Everything At Once
Chapter One
I could feel it.
I could almost taste the power on my tongue.
There was a shard of the Shikon Jewel nearby.
"Ahhh," I mumbled, sniffing the air delicately, my head cocked to one side, "Where ever are you hiding?"
The leaves rustled quietly above me, the forest seeming calm and serene. I could smell soil, birds, the faint whiff of smoke, and something that had the familiar reek of human blood.
That something was coming towards me at an alarming rate.
DANGER! My instincts screeched and I automatically somersaulted backwards, narrowly dodging something big and scaly.
I sank into a battle stance, eyeing my new opponent with a raised eyebrow.
A lizard demon – nearly as tall as the trees itself, with green scales and fiery red eyes stood in front of me on his hind legs, a purple tongue lolling out from in between his lips. He looked intimidating, but he was probably just another weakling.
"What do you want?" I asked him, "I have nothing of interest for you."
Well, a little voice piped up in the back of my head, apart from a shard of the Shikon Jewel embedded in my leg, that is.
Shut up. I thought back irritably, I'm in the middle of something.
The voice went quiet. Thank Kami for small mercies.
"You...reek of...the...Je...we...l." The lizard was clearly not very good at speaking, and a little crease had appeared between his eyes as he forced out the words.
I shrugged, taking a small step back, my hand slipping into the inside of my kimono. I pretended I was scratching an itch, and my fingers gripped one of my kunai.
"I have no idea what you're on about." I said, feigning innocence.
"Don't...lie." He growled, "I can...sense it."
"Really?" I questioned him, my voice pleasant, a smile curving up the corners up my mouth. I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight that penetrated through the branches of the trees, and I cast my mind out, trying to see if the Shikon Jewel shard I had felt earlier was nearby.
My eyes snapped open when I had found it, and I fixed the lizard with a steely glare.
This moron – this piece of demonic trash – had the jewel fragment. He and his repulsiveness would only taint the gem.
"I think you have something that belongs to me." I said, stretching out my hand, motioning for him to hand it over, "Give it to me now and no one gets hurt."
The bastard actually laughed at my offer and I scowled; a sour look in my lilac eyes.
"Foolish...cat demon..." He wheezed out between chortles, "Your...idiocy astounds...even...me."
If I had fur, it would be bristling in anger at his words.
"I am not a cat demon!" I shouted, taking a step forwards towards the reptile, "I am a panther demon! Got that?"
He blinked his red eyes at me dumbly.
"A...panther...is a...cat." He said.
"It's different!" I snapped at him, "It's like comparing a dog and a wolf demon! It's not the same, alright?"
"Hyuk hyuk." He chuckled, "Enough...chatter. Give me...the shard."
"No." I said, whipping out my kunai and spinning it around on my index finger, "Give me yours."
He shot me a frustrated glance and charged towards me, swiping his huge claws at my head.
I sprung to the air, breaking through the branches above me and I hovered above the forest for a moment, my eyes wide.
"Shit, that was close." I muttered, and thudded back down onto a thin tree branch. I peeked through the foliage, and saw the lizard staring back at me.
Because of his huge height, he was only a few metres below. He slashed at the trunk of the tree that I was on and it collapsed to the ground, and I leapt onto the branch of the oak tree opposite me.
"Nice try, asshole." I taunted him, throwing one of my kunai at him. He leant back and it only grazed his cheek, leaving a small gash behind.
"Stop...jumping...around!" He roared, and made a grab for me.
I sprung nimbly away, but his fingers wrapped around my ankle and he slammed me back down to the ground.
It happened so fast, I had no time to react. One minute I was safe and the next I had been hurled onto the earth, my back connecting harshly with the ground and I heard something snap.
"Ow," I moaned in pain, "That hurt, you bastard."
"Give...me...it." The demon hissed, raising his clenched fist above his head, "Or...I'll smash...you into...the earth!"
I pulled out another kunai, leapt out of the Kaoru-sized crater, and landed on the lizard's shoulder.
I jammed the weapon into the demon's neck, but it only barely managed to penetrate his thick scales.
