InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Wolf's Mercenary ❯ Purge ( Chapter 13 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 13

Koga woke up and rubbed the back of his neck. He then sat up and gave the biggest stretch he has ever given. He looked around. The fire has gone out and it was only then he realized that it was indeed cold in the cave. He, however, was not ready to walk and get firewood to build a new fire.

Instead he laid back down with his chest against his raptor and dug his nose into the nap of her neck. He was much warmer now. He was pretty sure that she was as well. He closed his eyes and sighed. He was pretty sure the rest of the tribe didn't feel like getting up either so there was no need to get up just yet.

Then his stomach started to rumble. "Eh." Now he could wait a life time for fire, but he couldn't wait seconds without food. He sat up and made sure Val was completely covered. He then dressed in his armor and fur and while he was up he went ahead and made a fire. Again he checked to make sure she was covered before he left his cave.

Ginta sat up with sleep filled eyes. "Koga?" he questioned. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going get some chow," he replied. "My stomach is growling like crazy."

"Do you need some help?" he questioned.

"Nah," he replied. "I'll handle it. Ya'll don't make too much noise when ya'll wake up and wake Val up, alright?"

He went to the main entrance. "Ice?" The waterfall had frozen over, but there was a place to pace large enough for any adult to go through. He walked through and looked at the land around him. A heavy know had fallen that night. It was quite a sight. He took off from the caves to start a hunt.

A pair of red eyes watched and gruffed as he left. "The stench of interbreeding stings my nose." Jarra held his wrist to his noise. "It's disgusting. She's no different from that entire family and their taste for canine and apes." He then laughed at himself as he looked at his hand. "You're one to talk, Jarra. You, yourself are a product of interbreeding." He cracked the joints in his hand. "Still this presents a perfect opportunity." He looked up. "It's time that bitch purged." He stood up. "I will need my little dead girl's assistance, however." He took off from tree to tree to fetch Kikyo.

In her sleep Val noticed the a certain warmth had left her side. Her eyes slowly cracked open. She looked around and saw a freshly built fire and Koga's fur and armor were gone from their usually place in the cave. She sat up holding the furs towards her.

She rubbed her face from the sleep and then brought her hand down to look at it. She was still trying to register the fact that is wasn't a dream.

A small smile came across her face. It surely wasn't a dream. This made her happy. It was the happiest she had ever been in a long time. Valdrianth had never actually remembered being this happy before. She got up from the furs and dressed her self. She gave a shake. The air was freezing. She would have to go back to her den soon to get her stash of winter garments.

After she dressed she left the den. The rest of the tribe (what was left of it) were also starting to get up and walk about.

"Oh, Val," Ginta said. "I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

"No," she replied. "You didn't. The cold air did." She looked around. "Where's Koga?"

"He went to get something to eat," he replied. "He didn't want to wake you so he left early this morning."

She gave a nod. "Alright then, I'm gonna go stretch outside."

"Don't go too far off, Val," Ginta warned.

"Oh, don't worry," she replied. "I'm just going to be right outside the door. There's nothing stupid enough to attack me while I'm right here." She stretched as she walked out. "Wow, snow."

Valdrianth looked around at the sight before her. It was amazing. However, it was very cold. She would have to make her something to wear for the cold season later on today.

She looked towards the edge of the forest. There she saw a flash of green and white clothing, along with raven colored hair. "Ah, Kagome-chan!" She called. "Heh?" Val watched as Kagome seemed to ignore her and walk strait into the forest. "Kagome!" She called again. She sprinted off down the cliff. Perhaps she didn't hear her calling. It was possible. Even if Val did have a big mouth.

She followed her trail until she saw Kagome in a small clearing. She almost called as she made her way towards her, but another figure walked out from the trees.

"Eh?" Val stopped and hid behind a large tree. Koga-sama? What are they doing hear together?

"Were you followed?" Koga questioned Kagome.

"No," Kagome replied. "None of them know that I'm even in this time right now." She looked up at the wolf demon. "And what about you? That raptor girl, that's always tagging around you, are you sure that she isn't snooping around?"

Koga smirked. "Nah, you don't have to worry about her." He grabbed Kagome by the waste. "I knocked her so hard last night that she'll be out for another 4 hours."

