InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Alternate Storyteller ❯ Fire from the Sky ( Chapter 10 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

On and on I walked for days on end, following the coastline and not caring where I ended up. The weather was mild for this region, being so far south, but I could feel the winter slowly settling in. I finally decided to go back to Hoshi and Kenichi to visit, but I didn’t relish the thought of entering the West again, not after the way Sesshoumaru and I parted at the cave. But having a direction is better than wandering around aimlessly, I thought as I entered Shimonoseki, the town right across from Kyushu.

I found an inn, and just as I was settling down to sleep, a huge crash and long rumble came from the bay. I scrambled out of bed as fast as I could, throwing on clothes and wrappings haphazardly. I shoved my feet into my boots and grabbed Tomoshibi on my way out, and joined the rest of the crowd outside, who stared in the direction of the west bay.

The sky was a rainbow of coloured lights, flashing randomly and always followed by a thunderous crash. Some of the soldiers in my group started heading for the disturbance. I debated for a moment, then made my way down the road with the rest of the guys. It took a while, since the road was clogged with people who were scared by the commotion. Once we were in sight of the bay, we just stood in awe of the picture before us.

The lights and thunder were coming from just off the shore, made by a creature that screamed ’Godzilla movie’. It had a broad, dragon appearance in the body and had huge, batty-looking wings on its shoulders. However, it only had two arms and two legs, and was hovering above the water making the worst racket I had ever had the misfortune of hearing and flaming every ship in the harbour.

Screw me! It’s King Gihdora! The only difference was the addition of four extra heads, as well as the three King Gihdora already came with. However, there was no mistaking the beast that had burned down countless buildings in downtown Tokyo. Seven heads, wings, and pouring every kind of fire, lightning, shrieks, and who knows what else out of those fucking huge mouths! If the situation weren’t so dire, I would’ve fallen down in the street laughing my fool head off. As it was, we were so freaked out, we couldn’t move. Until the thing came roaring over in our direction.

Then Chaos ensued.

Everyone ran around in circles - crying out to the gods, to their samurai warriors, to their moms - trying to find someone who could save them. A few of the more battle-hardened fighters made for the other side of the harbour. Fifteen minutes of hard running and dodging objects while looking over our shoulders got us to a dark side street, just out of view of the water.

“How do we deal with this horrifying demon?” someone asked in despair.

“We have to muster ourselves as best we can and gather all the long range weapons we are able handle,” replied a deep, rough voice from the back of our small group. A number of murmured assents arose around me. Someone to my right cleared his throat.

“Might we apply to the Taiyoukai of the land for his help?” the voice, a younger-sounding one, asked hesitantly. The silence that followed was deafening, even more than the shrieks of the thing that was still attacking the other side of the city. There was some uneasy shifting in the group, and more than a few snorts.

“The Taiyoukai is not known for his benevolence towards humans,” a new voice pointed out.

“But who is going to defeat this thing?” the young voice protested, “Unless one of us has the powers of the Inu no Taishou himself, this beast will ravage the entire land. And would the Taiyoukai not come to destroy it anyway, since it is invading his territory?” Some hopeful murmurs were heard at this observation.

“That is not entirely true,” a hoarse voice broke in, “The Taiyoukai was last heard to be in the East, hunting some enemy.” Yeah. Me, I thought darkly. The mood seemed to become even blacker with the news. After a few minutes of silence, the voice at the back called for us to head for the destroyer that was slowly chewing its way through the city. We girded our loins as best we could and ran for the dragon again, even as we all blanched in fear at the sight of the monstrosity ahead.

We were halfway there when I heard shouts from the right. We all glanced over and saw a large crowd gathered around a guy standing on an overturned cart, gesturing wildly towards us. The crowd surged at us as we passed, pushing their way through, apparently looking for someone.

“THERE SHE IS!” the man screamed suddenly and pointed at me! What the fucking hell…?! I started hoofing it for the front of the group, all the while praying I would get out of there before they could get to me. No such luck, though. Just as I reached the front, I was grabbed by several people, who angrily and roughly tied my hands and hauled me back to the bastard who had singled me out.

