InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Soul Exodus ❯ Chapter 17: =Reawaken The Lost Pride - Part 4= ( Chapter 17 )

Written by: Zelix

 

A/N: Okay, here is the Beta-read version, enjoy!

 

 

Once again: BIG thanks for Osuwari00 for being my beta reader on this one and I MEAN BIG THANKS! I truly appreciate you for being so patient while I'm being such a lazy ass… big thanks, I mean it.

 

 

 

 

WARNINGS: Death, blood and action, need I say more? Oh yeah, NOT FOR THOSE UNDER 18… though, that hasn't stopped anyone in the past so why should it work now? LOL…

 

 

A/N: We now return from our commercial break to see how the bloodbath will end, we hope that you have instructed your children to look away from the TV screen for their own fragile little minds sake… now, enjoy!

 

Hehehe, I always wanted to do that, hehehe…

 

 

But sadly, this chapter does not have that much action in it, instead we will now see an even deeper picture of what Arcerdo is feeling right now, I'm sorry if that annoys someone but I must make a clear picture of what Arc is feeling after seeing his first ever battlefield and taking part in it as well, next chapter will have a lot more action, I promise.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's related to Inuyasha, I do own Arc though and if someone intends to copy him without my permission I'll F*** you up!

 

 

“Talking”

`Thinking'

[Check the bottom for details]

*Flashback/Switch in Time or place*

=Used when mentioning a technique, attack or something important=

 

 

If this was a TV series:

 

Opening: Chihiro Yonekura - Butterfly kiss

Ending: Hikaru no go - Bokura no boken

 

 

 

 

Time Soul Exodus

 

 

 

Chapter 17: =Reawaken the Lost Pride - Part 4=

 

 

 

*Where Heitaro is at the moment*

 

 

Heitaro looked at the bloodbath from his spying point, and to say the least, he was not happy with this… it was no battle, it was just simple butchering and killing without reason; he hated these sort of fights: Just killing for no reason, he hated those with a passion.

 

 

As his eyes looked at the insects as they kept killing the villagers one-by-one or in groups, he thought with an annoyed sigh: `This is so disgraceful, what is Kedaru thinking? Doing a bloodbath like this? Hmph… well, what to expect, he is nothing but an average little monster who was given a simple task yet too much power to do it with, and now that thw power has gotten into his head, instead of following the plan or thinking things through at all, he has resorted to brute strength… the amateurs way of doing things.'

 

 

`*Sigh*… this is getting boring… though, watching those Moon priests battle is somewhat interesting, especially that Jei fellow, he is above that of average human and has a pretty nasty sword technique too, yet, he is not a true warrior… his eyes tell me that. They are cold, yes, but they do not show the same glow as a warriors' do… he is strong and dangerous, yet he lacks the thing that separates men from warriors.'

 

 

He sighed again as he watched the Moon priests killing insects, then one of them… Flint, if he remembered right, got hit by an insect and another was going to kill him. Heitaro sighed to himself and said to himself: “Bye-bye, little priest.”

 

 

But it was then that his eyes saw someone coming from behind the insect, moving with speed that left after-images and then cutting the insect into four with an X slash, saving the priest.

 

 

At first, he was surprised and looked at the situation more curiously and it was then that his eyes confirmed who this mysterious saviour was: None other than the person he had been sent to spy on, Arcerdo. This was a surprise development too… Heitaro didn't think that the person who had defied the priests yesterday would be the one to save one of the very same priests. This was an interesting development… had Arcerdo saved that priest to spite him, humiliate him further or because…

 

 

He thought to himself: `No, I can't start speculating at this point yet, let's see what happens first… that Moon priest does not look happy with this situation and who can blame him? If I was saved by the very person who humiliated me, I would be pretty damn pissed off too.' Heitaro chuckled to himself, this was indeed getting very interesting.

 

 

But it was right at that time that a warrior insect who had been scouting the area had found him and attacked.

 

 

Heitaro had heard the insect coming, yet he did not move a muscle to do anything, not even when the warrior insect shrieked and lifted its sickle like arm to slash at his back. Instead, just before the sickle hit, the Kanji on his head that meant “Stone” glowed with gentle red colour and…

 

 

*Scrang*

 

 

… Was the sound that echoed when the insect's sickle-like arm made contact with his skin, though, instead of going through it, it had bent before snapping off completely… and Heitaro's skin didn't have a scratch on it! Instead, his skin looked different for a moment before returning to normal, yet it was too quick of a change to tell for certain what it had been.

