Author's Note: I do not own Inuyasha or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Only two reviews last chapter...? Where did everyone go...? I guess almost everyone must be on Christmas vacation, and that I can understand. But for those of you who did review, I have replies!
Elfen Children: You're welcome, and I have kept going indeed.
PrincessAnime08: I always did think he overreacted somewhat. And now it's become a problem for the group.
And with that, here's the fourteenth chapter!
Ch.14 Revenge
As Manten continued to blaze his way through the area in rage over his lost hair, Kagome and Shippo hid behind a rock. "It looks like we added fuel to the proverbial fire!" she stated. While fighting Hiten I nodded; I had to help them get rid of Manten before they got hurt. "Inuyasha, can you handle him for a few minutes?" I asked. To this he didn't reply, but dodged another lightning bolt and nodded. I nodded my thanks to spread my wings, jumping into the air and flying towards where Kagome and Shippo were. Manten was a little ahead, and stalked across the ground with his expression filled with rage.
"I can smell your fear. I'm going to boil the woman down for my hair potion, and that fox won't escape either," he muttered, nearing the mound of rocks that Kagome and Shippo were hiding behind. My eyes widened at this and I called "Hey, Manten!" before throwing a round of Fire Darts. The small projectiles hit him in the chest and exploded, causing him to roll back across the ground until he was able to stand again. He glared at me. "You meddling wench!" he yelled, and he opened his mouth to fire another blast of lightning at me. But just before he did there was the sound of a twig snapping. Right hind the mounds of rocks where Kagome and Shippo were hiding.
My eyes widened and Manten looked at the spot, smiling. "So that's where you are? Then take this!" he said, firing. "No!" I called, and I threw a pair of fireballs at the beam. They collided and I managed to knock the blast off-center, at least enough that it destroyed the rocks and not the ones behind them. "Kagome! Shippo!" I called, and flew forward. But Manten got there first, and picked up an unconscious Kagome by the hair. "Did you really think you could escape?" he asked. I was prepared to call upon my powers and maybe get lucky, blasting him with a pillar of lava like I did with Yura of the Hair. But it turns out a I didn't need to, because Kagome opened her eyes and smiled.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did, you bald-headed freak!" she said, in Shippo's voice. Manten gasped, and he Kagome's hair suddenly shot forward, wrapping itself around Manten's wrists. "Funny, I just can't seem to get my hair down today!" she continued. Then another Kagome ran forward, and began pulling at the arrow in Manten's nose. "I'll take that," she said, and yanked it free. "What trickery is this!" he demanded. Then the hair of the fake Kagome turned orange, and I gasped in realization.
Of course! Shippo's transformation technique! "You're that fox!" Manten said, stating the obvious. Shippo smiled widely and said "Yeah, and I'm going to avenge my father's death!"
"Shippo, hold him still. If I can hit the Jewel Shards in his forehead, I can beat him!" Kagome said, raising the arrow up high. But Manten was going's to give up just yet. "Why, you...!" he said, and he knocked away Kagome and her arrow before pulling Shippo off of him. He returned to his original form and was kicked away, while Manten wrapped his hands around Kagome's throat. "Shippo!" I called, and I caught him as he flew back. "I...Inuyasha!" Kagome called weakly, hardly able to breathe. Inuyasha looked away from Hiten long enough to call her name, before the demon took the chance to hit him on the shoulder. "And where are you looking?" Hiten re minded him.
I frowned; Inuyasha couldn't get there quickly enough. "Shippo, come on," I said, and he nodded. I flew at Manten at was about to deliver a massive kick to his head when he turned, casually firing a blast of lightning at me. "Yume!" Shippo called from blow, as I tumbled through the air. I landed and the ground and shouted, hearing something crack. When I tried to take flight again my right wing throbbed in pain, and I realized which bones had been broken. I looked at Manten, the same rage he had felt when he lost his hair now coursing through me. That bastard had broken my wing, denying me my flying. I hadn't lived a Phoenix Demon long, but I had enough to know that flying and the freedom that came with it were everything.
And now that Manten had taken that away, I was determined to make him pay. "You stupid asshole! Die!" I called, and my hands charged with fire and electrotype before I unleashed a beach ball-sized orb of both at the demon. His eyes widened a the sight he jumped back, holding Kagome. But the lapse in concentration caused Shippo to make it close, and with a savage cry he sank his small fangs into Manten's neck. "You tried to kill Yume! Kagome too!" he yelled through his teeth. "You...! Release me this instant!" Manten demand, pounding on Shippo's head. But he didn't budge, and the sight of him getting his neck bitten into gave me an extreme sense of satisfaction. Too bad he didn't hit the jugular vein.
