her head, she looked like some old-style punk-rocker—or Evan after letting Jillian and Madison `style' his hair . . .

 

“She's none of your concern,” Bas growled, refraining from reaching for the hilt of his sword.

 

“She'll be easy enough prey once we deal with him,” the kitsune remarked.

 

“If you think so,” Bas began in a bored tone, “then you're really, really stupid.”

 

The kitsune made an exaggeratedly low bow, gaze mocking as he stiffly rose and faced Bas. “I don't think so, runt-puppy. You've made enemies of the Onyx, and that was a fatal mistake on your part.”

 

“Enough talk, Datte,” the bobcat-youkai grumbled, throwing his elbows back and swinging his arms forward a few times. “We gonna talk all day, or are we gonna do this?”

 

“Where are the rest of you?” Bas asked casually, affecting a bored stance as Sydnie held tight to the back of his leather duster. He didn't miss the glances exchanged by the bounty hunters.

 

“Around,” Datte remarked with an arrogant wave of his hand.

 

Bas grinned. `Sending a kitsune? Must be getting desperate . . . tricks and illusions . . . not much more than that.'

 

“Don't underestimate me, pup!” Datte growled, hurling a ball of white light directly at Bas' chest.

 

Grabbing Sydnie around the waist, he sprang out of the way, landing on a fallen log that extended out over the water. “Stay here, Sydnie,” he commanded before letting go and slipping off onto the ground.

 

The rattlesnake-youkai launched himself at Bas, who managed to duck the elongated arms of the creature. The deadly sound of the rattlers fused onto the youkai's wrists had the ability to lull the unwitting victim into a near-comatose state, Bas knew. Struggling to block the sound from his mind, Bas drew his arm back, cleaving through the air with an arced hand as he shot forward.

 

Catching the kitsune—Datte—straight down his back, Bas grimaced when the kitsune's pained screech pierced through his brain before the eruption of light and wind announced the kitsune's untimely demise. With an outraged cry, the fire-youkai shot spears of flames from her outstretched hands. The first two spears whizzed over Bas' head, exploding in a huge ball of fire when the spears hit the water's surface, and he dodged to avoid the remaining projectiles. Bas lunged again, but the rattlesnake youkai was too fast, spinning away, though not before Bas' claws connected with the youkai's left arm. Howling in abject rage, the creature carted around, swinging blindly as Bas landed on the ground in a crouch and pushed off with his hands to flip back out of harm's way.

 

Another volley of fire spears whistled through the air. Bas dove to the side, landing hard on his shoulder and rolling to his feet with a grunt. A searing jab erupted in his thigh, and he gasped. The rattlesnake-youkai had sunk his venomous fangs into Bas' limb, and reacting on impulse, he swung his good leg in a broad arc. The heel of his boot smashed against the rattlesnake-youkai's head, and the creature let go, hissing angrily as he staggered back a few paces before dropping to his knees, vigorously shaking his head to dispel the fog of pain.

 

Bas pushed himself to his feet, dragging Triumvirate from its scabbard and brandishing the weapon before him. Casting a quick glance in time to see Sydnie slide off the log, he grimaced and raised the sword over his head, unleashing a primitive snarl as he slammed the blade into the earth. Furrows of greenish flame shot out of the weapon toward the fissure where the energy of Bas' youki met that of the rattlesnake-youkai. In a blinding flash of light, the explosion rocked through the earth, forcing a deep groan from the ground as the youkai's haunting shriek died out, stifled by the fabricated wind that died just as suddenly as it had been created.

 

Another wave of flaming spears jettisoned from the fire-youkai's hand. Bas knocked the first three away with the blunt side of the blade. The fourth one grazed his cheek before he could dodge it. More concerned with the bobcat-youkai than the woman, Bas barely had time to swing around, hefting Triumvirate to block the bobcat's descending claws. Gritting his teeth as the youkai struck wildly at the sword, he could feel his feet slipping on the melting snow. Another flame spear shot past him as his right foot slipped. The bobcat gave him a mighty shove sending Bas sprawling back.

 

A white-hot pain erupted in his right shoulder as his body was caught and tossed across the shore. Smacking into the base of a gnarled old elm tree, Bas growled in pain, staring rather dumbly at the glowing flame spear that had embedded itself through his shoulder and into the stout tree trunk.

 

“Sebastian!” Sydnie screamed. She seemed to be flying, she was moving so fast. Straight at him, she ran, barely stopping at all when she wrapped her hands around the red-hot spear and jerking hard despite the tears that sprang to her eyes; despite the acrid stench of her burning flesh as she stubbornly freed him from the tree.

 

He jerked away with an agonized hiss. “Stay back, Sydnie,” he told her, unable to take the time to assess her injured hands as he stepped in front of her. He'd dropped his sword when he'd lost his footing, not that it mattered since his right arm wouldn't move quite right. Thankful only that the flaming spear had cauterized the wound enough that he wasn't losing much blood, Bas shook his hand and stalked forward.

 

“No!” Sydnie pleaded, grabbing Bas' left arm and trying to tug him back as four more youkai stepped out of the forest. She uttered a stifled little sob. “You can't! You're hurt!”