 

 

The warrior insect shrieked loudly since one of its arms had just bent and snapped off completely because of Heitaro. Green, gunk-like blood was oozing its way through the severed blade-like arm like water would come through a fountain.

 

 

During this whole time, all Heitaro had done was slowly turned to look at the insect for a moment, then he had said: “Nice try, dung beetle, though sadly…” With that, his arm suddenly shot up, grabbed the insect around its head before he finished, “…You are about 1,000,000 years too early to even DREAM about fighting me.” Then, before even a second could pass, his fist squeezed around the insects head and before you could blink, its head was crushed like a pumpkin, the only thing left of its was a small stump of its throat with blood literally shooting out of it like a geyser.

 

 

The warrior insect's body twitched, shook and trembled because of the sudden crushing of its head before finally settling down and going limp, showing it was pretty much dead, then Heitaro let go of it and let its body drop with a small `plop' onto the ground in front of him and he thought, `You were only following orders, so I do not have any personal hate towards you… I hope that in your next life we can fight without someone telling us to fight, that would be nice.' With that, he focused back onto the battlefield; his lips turning into a grin with amusement, since… well, see for yourselves.

 

 

*Back with Arcerdo and Flint*

 

 

If it could be described in words on how Flint was feeling right now, no amount of words would be enough to describe how pissed off he was right now… the feeling from humiliation alone was enough to make him want to dismember Arcerdo but when combined with all the other feelings as well, let's just say that hell itself would be envious of the pure hatred that burned within Flint right now.

 

 

As Arcerdo got up from his kneeling position and took a better grip of his swords again, he couldn't help but notice that something was… off about Flint at the moment, he knew that ever since yesterday Flint would hate him but… something wasn't right, the look in his eyes wasn't right. That wasn't just `hate' for someone, for no hate runs so deep. He did not feel just hate coming out but Arc could also feel deep, malicious feelings radiating from Flint towards him…

 

 

Flint slowly got up from his downed position and after grabbing his sword again, but as soon as he grabbed a hold of it, his mind was suddenly given an image where he rammed it through Arcerdo's gut… and what really made it odd was that the image gave him a malicious grin of satisfaction.

 

 

As for Arc, he couldn't help but feel himself slowly starting to sweat from the feeling of the maliciousness coming from Flint, especially now that he saw that grin on his lips… Yet what really spooked him were his eyes at the moment: Flint's eyes, for the moment the grin appeared, they had reflected nothing but pure madness.

 

 

Yet, before Arc could utter a word to ask him anything, another voice cut through the air: “Brother Flint!” Which seemed to have snapped Flint out of… whatever he had been in at the moment and much to Arcs great confusion, the malicious feelings had also disappeared at that same instant, which made him wonder… had his assumptions about the Moon priests been wrong? Yes, based on what he had just witnessed and felt, he would need to revise his theory a lot (I won't tell you what it is, not until later).

 

 

They both looked at the source of the voice and saw both Jei and Arbel coming towards them, to which Flint shouted back: “Lord Jei, Brother Arbel! Over here!” And right after saying that, he quickly turned towards Arc and said with hate in his eyes: “I will deal with you later…” which made Arcerdo think: `What's up with this guy? He doesn't feel like an experienced warrior at all but instead he… feels like a little kid who has a grudge against someone, yet… that madness I just witnessed in his eyes, had my senses been playing tricks on me or is there something more to it? Damn, this is getting more and more confusing…' And after thinking that, he replied to Flint with a shrug: “Whatever, I'll just kick your ass again when that time comes.”

 

 

In response he saw Flint's eyes flash with deeper hatred before he turned towards both Jei and Arbel who had arrived and greeted them with a small bow, making Arc think yet again: `And now… begins the hard part. Great, I really am NOT looking forward to this part.'

