InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Their Daughter's Journey ❯ The Encounter ( Chapter 8 )

He panted heavily, rushing across the greenery of the forest, tripping over whatever lay on the ground. Sunlight danced across his back as he ran, his raven hair absorbing its warmth. Sweat ran down his steaming hot face. Never before had he ran this fast. Never before was he this desperate. Just a little more…

He reached a small group of huts within the greenery, surrounding one large home, seven rooms total. The man approached it, his strong legs now wavering under the weight of his tired body. Sliding the door open in a rushed manner, he searched the rooms for any sign of his comrades. Frantically he looked, breathing a sigh of relief upon entering the third room. “InuYasha!”

Three hanyou studied the man and his attire, the human turning to catch a glimpse. His clothes were battered and torn, covered in fresh blood: some of it his, their noses affirmed. They smelled his sweat, worry its company. They saw the fear.

“You're that brat Satoshi. What brings you all the way out here?” InuYasha asked, furrowing his brows. Something was not right. This had that woman's scent all over it.

“The village…it was…and she…” he struggled to catch his breath with little results.

“Just calm down. We can't understand you if you're like this. You don't make any sense.” Shirou exclaimed, annoyed by his frantic acquaintance. His attitude was far too obnoxious for an impatient hanyou to tolerate.

“There's a woman…”

InuYasha's ears perked up. It was vague, but there was always a possibility. However, he remained silent and allowed the teen to continue.

“She attacked the village with a hoard of demons. We somehow managed to fend them off, but she did something to the villagers. I'm the only one who escaped. Please, you have to help us!” Satoshi pleaded with the family, that of the strongest hanyou around.

“Wait, what about Sango and Miroku?” asked Kagome, hesitant to know the answer. Her old friends could take care of themselves, but protecting a village…

Satoshi's head sunk low. He clenched the staff in hand, gripping it his hardest, before finally speaking. “They couldn't get away.”

She felt her heart sink. Her comrades, like family, were in danger. “InuYasha, we have to help them!”

“I know,” he stated, clenching the Tetsusaiga. He turned to his children. “Kikyou, Shirou, both of you stay here.”

“What?” shouted Shirou with a furious temper, just like his father. “You can't just leave me here! What if you need my help?”

“Keh, you'd just get in the way.”

The boy slammed his fist through the floor in protest. He gritted his teeth as the others watched in shock. He was not weak. At the very least, he could protect himself. Even so, his father misjudged, thinking he was a mere weakling.

“Shirou, what your father means is that you're needed here,” Kagome started, “to protect Kikyou and Satoshi from harm. He's too weak to fight right now and your sister needs to treat his wounds. They're vulnerable without someone to watch over them.”

Her boost to his ego was much larger than usual. Kikyou rolled her eyes at this. Her mother had only said that to keep him out of danger, but a man with as thick a skull as him would let it go right to his head. He always did before. Shirou was not one to think before acting.

“Fine, I understand.” Shirou's mouth curved upward in his excitement.

“Will you be fine on your own?” asked Satoshi, as thoughtful as ever. The two nodded and were off.

They rushed in the direction of the village, Kagome on her InuYasha's back. They dashed forward as branches traced along their skin, scraping at them. Kagome flinched, a cut along her shoulder, but brushed it off. They neared the village. The air grew thick with a poignant miasma, irritating the hanyou's nose.

“It's so strong,” Kagome stated, digging her head into InuYasha's back in disgust.

“How do you think I feel?” InuYasha asked, a rhetorical question dripping with sarcasm.

“I know but…”

“But?”

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too.”

Kikyou finished crushing the herbs. She turned to the human male, a strong sense of duty welling within her. She sat him down before asking him to undress. Any healer would dread the sight. There were gouges on his arms and all throughout his back. Blood ran down his sides as the young girl attempted to apply the ointment, only for his silent screams to distract her. She heaved a sigh, annoyed, and then resumed her task.

Shirou hung over her head, scanning the wounds and analyzing her techniques in fear of one day being in a situation similar. He eyed the green substance in disgust as it draped the human's back.

“I'm shocked a human like you could survive those injuries.”

Satoshi laughed.

“I'm told that quite often after exterminations. My father once said that my resilience is astounding. This is nothing to worry about.” He smiled as though he was not in pain, though winced whenever his gashes were touched.

Kikyou eyed a scar on his back. It was large, cutting across his lower back in its entirety. Her fingers ran across it. It was deep and discoloured, standing out from the dark red gashes he had now.

“Kikyou?” Satoshi called out to her, in wonder of her actions.