 

He shrugged her off and shook his head. “I told you to stay back, damn it!”

 

“No! I—”

 

“Fucking hell, cat! Do you think they'll let us walk right out of here?”

 

She flinched, but stubbornly stood her ground. “You're hurt,” she maintained.

 

“I . . . won't . . . run,” he gritted out, sparing a moment to glower down at her.

 

She narrowed her eyes. “Fine, then I will!”

 

And before he could stop her, she ran. Diving headlong into the tangle of undergrowth and gnarled tree roots, she ran. “Sydnie!” Bas bellowed. She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment and kept moving.

 

Into the forest as the sickening sound of an explosion echoed in her ears, as the very earth trembled under her feet, she sprinted. She could hear the youkai giving chase. That was what she had wanted. She wasn't sure how many had opted to come after her. It was enough that he wasn't being forced to fight six youkai at once . . .

 

`Stupid Sebastian! He's not a god, damn it! He's not invincible! Arrogant, stupid dog!'

 

A painful shriek echoed through the trees, closer than it should have been since she'd left Bas behind by the pond. She didn't stop to look but stumbled slightly when a harsh wind smacked into her, only to release her just as quickly. She nearly fell but caught herself in time, her fingertips brushing the earth floor as she ran faster.

 

She could feel the rapid approach of a strange youkai—no, not quite youkai . . . A strangled whimper slipped from her as she shook her head and darted to the right. She didn't have time to analyze her feelings other than the deep-seated knowledge that someone was too close for comfort, and it certainly wasn't Sebastian . . .

 

Faster and faster she ran, darting through the tangled roots and gnarled, low-hanging tree limbs that threatened to trip her up. She had no idea where she was going. Bent on leading some of the youkai away from Sebastian, she pushed herself faster, harder, her heart thumping heavily as she tried not to think about the eerie silence that had fallen over the trees.

 

`Someone's just behind me,' she realized with a sickened lurch of her stomach. She didn't have time to look back or to pause. Another shrill shriek split the quiet, rang in her ears as she dared a peek over her shoulder. It was close behind, the scream. Unsure where it had originated from, Sydnie winced and stumbled again as another wave of unnatural wind struck her back and shoved her forward. Again she caught herself, pushing herself without breaking her stride. The watery, pale light of the clearing wavered ahead of her, and she burst from the cover of the trees with a strangled gasp, eyes widening as panic surged through her.

 

Bas had managed to recover Triumvirate and stood in the midst of the three bounty hunters that surrounded him. He lowered his shoulder and bumped the spider-youkai back while barely avoiding the descending claws of an eagle-youkai. Whipping around in a circle, he slashed through the air, cleaving through a chameleon-youkai's reptilian flesh. The creature howled in agony, the blood flowing from the deep laceration traversing his chest staining the dingy snow an ominous rusty, brackish color as steam rose thick and heavy. Bas raised his sword over his head, both hands gripping the hilt before driving it down hard through the spider-youkai's hunched back.

 

The shrill cries of abject pain cut through her senses, and Sydnie stumbled back a few steps. Shielding her face as a violent burst of reddish light exploded, obscuring the view of the combatants, Sydnie gritted her teeth and blinked furiously. A ball of energy flame whizzed across the clearing from the flame-youkai's outstretched hands, straight at Bas as the eagle-youkai unleashed a disorienting cry. Bas staggered as the sound permeated the area, shaking his head as though to dispel the debilitating noise. The energy blast hit him square in the chest, sending Bas flying back, his body tossed like a rag doll. He landed on the ground near Sydnie, his head smacking against a boulder half buried in the snow. Triumvirate sailed end over end, embedding itself in the frozen earth beside him, the blade humming with a dull reverberation as the hilt trembled and shook.

 

She didn't think about her actions. She didn't have to. Bas' motionless body was too easy a target. Darting forward, she jerked hard to pull the sword loose and heaved the surprisingly heavy blade over her shoulder, wrapping her hands around the hilt in much the same way that a baseball player would hold a bat. Planting herself over Sebastian, she glanced around fiercely, wildly, glaring at the eagle-youkai as he rose in the air. Another voice echoed through the clearing—angry, determined.

 

“Kongousouha!”

 

Sydnie squeaked out a surprised sound as huge shards of diamond spears shot across the earth. Steadily rising higher, they flew straight toward the eagle-youkai. The creature tried to roll to the side but couldn't get out of the way in time. An unearthly wail shattered the forced calm as the spears shot through the youkai's chest, followed closely by another explosion of wind and light and dust. Sydnie turned her head in time to see the solitary figure of a silver haired hanyou as he slammed a rusty-looking sword into the scabbard that hung carelessly from his lean hips, uttering a sound suspiciously like `keh!' as he glowered at the dirty mound on the snow where the fire-youkai had stood.

 

So shocked at the intrusion, unable to grasp whether or not the hanyou was a friend or another foe, Sydnie was caught off guard when powerful arms locked around her, hefting her off her feet and holding her so tightly that the breath rushed out of her. The terrified scream that she couldn't contain spilled out, only to be cut off when the arms tightened. “For fuck's sake, wench! Shut the hell up, will you? And put that down before you hurt yourself!”