"I said release me! Remove those baby teeth from my neck!" Manten demanded again, still pounding Shippo. Hiten paused in fighting Inuyasha long enough to look back. "Hey Manten, you might want to be careful. Or that fox's fur will get stained with blood," he advised. "Thank you for the advise, Brother!" Manten said. Tears of pain began forming in Shippo's eyes from the repeated blows, and at that my eyes widened. The sight of Shippo holding on, filled with pain, caused something in me to snap. "Get your hands off of him!" I yelled, and I punched my fist into the ground, this time ordering the dormant powers in me to emerge. They did, and the ground before cracking enough that I could see the stream of lava burst forward towards Manten.
At the same time Inuyasha grabbed the Tetsuaiga and threw it, but it missed Hiten by a long shot. "And where are you aiming?" he asked. But Inuyasha wasn't listening and instead said "Did I get him?" Hiten looked back, just in time to see the lava I had conjured erupt around the Tetsuaiga, enveloping it in magma before it stabbed into Manten. He howled in agony at the attack, the burning blade going through his back and halfway out the front. He collapsed to the ground, releasing Kagome and Shippo. "Shippo!" I called, and I ran forward to pick him up, holding him in my arms. "You were so brave... Are you alright?" I asked, checking his head for any permanent damage, and once I was sure he was fine I looked at Kagome.
"Are you okay?" I asked her, and she nodded. "I have to get the Tetsuaiga to Inuyasha," she said, and she tried to pull it out of Manten. Shippo's eyes widened and he jumped down. "Father's fur..." he said, reaching up to the fur wrap around Manten's waist. I smiled sadly. "Okay, hold on. Kagome, you get the Tetsuaiga," I said, while I proceeded to unwrap the fur from around Manten's body. "Kagome! Yume! Get out of there!" I heard Inuyasha call. We looked back to see Hiten approaching fast, and I managed to pull off the fur just as Kagome pulled out the sword. "Manten!" Hiten called, and fired a lightning bolt at us. It hit the ground and exploded, the blast sending us all flying.
While Hiten held up his brother and they were talking, I shouted as we hit the ground and I landed on my injured wing. I held it and tried to channel some of my energy into healing, but I only managed to mend one of the bones before the exhaustion became to great. Looks like I still need practice. There was the sound of running feet and I looked up, seeing Inuyasha running up to us. "Are you guys alright?" he asked. I shrugged and said "I'll live." "Sorry. I couldn't get you the Tetsuaiga," Kagome said sadly. Inuyasha scoffed. "Don't worry about that. Even without it I could still take that demon head-on!"he said. I smiled; at least Inuyasha's confidence hadn't been injured.
But then we heard Hiten call "You wretches! You slaughtered my brother!" and we turned to look at him. "Brother, rest assured that we will always be one," he said, before abruptly Manten's skull. Kagome reeled back. "Hiten's a cannibal?" she asked in shock. At that moment Myoga reappeared, jumping onto her shoulder. "Things aren't always as they seem," he said. She looked at him in surprise, and he explained "Hiten merely bit into his brother's head to obtain the Jewel Shards he possessed. Master Inuyasha, you must be very careful. For now Hiten has the power of five Jewel Shards!" Rather than worry about, Inuyasha asked "Hey, care to explain your noticeable absence until now?"
At that Myoga froze, sweat breaking out on his small head. "You were probably hiding somewhere out of danger," I said, a deadpan look on my face. Just as the cowardly demon tried to explain himself, there was a crackle and we turned to see a massive ball of lightning fly towards us. "Look out!" Inuyasha yelled, grabbing Kagome and leaping away while I did the same with Shippo and his father. The impact of the attack left a giant crater where we had been, over which Hiten hovered. "You wretches. You killed my brother. I won't let you get away with it," he said, his voice low and filled with hatred.
