InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ This Can't Be Good ❯ Pressure ( Chapter 18 )

KURAMA: Well, I think I should get back and chastise Kuwabara for passing himself off as a notary public, and giving me that false restraining order.

Okay if I come watch?

KURAMA: . . .

. . ?

KURAMA: No.

You had to think about it.

KURAMA: I was only wondering at the intensity of your stupidity.

But you had to think about it.

KURAMA: Please tell me what I have done to encourage you.

.

.

.

"What the fuck did I tell you? Get out of the way!"

"But I-"

"Hojo-san! Do what he says!"

"Yeah, unless you want to -shit!"

Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga and shoved the serpent's lunge aside. Any more time coddling precious Hojo, and... The dog demon snarled as four drops of a caustic yellow goo splattered and smoked onto his wrists.

One good thing about snake demons: No feet meant no claws.

One bad thing about snake demons: Being cold-blooded meant that they nested in groups to hold the heat. And they had at least a trio of Shikon shards between the five of them. And they were venomous. And they stank. And they were ugly and mean and angry as hell.

"Inuyasha, I promise I would if there were anywhere to get out of the way to!"

And currently surrounding them.

Miroku had been busily conning the local innkeeper into giving them a place to stay for the night, or at least to leave Kagome's surplus of equipment, when a rancid stink, like rotting flesh on fire, had seeped toward Inuyasha's nose, followed quickly by women's shrill and shouting voices. He'd sprinted toward the sound just in time to see something gray and green and as thick around as he was lunge open-mawed for the glint of glass at Kagome's throat.

He didn't even remember drawing Tetsusaiga. The damn worm was quick, though, changing direction and changing plans in the same move. With barely a nicked scale from the demon blade, the thing swished right past Kagome, clamped its jaws around one chubby human brat and slid back into the woods faster than anything with no feet had a right to.

Inuyasha had opened his mouth to give Kagome a lungful about being careless and stupid so that he had to save her skinny hide, when out of the collective human shouting he'd picked out:

"Don't worry, Mrs. Mura. We'll bring back your grandson!"

"We'll what?"

The next thing Inuyasha knew, Hojo was seated behind Sango on a transformed Kirara and he was running along beside them because Kagome had said there was a shard, and because he didn't have the time to convince the stupid little dumpling that he was as good as snake shit if he didn't stay behind.

Inuyasha snarled and hefted his sword at a reeking, black-scaled youkai studded with poison-yellow. At least no one had griped when Kagome had snatched an extra bow from one of the villiage men. She'd even been calling an apology when Inuyasha had dragged her away after Kirara. Stupid girl...

An arrow, charged and crackling with power, zoomed cleanly past a black-scaled head.

Too bad her aim still sucked.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, throwing a look over his shoulder, "which of these overgrown inchworms has the shards?"

"The gray one!" Kagome called back, fumbling for another arrow as Shippo clung to her free shoulder. "The black one! And the one with the purple stripes. I think- I think they swallowed them!"

Inuyasha growled. If serpent youkai were this rank without being ripped open, then getting the shards from them was going to be fun and a fucking half. He cast his eyes about. There had to be an advantage somewhere. The first demon had left its fuming trail a mile wide across the rocks, straight to the others. At first, Inuyasha thought this place was a nest: The rocks were high and flat, good for catching the sun's heat - and for striking downward at an attacking dog demon - but the scent of snake was just too faint, and there was no sign of regurgitated bones. Inuyasha shook his head. Serpent youkai weren't smart enough to set a trap!

Inuyasha heaved Tetsusaiga and leaped at the nearest scaly neck but the damn thing dodged again. He flexed his left hand, claws itching. "Fuck! Aren't vermin like this supposed to be slow?"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted as he pushed back another strike with his staff, "I don't see the boy anywhere. Can you catch scent of the child?"

The mention of it made his nose wrinkle anew. "With this reek, monk, I can't even smell you!"

"There!" even in the din, Hojo sounded horrified. Inuyasha followed his line of sight to a sickening lump in the wide gray reptile body.

Oh fuck.

"It moved!" Hojo pointed again. "I think it moved, I..." he seemed to sink back into the rocks.

