Time's tight these days, but I promise to improve and update faster!
I hope this chapter lives up to expectations! =)
Choices
Chapter Seven:
Battle
Kagome struggled...she strained and fought against her bonds, but to no avail. No matter what she did, it did not make the slightest of differences because her bonds were not physical. She was placed under a spell so strong, none of her Miko powers were of any use. She couldn't move a muscle. She couldn't talk. Although her body was rigid, in one uncomfortable position, bound by unseen ropes, blood still flowed in rivulets down her arms, trickled down her face from various gashes and her kegs were cut in various places. Her clothes were ripped, bloody, wet, and dirty.
She was in the darkest, most dingy place she had ever been in her life, a corner of a damp cave deep within a mountain. Each painful gash on her body reminded her of her tortuous journey here.
She could taste her own panic, shock, and terror when she had been bodily lifted by the terrible youkai. She didn't even know its name! How much she called out, how much she cried, and how much she begged for Inuyasha. The youkai was so fast, holding her so tight, she didn't even realize which direction they were going, and when they reached the base of the mountain, he picked up speed. He reached the top of the mountain pretty soon, but seemed to go deeper and deeper within the dense forests that covered the peak. Finally, they reached the cave, and instead off entering it, he stood at the mouth at threw Kagome inside. She landed badly, hitting her head. She was knocked unconscious, and when she woke up, she was under the spell.
She didn't have any idea where she was. She didn't have any idea why she was here, or who had brought her here. This utter dearth of knowledge was pretty terrifying, and Kagome feared the fact that she had absolutely no idea what was coming next.
Suddenly, she saw a shadow looming ahead of her... Naraku, an arrogant smile upon his face, walked into the cave, his robes and long black hair billowing behind him. She could feel his dark aura, his disgustingly evil youki. Kagome couldn't move, she couldn't make a single sound. All she could do was stand there helplessly, held by the spell, as she saw Naraku stroll towards her.
"Ku ku ku ku ku ku... So, you have finally been caught. Now I really know what you are... nothing! Without your friends surrounding you, taking hits for you, you are nothing! It was too easy for Waru. He just had to pick you up, didn't he? No arrows, no spells, no kekkai around you... You think just because you are away from Inuyasha, you wouldn't be on my radar anymore?"
Kagome tried to project as much hatred as possible through her eyes, her entire being felt as though it was on fire. If she could only move...if she could only talk...holding in such impotent rage was killing her.
Naraku saw what he was doing to her and with each new spark of fury that seemed travel from her all the way across the cave to him, his stomach twisted with pleasure. But anger was not half of what he wanted. He wanted more...he wanted to taste her fear, her panic, her hopelessness, her despair. He wanted to hear her scream, wail, and sob. He wanted Kagome to fall on her knees and beg for her life. She would be a tough nut to crack, and that just made this entire process so much sweeter.
He walked towards her...slowly, and deliberately. He came as close to her as he could get, and raised a single white finger. He let it trail down her cheek; he traced it over her eyebrows. He fluttered it over her lips; he let it feel the soft skin of her eyelids as he ghosted it over them.
He then leaned towards her, obscenely close and whispered, "Kagome... I am so glad to have you here. I do hope you are comfortable. But no matter even if you aren't... what I plan do with you...to you... Oh, I can't wait to begin. Will you scream, Kagome? Will you scream loud enough to wake the dead rotting in their graves? Because I want you to, you know... "
Kagome did not allow herself to flinch, though inside she was dying... Being this close to Naraku's vile body was a torture in itself, but having him touch her...this intimately, like a lover... She wanted to rip away that entire layer of her skin, remove any semblance of his touch from her body.
Naraku was enjoying Kagome's struggle. He could see how hard she was trying not to flinch... it was all in her eyes. Now to take it a step further...
Kagome began coughing violently. She could speak...her body was still under the spell, she couldn't move at all, but at least she could speak. She didn't even know what to say to the disgusting hanyou that stood in front of her, relishing her rage. Her chest heaved as she breathed hard, choking on her own fury.
