InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Alliances ❯ The Night of the New Moon ( Chapter 10 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: hanyou_demoness 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Action / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.18.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 310 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Action / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.18.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 310 | Status: Work In Progress
Hello, wonderful readers of mine!
I am SO sorry about the formating of the last chapter... I think I've got it fixed now. For those of you who have no idea on what I'm talking about, kindly ignore!!
Big shout-out to Kitsama for beta-ing!
(P.S. This is the longest chapter to date. Aren’t you proud?)
Enjoy!
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
§ The Night of the New Moon §
“Inuyasha… I’m so sorry. Please Inuyasha, you have to wake up! Please!”
Kagome reached out for his hand, grasping it tightly to her chest. A tiny tear splashed onto his cold fingers before she could stop it from falling. She silently reached out to dab it away.
How could this happen? How could I be such a fool? I was too eager to prove to myself my worth in battle, and now Inuyasha…
Her heart leaped as she saw his chest take a labored breath. “He’s alive!” she whispered, but her hope faded as she realized each one was few and far between. If she could not wake him soon, Kagome feared he might never return to her.
Seemingly distant recollections of the past bombarded her with sudden force. She shivered, reliving past events as they cascaded through her broken mind. Between fervently studying for her finals, to no apparent avail, the sudden abduction from her room, only to be shown the massive destruction two demons had caused, and being asked to do away with them… and now this. Her mind was sinking deeper into shock and despair.
There was only one reason she could fathom he would be here, facing certain danger on the night of which he was most vulnerable. Why, Inuyasha? How could you be so stupid? Why couldn’t you wait until morning to find me?
As much as her heart refused to acknowledge it, Kagome knew she had the answer already. Inuyasha would die to save her, just as he would for Kikyo. His stubborn will had proved that fact on many occasions.
Her thoughts flashed to anger as she thought of Master Katsume grinning wildly as his demon and Inuyasha had fought. Clues she had missed, reasons that she had blindly turned away slowly but surely fell into the pieces of the puzzle. This had been a trap from the very beginning.
A trap of which she had been the bait… and the final trigger.
Kagome’s tear-stained eyes sought the silver stiletto. An ethereal glow surrounded it, the same power she could sense within the dragon demon hiding behind Katsume. This was the source of its power, Kagome guessed. A simple weapon Katsume had thrown her in order to protect herself with, and unknowingly caused her to carry out his plan.
The bastard had used her, to rid himself of her hanyou.
But why?
Her eyes turned around, seeking the object of her malice. Katsume’s gaze was one of disappointment and rage; a hawk-like stare that when under most people would crumble, wailing to the floor for clemency. Not Kagome, and especially not now.
“You were never to know, Kagome. I do not know what went wrong,” he dully stated, as if he were merely reciting the pages of a textbook. She flinched when he began to move leisurely towards them.
“Stay back!” Kagome flung himself over Inuyasha’s body, protecting him. “Why, Katsume? Why did you try to kill him?”
A small smile escaped from Katsume’s lips. The shimmering dragon growled a low tone, a laughing note it shared long with its master.
Katsume grinned again as he faced Kagome. “It is not I who has killed him, Kagome. The weapon, my demon, was activated when you plunged the stiletto into your precious hanyou’s flesh. You have betrayed your own friends to the service of the St’aler.”
He held a callused hand out to her. “I thank you for acting your part, Lady Kagome, in the revival of my lord. Your service will be well remembered when he is finally able to take control of the Eastern World.”
Haunted misery and confusion overwhelmed her consciousness. Her guilty eyes turned away from Katsume’s haunting visage, seeking the refuge of the cold, rocky ground. The chocolate orbs alighted on a small stone resting near her foot on the blood-soaked ground. Before she could think, Kagome flung it at the man standing before her. Katsume swore violently as it clouted him above his eye, bringing a hand up to comfort the area. It came down covered in his blood.
“Watch out!” a voice screamed from behind her. Kagome’s eyes snapped behind her, to the figure racing down the steep slope at the entrance to the canyons. His dark robes were torn and dusty, much like the ones Miroku wore. She remembered Inuyasha racing back to save the man, yet she had no clue as to whom the voice belonged to.
“Why you little… You will pay dearly for that!” A quick reflex was all that saved her as Katsume’s fist whipped past her face. She heard the monk yell again for her to run, but Kagome glanced to the motionless figure at her feet. She would never leave Inuyasha behind.
