2.
Kagome had expected a friendlier 'welcome back' than this. She'd hardly pulled herself out of the well and apologised to Inuyasha for being late, when storm clouds had suddenly engulfed the sky. Alarmed, they had raced back towards the village, only to be stopped as what appeared to be a twister tore through the clouds and hit the ground in front of them. Kagome shielded her eyes from the wind, and felt Inuyasha swing an arm protectively in front of her.
A strangely familiar gurgling sound reached her ears – that of laughter. When the wind died away and Kagome uncovered her eyes, she found herself gazing upon a most unwelcome visitor.
"Chokyukai!" Inuyasha snarled at the hideous pig demon, "I wondered when I'd see your ugly mug again! Come back for a beating, have you? I'm sorry I let you escape last time!"
Chokyukai was a wild boar demon who had once tried to get Kagome to marry him. He'd almost succeeded with his magical tiara, but had been thwarted by one of Miroku's Chinese sutras. Originally from the continent, Chokyukai had escaped back to his old homeland. Now, it seemed, he was back again. But why?
"I didn't come for you, dog!" Chokyukai retorted, laughing his snorting laugh as he clutched at his wobbling girth, "I came for my bride!"
"For the last time, I am not your bride!" Kagome yelled as she levelled an arrow at him, "And I suggest you leave!"
Kagome was not particularly pleased with this demon. She stretched the bow string taught, ready to fire, only to be distracted by a familiar voice yelling her name. She glanced up to see Miroku, Sango and Shippo running towards her. Sango was wielding Hiraikotsu, ready to hurl it should the need arise, and Miroku had pulled out several wads of sutras. Shippo just looked flustered.
"Kagome!" Shippo called, "What's going on?"
The young miko shook her head and yelled, "Stay back, Shippo! We'll deal with him!"
Miroku's eyes had narrowed, "Chokyukai, what a surprise to see you back again. If you're lucky, I might have another sutra just for you."
But as Miroku fished inside his robe for another Chinese sutra, he realised with a jolt that he didn't have another one. Laughing nervously, the monk rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Guess I don't have one."
Sango rolled her eyes, "Get out of the way, then, Miroku. Let us deal with this weakling of a demon."
"I am not weak!" Chokyukai argued indignantly, flapping his arms wildly as though to prove his point. His two assistants, one a strange water demon and the other a small monkey demon, had barely moved from their position at his side. Kagome wondered if it was her imagination, but the little water demon looked even more cross-eyed than it had before.
"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha smirked, unsheathing Tetsusaiga, "I've heard that before. This will be over in no time."
The half-demon raced passed Kagome and swung his sword violently at the pig demon. But Chokyukai was fast despite his large size, and easily parried the swing with his spear. For several moments, the pig demon and half-demon were locked blade to blade.
"I'm going to cut you into tiny pieces," Inuyasha snarled, Tetsusaiga trembling in his claws. But Chokyukai smirked right back.
"Try all you want, dog," he chuckled, snorting, and thrust his spear hard towards the half-demon. His strength was more than Inuyasha had expected, and he found himself thrown backwards by the attack. The half-demon skidded on the ground and struggled to get up.
"Inuyasha!" Shippo called, running forwards with the vague idea of helping. But the pig demon's eyes suddenly turned on the young fox.
"You!" Chokyukai roared as he noticed Shippo, "You're the one that tricked me last time! Well, I have just the repayment for you!"
The ugly pig demon levelled his spear at Shippo, and a purple orb of light began to grow on its tip. Kagome's eyes widened in alarm and she yelled to the young fox, "Run, Shippo! Get out of there!"
But Shippo was frozen to the spot in fear, his knees trembling as he gazed at the weapon aimed for his trembling body. Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet, grasping Tetsusaiga, and dashed towards Chokyukai.
"Not on my life!" Inuyasha roared, striking his sword down upon the spear. But something unexpected happened. Arcs of purple electricity rippled around the spear and suddenly Tetsusaiga was thrown backwards, torn forcefully from Inuyasha's hands. The half-demon fell backwards, shocked, as his sword went flying and slammed into the earth several feet away.
"Oh no, Tetsusaiga!" Miroku yelled, running towards the sword, only to see the small monkey demon had reached it before he had. With more strength than what his tiny body should have, the little demon heaved Tetsusaiga into the air and hurled it further away. It landed near the trees, almost out of sight.
Inuyasha struggled to his feet and, knowing there was no time to retrieve his sword, made a dash for Chokyukai with only his bare hands. But the pig demon saw him coming and swung his spear, still with the orb of violet light blooming on the end. The orb of light flew from the end of the spear and struck a nearby tree, incinerating it on the spot, while the blade of Chokyukai's spear made contact with Inuyasha's vulnerable mid-section. The half-demon gasped and froze as the blade cut into his flesh, drawing blood that bloomed over his already red robe.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shrieked, running forwards. But the half-demon had fallen backwards onto the ground and was now crouched, his hair obscuring his eyes. Suddenly Kagome skidded to a halt, feeling a strange jolt of negative energy. Chokyukai paused and stared as Inuyasha's body seemed to pulse.
"Oh no," Kagome whispered. She hadn't seen this happen for a long time. Inuyasha raised his head, but his eyes were no longer golden – they were blood red, even the whites. Jagged purple tattoos cut across either cheek.
"Not good," Sango yelped, backing up, "Kagome, get away from him!"