"Do what you will, Naraku! You will never break me!"
"Oh," He drew out the syllable lazily, "Won't I?
"Never," She spat viciously "You haven't won this round...I have! You may have me bound, but I remain me. You'll never have what you really want: my soul! Do what you will with my body, I'm strong enough to bear it. I'll bear whatever you throw at me, and more! You're a pathetic coward, Naraku, nothing else. A spineless coward... I'm not scared of you!"
Naraku's lip curled in displeasure, and he hissed, "Oh, you think? You think I can't break you? I know merely raping you will not break you...splinter you maybe, but you'll bounce back. You're that kind of annoying bitch. But, think, Kagome... Think of what I can do... to whom..."
Kagome just looked at him for a while and suddenly, an image burst forth in her mind. A tall, lean figure clad in red, silver hair whipping wildly in the wind, clever, warm eyes the colour of honey, and a smile that melted her heart.
Immediately, she was straining against her bonds, her eyes wide with panic, and she gasped, "Inuyasha!"
Naraku's cruel laughter rang in the tiny cave, bouncing off the walls, deafening Kagome. "Yes, my dear. Inuyasha. Just you wait, he'll come here and Waru'll rip him to shreds," He looked at Kagome thoughtfully, "Or even worse. You see, Waru is a rather special creation of mine. Don't get misled by his body, he is more than his size. I've borrowed a little from Goshinki, so, he can read minds. He also has other useful little traits from various brothers. Uncommon speed, poison in his claws so strong, it would probably dissolve you faster than I could say 'Goodbye', and a real thirst for youkai blood. Oh, since he is such a mix of all my previous creation, he also has a curious tendency of displaying the most wondrous powers when you least expect it. He's quite a deadly character, my Waru. Doesn't speak much, but I don't think he needs to, really! Oh, and if you're resting your hopes on Tetsusaiga, I wouldn't be placing any bets, because Waru seems to be above all that. I don't think Kaze no Kizu is going to dent him as much as it will tickle him! And did I mention he has a funny way of weakening his opponents' powers? That's the reason you weren't able to catch any trace of his aura whatsoever until he chose to let you feel it! I'm not even sure how he does it! Oh, this is going to be fun!"
"And who says Inuyasha is going to be coming here?" snarled Kagome.
Once again, Naraku began to cackle, making the hair on Kagome's rigid arms stand on end. "My sweet, innocent Kagome... Inuyasha doesn't need to come here! Through Kanna's mirror, I saw all of them hurrying towards the village at the bottom of this mountain, and I have my puppet waiting there... with Waru. We will, of course, watch everything through Kanna's mirror. Then we'll decide what to do... go down during the last minutes of the battle and actually watch the bastards die? Yes, I think that sounds good. And meanwhile, while everyone's on their way here, we'll have some fun!"
Kagome's face drained of colour and she hoarsely asked, "What do you mean 'everybody'?"
Naraku smiled and answered in a careless voice, "Oh, you know... the monk, that beautiful Taijiya, that tiny kitsune, and Kikyou. I'm not worried; she won't be much of a problem when I have Waru. It'll be interesting... And to think they don't even know you're here!"
As Kagome fought to hold her tears, she shuddered and tried to control her shudders as Naraku laughed softly and smoothed her hair, his eyes already travelling down to her chest.
Far down below, in the outskirts of a little village, the very air hung with an ominous scent of foreboding. Everything was unnaturally still, as though afraid to move.
Suddenly, from two different directions came two different groups. One was relatively large, two people and two youkai on the back of an inflated tanuki, and the other comprised of just two: a hanyou and a Miko.