He made an annoyed noise and tried to brush me off, but I leapt onto his face, my bare feet on his nose, and I grabbed onto his eyelids for support.
He didn't like that much and roared angrily, his huge hands coming up to throw me off, but I dug into his left eye with my claws as hard as I could, feeling blood and goo on my hands, and he suddenly grew frantic and slammed his face into a tree in an attempt to get me off, and I just managed to get away – or so I had thought.
My foot hadn't gotten free and was smashed into the tree with him and I screamed in pain.
Oh, Kami, it hurt.
He fell back onto his rear, rubbing his injured eye and cursing my existence.
I wriggled away, glanced at my injured foot, and winced. It was bad. Really bad. It wasn't even really the shape of a foot anymore. A few bones were sticking out, and blood was pooling around it rapidly.
This wasn't good. It was going to be a major disadvantage to me now – how was I went to dodge his attack and move fast enough to avoid getting hurt again?
Answer: I wasn't.
I shot a glance at the reptile, who was still just sitting there whining. I needed to kill him and get that sacred shard, and quick.
I pulled out three shuriken and threw them at him in quick succession, each one landing around his eyes.
He ignored me, swatting at his face and grunting in pain.
I chewed on my lower lip, thinking as fast as I could.
My small weapons weren't going to seriously damage him; his hide was too thick and tough. I needed to get something long - like a spear - and ram it through his eye and into his brain to kill him.
My eyes fell upon a stick of bamboo that lay nearby. If I sharpened it with my nails, it would be perfect for the job.
I crept towards it as quietly as I could, then grabbed it and clambered up into a tree as fast as I could, wincing at the pain of putting my weight on my foot.
I wiped the gore off my hands and onto the leaves, placed the stick in between my knees, and effortlessly shaped the top of the bamboo stick into a sharp point with my nails.
I flicked the wood shavings off my kimono and gripped onto the newly made weapon as tightly as I could, staring down at the demon who had stumbled onto his feet, looking dazed and yet furious.
"I'll...kill...you!" He howled, his hurt eye covered by a thin film of blood and dribbling pinkish goo.
He spun around, looking for me, but his movements were slow, clumsy.
I grabbed a rock that had somehow nestled itself among the branches and threw it to the opposite side of the clearing and it thudded away into the bushes. He charged towards the noise and I smirked at his stupidity.
His head snapped around, eyes blazing scarlet.
"Stop hiding!" He shrieked.
Wow, his first full sentence without any pausing. Well done, you scaly prick.
"Hey, I'm over here!" I called, almost tauntingly, and he thundered towards me, and that was when I attacked.
I sprung forward, kicking the ground to propel me forward and hurled the makeshift spear with all my might at the creature's right eye, praying it would hit.
Thankfully, it did. With a sickening squelch, it sunk into the centre of his eyeball until I could only barely make out the end of it.
However, he didn't go down. Even though he seemed blind, his eyes still fixed upon me, flashing in the light of the setting sun, and he charged.
I rolled away, but he clapped his hands together as one would do to catch a bug, and I was trapped between his rough palms.
He started to squeeze, and I wriggled around desperately, but he didn't let go, even when I bit him hard my fangs.
"Now...you...will...SUFFER!" He shouted, and he crushed me between his hands.
Well, not literally of course, or I would be dead, but he got pretty close. I felt my ribs snap and my bones crunch and I went limp. It hurt too much to fight back.
Assuming I was dead, he dropped me onto the ground and I bit back a wail of agony as my battered flesh connected with the ground.
The lizard laughed triumphantly from above me, but suddenly he stopped celebrating and started coughing violently, and then, from my blurred vision, I saw him sway from side to side, and then he collapsed onto the bloodied earth with an almighty thud.
Disbelief washed across my face. Was he dead?
I gazed as his unmoving body, thinking.
Well, I thought, I suppose since his body was so powerful, it would take a while before the damage truly affected him.
And he had the powers of the Shikon Jewel shard as well.The voice added smugly.
I responded by blowing a strand of black hair out of my eyes.
Anyway, I had to get that shard fast, before any other demons approached. I was in no condition to take them on.