But Kagome was frozen to the spot, staring as Inuyasha's demon blood took over his whole body. He rushed blindly at Chokyukai, claws and fangs bared, but was struck again by the pig demon's spear and thrown backwards. His back hit a tree and he slid down to the ground, momentarily stunned. The wild boar demon turned his attention back to Shippo and fired another ball of violet light at the young fox. This time he closed his eyes and began to chant a strange spell in a language that Kagome wasn't entirely fluent in – Chinese. The orb shot towards Shippo, who couldn't move an inch, paralysed by fear, and Kagome made a split second decision
She dived for the fox demon, arms outstretched, trying to push him out of the way. But, though she managed to reach him in time, she couldn't avoid the orb of light that struck her midriff with violent force. Kagome squeaked as she fell face-first on the ground and Shippo tumbled away from her. The pig demon continued chanting, eyes squeezed shut as if remembering the lines was difficult, unfortunately not seeing that he was cursing his supposed 'bride.' His chanting suddenly switched to a language that the others understood.
"And you will remain in this way until you drink a concoction of thus!" Kagome was writhing on the ground as he chanted, "A silken hair from the lord of the west, a few drops of blood from the one you love best, a piece of fang from a beast the great dog fought, the claw of a warrior whose love came to naught, a cup of water from the ocean deep, and a soul from the wanderer denied from her sleep."
Kagome stoped writhing suddenly, only to be engulfed in forest green light. From amidst it they heard her scream, a scream of agonised pain. Her scream somehow reached the part of Inuyasha that was not blinded by his demon blood, and his eyes faded back to normal.
"Kagome!" The half-demon yelled, running towards her. As the light faded, a figure was revealed, but it was not Kagome. A golden-furred fox trembled on the ground, tangled in Kagome's clothes.
"WHAT?" The boar demon roared as he opened his eyes to see that he had cursed the wrong person, "That spell wasn't meant to hit you, my bride! Well then, I had better find a different bride. A shame… it doesn't look like our relationship is going to work out, my dear. I am terribly sorry. You must be heart broken!"
Chuckling to himself, the boar demon turned to leave, beckoning for his assistants to follow. But an enraged Inuyasha dashed towards his sword and hefted it into his hands. Chokyukai yelped in alarm as Inuyasha aimed a wind scar at his back. The boar demon could not escape as a bolt of energy ripped through the earth towards him and struck him dead on, effectively blowing him into oblivion.
"Inuyasha, you idiot!" Shippo yelled at him, now at the strange fox's side, "Now we can't ask about what he did to Kagome!"
"He can't help! Don't you know anything about demon curses?" Inuyasha snapped back and struck the young fox demon on the head.
The golden-furred fox, having fainted from the pain, had only just awoken. Upon seeing Inuyasha strike Shippo, she attempted to yell 'sit!' but to her surprise only managed to produce a small yip. It worked regardless and Inuyasha hit ground, fast.
"Kagome, you're awake!" Shippo rushed over to the fox tangled in Kagome's clothing, "Are you okay?"
"Wha – What happened?" Kagome mumbled, unaware that only Shippo could understand her words.
She had a throbbing headache. Wincing, she attempted to raise her hand to her head, but realised she was still tangled in her own clothes. Not to mention her hand felt odd, like it wasn't a hand at all, and didn't seem to be able to move like a hand should. As she pulled her hand away from the tangle of clothes, she saw something both unusual and rather disturbing. She had a paw – no, two paws – both covered with shimmering golden fur. Kagome shrieked and tried to scramble away, but only ended up more tangled in her own clothes.
"Shh, Kagome, shhh," Shippo cooed reassuringly, patting her head a little awkwardly, "Inuyasha says he knows what to do."
Taking deep breaths, Kagome began to calm down. She closed her eyes and opened them again, hoping that the paws would disappear and she'd have hands again. But they were still there when she opened her eyes, much to her dismay.
"Shippo, what happened?" Kagome asked as she wormed her way out of her cloths. Her legs wobbled beneath her and she almost fell, but managed to keep her balance. Everything felt strangely awkward now, and Kagome felt exceedingly clumsy on all fours.
"The pig's curse hit you instead," Shippo mumbled, looking sheepish, "Remember? When you pushed me aside?"
"Oh," Kagome sighed, staring at her new paws, "Right."
She looked up at her friends, who were staring at her with identical shocked expressions, and noticed that Inuyasha had turned away. The muscles along his back and shoulders were tensed, as though for trouble. Scowling, the half-demon began to stalk towards the bushes.
"Inuyasha, where are you going?" Kagome yelped, a little offended that he was leaving her like this. She felt vulnerable enough without him leaving.
Inuyasha turned to look at her, his eyebrow raised questioningly as though he didn't understand. Kagome tried again to ask him where he was going and why, but he only looked more confused. What was wrong with him?
"I… don't know what you're saying," the half-demon sighed guiltily at last. In fact, all he could hear was yips and whines, and he understood none of it.
Shippo glanced from Kagome's dismayed expression to Inuyasha's guilty face and said, "She asked where you were going."
"You can understand her?" exclaimed Sango, her face relaxing in slight relief, "Thank goodness someone can."
The demon slayer then noticed where Miroku had positioned his hand, and gave him a good whack over the head with her boomerang-esk weapon.
"I heard someone spying," Inuyasha said to Kagome, ignoring Miroku's loud 'ow!', "and who knows what Naraku would do if he found out about this."
Kagome's eyes widened in realization and she nodded quickly in agreement. She felt so vulnerable in this form, and the thought that Naraku could be spying made her tremble in her fur. Tensed, she watched as Inuyasha stalked towards the bushes.