Chikurin.

That son-of-a-bitch tore my head wraps off as soon as I was close enough, my dark hair spilling down around my shoulders. He grabbed my butt-length hair at the roots and hauled me onto the cart with him. I screamed in pain, doing everything in my power to get free and beat the shit out of him while he shouted at the crowd.

“This is the person responsible for the Beast!” he screamed above the roars issuing from the city, “She is the one who summoned it! She is the lover of a demon and hates humans. She wishes to take your city as a prize for him, so he may eventually take over the entire country and make you his slaves!” He continued shouting things like that while I continued to struggled, tears of pain and fury running down my face. He finally let go and grabbed me by the neck.

With his face only inches from mine, he hissed, “I warned you. This is the price for loving demons and betraying your own kind.”

“Did you summon this thing?” I spat out.

He grimaced with disappointment and said, “No, I did not. However, its appearance gave me the excuse I needed to punish you. Forever,” he finished with a smile that made my blood run cold. He turned his attention back to the mob. They began chanting, demanding my execution by sacrificing me to the dragon.

“No!” Chikurin shouted above their words, “We will, instead, make her battle the Beast.” The mob cheered, their bloodlust satisfied with seeing me walking to my death. It didn’t make sense, though, because if I summoned the thing, wouldn’t I be able to control it as well? The mob had no cares about those details, though, as they dragged me off the cart and carried me to the general area of destruction. They were just happy to have the supposed cause of their problems marching to her death.

They got as close to the beast as they dared, dumped me off with only my sword to do battle with, and ran as fast as their short legs would carry them. I sat in something of a daze for a moment, wondering how the hell this was going to work. I shook myself back to my senses and looked around for anything that could get me out of this mess with all limbs still intact. I couldn’t just take off because Chikurin was watching me from a short distance away to make sure I didn’t do that. He came up to me a second later and grabbed me by the arm.

“You are taking too long, so I will escort you to your adversary,” he said as he dragged me closer to the dragon. I almost crapped my pants when the thing let loose a scream that I was sure my great-great-grandchildren could’ve heard. The heat and stench increased as we got closer to the eye of the storm. When we were about five hundred feet away from the most current destruction, he hauled me into a cluttered alley behind a half-destroyed inn.

“I will leave you now to your fate,” he said with a toothy grin, gripping my upper arm painfully, “May your death be a hundred thousand times more painful than my humiliations. I hope you burn in the Underworld.”

With those parting words, he took me into the street again and shoved me towards the dragon. Making sure I wasn’t going to make a run for it, he turned and took off like the very whips of the Lord of Hell were at his back. I whipped around and looked for some kind of escape again. Nothing. I couldn’t go back, because the mob would lynch me for sure, and doing battle with something a thousand times my size was certain death, as well. Out of options, I lost it and fell to my knees. I started bawling for all I was worth, not caring if the raging beast flamed me while I was prostrate on the debris-strewn street.

Please God, I prayed, tears streaming down my face, let someone come and rescue me. I don’t have what it takes to destroy this hell beast. But even as I pleaded for my life, I knew no one would come to my rescue. I was so intent on preparing for my inevitable death, the gentle hand on my shoulder scared the living shit out of me. I turned and drew Tomoshibi so fast, the hand’s owner landed on his rear end with a terrified look on his face.

The person was an older man with silver hair, probably pushing fifty. He was dirty, every part of his skin and clothing covered in soot and blood. He held a gnarled wooden staff in his hand so tightly his knuckles were white. I took pity on him and helped him up, wondering what on earth he was doing following me so close to this disaster. The flare of a newly lit fire from somewhere behind me illuminated him. I caught a good enough look at his clothes to realize he wasn’t a local.

“Who are you and why did you follow me here?” I asked, shouting to be heard above the roar of the heads.

He looked askance at the dragons, sorrow drawing deep lines in his face and answered, “I am the one responsible for the tragedy that occurred here tonight,” he replied. I gaped at him and lost it.

“Then stop this already!” I screamed, “I don’t feel like going to an early grave because you fucked up!” He looked at me fearfully before giving a reply.