Katsume’s face was twisted with rage. “My lord has no further use for you, woman. He has given permission for me to do with you as I wished.”
“I wish you to die.”
Kagome swung her arm back, reaching for an arrow. He grabbed her hand, forcing it away from the quiver. Kagome tried frantically to twist away, but instead tripped over the body at her feet. In another swift move, he had snatched up her other hand. He held both her fists in one hand, while he deftly flexed the other.
Kagome glanced behind her shoulders, and almost cried. Whoever that other man was, and whose side he was on did not matter. Kagome could read on his panicked face that he knew he would not reach the two of them in time.
The young miko closed her eyes and tried desperately to shield herself as Katsume’s free hand swung back violently to strike her.
A sickening crunch echoed through the valley.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
What has that half-wit demon gotten himself into now?
The bank of coals hissed violently in protest as Miroku dosed them thoroughly with a bucket of water. Stamping out the last few traces of warmth, his eyes once again traced the path the fierce light had originated from.
The same path Inuyasha had taken to the canyons.
Sango deftly knotted the last cord on her demon slayer’s outfit. “Shippo,” she called, “are you ready? Where are you?”
Miroku finally spotted the kitsune, perched on the fully-transformed Kirara. “Come on, you guys!” he called. “We have to go save Kagome!”
Miroku had taken first watch, but everyone had woken when the first aura of demonic power had swept through in a swath of blazing light. The second, more powerful one only served as a greater warning to the monk that things in the canyons might have not gone as well as could be hoped.
Especially since the second one had carried the aura of the St’aler.
His eyes glanced the camp, looking for anything Sango had failed to pick up. Spotting Kagome’s yellow bag, Miroku grasped a strap.
I hope I do not take this bag in vain, Inuyasha. May the spirits keep you and Lady Kagome alive this night.
Hearing Shippo’s urgent cry for him to hurry, the monk lifted the heavy pack to his shoulder and hauled it to Kirara’s back.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
He grinned in utter satisfaction as his foot connected solidly with the soft flesh of the human in front of him. A rib cracked soundly under the strain, the crunch reverberating throughout the canyon walls. It serves that bastard right, he dimly thought.
Katsume screamed in agony, flinging Kagome back. She tripped hard over his outstretched leg, causing a wave of pain to course through the entire limb.
Dammit, one more broken thing to worry about. Stupid human body.
His entire chest seared with a fiery pain, although nothing compared to the crushing blackness that had swallowed him as the effects of the new moon had finally taken hold. The void had been quiet, peaceful even, compared to the battle before. Voices on the outside had drifted in occasionally, but his mind had taken no heed. Those voices no longer could concern him.
That was until Kagome’s scream had punctured it. Nothing alive or dead could have kept him there after that. Not if Kagome’s life was in danger.
Yet, even after returning to this world, he still felt aloft, and incomplete. It had been a great challenge to even think of protecting Kagome as he was now. The effort had left him exhausted and scattered, and still he yet feared of leaving her once again.
He remembered everything of the battle, and everything afterwards said during Katsume and Kagome’s exchange.
He knew it was not her fault.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
Kagome lifted herself from the ground, her hand gently comforting the spot where her head had connected to the earth. The world seemed to tip and whirl about, and Kagome slammed her eyes shut lest she be sick.
A comforting hand reached under her shoulders. Kagome searched about for the offering arm, using it to gain her balance as she rose unsteadily to her feet. When the world once again felt stable beneath, she opened her eyes to man before her.
“Are you alright, my lady?” he asked.
Kagome nodded her head. “Did you save me… monk?” she questioned, pointing to the writhing form beyond. Katsume’s samurai were helping their master to his feet, but Kagome could see he was injured seriously enough that the ill-tempered warrior would be going nowhere fast.
The man smiled. “The name is Varon, my lady. At least, that’s what my friends know me as.” He gave her a wink. “You are a very brave woman, Lady Kagome. But alas, it was not my hand that should receive recognition for that feat.”
“Varon,” a low voice growled weakly, “if you lay one hand on her…”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome shrieked, whirling around to the hanyou at her feet. “You’re alive!”
“What else would I be?” She saw him look to the tears staining her cheeks, and feebly shake his head. “You really expected a demon like that could defeat me? I’m insulted Kagome!”
