InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tsubaki's Revenge ❯ Red Sky at Morn ( Chapter 30 )

 

Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.

 

Tsubaki's Revenge, Part XXX: Red Sky At Morn

 

It felt like no time had intervened. One moment, he was on his back, the fake Kikyo smiling at him as she tortured his body. The next, he was on his elbows and knees, the smell and taste of fish in his nose and on his tongue, with no idea of where he was or how he had gotten there. He snarled when he saw Tsubaki, from a reflexive flash of hate and fear. But his mind was so filled with confusion that he couldn't move. He panted, struggling to concentrate on his nose instead of the pain. He could smell the vague stench of a village close by, and individual humans. The three closest were familiar; two friendly and one a foe. The other scents were further away, surrounded by the scents of banked fires and dried wood and food and chickens and horses and so much else, too much of it noisome, but all of it familiar. He remembered. He'd been immersed in those smells, not that long ago. He'd been weak, in pain, and someone was caring for him. Two someones. The same two loitering near an old tree that was half-dying, with exposed roots above water, both of their scents threaded with fear—

 

The confusion abruptly vanished. Kikyo! Kaede! Inuyasha's head came up, eyes searching through the red-lit dimness. He saw Kikyo, bound to the tree, her bow leaning against the trunk next to her. But where was Kaede? Why couldn't he see her? What was she doing out here?

 

"White dog."

 

His neck pulsed in pain, and he flinched, eyes widening, as something that felt massive and very cold squeezed his throat. A collar, like he'd been wearing for days, but not the same one. Heavier, wider, and filled with power—

 

That power flashed through his body like a bolt of agony. Inuyasha jerked, then crumpled onto his side, writhing as his bones and his skin burned. He screamed, but what came out of his mouth was transmuted into a howl. He felt the bones in his jaw lengthening, and his legs shortening. Other bones shifted and changed. His skin felt pricked by thousands of pins from the inside out. Dimly, he realized what was happening, but the pain was all he could process. Howling, he scrabbled again and again to get to his feet, but his body would not cooperate.

 

It stopped, some long time later. Sprawled on his side, eyes clenched shut, Inuyasha panted, fearing to move, less that agony came back. His hands and his face still hurt. So did his belly, and his right leg. He felt exhausted, ill, and hopeless. He didn't want to move.

 

A toe nudged him in the belly. "No more sleeping, puppy," came the hated voice of the dark priestess. "On your feet."

 

He whimpered, and then struggled to comply, rolling onto his belly before trying to push himself up onto all fours. It took two tries to get up onto just the one hind leg, and three times, to remain standing on his front legs, which wanted to collapse. Shivering, he continued to pant, his tongue lolling. "Better, little puppy," said Tsubaki with a cheerful voice. Something was set on the grass in front of him, and then he heard water pouring. His nostrils quivered, picking up the scent of water almost immediately under his nose. "Go ahead and drink, puppy,” came the voice.

 

He didn't even bother to open his eyes, lowering his nose until it touched the water, then lifting it slightly and opening his mouth to lap at the water. He lapped eagerly, his body desperate for the moisture. His tongue rasped the bottom of the bowl, and he whined, wanting more. There was a laugh, and then more water poured into the container. Only as he paused to let water be poured a third time, did his mind finally take note of his body's activities. Drinking like a dog?! His eyes snapped open, and he realized that the bottom part of his vision seemed oddly obscured. He looked down, looking for the bowl of water. He saw the edge, and ducked his chin to get a better view. The ripples still, and by a red light, he saw his face stare back at him. The face of a white dog…

 

* * * * *

 

Yasuo sat up, abruptly awake. Something was wrong, but what? He heaved himself to his feet, then found himself walking out of the room without putting on either his haori or hakama. He started to turn to go back and get it, but found himself instead walking towards the village side of the house, where he usually left his sandals. Walking past the main firepit, he noticed that the fire was stilled banked, and felt a bit of surprise, as Satsuki had proven herself an early riser. He heard feet behind him, but before he could think to turn around and greet them, he found himself shoving his feet into his sandals and sliding the exterior door back with one hand, the old hoe in his other hand. Why had he picked that up, he wondered as he went down the steps. He kept it to do a bit of weeding around the herbs along the house his wife had planted, and to be able to help with the farming when the weather demanded that everyone participate. Of course, something was wrong, and a hoe wasn't a completely useless weapon, but what was going on that he should even need to think of a weapon? His role in an attack was to organize people, not to immediately be ready to fight.