Inuyasha's nose constantly twitched, his ears quivered and his eyes were worried. His gait wasn't his usual smooth movement; instead, he jerked occasionally and constantly twisted his hands in every way possible. Kikyou clicked her tongue impatiently and said reprovingly, "They are your friends, Inuyasha! Stop behaving like this... And we can't go back! I can feel the evil in the air and it is bound to be Naraku! Come on, faster! Man up, Inuyasha!"
"Keh! I'm man enough and more. It's just that you haven't been the receiving end of any of their attacks."
Kikyou shook her head at Inuyasha's words and continued to move ahead with confident strides.
"How much longer, Hachi?" questioned Miroku.
"Probably a minute, master Miroku... it's just over here."
Miroku nodded and then looked strangely at Shippou who was sniffing the air and getting more agitated with every sniff.
"What is it, Shippou?" asked Sango, absently tightening Hiraikotsu's strap.
"Inuyasha... and Kikyou! I'm almost sure of it; their scents are getting stronger as we go closer. They must have heard of the evil activity here too. Ohh, I don't want to see them now!"
Sango and Miroku's faces hardened and they sat straighter, their spines stiff.
In the clearing, the two groups approached each other warily, unsure what to expect. They walked slowly, trying to stick together as a group.
A short moment and they were just a few feet apart. Kikyou was very uncomfortable, keenly aware of the burning energy of hate emanating from Sango and Shippou. It was tougher to discern what Miroku felt, but she had a hunch it wasn't in her favour. Inuyasha didn't really offer any support and just stood, his face unreadable. Finally breaking off, she hurried towards the village. She didn't say a word to Inuyasha before walking away, and he didn't stop her.
They stood opposite each other. Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara on one side, and Inuyasha alone on the other... They stared at each other, strangers.
Inuyasha wished they would just kill him, he felt that fucked up inside. He wished they would say something... anything but this terrible silence hanging between them.
Finally, Miroku questioned softly, "You heard about the evil activity here?"
Startled by his voice, Inuyasha was quick to respond, "Yeah. Came as soon as we could, because never know when the bastard is gonna move, or what he's gonna do."
Sango's eyes became as cold as steel, and she said quietly, as if to herself, "We."
Inuyasha flinched, and his eyes were laced with sadness, his utter regret at losing his friends. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to fall to his feet and beg their forgiveness. He wanted to tell them to beat him up, to punish him, to do something that would get rid of this horrible feeling of guilt, betrayal, loneliness and regret that had balled up into a bitter ball at the pit of his stomach. Every now and then, it rose up like bile, threatening to spill out of him, but mostly, it was an ache that never went away. He missed all of them so much...
"I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kirara... I-Just, I'm sorry..." Inuyasha's voice was a hoarse whisper, his eyes were pleading.
While Sango and Shippou looked guarded, not ready to accept the apology, Miroku nodded curtly. Just as Inuyasha's face lifted, gratefully acknowledging Miroku's gesture, they heard a horribly familiar sound behind them, from within the bushes.
"Ku ku ku ku ku ku... How very touching..."
They spun around in horror. Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and even Kirara were all quick to respond. Tetsusaiga was out of its sheath, gleaming impressively in the sun. Sango had Hiraikotsu at the ready, and when Miroku noticed the Saimyoushou, he immediately reached for a stack of Ofuda and gripped his staff. Kirara had already transformed and bared her fangs menacingly.
Naraku's puppet, his mirror image, raised his eyebrows and said mockingly, "My, what a welcome... And where is the charming Kikyou?"
While Inuyasha growled, Kikyou ran up to the group and drew her bow saying, "I'm right here, Naraku."
Naraku's smile widened, he threw his arms out and said, "Ah! How good to have you all here. But, allow me to add another to the group. Waru..."
And from behind him, Waru emerged...hideous, massive, and completely deadly. He grinned insanely, his smile only enhanced because of his bloodlust, and within seconds, Naraku had ensconced himself in a strong kekkai. Waru's entire body was shaking in anticipation and the four warriors prepared themselves for the fight.
From within his Kekkai Naraku commanded, "Now."