“Where'd you get this scar?”

Satoshi folded his arms, trying to recall the event. He sat cross-legged with his head facing downwards, pondering. The memory flashed through his mind. It was hazed and mudded with uncertainty, but still he was able to recollect his thoughts. “That was so long ago, it's hard to remember. I think your brother gave it to me.” Shirou blinked, and then pointed to himself. The boy groaned. “Obviously it wasn't you.”

Then…

“It was Sesono.”

The name resonated within Kikyou's mind. It was such a nostalgic name. They did not talk about him much, and she could only remember so much. His name was taboo in her household. Upon mentioning his name, her father turned red with rage. Rather then remembering their times together, he would prefer to forget it all just to rid himself of his death. For that reason, he deprived his son and daughter of Sesono's memory. Shirou barely recalled his existence. Kikyou did. She would reminiscence about the past all of the time; he was her idol, her hero. His face was a blur, and their time together jumbled, but it was all very important to her. He was her precious older brother.

“We were young, it's hard to recall, but while playing one day he ended up hurting my back real bad.” He laughed at this. “That guy was strong for a toddler. I suppose that's what I get for messing with such a strong enemy as he.” Once more he laughed, imagining how that scene looked to their parents back then. He feared him, if only for a short while. It was so long ago; he had all but forgotten. Still, who could stay his distance from such an apologetic child?

“He did it?”

“Yeah. The two of you were there, actually. You both started wailing. It was an accident, though, so no harm done.”

“…”

InuYasha smelt the stench of demons. It reeked of human and demon blood. He slid into the village grounds, covering his nose. Kagome hopped down, more cautious then she had been since ridding the world of the sacred jewel. All was quiet. There were no humans in sight, no demons, but blood stained the whole area.

“InuYasha there's no one here.”

He smirked in response.

“Oh yeah? The stench of their bludgeoned bodies is everywhere. They're here alright, but they're hiding.”

“Hiding? But why?”

InuYasha sniffed, getting a whiff of demon fast approaching. Shielding his wife with his left arm, he grabbed Tetsusaiga with his right. Its blade formed into a large, fang shape. He stood his ground, confident.

Swiftly a large hand flung towards them, blocked by the strength of his sword. It slashed through the demon's claws, separating it into two bloody masses that lay motionless on the ground. It cried out in agony and anger, thrusting itself forward and lunging at them with its other arm. The silver haired hanyou leapt up, increasing his momentum. He swung his sword forward and sliced the beast in two, killing it in a brutal fashion.

“That can't be it. There're more hiding around here, somewhere.”

“How perceptive of you, InuYasha,” bellowed a voice from all around, feminine and nostalgic.

InuYasha spun around, frantic, searching for the owner of this voice. He knew her. He remembered. How could he not? He growled deep in his voice, bearing his fangs. The grip on his sword tightened, confining it to his grasp even more so then before; it would not leave his hands until her head was separated from her body. “Show yourself, you wench!”

She chuckled at this, allowing InuYasha to locate her among the debris.

“My, how rude of you, calling a woman of my stature a wench,” she said, sadistic pleasure in her voice.

InuYasha turned his sights to her, recognizing her pale, eerie skin and ebony strands. The hanyou glowered, the smirk across her visage all the more enraging. He thrust himself forward, advancing nearer to her with his sword readied. He raised his sword. “Wind Scar,” he cried out, using his sword's original attack. The woman only grinning as the blades of light enveloped her with their destruction. She vanished.

“Now, now, InuYasha, you didn't really think such a feeble attempt as that would be rid of me, did you?” The woman laughed at the half-breed, mocking him with her condescending glare.

He was infuriated. InuYasha caught her scent him his nose, behind him. In a blind rage, he growled fiercely at the woman, spinning around and dashing at her as he swung his sword rapidly. She dodged with such ease that his attacks seemed no stronger then the wind. She was distracted by InuYasha's relentless assault, unable to see Kagome's pending retaliation. An arrow shot at the woman. She scorned the flying object as it brushed her face, glowing brilliantly as it burned her skin. She placed a hand on her sizzling flesh, glowering at the priestess before her.

“You wretch,” she called out, threatening the woman with her claws.

Once more InuYasha released the Wind Scar, just missing her form. She snarled, looking back at the hanyou who sought to slay her. He glared at her, confidence brimming, suppressing his anger.

“Don't you dare lay a damn hand on her. You've already taken my son from me; I won't let you hurt Kagome,” he barked, aiming his sword once more towards the woman he wished to slay.