“You jerk! You always pull this. You risk your life recklessly, scare me half to death, and yell if I worry!” Kagome leaned down, gently hugging his wounded body. “I’m just glad you can do the latter part this time,” she whispered in his ear.
“Keh.”
Kagome reluctantly pulled away, and gasped. Her shirt was covered in his blood.
“Inuyasha, your bleeding hasn’t stopped yet!”
“So what?”
“You idiot! You’re a human right now! If we don’t stop it…” She found she couldn’t finish the sentence.
“If I may interrupt?” Varon pushed Kagome aside, crouching beside Inuyasha so that he could see the monk. Kagome saw his face darken as his eyes pass over Inuyasha’s wounds, and the stiletto still stuck in his shoulder.
“I’m afraid, Inuyasha, we don’t have much time. I need to remove the blade from your shoulder as soon as possible, and then we need to leave.” He pointed at the grouping samurai warriors, and the dragon eyeing them menacingly. “If I don’t remove the blade, that dragon will able to track us. It’s connected to it somehow. My senses can gather that much.”
Varon glanced again the dragon. Both it and the hilt of the blade were becoming increasingly more iridescent as the minutes went by. “Although I have no idea why it is glowing like that.”
Inuyasha nodded. His violet eyes dulled with understanding at Varon’s earlier statement. “Kagome,” the hanyou said, a grave look on his face, “watch Master Katsume’s movement for us. If he tries something, shoot him with your arrow.”
She reached down, grabbing her bow and arrow, confused. From that angle, she wouldn’t be able to see what Varon was doing. “Inuyasha?” Kagome questioned. Her eyes gazed fiercely into his own, trying to search out what was troubling him.
“The blade is buried in the bone of his shoulder, Kagome. It might take a minute to remove.” Varon looked to her in sympathy. “In his state… let’s just say you and I were going to have to carry him out anyway.”
Inuyasha gave her a weak smile. “Go keep an eye on them, Kagome.”
She nodded, turning away so that he wouldn’t see the tears streaming down her face.
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Varon watched the hanyou from the corner of his eye. Inuyasha’s breathing was weak, and his skin was soaked in sweat. The monk couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through right now, and knew that by removing the stiletto he’d only make it worse.
In his limited experience in dealing with healings, he had never seen someone hold on as long as Inuyasha had. By all rights as a human, though he was scared to admit it, this man should have been dead.
“You’re more stubborn than I first thought, friend.”
Inuyasha snorted. “I don’t need you getting sentimental on me too, monk. Just take the blade out, and let’s get out of here!”
Varon gripped the handle tightly. “It will hurt.”
Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow, trying to give to impression of being seriously offended. However, the final effect resulted in something Varon was certain the hanyou had not intended, as the comical look upon his face almost set the monk to laughing. It almost resembles, thought the monk, a look a puppy might give its young female owner in retribution for a deed done wrong…
Varon finally allowed himself a sparing grin. “I should have known you’d try to be a showoff.”
“Get ready…”
“…On three…
“…Two…
“…One.” Varon jerked back as hard as he could.
A shockwave ripped from the weapon, tearing the stiletto from the monk’s grip and tossing like a rag doll away from the hanyou. Inuyasha grunted in pain, his eyes opening wide, as the weapon was loosened faintly from within him.
From his perch on the ground, Varon watched as Kagome was flung to the ground nearby. The ring of dust expanded outward, knocking over Katsume’s men and the master himself.
As it touched the dragon, however, the blast of wind abruptly subsided.
Giving an unearthly snarl, the demon began to snake its way across the canyon floor. Varon tried to rise, but found his limbs anchored securely in place. A glance at Kagome told him she was immobilized as well.
The demon was heading straight for Inuyasha.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
“You stupid bastard,” said Inuyasha, as he vainly tried to struggle to his feet. “Haven’t you given up yet?”
The shimmering dragon roared in anger, sliding to a halt before him. Its coal-black eyes threatened to suck him within their depths. Their appearance was a faint reminiscence of the black void he had resided in before Kagome had called him.
Inuyasha smiled. His weak human body was handling the stress better than the hanyou would have guessed. The feeling of being adrift was stronger now than ever, and, guessing from what he knew of the St’aler, he could bet on the reason why.
The dragon was stealing his soul.
I’ll be damned, literally, if I let it do that.