“I…I no longer have control over the Dragon,” he stated, his voice quavering, “It has rejected me as its lord and master.” I couldn’t believe it! I was going to walk into my grave because this miserable old fool had lost control of his…whatever the hell it was. I grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and shook him harshly before throwing him to the ground. I paced for several seconds, and then turned to the dried-up log. I squatted down to his level, making him fearfully back-peddled a couple of feet away from me when he saw the fury on my face.

“How do I defeat it?” I snarled, “There has to be a way to get rid of it, somehow.” The guy bowed his head, looking like he was thinking for all he was worth.

Several minutes later, he finally raised his head and said, “There is no way to destroy it, for it is not of this world. However,” he continued quickly as I made for his throat, “It can be controlled by removing the stake from the base of the center neck.”

“And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?!” I practically shrieked, “Just stroll up to it and ask it nicely if I can remove its control center? And what makes you think it’ll listen to me, anyway? For all I know, I’ll take the stake out, and they’ll turn around and turn me into a smoking pile of ash!”

“With the stake removed from its body, it has no power to hold itself together. It will retreat into the stake, becoming their separate parts once more.”

“What are you talking about?” I ground out, “I didn’t understand a thing you just said.”

“It does not matter if you understand, unless the beast accepts you as its mistress. Then you must have the full understanding of the magic of the Dragon.”

I sighed, “And how do I know if it has accepted my control?”

He looked relieved that some of my anger had receded and answered, “If the Dragon rejects you, the stake will remain a stake. The beast will simply disappear into it and sleep until it finds a master with the power to awaken it once more. If you are accepted, the stake will turn into a sword of my homeland, and the beast will return to it until summoned.”

“And where is your homeland?” I interrupted.

“Western China,” he answered, “That is where the Dragon was first discovered. However,” he continued, getting back to the point, “Every master until now has been a male with highly advanced skills in sorcery. There is no record of a woman ever being able to control it. In fact, the few women who tried were killed. And you possess no skills in the magic arts, as far as I can ascertain.”

“Oh brother,” I muttered while rolling my eyes, “A sexist alien sword. Anyway,” I continued at normal level, “So the stake turns into a sword if it acknowledges the holder as master. And then what?”

“Then the new master must learn about the limits of his powers and the will of the Dragon.”

“This is nothing but a bunch of riddles,” I cried out in frustration, “And why did you lose control of it anyway?” I asked as I glanced over my shoulder at the monstrous beast still flaming and stomping its way around the town.

“I do not know,” he said, confusion crossing his face, “It simply rejected me one day, about eight weeks ago. I have been chasing it across the Continent since then. However,” he said, returning to the point once again, “should you be successful, I will assist you in developing the skills needed to exist as such a mistress.”

“Whatever,” I said, “I still have to get close enough to it to get the thing out of its neck.”

“I will help,” the old man said sadly, “It will be the least I can do for the events of tonight.”

I looked at him skeptically and asked, “How are you going to help if you can’t do anything about stopping its rampage?”

“I know many powerful spells that can at least distract or somewhat stun it,” he replied, “I will draw its attention while you make your way for its back.”

I sighed as I turned and looked at the rampaging Dragon, who was steadily making its way farther inland. I didn’t think the old geezer’s plan would be enough, but it was slightly better than going in alone. I made the decision.

“Alright,” I said as turned back to my new battle companion, “I guess we should get started, then.” He nodded in agreement and we began trudging down the street, trying to find as discreet a path as was possible.

“By the way, what’s your name, old man?” I asked as we climbed over some rubble.

“I am Qang Wu Fei“, he answered, “May I know yours?”

“Kijinko,” I replied in turn.

Wu Fei looked confused and asked, “Does your name not mean fierce god in your language?”

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, but it also means eccentric person. It depends on what kanji the person uses. The kanji I use is for the second meaning.”

“Ah, I understand,” he said. We kept silent until we came to a fork in the road. How cliché, I thought as Wu Fei pondered our predicament. He nodded his head once and turned to me.