“InuYasha,” Kagome started, her voice filled with worry and displeasure at her husband's comment. She remembered this woman also. That night, when she took one final glimpse at her young son as he vanished into the foliage, she was the one who took him. If it were not for the monster before them, their family never would have been this divided. She fought back the tears that lay behind her eyes, remembering that night.

“Foolish half breed, you should be thanking me,” the pale woman started, her ruby eyes staring intently at his, “if it weren't for me, your son would have remained weak as he was back then. Now he has become a true man, containing such rich and raw power!” She cackled at his startled face, seeing his displeasure and confusion.

He felt a lump clog his throat as he processed her words. Sweat drizzled down his face, his mouth ajar.

“You…do you mean to say…is he alive?” The question pierced through Kagome's chest. Her heart sank into her stomach. He could not be. That woman had taken him that night, and since then he had never returned. If he were alive, he would be at his family's side, wouldn't he?

“Indeed InuYasha, he is,” she confirmed, skewering his shoulder with the blade of her spear. She licked her lips as blood splattered her pale visage. Her eyes radiated an intense orange in the light of the setting sun. “He's powerful, that boy. Even I cannot contain him for long.” She pulled her weapon from his shoulder; more blood flecking the area surrounded their beings. She licked the blood from her blade, tasting it.

InuYasha growled in pain, grasping his wound as it bled out. This pain was nothing. He needed to know more. Where was he? What had she done to him? Was he safe? He opened his mouth to speak.

“Where is he?” Kagome asked - demanded - as she held a purification arrow aimed at the female youkai. Her eyes filled with tears and determination as she readied herself to release the arrow. “Tell me, now!”

The woman glared at her, a smile adorning her face. “Wouldn't you like to know?” An abrupt silence filled the air, with only InuYasha sneers to break it. Suddenly, a whistle of some kind floated along the air. The woman looked to the sky, searching for the sound. “It appears I have run out of time. But do not worry; I'll leave some company to entertain you.” She shoved the dull end of her spear into the ground before spinning it around and vanishing with the wind.

“That…that…” InuYasha snared, cracking his knuckles in annoyance. He turned to the miko, his priestess, in silent disgrace. Her eyes blinked back the tears, trying to stand strong against their recent knowledge. “Kagome…”

The rustle of movement around the village interrupted his words of encouragement, however. His ears twitched. He sniffed around to notice the stench of the villagers' blood drawing near. They dragged themselves out of their huts, covered in wounds, approaching the couple with blank expressions. InuYasha, recognizing the faces of his friends among the villagers, lowered his sword.

“InuYasha watch out!” Kagome screeched, lunging herself at him. He tripped over her, just missing a swing of the hiraikotsu.

“W-wha-?”

She stared hard into his eyes. “Don't be fooled,” she shouted, “they're being controlled!” She pointed above their enemies' heads. “There! See those strings? They're controlling them like puppets!”

InuYasha blinked once, twice. There was nothing there. He scowled, unsheathing Tetsusaiga once more and rising to his feet. “So the strings are above their heads? All right then…” He readied his sword as they launched themselves at him. Jumping away, he swung his sword above them. One by one, they dropped to the ground, freed from the demoness' control. “Heh, this is child's play,” he bellowed, swiping his weapon across the thread that remained unseen. The loose cords began rapping around his limps, holding him steady for the villagers to attack.

“InuYasha watch out!” Kagome shrieked as she let her arrow fly, dissolving all the cursed objects in its wake and almost hitting InuYasha's arm. He fell to the ground, rubbing his wrist.

“Watch your aim, would you?”

“Sorry!”

The continued their assault, freeing their friends and the others from the curse the threads held on them. Sango rose to her feet first, rubbing her sore limbs. She looked around at the bodies strung across the village grounds, bewildered. Turning, she spotted the hanyou and priestess standing among the bodies. “What's going on?” She stared in dismay at her friends, then back to the ground where her unconscious husband lay. She scooped him up in her arms and held him close. “What happened here?” Her voice trailed off.

Kagome approached her, and exhausted smile gracing her face; it was weak, forced.

“You were all being controlled. Its alright, they're not dead, they're just resting.”

Sango breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes widened as she spun around. “Kazumi!” she cried out, sighing once more at the sight of her young daughter's face. She took another glance around. “Then where's Satoshi? Is he alright?”

Kagome could hear the panic in her voice, so similar to Kagome's own tone when she had lost her son. She knelt beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“He's a little worse for wear, but he'll be fine,” she beamed.