Waru lunged, a step ahead of everybody in the group. He slashed his claws through the air viciously, cutting a deep gash in Sango's cheek.
"Sango!" Cried Miroku as he ran and tried to dodge Waru's deadly poison. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... Houshi-sama, behind you!" shouted Sango in return. Miroku turned and ducked just in time. But just as he reached for more Ofuda, Waru brought down his claws once again, preventing it.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kikyou were having just as much trouble as Miroku and Sango.
"It's as if he knows our every move before we make it!" cried Kikyou in frustration as Waru side-stepped yet another of her arrows before it even had time to shoot across the clearing. It was then that Inuyasha thought of Goshinki. He remembered with horrific clarity the accuracy of Goshinki's attacks... he remembered how he bit off Tetsusaiga as though it were just a carrot. He remembered losing control and coming to only when he heard Kagome's voice. He shuddered and tightened his hold on Tetsusaiga as he leapt and roared, "Take this, you fucking bastard... Kaze no Kizu!"
The light from Inuyasha's Wind Scar blinded them all for a second, but when they looked up, Waru was chuckling, unscathed. Miroku stared in disbelief, bleeding and panting. Sango was on Kirara, her shoulder terribly injured. Inuyasha stared at Tetsusaiga in shock and they all felt weak...so very weak.
Waru laughed, an eerie sound that seemed to surround them all, leaving no escape. No matter how hard they all tried, no matter how many times Hiraikotsu was fired, no matter how many arrows were fired, no matter how many times Tetsusaiga was brought down, Waru managed to avoid it all...always a step ahead of them. He was so much faster than any of them, so much stronger. Battling Waru seemed so futile... They never had the upper hand, and tantalizingly out of reach, Naraku floated around within his kekkai, happily observing the battle. Inuyasha tried, and tried to keep his mind blank, but it was so difficult, he was hardly able to do it. Trying to stay away from Waru's clutches and making sure that the others were staying of his way too was taking up every bit of his concentration.
BAM.
Inuyasha was thrown across the clearing, and as hit a tree, the rest of the group looked up in shock as they heard the audible crunch of his shoulder breaking. He slumped to the ground, leaving a trail of shockingly scarlet blood dripping down the trunk of the tree.
"Inuyasha!" cried Kikyou, her eyes wide with worry, but she was prevented from running to him by Waru. In a fit of rage, she swiftly drew an arrow and charging it with much more power than usual, let it fly.
It struck the youkai on the shoulder and Sango yelled out in surprised delight. But before she could even draw another arrow, Waru's shoulder began healing. The wound smoked, turned green, and suddenly, new skin stretched over it, good as new. Inuyasha, who was just getting up, could simply look at him in shock, in utter disbelief.
"Well, what do you know? Healing powers as well... I've outdone myself this time!" remarked Naraku with an impressed look on his face. But, Waru was angry... she was the first one to hit him, and he didn't like it one bit. Without any warning whatsoever, he lunged at Kikyou, knocking her over her feet. She fell to her feet, bleeding, and Waru raised his deadly claws for the fatal swipe, but his hand was knocked in the other direction by Hiraikotsu, which had come spiralling through the air. Inuyasha let out a scream of fury, and sprinted towards Waru, ignoring his shoulder. He swung Tetsusaiga with all his might, to no avail. The youkai was just too fast for any of them to do anything.
Inuyasha's arm couldn't take the force with which he swung Tetsusaiga. He winced, and bit his lip in pain as his right arm now hung limp and useless at his side. He was panting, blood all over him, clutching his arm with pure murder in his eyes.
Wielding Tetsusaiga in his left hand, Inuyasha swung again, and again, and again. Sango, Miroku and Kikyou were all trying from different direction but like before, it made absolutely no difference. Naraku, still nestled within his kekkai, called out in a mocking tone, "You go to such lengths to protect her, Inuyasha. Too bad your wonderful protectiveness doesn't come in when it should. Always too late, aren't you, Inuyasha?"