He could feel a part of himself still within those coal eyes, trapped inside the demon. It was drawing his spirit through the blade into itself, harvesting him for the St’aler.
At least he now knew how to stop it.
Inuyasha reached for the hilt of the blade. The dragon’s eyes flashed red, and it growled a warning note.
Yep. I was right.
Inuyasha grasped the handle, and prepared to pull it out himself.
“Inuyasha! Stop, you fool!”
Inuyasha turned to the voice. Katsume struggled to rise from across the canyon, clutching his chest. Inuyasha frowned, and glanced towards Kagome and Varon. Both of them didn’t move. Besides he, the dragon, and Inuyasha himself, no one else seemed to be able to rise from the shockwave.
“Keh. I get it. A spell in case someone can figure out how this thing works. Right, Katsume?”
Katsume grinned wickedly, steadily himself against the canyon wall. “If you pull that blade out now, Inuyasha, your soul will be torn asunder. You’ll never know peace, boy!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
“My fellows and I have seen signs of St’aler use all over Japan. I have searched for months, but I have been unable to find the source of the attacks. Two things are certain however, the attacker’s power and accuracy are increasing, and he knows the ancient requirement for their power.”
“What?” asked Inuyasha.
“A living human soul,” replied Miroku, “stolen from the body while the victim is still alive. An eternity of suffering, never attaining peace. Banished, forever.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
“You will cease to exist, in this world, or the next!”
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome. Even though she was trapped by the spell, he see in her eyes a desperate plea for him to stop. Silent words of fear and anguish played on her lips.
He realized no one had ever told her about the St’aler. No one had told her that if he were to surrender to this dragon, now, both her world and his would be forever changed, or, destroyed.
He glanced at his human hands. If Kagome had never came, he would be back at the Sacred Tree, waiting out the night with the fear of being discovered on his mind. He wouldn’t be running around, saving the world and the woman he loved.
No, Inuyasha laughed, if Kagome hadn’t come, I would still be pinned to that tree, waiting out eternity with Kikyo.
What difference is one eternity to another?
The dragon, sensing his intentions, lunged forward to snatch him. Inuyasha turned to Kagome, meeting her horrified gaze.
“I love you, Kagome. I’m sorry.”
He pulled the stiletto free.
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LAST BIG CLIFFIE FOR A WHILE! Promise!
Review!
-Hanyou
I am SO sorry about the formating of the last chapter... I think I've got it fixed now. For those of you who have no idea on what I'm talking about, kindly ignore!!
Big shout-out to Kitsama for beta-ing!
(P.S. This is the longest chapter to date. Aren’t you proud?)
Enjoy!
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
§ The Night of the New Moon §
“Inuyasha… I’m so sorry. Please Inuyasha, you have to wake up! Please!”
Kagome reached out for his hand, grasping it tightly to her chest. A tiny tear splashed onto his cold fingers before she could stop it from falling. She silently reached out to dab it away.
How could this happen? How could I be such a fool? I was too eager to prove to myself my worth in battle, and now Inuyasha…
Her heart leaped as she saw his chest take a labored breath. “He’s alive!” she whispered, but her hope faded as she realized each one was few and far between. If she could not wake him soon, Kagome feared he might never return to her.
Seemingly distant recollections of the past bombarded her with sudden force. She shivered, reliving past events as they cascaded through her broken mind. Between fervently studying for her finals, to no apparent avail, the sudden abduction from her room, only to be shown the massive destruction two demons had caused, and being asked to do away with them… and now this. Her mind was sinking deeper into shock and despair.
There was only one reason she could fathom he would be here, facing certain danger on the night of which he was most vulnerable. Why, Inuyasha? How could you be so stupid? Why couldn’t you wait until morning to find me?
As much as her heart refused to acknowledge it, Kagome knew she had the answer already. Inuyasha would die to save her, just as he would for Kikyo. His stubborn will had proved that fact on many occasions.
Her thoughts flashed to anger as she thought of Master Katsume grinning wildly as his demon and Inuyasha had fought. Clues she had missed, reasons that she had blindly turned away slowly but surely fell into the pieces of the puzzle. This had been a trap from the very beginning.
A trap of which she had been the bait… and the final trigger.
Kagome’s tear-stained eyes sought the silver stiletto. An ethereal glow surrounded it, the same power she could sense within the dragon demon hiding behind Katsume. This was the source of its power, Kagome guessed. A simple weapon Katsume had thrown her in order to protect herself with, and unknowingly caused her to carry out his plan.