If there weren't so many of them zooming around like dragonflies, I might be able to find the wind scar.

An arrow clashed against the scales and rebounded, catching Inuyasha's sleeve.

"Sorry!" shouted Hojo.

"Quit trying to help!" Inuyasha raved.

"It swallowed the little boy!"

"I know!" Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga in a wide arc, which the serpent easily dodged. Fuck.

There was a wet crunching noise off the right. Inuyasha turned just in time to see Sango pull hiraikotsu out of a limp snake demon's crushed skull. Had that been one of the- Green scales tainted with blue. Four demons left, with three shards between them.

Another arrow, one of Kagome's this time, whizzed past and missed again, striking the edge of the black-scaled serpent's jaw. It was enough. With a blast of purifying energy, half the demon's head was gone. Inuyasha swore and leaped clear as it shuddered and convulsed against the rocks. From the edge of his view, he saw that Hojo's eyes had gone as big as eggs.

A third serpent reared back and hissed loudly at its fallen nestmate. Inuyasha smirked.

"You should have been paying attention!" he slashed upward with Tetsusaiga, splitting the snake demon nearly from its midsection to its neck. "Geeah!" Inuyasha gagged. Of all the putrid foulness... He felt one knee hit the rock.

"Fox fire!" and a flare from the left. Inuyasha pulled his eyes up to see Shippo holding off the smallest snake demon. He squinted. There seemed to be a dullness, a sluggish jerking to its movements, and...

"Miroku!" he shouted, pointing.

But Kagome was already on it, "That one! That one by Shippo! It doesn't have a shard; you can use the air rip!"

"No! Kagome, too close!"

So much for that. He stopped his nose as best he could and hauled himself back to his feet.

"What is it doing?" Sango shouted over the din.

"Who fucking cares?" the stench was really getting to his head, "Shut up and kill it!" Inuyasha looked up to catch Hojo knock an arrow as the gray serpent reared back. A twang and a screech and the arrow glanced away. A flash from Kagome's eyes...

Inuaysha gritted his teeth. Ten days no sits. Ten days no sits... Inuyasha shifted his grip on the sword as the snake youkai hissed loudly. Hojo drew back again and this time the arrow caught it dead in the mouth, piercing through to the back of the neck.

The demon gave a twitch. Then it shivered. Then it reared back its heavy tail and lashed, knocking Hojo onto his back.

The human scrambled and just barely escaped a fang in the guy. "Why isn't it dead?" his voice was a choked shriek.

"Hojo, it's got a shard," Kagome had grabbed both his arms and strained to drag him out harm's reach. "It'll take more than it would to stop a normal demon!"

"Normal demon?!"

Her voice went shrill, "Hojo, please, just get out of the way!" Thick salt pierced the rock haze.

Inuyasha's mind crystallized as Kagome pushed the human to his feet and shoved him toward the rocks.

She was crying?

Why would she...

Why...

Hojo.

"Inuyasha!" Sango shouted from Kirara as she sent hiraikotsu down on Shippo's serpent, pinning its midsection while Miroku landed a blow with his staff.

The stench was overpowering, but Inuyasha could just see the catch in the wind, the place where the serpent demon's youki met the outer air. He raised Tetsusaiga. To destroy the demon, and leave whatever was left of that human child intact, the wind scar was the best-

Inuyasha set his eyes ahead. "Shippo!" he called as the gray demon wheeled and turned toward the kitsune taking cover by the rocks. "Shippo get out of the way! If I use the wind scar now, it'll hit you!"

Shippo seemed to try to inch left and right at the same time, eyes turning up as the snake bore down on him. Stupid runt! He had time; he'd make it if he'd just run. Inuyasha's left hand flexed. And the person closest to the kitsune was-

"Hojo, get Shippo out of the way!"

The human's mouth opened, but, "I-"

"Just duck in and grab him; I've got you! The snake won't get a chance to strike!"

He stammered, "I don't think-"

"Quit gaping and do it!"

The human's dull eyes went firm. His fingers steadied and tightened on the bow.

"No."

.

.

.

KURAMA: Even taking my job into account, this has been one of the strangest and most disturbing sequences of my existence.

Me too.

KURAMA: No. We are not bonding here!