"Good," Kagome replied before their lips met each other.

Valdrianth's heart stopped and knees went numb. She could not believe what she heard, and what she was seeing. He used her. He played with her. It meant nothing to him. And, her, after Val had told and trusted her with everything. She was her friend. They both, lied. They both betrayed her.

She fell to her knees. Her heart felt empty and darkened. Everything she had left was nothing anymore. She had nothing. She was completely alone. Nothing, it wasn't worth it.

Not worth holding on.....

*****

Koga strolled back to the caves with a huge boar hunched over his back. It was a good kill. It would pretty much feed what was left of his tribe. If it wasn't, it would be alright. The tribe could just go hunting some more.

He was hoping that it wasn't enough and that the tribe would leave to get another kill. That way he and Val could have sometime alone.

The though of that and the cold weather made his wolven instincts frisky. And, it made his tail wag with odd joy.

He finally made it back to the caves and walked in. "I'm back," he assured the tribe. He looked around and sniffed the air. "Where's Val?"

"She's not outside?" Ginta replied. "She went outside a few minutes ago to get some fresh air. She said she would only be right outside."

"No she wasn't," Koga replied. He dropped the boar and went back outside. He sniffed around. She was certainly here. That stupid girl, he told her not to go far from the den. It was far too dangerous.

Suddenly an in-human, horrifying screech filled the almost silent air. Every creature and non-living thing shook from it's sound.

"What the hell was that?" a wolf-demon questioned.

Koga looked on. He never heard anything like that before in his life. Except for one time. It was the night that Val transformed into her raptor form that he had heard that sound. It was the reason why he was heading for the village that night and ran into her. Then it occurred to him.

"Val!" He leaped from the ledge with great haste. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive herself.

Jarra sat against the base of a tree. His feet propped up on a branch that hung low. Kikyo stood at its roots.

"Are you happy now?" she questioned. She rubbed her mouth with her sleeve.

Jarra smirked and it wasn't long before it turned into a laugh. "Oh, am I." He sat up. "Quite a performance, indeed." He looked on ahead. "It's perfect. I won't have to kill her. She'll do the job herself. And while she's at it, she'll bring half this country down with her. Until her new thirst is quenched." His smirk widened. "The fun has just begun." He sat up. "Let's go watch the show." He looked down at her. The miko hadn't moved. "What is it?"

"I don't want to watch," she stated.

He gave a shrug. "If you say so pretty thing." He leaped off and bounded from tree to tree away from her.

Kikyo's ears caught the sound of running feet coming towards her. She looked it's way and the young wolf demon stopped in his tracks at her sight.

"Kikyo?!" he demanded. "What are you doing here? Where's Valdrianth?"

"Where ever her troubled soul takes her," Kikyo replied.

"What did you do?!" He edged towards her.

"You shouldn't be concerned with what I did," she stated again. "But how you're going to stop her." He stared him down, and another painful scream filled the air.

"Heh?" Koga perked up.

"Follow that scent of blood," she stated.

As much as Koga wanted to tear her head off, he had to find Val as fast as he could. He would deal with the miko later. He took off on his feet, following the faint scent of his Val.

"Houshi-sama?" Sango questioned. "What's wrong?" The Inu-gumi were right outside the village. They were leaving to go on their jewel hunt when Miroku suddenly stopped. The most horrid look spread across his face.

"Miroku?" Inu-yasha questioned. "What are sensing?"

"Don't you feel it?" Miroku replied. "That presence, that evil presence. It's nothing I've ever felt before in my life. It feels as if hell opened from the ground and let loose one of it's own demons."

The group grew tense. Inu-yasha gripped onto his Tetusiaga. Now that he put his noise to it there was an disturbing stench that was near. It almost smelled like.. . . .

Then cries were coming from the village.

"The village!" Kagome cried. They all ran back in the village. People were running everywhere. Kaede ran towards them.

"Inu-yasha, hurry!" she cried. "There is a horrid demon. It's killing the people!"

Inu Yasha took off leaping. He made it around the corner just in time to witness as the demon pounced on a fleeing villager and began to rips his insides out.