The bastard had used her, to rid himself of her hanyou.
But why?
Her eyes turned around, seeking the object of her malice. Katsume’s gaze was one of disappointment and rage; a hawk-like stare that when under most people would crumble, wailing to the floor for clemency. Not Kagome, and especially not now.
“You were never to know, Kagome. I do not know what went wrong,” he dully stated, as if he were merely reciting the pages of a textbook. She flinched when he began to move leisurely towards them.
“Stay back!” Kagome flung himself over Inuyasha’s body, protecting him. “Why, Katsume? Why did you try to kill him?”
A small smile escaped from Katsume’s lips. The shimmering dragon growled a low tone, a laughing note it shared long with its master.
Katsume grinned again as he faced Kagome. “It is not I who has killed him, Kagome. The weapon, my demon, was activated when you plunged the stiletto into your precious hanyou’s flesh. You have betrayed your own friends to the service of the St’aler.”
He held a callused hand out to her. “I thank you for acting your part, Lady Kagome, in the revival of my lord. Your service will be well remembered when he is finally able to take control of the Eastern World.”
Haunted misery and confusion overwhelmed her consciousness. Her guilty eyes turned away from Katsume’s haunting visage, seeking the refuge of the cold, rocky ground. The chocolate orbs alighted on a small stone resting near her foot on the blood-soaked ground. Before she could think, Kagome flung it at the man standing before her. Katsume swore violently as it clouted him above his eye, bringing a hand up to comfort the area. It came down covered in his blood.
“Watch out!” a voice screamed from behind her. Kagome’s eyes snapped behind her, to the figure racing down the steep slope at the entrance to the canyons. His dark robes were torn and dusty, much like the ones Miroku wore. She remembered Inuyasha racing back to save the man, yet she had no clue as to whom the voice belonged to.
“Why you little… You will pay dearly for that!” A quick reflex was all that saved her as Katsume’s fist whipped past her face. She heard the monk yell again for her to run, but Kagome glanced to the motionless figure at her feet. She would never leave Inuyasha behind.
Katsume’s face was twisted with rage. “My lord has no further use for you, woman. He has given permission for me to do with you as I wished.”
“I wish you to die.”
Kagome swung her arm back, reaching for an arrow. He grabbed her hand, forcing it away from the quiver. Kagome tried frantically to twist away, but instead tripped over the body at her feet. In another swift move, he had snatched up her other hand. He held both her fists in one hand, while he deftly flexed the other.
Kagome glanced behind her shoulders, and almost cried. Whoever that other man was, and whose side he was on did not matter. Kagome could read on his panicked face that he knew he would not reach the two of them in time.
The young miko closed her eyes and tried desperately to shield herself as Katsume’s free hand swung back violently to strike her.
A sickening crunch echoed through the valley.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
What has that half-wit demon gotten himself into now?
The bank of coals hissed violently in protest as Miroku dosed them thoroughly with a bucket of water. Stamping out the last few traces of warmth, his eyes once again traced the path the fierce light had originated from.
The same path Inuyasha had taken to the canyons.
Sango deftly knotted the last cord on her demon slayer’s outfit. “Shippo,” she called, “are you ready? Where are you?”
Miroku finally spotted the kitsune, perched on the fully-transformed Kirara. “Come on, you guys!” he called. “We have to go save Kagome!”
Miroku had taken first watch, but everyone had woken when the first aura of demonic power had swept through in a swath of blazing light. The second, more powerful one only served as a greater warning to the monk that things in the canyons might have not gone as well as could be hoped.
Especially since the second one had carried the aura of the St’aler.
His eyes glanced the camp, looking for anything Sango had failed to pick up. Spotting Kagome’s yellow bag, Miroku grasped a strap.
I hope I do not take this bag in vain, Inuyasha. May the spirits keep you and Lady Kagome alive this night.
Hearing Shippo’s urgent cry for him to hurry, the monk lifted the heavy pack to his shoulder and hauled it to Kirara’s back.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
He grinned in utter satisfaction as his foot connected solidly with the soft flesh of the human in front of him. A rib cracked soundly under the strain, the crunch reverberating throughout the canyon walls. It serves that bastard right, he dimly thought.
Katsume screamed in agony, flinging Kagome back. She tripped hard over his outstretched leg, causing a wave of pain to course through the entire limb.