 

 

*A little bit further away with Hanataro*

 

 

Hanataro had his hands full right now… The people were in a total state of panic and were so consumed with fear and terror that there was no way of getting them composed enough to follow him, let alone listen to him. This mess was even worse than he thought it would be at first but… he hadn't thought it would be THIS bad, people were not listening to him at all. Whenever he had tried to grab someone to try and talk reason to that person, he was simply pushed away or just ignored, he wasn't getting through to his own people and that was saying a lot on how bad the situation was.

 

 

Yet, now that he thought about it more closely… even though the people here were in total panic, even though they had seen and fought these Youkai before… they were panicking like this was the first time they'd seen them! It was like all the previous experience they've had didn't matter or count even one bit! Is this truly what his home village and its people had become? So helpless and scared that they run from the first sign of danger? That they are consumed by panic because of a Youkai attack that they'd been having even before the war!?

 

 

Even though Hanataro thought like this, it didn't change the fact that he too was like they were… even now, even though he had promised Arcerdo he would lead these people to the safety of the shrine, he wanted nothing more but to run and save himself since fear was gripping him at the very core of his heart.

 

 

Yet, for some reason, when he thought and felt like that… his mind kept replaying the moment he and Arcerdo had arrived at the village… that moment, he had witnessed something about Arcerdo that helped him make up his mind about him…

 

 

*Few moments earlier…*

 

 

After arriving at the village, Hanataro had been, to say the least, surprised about how Arcerdo had reacted to the scene before him. It was his reaction and what followed after it that made it so hard to believe.

 

 

He had figured that Arcerdo was some kind of an experienced warrior from the fact that he had come through the insects forest but… the reaction that occurred when he saw the massacre occurring in the village was something he had not expected: Arcerdo had simply began to tremble and was unable to move at all, his eyes had looked almost blank and his mouth was open and shaking like the rest of his body was… not to mention he was breathing shakily as well.

 

 

Then, before Hanataro had had a chance to say anything to him, Arc had suddenly began to take slow, unsteady steps towards the massacre and had said with a voice that sounded so weak it made his stomach lurch a bit: “All this… why? Why would anyone… why would anyone want this to happen? All this pain, all this death, why would someone… intentionally cause it to happen? Just… why…?”

 

 

After that, Arcerdo had slumped onto his knees and Hanataro saw something he hadn't expected anyone who wore two swords and fought against insect Youkai do: Arcerdo… his eyes had began to shed tears, he wasn't crying, tears were just coming out.

 

 

The reason why Arcerdo was shedding tears was because of his empathy powers, Hanataro didn't know Arcerdo had them and even if he did, he wouldn't know what `empathy powers' were anyway… but it was because of those powers why Arcerdo was shedding tears, for with those powers he was now feeling and sensing all the pain, terror, death and fear that the villagers deaths had left behind when the insects attacked and killed them.

 

 

Because Arcerdo was not an experienced warrior and he had not seen a battlefield like this before, his mind just wasn't able to handle it, hence, he was shedding tears of pain from the overwhelming amount of grief he was feeling.

 

 

It was then when Arcerdo had spotted the body of a child, no more than 11 years old. The child was one of the few left in the entire village and now… now he was dead, just like that, a child with a future, hopes, dreams… that child was dead, killed like this, without any remorse nor regrets, it was enough to make him want to vomit. This isn't how the world was supposed to be: A place where children like this were killed like they were nothing!

 

 

Arc just couldn't comprehend it, how much had the world really changed in 500 years? There still were wars where people killed each other because of hatred alone, children like this one were killed just as mercilessly, people treated other people like shit because they were somehow different from each other… the only thing that had changed was that the people were no longer blaming the Youkai for so many atrocities that occurred. Instead they blamed everyone and everything else but themselves… What the hell kind of a world was this? The entire history of both human and Youkai alike was filled with almost nothing but war, death, hate, misery and killing. It was as if neither race knew anything else except those 5 things.

 

 

Briefly Arc wondered what he was doing, why was he staying here and trying to help these people? He had no reason or anything similar to help them, yet… why was he here? Why wasn't he out looking for his mate but instead he was staying here and trying to help people he barely knew?

 

 

What was he doing? Why was he doing this…? All these feelings that he felt, all this pain, death, suffering… why was he feeling them? He shouldn't be here, in the feudal era 500 years in the past looking for his mate who was god-knows-where at the moment…

 

 

Arc hung his head down so he was staring at the ground and kept thinking about that question… the answer was no.