 

He realized he was walking at a rapid clip out of the village towards the river meadow. He wasn't alone. More men than women were in front of him, but everyone had the appearance of having hastily arisen. Most of the men had not taken long enough to tie their hair up in their topknots. Women had their hair hanging down in loose braids or entirely freed, and none of them seemed to have put on the skirts over their yukatas. And everyone had something in their hand, whether hoe, rake, or just iron fire tongs.

 

No one was saying a word. The wrongness, Yasuo realized, was in the people, not some external threat. He knew his people, after having been headman for almost two decades. They could be silent enough, at need, but no emergency would have everyone heading in the same direction in absolute silence. Fire, flood, or raiders whether human or youkai: he knew his people, and knew this was not their normal behavior. It wasn't his, either. He tried to will himself to stop. And failed. And could not even feel the fear he was certain such an obvious lack of control should have been causing him.

 

The meadow came into view. The eastern sky was a sullen red through the streamers of thickening clouds, but it was light enough to see two dim figures in the middle of the meadow. One was dark, the other light. That, he noted before the people in front of him obscured his view. He found himself stepping over a low cord, and noticed that he did not feel puzzled by its presence in the middle of calf-high grass. Crossing the cord, he found himself almost inclined to stop, except that there were other people behind him. He kept walking, slowly now as the group of people about him came closer together.

 

"Good morning."

 

The words, spoken by a stranger well in front of him, seemed to snap something. Yasuo halted, and was hit with a sudden wave of emotions--bewilderment, fear, and anger. He blinked once, and realized that someone had put him--and apparently the entire village--under a coercion spell. Around him, gasps and voices arose, echoing his confusion and fear. He heard panic in some of the voices. That galvanized him to move past his own bewilderment.

 

"Everyone, be quiet!" he said loudly, not shouting, but pitching his voice to carry. The hubbub immediately began to quiet. Walking forward, he shoved the hoe into the first free hand he saw. A tap or two on shoulders alerted those in front to step aside to let him through. Passing the last person, he took three more steps, then halted, sweeping his gaze around the meadow. Almost directly in front of him was a circle of cord--some type of spell circle, he judged, from the folded knots of paper. Within it was what appeared to be a white beast of some sort, huddled against the ground. Behind that circle was a woman dressed in the dark robes a priestess of a temple that emphasized magic more than the traditional temples did. And on the edge of the meadow, tied to the oldest of the trees, was Kikyo.

 

His blood chilled. Keeping his face calm, refusing to think about his thin, gray hair straggling about his shoulders, his beard-encrusted chin, or the exposure of his legs from below his mid-thigh length kimono, Yasuo took another step forward, met the gaze of the priestess for a long moment, then bowed. "Miko-sama," he addressed her. "This one is Yasuo, headman of the village. It would please this one to be informed as to why the miko-sama chose to summon all of the villagers from their beds."

 

She smiled, her dark, loose hair dancing in the breeze. "The name that might have been mentioned before is Tsubaki. The dark priestess, Tsubaki."

 

There were several gasps behind him, but others shushed them. "That name was given, as one who kidnapped a severely-injured hanyo under the protection of the village, and who also harmed a child, by giving her false memories of that hanyo being killed and eaten by a youkai." Yasuo felt a fresh stab of horror as he realized what the white dog must be.

 

"Ah, yes, the hanyo," she replied, her eyes narrowing. "How curious, to discover a village willing to shelter and protect the something as monstrous as a half-breed. One wonders what else you harbor in your rickety little village."

 

"One that has the courage and compassion to risk its own life for others is not a monster," Yasuo replied. "The Inuyasha could have used the Shikon No Tama to preserve his own life, yet chose to care for other lives more than his own. This village owes the hanyo life-debt: we will not disregard our duty to him, merely because of his mixed blood."

 

The dark priestess laughed. "Such noble sentiments from a grubber in the dirt! Shall we test such nobility? Shall we see what you are willing to sacrifice, to protect such as this?"

 

She did nothing obvious, but the white beast howled and leapt up to all four feet, staggering as it struggled to find its balance. A head topped with two triangular ears swung in his direction. Golden eyes under tufts of black brows looked at him. Yasuo felt his stomach twist as he recognized those eyes. It was Inuyasha. A transformed Inuyasha.