Dammit, one more broken thing to worry about. Stupid human body.
His entire chest seared with a fiery pain, although nothing compared to the crushing blackness that had swallowed him as the effects of the new moon had finally taken hold. The void had been quiet, peaceful even, compared to the battle before. Voices on the outside had drifted in occasionally, but his mind had taken no heed. Those voices no longer could concern him.
That was until Kagome’s scream had punctured it. Nothing alive or dead could have kept him there after that. Not if Kagome’s life was in danger.
Yet, even after returning to this world, he still felt aloft, and incomplete. It had been a great challenge to even think of protecting Kagome as he was now. The effort had left him exhausted and scattered, and still he yet feared of leaving her once again.
He remembered everything of the battle, and everything afterwards said during Katsume and Kagome’s exchange.
He knew it was not her fault.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
Kagome lifted herself from the ground, her hand gently comforting the spot where her head had connected to the earth. The world seemed to tip and whirl about, and Kagome slammed her eyes shut lest she be sick.
A comforting hand reached under her shoulders. Kagome searched about for the offering arm, using it to gain her balance as she rose unsteadily to her feet. When the world once again felt stable beneath, she opened her eyes to man before her.
“Are you alright, my lady?” he asked.
Kagome nodded her head. “Did you save me… monk?” she questioned, pointing to the writhing form beyond. Katsume’s samurai were helping their master to his feet, but Kagome could see he was injured seriously enough that the ill-tempered warrior would be going nowhere fast.
The man smiled. “The name is Varon, my lady. At least, that’s what my friends know me as.” He gave her a wink. “You are a very brave woman, Lady Kagome. But alas, it was not my hand that should receive recognition for that feat.”
“Varon,” a low voice growled weakly, “if you lay one hand on her…”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome shrieked, whirling around to the hanyou at her feet. “You’re alive!”
“What else would I be?” She saw him look to the tears staining her cheeks, and feebly shake his head. “You really expected a demon like that could defeat me? I’m insulted Kagome!”
“You jerk! You always pull this. You risk your life recklessly, scare me half to death, and yell if I worry!” Kagome leaned down, gently hugging his wounded body. “I’m just glad you can do the latter part this time,” she whispered in his ear.
“Keh.”
Kagome reluctantly pulled away, and gasped. Her shirt was covered in his blood.
“Inuyasha, your bleeding hasn’t stopped yet!”
“So what?”
“You idiot! You’re a human right now! If we don’t stop it…” She found she couldn’t finish the sentence.
“If I may interrupt?” Varon pushed Kagome aside, crouching beside Inuyasha so that he could see the monk. Kagome saw his face darken as his eyes pass over Inuyasha’s wounds, and the stiletto still stuck in his shoulder.
“I’m afraid, Inuyasha, we don’t have much time. I need to remove the blade from your shoulder as soon as possible, and then we need to leave.” He pointed at the grouping samurai warriors, and the dragon eyeing them menacingly. “If I don’t remove the blade, that dragon will able to track us. It’s connected to it somehow. My senses can gather that much.”
Varon glanced again the dragon. Both it and the hilt of the blade were becoming increasingly more iridescent as the minutes went by. “Although I have no idea why it is glowing like that.”
Inuyasha nodded. His violet eyes dulled with understanding at Varon’s earlier statement. “Kagome,” the hanyou said, a grave look on his face, “watch Master Katsume’s movement for us. If he tries something, shoot him with your arrow.”
She reached down, grabbing her bow and arrow, confused. From that angle, she wouldn’t be able to see what Varon was doing. “Inuyasha?” Kagome questioned. Her eyes gazed fiercely into his own, trying to search out what was troubling him.
“The blade is buried in the bone of his shoulder, Kagome. It might take a minute to remove.” Varon looked to her in sympathy. “In his state… let’s just say you and I were going to have to carry him out anyway.”
Inuyasha gave her a weak smile. “Go keep an eye on them, Kagome.”
She nodded, turning away so that he wouldn’t see the tears streaming down her face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
Varon watched the hanyou from the corner of his eye. Inuyasha’s breathing was weak, and his skin was soaked in sweat. The monk couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through right now, and knew that by removing the stiletto he’d only make it worse.
In his limited experience in dealing with healings, he had never seen someone hold on as long as Inuyasha had. By all rights as a human, though he was scared to admit it, this man should have been dead.