“We must each take one of the roads, for one will go in front of the Dragon and the other will get you close enough to the back to proceed as planned.”

“Fine,” I said, “Let’s just get this over with. I wouldn’t want to put off dying any longer.”

“The left will take you to your destination. I will head for the front to draw its attention,” he said as he pointed in turn to each road. I started for the left, but Wu Fei called for me to wait a moment.

“Should we be successful, and you are the new mistress, I will teach you all I know and guide you through your training,” he said. I nodded my thanks and went forward. I caught sight of him heading down the right path just before he disappeared behind a burned-out building. Good luck, old man. You’re gonna need it!

I began racing down the street as fast as possible, hoping I wouldn’t get to my destination before he got to his. The last thing I needed was to get turned into a pile of bones and ash before I made my objective. It took me almost twenty minutes of huffing, puffing, and crawling over piles of stone and wood before I suddenly stumbled into the abandoned town square.

It was surprisingly clear of debris. Well, from what I could see that wasn’t blocked by the fucking enormous dragon tail that was sprawled across it. I looked slightly to right and waaaaaaaay up, and almost died right there. This Dragon had to be pushing at least two thousand feet! From my poor vantage point, the heads appeared to make up over a third of its height.

Which means I only have about thirteen hundred feet of living, moving, fire breathing, shrieking, bent-on-destruction flesh to climb up before I reach the necks’ base.

From the front of the dragon came a bright flash, followed by a loud bang and the crackle of electricity, startling me out of my stupor. All the heads screamed as the flash blinded them. Once they regained their vision, every one of them aimed at one spot on the ground and fired. A glassy-looking globe appeared when the energy hit it, and then disappeared as the attack dispersed.

I sighed in relief. At least his magic is strong enough to defend against it. For now. I had my doubts, though. I had to work fast to remove the stake before Wu Fei ran out of energy and the barrier collapsed. I searched for a way to climb up the back without having to stab Tomoshibi in for handholds. The back had spiky, somewhat soft, narrow ridges running up to the base and branching up the backs of each of its sinewy necks.

That looks like it’s the only way, I thought with a sigh. Girding my loins once again - although this time it was literally as well, since my pants were falling down - and ensuring Tomoshibi was strapped securely to my back, I started walking towards the tail. I found a section close to a pile of rubble, climbed up the debris, and waited for the next shot of magic. I found it difficult being so close to beast, whose sole purpose was to destroy its master’s chosen target. From here, I could make out the details of its skin. It was reflective black with green undertones, and had a multitude of tiny scales. The ridges were matte, and bent over in many directions. The tail would twitch occasionally, making my rapidly beating heart want to jump out of my mouth, along with my stomach and its contents. I wanted nothing more than to run as far away as I could.

After forever and a day, however, the next of Wu Fei’s attacks came. A ball of energy exploded at chest level, and the world suddenly became relatively silent as the constant screams and explosions of energies ceased. Startled, I stared at the heads and realized they weren’t moving.

Way to go, man! I shouted internally as I jumped onto the tail and ran for the back. I needed to get to the tail base before the stun wore off. I reached the base just as the spell wore off. Unfortunately, now the Dragon was enraged, and it began stomping its way towards Wu Fei’s current position. I hung on to a couple ridges for dear life as the tail swayed back and forth to balance the huge body as it walked. It stopped when another flash and crack of thunder showed up, so I took the opportunity to climb up a few feet, avoiding actually using my feet to help me climb. I was afraid that my feet would put enough pressure on the scales that the Dragon would notice me on its back. I very cautiously attempted a few more feet up the ridgeline, and surprisingly enough, it didn’t register that there was something crawling on it. I released one hand and carefully searched for the base. I found a hard line of scale at the base, which meant that as long as I kept my feet on the ridgeline, it would never know I was there.

With my heart lighter and a hope that I would live through the night growing with every minute, I began climbing up as quickly as caution allowed. It was difficult, since the thing moved violently every time the old man fired something at it, and I almost fell once. Halfway up…

HIRAIKOTSU!