"Shut the fuck up, Naraku you bastard!" snarled Inuyasha.
Naraku just continued chuckling and said, "Well, you have to face the facts some time. You always go overboard once the deed is done. See, poor Kikyou is injured, I can see her bleeding. Too late to save her, weren't you? You're making a habit of this Inuyasha."
Grunting as he tried to avoid another blow, Inuyasha looked up and spat, "I said, shut. The. Fuck. Up. I'm not listening to your bullshit."
"Bullshit? My, such colourful language... but this is the second time in row you've been too late."
"What do you mean? Just tell me, you son of a bitch!" Yelled Inuyasha, almost blinded by pain.
Naraku adopted a very concerned voice and said, "I mean Kagome, of course! Inuyasha, have you even thought about where she is now?"
Sango, Miroku, Kikyou and Shippou also looked up sharply at the mention of Kagome's name and Inuyasha's voice wasn't as confident as before. "She's with a friend. She's helping him out."
Naraku laughed, "Oh, but you are way behind the times, Inuyasha! Keep up! Kagome left Jinenji's months ago... she then went to some village and stayed there as the Miko."
Inuyasha's eyes widened and he asked guardedly, "What do you mean, 'stayed'?"
"Exactly what I said... she was there, and now, is with me!"
While Sango's knees buckled, Shippou choked on his own disbelief. Miroku looked like he wanted to damn all the Saimyoushou poison to hell and open his kazaana to suck in Waru and Naraku. Kikyou stilled in shock, Inuyasha went pale. His face drained of all colour and his blood froze. He felt clammy and cold. He could literally feel his heart stopping and he had to remind himself to breathe.
After that moment of utter denial, Inuyasha felt his blood boil. He felt all his muscles tense and his hands clench with fury. He looked up at Naraku and asked quietly, rage echoing with each syllable, "Where is she? What have you done to her?"
Naraku answered carelessly, "Oh just far away from where you are. She's quite high up, actually. You must have figured this is not my real form, so don't worry, she's being taken good care of. I can be in two places at once, as you've noticed... I'm just telling you all this because I'm bored. And, with Waru here, I actually have nothing to be worried about!"
Inuyasha was trembling. His very being seemed to be on fire. "You kidnapped Kagome?" His voice was but a whisper.
Naraku smiled, "You're very slow, Inuyasha. Yes, I have Kagome. This is exactly what I meant earlier. You're always too late, Inuyasha. Too late..."
Inuyasha's mind was all of a whirl. Naraku had kidnapped Kagome? Naraku had kidnapped Kagome? How? How had he not known of this at all? How long had it been? Was she okay? The bastard... He had kidnapped her... his Kagome. There was none of the mind-numbing guilt. Not yet. Now, he was too angry. Too fucking angry...Naraku had gone too far this time. He messed with Kagome...Inuyasha's Kagome. He would not forgive him.
Waru, standing nearby, had been enjoying the turmoil going through everybody's minds, particularly Inuyasha's. It was all like some highly entertaining joke for him. He was concentrating on Inuyasha when suddenly, everything went blank... he couldn't get through anymore. More than a little annoyed at the interruption, he looked up.
Inuyasha's body was no longer trembling... it was shaking, as though he were in the throes of some violent fit. His hair flew behind him and whipped about, unable to stay still when there was so much energy pulsing out of its owner. His eyes closed and abruptly, his body went rigid. Mouth open in a vicious snarl, the others could see the fangs growing at an alarming rate, looking as menacing as Waru's, if not more. His claws too lengthened, the tips glinting in the sun. They looked impossibly sharp, impossibly dangerous. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and they were no longer their usual dazzling gold. Instead, they were a bloodthirsty, feral red. His irises were a shocking, unnatural shade of electric blue. On his cheeks grew two terrifyingly jagged, violent, violet stripes.