 

 

No, he wasn't supposed to be here, he was supposed to be back home with his family, his soul mate and his friends. He should be attending to his last year of school, then graduate, go to college, get a job and lastly marry Kagura in the proper human fashion and lastly have a family with her. That's what he should be doing, not being here and fighting against insect Youkai that were only told in legends, he wasn't supposed to be witnessing a bloodbath like this, he wasn't supposed to be FEELING like this!! WHY!?!? It wasn't fair… it was too much…

 

 

What Arc didn't realise at the moment however, was that three warrior insects had spotted him and to his bad luck, they recognised him to be the one who had killed many of their comrades in the forest. They began to charge him from three directions at once: From front, behind and above.

 

 

Hanataro had seen how Arcerdo's face had changed with all the different emotions that had run through him, going from sadness to pain, from pain to disgust and from disgust to anger and finally stopped at what seemed to be regret or something similar. Then he had seen the three warrior insects coming at him from three different directions and, putting aside his own confusion about what was going on, he had shouted as loud as he could: “ARCERDO!! LOOK OUT!!!” But… it seemed like it had fallen to deaf ears, for Arcerdo was not responding at all, even when the insects came close enough to cut him into pieces.

 

 

But even though Hanataro's voice could not reach Arcerdo, something else happened in his head instead when he was continuously asking himself why he was here and why was all this happening to him…

 

 

In his eyes, time seemed to completely stop, just like it did in the fields when he had been looking at Chizu, except this time, his vision was completely blank… there was nothing there… absolutely nothing…

 

 

… Until, he began to hear voices… or more like, he heard peoples voices and words they've said to him, to each, he tried to reply as well:

 

 

{[ Kagura ]} : “Because… it's hard to admit it but… if Naraku had not done what he did… I would not have become lonely or sad or even known what true loneliness is all about… it's because of that loneliness that I was able to meet you, even though it hurts to have that memory, I would not change it, I wouldn't want to risk NOT meeting you… not meeting you… thinking about my life without you is more scarier and more painful than what Naraku did…”

 

 

=Arcerdo's mental reply= : “My mate… even with those regrets, she still moved on with her life, a life with me… someone who had nothing, no confidence, no happiness… only self-hatred. You gave me confidence, you helped me accept myself and you gave me more happiness that I can count… yet, I let you down, I allowed you to be taken from me and could do absolutely nothing to stop it… I failed…”

 

 

{[ Inuyasha ]} : “I'll miss you son, don't go die out there… I want to you to come back alive, understood?”

 

 

=Arcerdo's mental reply= : “Dad… you gave me your sword and your fire rat robe, you gave me the two things that had saved both yours and mother's life more times than you can count, yet… I can't even use the sword, it won't respond to me at all! You wanted me to come back alive, I want to do it father, I want to come back with my mate but… I can't do anything, I am not a warrior like you dad, nor am I brave-hearted like mother. I am still the same as I was, a coward who can't do anything. I can't even control my own Youkai blood! You and mother had so much confidence in me, yet, what am I doing…? I don't even know myself what I should be doing… I'm such a failure, I can't stomach this, I just can't!!”

 

 

{[ Sumira ]} : “Don't worry, you'll find her eventually, soul mates cannot be torn apart no matter what happens. Right now you are just lost in the dark, just don't give into despair or fear and eventually you'll see where the light is…”

 

 

=Arcerdo's mental reply= : “Cannot be torn apart? How badly I want to believe in that, yet, if we cannot be torn apart why can't I feel her presence? Why is my bond to her severed?! I'm so frightened, so scared about why it's been broken… who broke it? How was it broken? I'm so afraid of finding out; I feel so lost right now. I don't know what I should be doing, even though you said it Sumira, that I shouldn't worry about it… I can't do anything but worry, since I know nothing about anything! Please, anyone… tell me why… why does it have to be this way?!”

 

 

{[ Renko ]} : “Even though you are not completely human, you have a heart more human than most humans do…”

 

 

=Arcerdo's mental reply= : “Heart more human than most humans do? What does that mean exactly? Does it mean I am so sensitive that I can't bear any kind of pain at all? What does it really mean to be either a human or a Youkai, what is it that determines the two races…? Is it how much they can hate? How much power they have, how cold they can be, how warm they can be… what is it? I wouldn't know, since I'm neither human nor Youkai, hell, I am not even sure WHAT the hell I am at all, am I a violent Youkai or a timid human? Why can't I have a single clear answer to anything… why does everything have to go the HARD WAY?!!??!”