Oh, you have to be shitting me! I thought as one of the heads separated from its neck and fell to the ground. The body began tossing around in pain as the remainder of the severed neck spouted fire. I held on for dear life as two more heads fell victim and their necks began spouting a black cloud and what looked like a tornado. I saw Kirara fly by as her rider caught the boomerang, but didn’t attempt to catch their attention. I returned to my task and climbed as fast as I could, not caring now if the beast felt me coming up. A hundred feet from my target, the necks stopped spewing shit. Instead, they spouted entirely new heads and necks! As soon as the heads finished forming, all seven of them began screaming and spewing everything they had at Wu Fei and Sango’s current positions.

I don’t know what the hell this thing is, but it is seriously fucked up! I thought, looking for some trace of that damn stake and spotting my target at sixty feet. It was buried in the scales, except for the top five inches. As I got closer, I could see that it had spikes protruding midway on the exposed shaft, attaching to the surface scales like extra grips. Looking up, I could see their attention was split now, which meant all sorts of badness for me, because Sango was slightly behind it and Wu Fei in front. All one of the heads had to do was catch sight of me, and I was a goner. I kept going, and at twenty feet, I heard the impossible.

BAKURYUUHA!!!!

SYOURYUUHA!!!

I almost fainted with disbelief and terror.

Oh, dear God! I don’t know whom I despise more...bastard or son of a bitch. And it’s a fine time for them to be teaming up. I wish they would just piss off! I growled as I made desperately for the glistening stake. Fifteen feet and all the heads disappeared in a flash of gold and blue light. I made all sorts of vows and cursed plagues upon the attackers’ father with every beat of my heart as I watched the severed necks spout different elements.

I don’t suppose those fuckers realize how hard they’re making my job?! I fumed as the new heads sprouted, turned to the left, and fired. I hope they lose a few limbs, or maybe their dicks, I thought with an evil grin, Yeah, their dicks are even better. Then they wouldn‘t be plaguing me right now! Damn testosterone-driven jacks!

I continued climbing. Ten feet. KONGOUSOUHA!!!! rang out above the roars. I reached for my target as the body rocked from the impact, but was still short. Eight feet…six feet…almost there. I inched a little further, touching it just as I heard -

MEIDOU SAN GETSU HA!!!!

“HOLYBLOODYFUCKINGHELL!” I shrieked as I frantically yanked myself up to the stake, “That’s where I’m gonna end up if that miserable ass’s attack actually works this time!” I grabbed the stake for all I was worth as the Meidou opened up behind me. I could feel the push of Sesshoumaru’s attack as it tried to send the Dragon and its physical body to Hell. At the same time, I could feel the stake starting to give, and it slid out a couple of inches. I prayed fervently that the shaft would stay put as I felt the Meidou San Getsu Ha pushing harder against the beast. Sesshoumaru had to be putting out a tremendous amount of energy, because the Meidou normally didn’t stay open for more than a few seconds, but it had already been more than two or three minutes. The portal finally began closing, and I thanked God once more for saving me from an early grave. Several seconds of relative silence followed, as though even the Dragon was contemplating how it had escaped certain death, though the stupid thing hadn’t been in any danger. An energy blast exploded in front of it again, giving me the final opportunity to remove the control center.

I began tugging at the shaft with both hands. It moved slowly, inch by painful inch, until there was over a foot sticking out. I hazarded a look at the heads and saw one staring at me with blood red eyes split in half by black cat pupils so intelligent, I could see the wheels turning as it observed me. I froze, and my mind went blank with complete and utter terror. Time and sound ceased to move as I stared back. I had been spotted, but it did nothing for several moments, until it turned its head and huffed/growled at one of the heads next to it. Another head turned to stare at me, this one with bright orange eyes that glowed with an internal flame. After staring at me for a short time, it turned to the red-eyed one and had an exchange of growls as their fellow heads continued screaming and blowing things up. My hearing returned, just in time to hear the shout of Kazaana! float up to me. At the same time, I heard the two staring heads start growling at the rest, telling them there was an intruder on their back.