Inuyasha roared, and it was a deep, hoarse and primal sound. It made one's blood go cold and wiped away most coherent thoughts. His face was a mask of fury as he screamed to the heavens, cursing the world, cursing himself for letting this happen to Kagome. He screamed, a promise that he would save her and make sure Naraku got what he deserved.
Miroku and Sango leapt into action once they saw Inuyasha transforming. They knew what would happen if they lingered there longer than necessary. Sango took Shippou with her on Kirara and they went to the very edge of the clearing. Miroku had just joined them when he saw Kikyou still on the battlefield, staring at Inuyasha in shock and disbelief. He shouted out to her, urged her to come, but it seemed to have no effect on her. He broke into a run with Sango screaming behind him, "Houshi-sama! Come back, come back, you'll get killed! Leave her, she can protect herself! Houshi-sama!"
Miroku didn't break step for a single moment, but kept running, trying to stay away from Inuyasha and the bewildered and irritated Waru. "If you get killed while trying to save her, I will kill her!" He heard the desperation in Sango's voice and chanced a glance behind him, to shoot her a reassuring look. He pulled Kikyou away from the scene and to safety. Sango and Shippou ran to him, ignoring Kikyou. She was dead to them; it was because of her that Kagome had been kidnapped.
"Houshi-sama, Kagome-" Sango couldn't finish the sentence because of a sob that choked its way out of her. Shippou too clung to Miroku, and buried his small face within the folds of his robe. Feeling their grip on him, Miroku fought for control, he fought to remain calm for them. He smoothed Sango's hair, wiped a streak of blood from her face, picked up Shippou, and soothed both of them with quiet hushing sounds.
All of them had just about forgotten Kikyou when she asked softly, "What has happened to Inuyasha?"
Sango was about to raise her head and deliver a particularly sarcastic remark when Miroku interrupted and replied, "He's transformed into a full youkai, Kikyou-sama."
"How-Why did this happen?"
"Inuyasha's youkai blood takes over when his life is threatened. He loses most conscious thought and cannot really distinguish between his enemies and friends. It's the reason I moved you away. It's happened only once before and then, Kagome-sama's voice brought him back. But..." Miroku's voice turned contemplative, "Tetsusaiga controls his youkai blood. He transformed in the battle with Goshinki only because he was separated from Tetsusaiga. But this time, it's right there. I wonder what's happening..."
Sango and Shippou both nodded, but the thought was driven from their heads once they realized the battle field was seeing activity once again.
Waru had had just about enough with this new Inuyasha. He lunged forwards, no thoughts of mercy in his head. But unlike all the previous times, Inuyasha didn't dodge in the last minute, or fall to the ground, bleeding and coughing dirt. Inuyasha met Waru head on with a snarl and with a sudden unexpected punch to the face, knocked him down. Taking advantage of the situation, he increased his speed and tore at the youkai still struggling to get up. Inuyasha extended his deadly claws and leapt on Waru. While Waru tried to throw him off, Inuyasha held fast and kicked. He was only fuelled when he heard Waru's groan. He jumped up again and before anyone even noticed, ripped apart Waru's throat with his claws. He dug his claws in, feeling the blood seeping through them, making sure that he was sapping every breath away from the youkai.
Once he was absolutely sure that Waru's great yellow eyes could see no more, he leapt back onto the ground and faced Naraku with a savage growl. He whipped Tetsusaiga, and the blade flashed red. He slashed it through the kekkai and ripped apart the puppet how he did Waru.
He whirled around; facing the group huddled together, away from the clearing.
While Kikyou cowered under his fiery gaze, Sango and Shippou just looked wary. But Miroku stood up and walked a few steps towards Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, you have Tetsusaiga in your hands. Yet, you've transformed. What is going on?" questioned Miroku, not unkindly.
From the deepest recesses of Inuyasha's being, one word rumbled out before he turned and took off, sprinting up the mountain at a fevered pace, unimaginably fast: "Kagome."
Note:
Waru means 'evil'.