I crawled towards the dead demon, trying desperately to sense where the piece of the jewel was, weakly poking and prodding at his corpse.
It hurt to move. It hurt to breeze.
I wheezed in air, my heart hammering in my ears.
The sun was going down. The demons would be out roaming soon. I had to hurry.
Something faintly luminous caught my eye and I turned my head and gazed at the demon's foot.
Well, his big toe, to be precise.
Was his toenail glowing?
I wriggled over to it, wincing with every movement I made, and tapped his dirty nail with a look of disgust. Yep, it was definitely glowing.
Who the fuck puts the shard under their nail, for Kami's sake?
With as much strength as I could muster, I grabbed onto the dirty edge of the nail and ripped it upwards, lifting it up just enough so I could stick my hand in and take a root around.
I did so, my fingertips feeling soft, mushy flesh and slippery blood.
Ewwww.
I felt something small and pointed – aha! – and pulled it out with a look of triumph on my face.
I wiped the shard against my kimono and held it up to the dimming light, expecting it carefully.
It was still pure. Thankfully.
Gazing at it for a moment, I blinked, shook my head, and jammed it into the pack of my hand. At least my punches would do some damage if I was attacked.
My head felt strange; like I was floating. I looked around me, and paused at the blood trails my beaten body had left.
My blood was everywhere – smeared across the bark of the trees, splattered against the demon's hands, there were red droplets sliding down the blades of glass, and I had left little puddles behind me wherever I went.
That wasn't good. I would be easy to track.
Perhaps if I shifted into my more animalistic form, I could flee the area faster.
I hmm-ed, tapping a clawed finger against my lips, thinking out my options.
Changing would definitely be the best idea. Four legs were better than one, after all.
I closed my eyes, calling out to my bestial side, asking if it could perhaps give me a hand.
It purred in reply and I smiled, feeling my body being engulfed in a warm light that glowed purple.
Opening my eyes, I peered around me, raising a sleek black paw to take a step forward.
I felt dizzy.
I needed to move. Fast.
Painfully, I bounded off through the bushes, trying not to put any weight on my crushed back foot, going as fast as I could.
My vision was blurring, and I stumbled underneath a large, thick tree and collapsed at its roots, my lithe form panting heavily for air.
The forest sounded safe, it smelt clean.
My eyes fluttered shut and I flicked an ear back, wheezing painfully.
I couldn't move anymore, and I felt so tired.
I needed to rest, even if it was just for a little while...
x.x.x.x
"Kagome, look!"
"What is it, Shippo?"
"It's a demon...I think."
"Of course it's a demon, you little runt."
"Leave him alone, Inuyasha!"
"I wonder what type of demon it is."
"I think it's a cat."
"Sango, what do you think?"
"Panther."
"Panther? Really?"
"Yes, Shippo."
"But it's kinda small."
"Maybe it hasn't finished growing yet."
"Look, Inuyasha! It's injured."
"Yeah, I realised. It reeks of demon blood."
"It must have been in a fight, the poor thing."
"Don't even think about it-"
"We should take it to Lady Kaede!"
"Forget it, Kagome. I'm not touching that filthy cat!"
"Fine! Miroku will help me instead, right?"
"Certainly. I could never leave a beautiful maiden like you to bear the burden alone."
"Feh. If that pervert helps, then so will I."
"Getting a little jealous are we, Inuyasha?"
"Why you-"
"Inuyasha, leave Shippo alone."
"Or what?"
"WAAH! KAGOME, HELP, HE'S HITTING ME!"
"SIT BOY!"
x.x.x.x
Well, there you go. Terribly sorry if it seems OOC or something.
What did you think of Kaoru? Did y'all like her? I tried my best to make her as original as possible.
First InuYasha fic ever, unless you count a really crappy one I did when I was like ten. So. Yeah.
Feel free to leave me any questions or similar in the reviews, I'll attempt to reply as soon as possible.
So, I hoped you liked it; feel free to review (please review, I will love you forever. Literally.)
Oh, yes, this is my first and last disclaimer for this story: I don't own InuYasha, only the OCs, the plot idea, and so forth. Alright.
Anyway, peace out. ^u^
~Momo-Senpai