The rest of the heads stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me, ignoring the air void that was trying to suck them in. I almost lost total control of my bowels and stomach. The silence was truly deafening as I stared back at the seven pairs of eyes staring at me, each one of them contemplating my fate. Abruptly, I heard Wu Fei bellow my name and then a huge ball of lightning suddenly appeared and exploded with such force that the Dragon actually lost part of its balance. It also broke their concentration on me and returned their attention back to the threats in on the ground.

“Kijinko-sama!” I heard someone call out behind me. I whipped around and saw Sango and Kirara hovering about twenty feet away.

“What do you want?” I shouted, “I’m not going to ground, if that’s what you’re here for!”

“You have to!” she shouted back, “You almost died a moment ago! If it weren’t for the old sorcerer, they would have destroyed you!” I shook my head defiantly.

“I’m not leaving until I get the life force of this thing out. It won’t stop its rampage until that happens. It rejected its last master and now has no one to subdue its wrath.” With that said, I returned to wrestling the remaining portion of the stake out.

“Stupid woman,” I heard behind me. I turned around and, low and behold, it was the Taiyoukai himself. Sango was flying back to her companions and now I was stuck with the son of a bitch for company.

“Fuck off, mutt,” I screamed as I yanked even harder on the stake. Only fifteen inches out, but it was getting wobbly, which meant I was getting close. “I’m not leaving! Not when I’m so close to finishing!”

“You will be destroyed before you finish your task,” he snarled, “I will not allow that to happen when this Sesshoumaru will be the one to kill you for your earlier insol-” He was cut off when one of the heads suddenly wheeled around and fired at him instead of the ground. He quickly moved out of the way and landed to my right. I so did not want him there, and drew Tomoshibi with my right hand as I clutch the stake with my left. He huffed at my posturing, to which my response was, “Try me!” He huffed again and moved to break my grip on the stake. I swung at him, and he easily dodged it, grabbing my left wrist with his right hand and firing up his Poison Claw.

“I can’t believe you’re actually doing this!” I screamed at him, pain blossoming as the poison began eating away at my flesh. I swung at him again, forcing him to lose either his grip or his head. He jumped away and floated around the same spot Sango had vacated earlier. Another dragonhead swung around and fired on him, driving him even further away. Before he could get close again, the Dragon decided it had had enough, and began flapping its enormous wings. The winds on the ground swirled with hurricane force as the massive body began to raise, its heads spewing shit everywhere to discourage anyone from getting too close. It rapidly gained air and turned itself southeast, towards the ocean, picking up speed the closer it got to the body of water.

I started panicking, since I had no idea what was happening now, or what would happen if I simply heaved the rest of the stake out. I faintly heard shouting behind me, but they were getting harder and harder to hear. I looked down between the necks as best I could and saw nothing but the vast ocean beneath us as I finally remembered Wu Fei‘s earlier words.

“If the Dragon rejects you, the stake will remain a stake. The beast will simply disappear into it and sleep until it finds a master with the power to awaken it once more. If you are accepted, the stake will turn into a sword of my homeland, and again, the beast will return to it until summoned.”

So, either way, it disappears when the stake comes out, which is probably why it took off for here. It’ll go back to sleep, but punish me in the process. Cunning bastards.

I returned Tomoshibi to its sheath and made my peace with God. Clutching the stake, I heaved on it one final time, coming free at last. The heads screamed in anger and triumph as they began disintegrating, and I watched as my foothold slowly began disappearing. The streams of energy flew towards me and wrapped themselves around the silver shaft, making it glow with a purplish-blue light. The place I was standing on was the last to dissolve, so I was prepared for the loss of ground beneath me and the feeling of weightlessness as I began to fall.

As the ocean rushed up to meet me, the stake began pulsing. The shaft started to grow on both ends, the longer end flattening out to become a double-edged blade. I had to smile at the irony as it finished forming. The shorter end became the grip of the sword, and the bars that had held it to the scales became the hand guard. When it was done, I held one of the most beautiful Chinese blades I had ever had the privilege of seeing. I snorted internally.

Accepted as mistress just as I’m about to die. I twisted around just in time to see the ocean reach for me.

The warm salt water embraced me and I sank into darkness.