 

He was not transformed into a dog, but rather a horrible combination of human and canine. White fur covered his head and most of his body, but faded to bare skin on his extremities. His hind limbs were dog-like until the toes, but his front limbs were human from the elbow down.  He looked ungainly and awkward. He was also clearly injured, the right hind leg badly swollen from the thigh down, the left side of his face and his left shoulder streaked with scabbed cuts, and with still-raw wounds on stomach and back. There was no sign of the massive wound he had suffered in his fight with the demon for the Shikon No Tama, but his ribs were plainly visible through the rough, patchy fur. Yasuo found his hands clenching in pity and anger for the battered hanyo. He had been worried when Kikyo had introduced the hanyo to the children, though he had refused to order the miko to stop her efforts to befriend the half-human, choosing to believe that she knew what she was doing. His emotions had been whipsawed that day when the demon posing as Inuyasha had attacked and killed the villagers, and then when the true Inuyasha had not only managed to destroy the demon, but then had wrought a miracle. He had only really met the hanyo once, two days before his captivity, when he had dropped by the hut to thank the hanyo, and to tell him that he would be allowed the stay in the village as long as he wanted. The youngster had clearly been shocked speechless, though he had managed to stutter an almost inaudible `thank-you' as Yasuo had started to leave.

 

The hanyo whimpered and looked away, ears lowered. Yasuo's jaw tightened in anger. The youngster didn't deserve this humiliation, but there was nothing he could do. He was only a headman. Against a dark priestess powerful enough to defeat Kikyo and take her prisoner, he and all the villagers were helpless. There was nothing they could do, to help the person who had saved all those lives—

 

“Inu-Inuyasha? Inuyasha!”

 

Yasuo whirled, to see Korana break free from the crowd and head directly for the hanyo. “Korana, stay back!” he shouted. Others shouted at the girl, but went unheeded. Her brother Kenichi lunged after her, but tripped and fell. Yasuo moved to intercept her flight, only to find his own foot jerking out from under him. He managed to catch himself with his hands, but Korana was past him and out of reach before he could even think of climbing to his feet. His head turned to watch her as she leapt over the cord and barreled into Inuyasha, knocking the hanyo over, his heart in his throat, less from what the hanyo would do, but for what the dark priestess might make him do. A lightning prayer went through his thoughts, begging the kami that the girl be unharmed, and the hanyo and the priestess freed. But he knew, even as he thought it, that the kami would be unable to answer his prayer. Less than a moon ago, the kami had granted one miracle. How could he even ask for a second?

 

Yet he couldn't help but beg for that hope. For that second gift…

 

* * * * *

 

Inuyasha looked away from the pity in the headman's eyes, shamed and despairing. What more was the witch-bitch going to do to him, before killing him? How had she managed to do this, to reduce him to a state where a human could look at him, not with fear, not with revulsion, not with hate, but with pity? Pity! No! He wasn't meant to be crouched down like this, twisted and broken! He wasn't supposed to be terrified of a mere mortal woman! He wasn't supposed to be like this! He wanted—he wanted—

 

“Inuyasha!”

 

His head jerked around, and his eyes widened as he saw a small girl break away from the crowd and run straight towards him. He gasped, and recognized her scent. Korana! Behind him, youki surged, and a thread of evil, gloating anticipation rose from the dark priestess. He saw the girl's brother trip and fall as he attempted to stop her. Inuyasha wanted to yell at her to stop, to go back, but all that came out of his mouth was a series of barks. He saw Yasuo fall, and stared helplessly as the girl leaped over the cord and ran against him.

 

He went down, his three-legged stance too uncertain to withstand her momentum, as she flung her arms around his neck. “Inuyasha! Inuyasha! You came back! Are you okay? Why do you look like a dog? They said someone stole you away and I cried and I'm so glad you're back!”

 

A whine left his throat as he struggled to right himself. “Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to knock you down! Are you all right?” He managed to roll back onto his belly, bracing himself with his off foreleg. Turning his head, ears rotated forwards, he met the girl's gaze. Wide dark eyes looked back at him, uncertainty starting to glimmer in their depths. “You—you are all right, aren't you? I-I didn't hurt you?”