 

 

{[ Renko ]} : “If you're not willing to risk death to protect someone precious to you, you cannot truly say you love them, always remember that.”

 

 

=Arcerdo's mental reply= : “To be willing to die for those who are precious to you, goddamn it… is this why, is this why I can't do anything? Am I that scared of dying that I cannot do anything…? Renko, Sumira… they are both risking their lives just to protect those who are important to them, Sumira is risking death at the very moment because she trusts me and wants to protect everyone, yet, I can't do anything… I am… worthless, even now my body refuses to move because I cannot bear the overwhelming grief of the battlefield, if I cannot even bear something like this, if I cannot face something like this, then what hope do I have of finding my mate? Why…? Why is everyone so confident and trusting of me even though I cannot do anything…? Sumira, Renko, father, mother, Shippo, Ayame, Kouga… they all… trust me and have confidence in me and yet… I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!! I'm scared of everything, I'm scared of being hurt, I'm scared of finding answers, I'm scared I'll lose myself in battle and become a monster, I fear death because if I die, my mate will die… why? I am so full of fear, yet why? What makes me push myself like this, what makes me fight like this…? Why…? What am I trying to… fight for…?”

 

 

{[ Unknown ]} : “Daddy!!”

 

 

To that, Arcerdo had no reply to the single word… he remembered it, from the vision he had before this bloodbath began… That little girl, dancing in the field, surrounded by the wind, looking so happy and warm, then her face when she saw him: That warm, simply happy face when she shouted that one word with so much delight and happiness… That was a vision of a possible future, that had been an image, an image of what his child might look like, that innocence and happiness, that serenity and warmth, would his child truly be like that? Would something born because of him truly be that happy and innocent?

 

 

Wait a minute, there was someone right now, right now there was someone who was like that… so innocent and warm, trusting and happy… someone who without any kind of hesitation had placed trust into him, someone who had seen the pain in his eyes and had given him the chance to dream again…

 

 

{[ Chizu ]} : “NO!! Mother will not die! Arc can help her, right? Youcan help her can't you, Arc-sama?”

 

 

She had trusted him… she had trusted him and knew he could save her mother…

 

 

{[ Chizu ]} : “Thank you Arc-sama! I knew you could help mommy! Mommy is better now, she is walking, laughing… thank you, Arc-sama!”

 

 

She had been so happy… He had made her smile, he had made her laugh with happiness, he had earned the trust had shined within her eyes when she looked at him…

 

 

{[ Chizu ]} : “I knew it! Arc-sama truly is a big guardian dog!”

 

 

=Arcerdo's mental reply= : “Chizu… even though I was a complete stranger, even though I am a monster on the inside… you trusted me, you gave me a dream, you saw me as a hero, as a guardian, your innocence is something that this world truly needs right now. That innocence that can make my inner demon feel at peace is something that cannot be allowed to disappear from this world, for if it is lost, if the innocence of a child is lost from this world… then there truly is no hope for life, for our races there would be no hope, no future… Reality is cruel to everyone, adults and children alike, yet… we do not have to accept it as it is… A human, who has been through war and terror itself said it, someone who was crushed by the evil of the world took up his sword again in order to protect what was still pure in this world. He fought and died in order to protect those he loved and to protect your future as well. That is your father Chizu, just like my father fought to protect my mother, they both fought for what they truly loved… for when you fight to protect those you truly love, death… is the last thing you fear. I do not know what will happen to me but… from this moment on, I will keep looking, I will find my answer to why I fight… and until I do…!!”

 

 

That was when his vision returned to normal… he then spotted the insects coming towards him and thought while gritting his teeth from determination and finished his thought: `… I will NEVER hesitate like this again!!'