“You’re more stubborn than I first thought, friend.”
Inuyasha snorted. “I don’t need you getting sentimental on me too, monk. Just take the blade out, and let’s get out of here!”
Varon gripped the handle tightly. “It will hurt.”
Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow, trying to give to impression of being seriously offended. However, the final effect resulted in something Varon was certain the hanyou had not intended, as the comical look upon his face almost set the monk to laughing. It almost resembles, thought the monk, a look a puppy might give its young female owner in retribution for a deed done wrong…
Varon finally allowed himself a sparing grin. “I should have known you’d try to be a showoff.”
“Get ready…”
“…On three…
“…Two…
“…One.” Varon jerked back as hard as he could.
A shockwave ripped from the weapon, tearing the stiletto from the monk’s grip and tossing like a rag doll away from the hanyou. Inuyasha grunted in pain, his eyes opening wide, as the weapon was loosened faintly from within him.
From his perch on the ground, Varon watched as Kagome was flung to the ground nearby. The ring of dust expanded outward, knocking over Katsume’s men and the master himself.
As it touched the dragon, however, the blast of wind abruptly subsided.
Giving an unearthly snarl, the demon began to snake its way across the canyon floor. Varon tried to rise, but found his limbs anchored securely in place. A glance at Kagome told him she was immobilized as well.
The demon was heading straight for Inuyasha.
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“You stupid bastard,” said Inuyasha, as he vainly tried to struggle to his feet. “Haven’t you given up yet?”
The shimmering dragon roared in anger, sliding to a halt before him. Its coal-black eyes threatened to suck him within their depths. Their appearance was a faint reminiscence of the black void he had resided in before Kagome had called him.
Inuyasha smiled. His weak human body was handling the stress better than the hanyou would have guessed. The feeling of being adrift was stronger now than ever, and, guessing from what he knew of the St’aler, he could bet on the reason why.
The dragon was stealing his soul.
I’ll be damned, literally, if I let it do that.
He could feel a part of himself still within those coal eyes, trapped inside the demon. It was drawing his spirit through the blade into itself, harvesting him for the St’aler.
At least he now knew how to stop it.
Inuyasha reached for the hilt of the blade. The dragon’s eyes flashed red, and it growled a warning note.
Yep. I was right.
Inuyasha grasped the handle, and prepared to pull it out himself.
“Inuyasha! Stop, you fool!”
Inuyasha turned to the voice. Katsume struggled to rise from across the canyon, clutching his chest. Inuyasha frowned, and glanced towards Kagome and Varon. Both of them didn’t move. Besides he, the dragon, and Inuyasha himself, no one else seemed to be able to rise from the shockwave.
“Keh. I get it. A spell in case someone can figure out how this thing works. Right, Katsume?”
Katsume grinned wickedly, steadily himself against the canyon wall. “If you pull that blade out now, Inuyasha, your soul will be torn asunder. You’ll never know peace, boy!”
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“My fellows and I have seen signs of St’aler use all over Japan. I have searched for months, but I have been unable to find the source of the attacks. Two things are certain however, the attacker’s power and accuracy are increasing, and he knows the ancient requirement for their power.”
“What?” asked Inuyasha.
“A living human soul,” replied Miroku, “stolen from the body while the victim is still alive. An eternity of suffering, never attaining peace. Banished, forever.”
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“You will cease to exist, in this world, or the next!”
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome. Even though she was trapped by the spell, he see in her eyes a desperate plea for him to stop. Silent words of fear and anguish played on her lips.
He realized no one had ever told her about the St’aler. No one had told her that if he were to surrender to this dragon, now, both her world and his would be forever changed, or, destroyed.
He glanced at his human hands. If Kagome had never came, he would be back at the Sacred Tree, waiting out the night with the fear of being discovered on his mind. He wouldn’t be running around, saving the world and the woman he loved.
No, Inuyasha laughed, if Kagome hadn’t come, I would still be pinned to that tree, waiting out eternity with Kikyo.
What difference is one eternity to another?
The dragon, sensing his intentions, lunged forward to snatch him. Inuyasha turned to Kagome, meeting her horrified gaze.
“I love you, Kagome. I’m sorry.”
He pulled the stiletto free.
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LAST BIG CLIFFIE FOR A WHILE! Promise!
Review!
-Hanyou