 

He shook his head: that, he could do. He wanted to tell the girl to run, he wanted to tell her he was sorry, but that, he could not. Pain welled inside of him. He didn't want this innocent girl hurt. He didn't want any of the humans in the village hurt. But the woman behind him was going to do just that, and he was helpless to stop her. He couldn't protect them. Any of them.

 

“Can't you talk, Inuyasha?” asked Korana, looking sad.

 

He shook his head again, hesitated, and then licked her face before settling his jaw on her shoulder, closing his eyes tightly. “Oh, Inuyasha!” She hugged him around his neck, reaching up to scratch behind one ear. He shivered, waiting.

 

* * * * *

 

Kaede had her own ideas about what to do. Slowly, carefully, Kaede inched closer to the tree where Kikyo was bound. Reaching the trunk, she just as slowly, just as carefully, stood up. Reaching up with her knife, she began to slowly, carefully, saw through the rope, pausing every few strokes to wait and listen. When the rope was almost—but not quite—cut through, Kaede reached upward for the next one. She didn't know when or if the dark priestess would realize she was behind the tree, so she thought it would make sense to almost cut through as many ropes as she could, leaving just enough uncut to keep the ropes from falling.

 

She was back down on her knees, working on the lower ropes, when she heard the first commotion. Freezing, she listened hard. Realizing that it sounded like a lot of the villagers had come out, she bit her lip in concern. The dark priestess must have made them. Deciding that that meant whatever Tsubaki was planning must be getting ready to happen, Kaede re-applied her knife to the ropes. She had to make sure her sister had a chance to get free, whatever happened.

 

She froze a second time when she heard Korana. She wanted to peer around the tree, but didn't quite dare. But she barely kept herself from gasping when she heard the little girl say the word `dog.' What had Tsubaki done to Inuyasha! Turned him into a dog?! How dare she!

 

“Such a cute scene, don't you think, Kikyo?” Kaede froze again, and silently repeated the spell chant to keep her invisible. “The dog and his little girl. Odd, though. I thought it was your little sister that really liked the hanyo. After all, wasn't she the one who was calling him `older brother'?”

 

Kaede felt her face pale. Something whispered in her mind. The next moment, she lurched to her feet, and found herself impelled to start walking. She fought it, managing to go down to her knees and crawled, thinking she might find a way to make it appear she was coming from a different direction than the tree her sister was tied to. But, as she got her first glimpse of the ground beyond the tree, she realized that the hope was fruitless. The villagers were gathered on the opposite side of the meadow. There was no way she'd be able to hide herself in a trip to the other side of the meadow, and no way that she'd be able to finish it before Tsubaki increased the power of her controlling spell. Tsubaki would realize what she was up to—

 

Unless. Seeing that Tsubaki's back was to her, Kaede had an idea, and acted on it. Keeping low, she got her feet under her, turned and leapt back behind the tree. Jumping to the bank, she dropped, twisted around, and slid down the crumbling bank. Grabbing the tree roots, she found her place where she'd stayed before. Realizing that she was still holding her knife, she slid it back into her obi. Then she waited, gritting her teeth against the growing tension in her head. She would pretend she had been too afraid to move, she told herself. She'd never even reached the tree—

 

The urged doubled, spiking the tension into a stab of pain. With a yelp, Kaede deliberately let go of the roots. She fell into the water, making sure to splash loudly. Stumbling to her feet, she let the control spell take over, stumbling through the water.

 

A laugh overhead drew her attention, as the control spell let go. Tsubaki was standing on the edge of the bank, looking down at her. “So there you are,” she said, not looking particularly pleased. “And what are you doing down there?”

 

Kaede remembered the fear she'd felt when she `saw' Inuyasha being killed by the `youkai,' and tried to make that fear show on her face. She could remember the horror, the pain and guilt, how she had cried and cried. Her eyes burned, and she let them, as she stared up at the dark priestess, and didn't move.

 

She saw Tsubaki's annoyance increase, then shift into a scornful smirk. “Let me guess,” she said. “The spell dust that kept everyone asleep wore off early, and you saw my spell lights and decided you had to investigate. But you're only a little girl, so when you realized who it was, you froze in fear, didn't you?”