"Oh no you don't!" Inu Yasha yelled as he swung his Tetsugia. The demon leaped from the blow and landed safely, hunching it fours, unnaturally. It stared up at him eyes that had no pupils, irises, or whites. They were only blue. They were glowing with the darkest and evilest blue imagined.

It was then, when he saw her face that he realized who he was up against. "Valdrianth?" he questioned. He stared in awe. "What the hell are you doing?!"

She only growled at him and lifted her body to attempted to stand upright as her tail twitched. He noticed all on her arms were wounds. He calculated they were self inflicted, as if she was trying to gnaw them off herself.

Inu Yasha could tell instantly something was night right with her. Was she being controlled? He narrowed her eyes at her. No, she wasn't controlled. At least by nothing that was an outside force. She looked....lost.

"Inu-yasha!" Kagome called as she ran towards his side. A gasp escaped her mouth. "Val?!"

Valdrianth's ears twitched and her eyes wandered over to Kagome. The demon eyes widened as she recognized the human standing there. That wretched human. That was the human that needed to die.

She haunched back down on her fours and kicked off into a leap towards Kagome.

"Kagome!" Inu Yasha called as he jumped in front of here with Tetsugai and blocked Valdrianth's attack.

She roared at him in aggravation. Such an obstacle. The mutt needed to get out of the way. Her tail slashed out and wrapped around his ankles and threw him against a hut. She turned quickly back to Kagome. Her fangs bared with blood and drool dripping from them, as her eyes gleamed.

She leaped.

"Kagome!" Inu Yasha yelled.

A flash of black, faster than the eye could see snatched Kagome only milliseconds before the raptor could turn her into ground meat.

Kagome was crunched up in fear. Then she noticed she wasn't dead but in the arms of someone. She opened her eyes. The figure was cloaked in black from head to toe. He held her protectively and was turned towards Valdrianth. Kagome blinked a few times when she thought she noticed that her rescuer had brown hair and a bluest tint to his eyes.

"Kagome!" Inu Yasha ran towards her. Black stood up and continued to glare down at Valdrianth. She stood there in confusion. She was almost frozen in her stance.

Her breath was hard and she looked around. Her balance almost returning to her hind legs completely. She looked up at the Mystery one, and the faint indication of pupils were starting to form in her eyes again.

"Val!" Koga ran from the edge into the woods.

Valdrianth tensed up at his voice and became wild again and she looked around frantically.

"Baka," the Mystery man whispered under his breath.

Koga stopped dead in his tracks. He stared in awe at what used to be Val. She glared at him. It was that canine. . . canine. And....force....force.....

She roared out grabbing her head and began to thrash in an pile of rage and confusion. The wounds on her body opened up and began to bleed in frantic again.

"Val!" Koga yelled. He started for her, but the new figure was in front of him in a flash. "Get out of my way!" he yelled.

He didn't moved. He only stared Koga down with his piercing blue eyes. Valdrianth gave of another cry and bounded away into the woods. The new figure took off after her. Koga's feet began to move as well.

"Koga don't!" Inu Yasha yelled! He ran towards him with Kagome.

"Get out of my way, mutt-face!" he yelled.

"Koga, that isn't Valdrianth!" Inu-yasha yelled back. "I don't know what the hell she is, but that isn't your Val!"

Koga froze and looked at him. Of course it was his Val.

"Koga, something happened to her," Kagome yelled. "Didn't you see her eyes? Those weren't her eyes." She looked at him in concern.

"Is something controlling her?" he asked.

"No," Inu Yasha replied. "Those weren't the eyes of someone who was controlled."

"Then what?"

"Those were the eyes of someone one completely lost," he replied. "As if emotion has taken complete control of the body, mind, heart, and soul."

Koga fell to his knees and held his hands to his face. "What is wrong with you Val? What happened?"

In the trees near by the one and only Jarra stared down in awe. His teeth and fists clutched together. "What is that brat doing here?" A hiss like growl escaped him. "How the hell did he get here."

"That's the least of your worries, Jarra," a female voice said from behind him.

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I am so sorry that this took so long! I was in a writers block for a time. Plus I had a lot to deal with the past two weeks. Mostly a retreat that kept me busy and school...and someone else. :D

I hope this chapter leaves you suspensefully hanging.