 

 

Now, Hanataro had no idea what had happened to Arcerdo during his `absence' so to speak, yet when the insect Youkai were just about to attack, Arcerdo had suddenly grabbed both of his swords, spun with them 360 degrees so fast that it created a short, violent gust of wind and before he could blink, the two insects that had attacked from back and front suddenly got sliced up into three large pieces before the gust of wind that was created blew the pieces away from Arcerdo. And before the insect attacking from above could reach him, he jumped up to meet with it in mid-air, only to spin in the air in order to dodge its sickle-like arms from hitting him and then he delivered a very strong, hard drop kick to the insects head, making the insect crash onto the ground on its back.

 

 

Before the insect could get up and attack again, Arcerdo landed with both feet right onto its chest, making it let out a sound of pure pain before he pointed both of his sheathed swords downwards and plunging them directly into insect's head, crushing it like it had been nothing more but a rotten fruit. No blood came out because the wounds had burned shut on contact… the insect had died instantly, it hadn't had time to even twitch before it had died.

 

 

Now, what made Hanataro make up his mind about what to think about Arcerdo was what he said after removing his swords from what was left of the insect's head…

 

 

Before Hanataro had had time to ask if he was alright, Arcerdo had said with a voice so powerful and commanding, it was hard to believe that just a minute ago he had been sitting there on his knees, completely broken. “Hanataro, I know that you must be wondering about me and all this… but you must listen to me. I may not have a reason to help you or the villagers, hell, I don't even know why I am fighting yet BUT you have a reason to fight! This is your home and these are your friends and villagers. You may not be able to fight against the insects but there is one fight you can fight. That fight is to get these people out of here and to safety, that is a fight that only you can fight… remember Hanataro, if you fight for something that is truly precious to you, death is the last thing you should be afraid of. For if you give into fear you have already lost the fight.”

 

 

With that said, Arcerdo turned and was about to run to where he sensed the Moon priests presence but before he did, he said with a bit more softer voice: “Hanataro, I'm counting on you, understand? I'm counting on you to win your fight!” And with that, the man who had no ties to this village, a man who had no reason to help them took off towards the battlefield… to fight in order to protect them…

 

 

… That was when Hanataro made up his mind about Arcerdo. He wasn't just someone who you could trust, no, he was someone who you could pledge eternal loyalty to without ever regretting that decision…

 

 

*Back to the present moment*

 

 

Yes, what Hanataro had learned in that moment about Arcerdo had been this: Arcerdo wasn't a battle-hardened warrior. He was a young man who was forced to go through things that he shouldn't be going through at all… Yet, even when he had been completely crushed by the sight of the battlefield, he still managed to get up and fight back with iron-hard determination and with the strength of a tiger… Arcerdo was a young man of immense strength yet, at the same time, had a heart that felt the pain of others, truly something you almost never see during these times of heartless violence.

 

 

So, whenever Hanataro had felt fear gripping his heart, he remembered Arcerdo's words and how he had changed from a pain struck young man into an iron-willed warrior. He felt his heart filling with confidence again. Arcerdo was a stranger yet he fought for their sake… Hanataro was born in this village; it was his home so now he HAD to fight for it and its peoples' sake as well. For if a stranger could defend another man's home, then he too had to fight to protect it no matter what!

 

 

So with that, he returned back to his own `fight' and thought to himself: `Arcerdo-san, just watch, I will get these people to safety… this is my fight… which I will fight and WIN!' And then he steeled himself before taking a deep breath. He returned to the task of trying to calm down the villagers and get them to move towards the shrine.

 

 

The fight was fought on all sides now… yet, what would the ending result be: Total massacre or salvation? We shall see…

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

“I will fight, I do not know why I am fighting yet but…

 

… if I run away now, what does that make of me?

 

There are people who have put their trust and confidence in me…

 

… And I will not let them down, no matter what, I will keep moving forward…

 

… I will not hesitate, for if I hesitate, I will never find the truth to why I fight.”

 

- Arcerdo Higurashi

 

 

Next chapter: =Reawaken the Lost Pride - Part 5=

 

 

A/N: Okay, I apologise if this chapter didn't make much sense… if you think its flawed and needs to be re-done, I will do it… since I am not at all sure how it came out, shit…

 

 

Oh yes, I also have an Original story going on as well, it is titled “Wolf's blood” and If you are interested, I hope you'll read it as well.

 

On adultfanfiction it is in the original sections fantasy category and on Mediaminer it is on original as well.

 

 

- Zelix, see next time!