 

Kaede made no response, only shivering. Tsubaki snorted. “Stupid child,” she said in a dismissive tone. She gestured with her free hand. “Since you're too scared to even move…”

 

The girl squeaked as she found herself in midair. As she flew, she saw the entire scene laid out like a drawing—the gathered villagers inside a large circle, a little girl and large white dog-like being within a smaller one. The dog being snapped its head up, and Kaede saw golden eyes, and knew that it had to be Inuyasha. But the next moment, she realized just how high up she was, and that she was starting to fall. She had fallen from a tree branch once, and broken her leg. True terror seized her as she realized how much farther she had to fall. Closing her eyes tightly, she told herself not to scream. The air blasted against her face with increasing strength. But, great kami, she didn't want to die! She didn't—!

 

Something slammed into her from below. Instinctively, she grabbed, and found her arms wrapping around something warm, soft and furry. Most of the wind was blocked, and what she could still feel was not as strong. But she was still falling, and she didn't dare open her eyes.

 

There was a thump, a yelp, and her ribs were compressed as her legs continued their downward momentum. They stopped, and for a moment, she was poised, motionless, on top of something warm. Then that something collapsed, and it was her turn to yelp—more in surprise than in pain—as she hit the ground herself, one leg pinned. Her eyes flashed open, and she saw that her arms were wrapped around a white-furred neck. And perched on the end of that neck was a white-furred skull, surmounted by two large, triangular ears. “Inuyasha?” she whispered, letting go of the neck.

 

A long whine answered her, and the body still between her legs twisted, then half-rose to release her. Pulling her legs back, Kaede pushed herself to a seated position as Inuyasha sank back down. “'Yasha?” she whispered. He turned his head to look at her. Kaede bit her lip to keep from crying. The eyes were still his—deep-gold irises, vertical pupils, thick, black lashes. Staring at her from out of a dog's face. She reached for him, then hesitated, not sure how to touch him, or even if she should. “Thank-you,” she whispered. He pushed his nose against the palm of her hand for a moment, before licking it once, and lowering his head to the ground between his forelimbs. Kaede glanced at his `paw,' and winced inside as she saw the dark, swollen hand, blood oozing from blood-caked fingertips. Anger surged, and she wished fiercely that she could do something to help him, to protect him from that horrible Tsubaki! If only she weren't just a little girl!

 

* * * * *

 

Kikyo watched with her heart in her throat as Tsubaki's spell flung her sister high into the air. She wanted desperately to be able to fling a spell that would save her sister, but she didn't know one.

 

She gasped as Inuyasha leapt straight up into the air. Inuyasha's exhaustion and pain had been evident in every line of his transformed body. She remembered how she had earlier had to coax him into even trying to attack Tsubaki and escape, and the fear that had so terribly evident in his face and ears. Yet now, he soared upwards, slamming into Kaede with his back. Her sister wrapped her arms around his neck. They descended, perceptively slower than a human would have fallen, Inuyasha's legs spraddled and stiffened, his ears flat against his skull, eyes narrowed, and canine teeth showing in a silent snarl.

 

He landed hard on all four legs, yelped, shook for a moment, and then fell over, pinning her sister's leg. He quickly squirmed back onto his belly, and managed to push himself up enough with his one good hind leg, that Kaede could free herself. Then he collapsed, and Kikyo closed her eyes, feeling relief and frustration. Inuyasha had saved her sister, but he had clearly paid for that effort. If anyone was going to stop Tsubaki, it was going to have to be her.

 

But could she? Her head still ached violently, and she still felt ill. Even if Kaede had cut through the ropes (clever, disobedient sister, to not wait to work on them) sufficiently that she could get her arms free, she would have only have one chance. The powered arrow would help replace at least some of the strength she currently didn't have, but would it be enough? And when would be the time? She was going to have to wait for Tsubaki's attention to be fully engaged elsewhere, and then have to hope that she could break free, grab bow and arrow and fire before Tsubaki could react. Her chance was so slight—

 

No. Kikyo opened her eyes again, watching as Inuyasha gave her sister's hand a lick. Breathing deeply, she dismissed her doubts, and called the cool, detached calmness of her training back to her. This was a hunt, a fight, a battle. It did not matter if her body was bruised and battered, or her mind aching and injured. Tsubaki was the enemy, disregarding her humanity for the sake of power. The dark priestess was her foe, as deadly, as uncaring, as evil as any youkai she had faced. She had risked death many times to protect the jewel, or to protect her kind. The Shikon No Tama was vanished, but she was still a miko, and she still had her people to protect. And she would.

 

Whatever the cost…