 

Sydnie gasped at the gruff voice as Triumvirate was jerked out of her grip. It fell haplessly on the ground as the first threads of panic snaked around the pit of her stomach. The voice was tinged with an accent that she didn't recognize. She dug her claws into the arms that held her, only to be rewarded with another huge squeeze that drew a whimper from her.

 

“Yeah, that ain't gonna do much damage,” the voice told her. “Stop it and listen: you need to get him the hell out of here. Do you understand?”

 

“Wh-who? Who are you?” she whispered as a curiously safe sort of feeling flooded through her.

 

“Don't matter . . . just get him outta here. Are you done trying to skin me?”

 

“Are you done trying to scare the crap out of me?” she countered hotly.

 

The arms released her, and she whipped around to stare at the silver haired . . . hanyou? Little dog ears perched neatly atop his pristine hair, he looked almost exactly like the other hanyou—the one who had taken out the eagle and fire youkai—he grinned at her. Something about the strange hanyou's eyes gave her pause—golden, glowing in the darkness . . . she couldn't help but think that they were familiar to her. “Yeah, sorry `bout that. Anyway, the old man's waiting. Move it.”

 

`The old man?'

 

Shaking her head, she shot the hanyou a curious glance before kneeling beside Bas' immobile body. “Sebastian?” she whispered, patting his cheek in an effort to rouse him. “Bas?”

 

“Outta the way,” a second voice growled, pushing her aside firmly but gently. Peering up into the face of the first hanyou, she blinked in surprise as she glanced from one to the other again. Family, certainly; that much she could discern. She thought maybe they were father and son, but maybe it didn't matter. They were helping, and that was all Sydnie really needed to know. The two picked Bas up with a grunt.

 

“Kami, he weighs e-fucking-nough,” the one who had snuck up on her grouched.

 

“Just move,” the older one gritted out.

 

The younger one grunted in response. “Better grab that sword, Sydnie. He'll want it later.”

 

Sydnie narrowed her gaze but did as she was told, hugging the heavy weapon against her chest with both arms. `How does he know my name?'

 

Brushing off her questions, Sydnie hurried after their would-be rescuers.

 

They stopped beside the car, and she dug the keys out of Bas' pocket. In the waning light, she could discern the thin trickle of blood that had streaked down his temple and was drying on his cheek. Stifling a little whimper as the scent of his blood invaded her senses, she unlocked the car, opening the passenger side door and stepping back to allow the hanyous to put Bas into the vehicle.

 

“You can drive, right?” the younger one asked.

 

Sydnie nodded vaguely, stowing the sword in the back seat of the car as the older hanyou fastened the seatbelt over Bas' hips.

 

“Good . . . you're near Chicago. Don't stop till you get there. His family has a house. It'll be the safest place for him to recover.”

 

“Chicago,” she repeated. “Okay . . .”

 

“Got something I can write on?”

 

Leaning over Bas, Sydnie dug a napkin out of the center console, handing it to the hanyou before retrieving a pen, as well. He took it and quickly scrawled the address. “Key this address into the automap, and take him there,” he commanded gruffly, slapping the napkin back into her hand. “His mama keeps poison salve in a cupboard in the bathroom. Get him to wake up after we're gone, and keep him that way for twenty-four hours after putting the salve on his leg. Rattlesnake poison ain't pretty.”

 

She nodded, gaze shifting to the older hanyou who hadn't spoken since telling his son to get a move on. “Who are you?” she asked quietly.

 

“Don't matter,” the older one growled. “Get him the fuck outta here. Now.”

 

Sydnie didn't have to be told twice. Dashing around the car, she got inside and started the engine. `Who were they?' she wondered as she fastened her seatbelt and willed her breathing to return to normal.

 

`Who cares who they were? Get him out of here, Sydnie . . . and you heard them. You have to wake Bas up, too.'

 

`Wake him up? Right . . .'

 

“Get him to wake up after we're gone . . .”

 

She started to reach over to try to rouse the unconscious man. Gently slapping his cheeks with the back of her hand did nothing to bring Bas around. Biting her lip, stifling the little whine that rose in her throat, Sydnie blinked quickly, forcing down the choking panic that surged through her as she steeled her resolve and tapped his cheeks a little harder.

 

Those strange hanyous . . . If they hadn't come along when they had, Bas might have been . . .

 

Grimacing as she slammed the door on those thoughts, Sydnie swallowed hard and shook her head. `Best not to think about what might have happened,' she told herself. That wouldn't help, not at all . . .

 

They didn't want Bas to know they'd helped? But . . . why?

 

Sparing a moment to check the mirrors and lock the doors, she frowned. The trees stood, empty and still. She couldn't see any traces of their rescuers. `Golden eyes,' she mused as she craned her neck to survey the area. `Like Sebastian's eyes . . .'

 

She shook her head and stifled a sigh. The mysterious hanyous were gone.

 

 

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A/N:

Kongousouha: Diamond Spear Blast.

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Final Thought fromSydnie:

Who were they?

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Phantasm): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~