Inuyasha and I looked at each other, and we realized that we were thinking the same thing: Now that he had five Shards Hiten was stronger than ever, and if we all stayed here something bad might happen. "Kagome, take Shippo and get as far away from here as possible," I said, turning to face Hiten. "What?!" Kagome said, while Shippo said "No way! I'm not leaving you behind, Yume!" I looked back at him and smiled. "Don't worry; I'll be alright," I assured him. There was silence for a moment, until Inuyasha said "Go!" and they did. Hiten rose into the air. "I will avenge my brother. Prepare yourselves!" he yelled, and he pointed his pike at us. Another ball of lightning appeared, and it flew straight at us.
"We can't dodge it!" I said, raising my hands and focusing my power. A wall of fire appeared between us and the ball, but it passed through with hardly any effect. "Master Inuyasha! Use the sheath of Tetsuaiga!" Myoga said. "It's sheath?" Inuyasha asked. I gasped in remembrance, and said "Don't ask questions; just do it!" Luckily Inuyasha listened, and he held the sheath in front of us. The moment the ball made contact in froze, and with the sound of rushing wind it shrank, sucked into the sheath of Tetsuaiga. "What the-?!" both Inuyasha and Hiten called. "Yeah!" I cheered. "As I thought. The sheath is capable of holding the Tetsuaiga's enormous power in check. It should easily be capable of deflecting a mere lightning bolt," Myoga explained.
Then he sighed in relief and said "Glad my hunch was right." At that Inuyasha's eyes widened, and he looked at his shoulder. "You mean you sent me into battle on a hunch?!" he demanded. "Well, maybe not a hunch. More like an extremely educated guess! And we still have our lives. So come on; let's make our escape!" the old demon said panicky. Inuyasha's expression changed from angry to triumphant, and he turned back to Hiten. "Heh! You can run if you want. I'm gonna use this!" he said, and leaped forward with the sheath in hand. I stared for a second, amazed by his boldness, before following. "Die!" Hiten called, and he fired yet another orb at us.
"If I attack the core right there. I can beat him!" Inuyasha said, raising the sheath with both hands. But then I felt something knock my feet out from under me, and I feel to the ground. I looked up just in time to see Hiten hit Inuyasha in the back with his pike, letting loose of current of electricity. "Brilliant plan. In theory, that is!" he taunted. I watched the two of them and was prepared to help, when I sensed something and looked back to see Kagome peeking over a line of boulders. I gasped; she was supposed to stay away! And if she didn't, then she and Shippo would...! "No!" I yelled, and I ran towards them.
"Yume!" Kagome exclaimed. "What are you doing?! You were supposed to get away, you moron!" I said. At the sound of my voice Shippo awoke, saying "Yume? What happened to Manten?" "Inuyasha struck him down, but now Hiten's pissed as hell over it," I said shortly. There was a clash of metal, and we looked back to see Inuyasha block several of Hiten's strikes. "Inuyasha's getting tired," Kagome said worriedly. "Those wheels Hiten has let him move real quickly!" Shippo said, pointing. "The wheels..." I said thoughtfully. Kagome did the same, until she looked at the arrow she still held and said "That's it! Shippo, I need you to transform into a bow." "Okay!" he said, and he placed a leaf on his head before jumping and burst =into a cloud of smoke.
When it faded Kagome grabbed Shippo, and frowned. "I wanted a bow, not a snail," she said. "I am a bow," he replied. I chuckled before looking on, seeing that unless Kagome fired soon Inuyasha was going to be in trouble. "What's taking so long? Hurry it up!" Shippo said, grunting as Kagome aimed. "I've only got one arrow left, and I'm not exactly a marksman," she said. "You will be with me as your guide," Shippo informed her. Kagome and I looked at him in surprise, before smiling and saying "Thanks, Shippo." With that Kagome aimed one more time, and fired. The arrow sailed straight through the air, and it hit the wheel on Hiten's left side, breaking several of the spokes on it. "Got it!" Kagome cheered, while I said "Yeah!"
Hiten paused in midair, and Inuyasha took the chance to grab his weapon. He noticed this though, and let out a blast of lightning. "As strong as Lord Inuyasha may be, grabbing the thunder pike by the hand was foolhardy indeed!" Myoga said. I blinked and looked down at him. "When did you get over here?" I asked him. But he ignored me, and instead said "The sheath, my lord! Use the sheath!" Then, to his shock as well as my own, Inuyasha said "Thins thing's... only getting in the way!" and he tossed the sheath to the side. Myoga fell back on the ground, dazed. "Why did you let go of the sheath, master?" he asked. Inuyasha still held onto the pike, and used it to swing and punch Hiten straight in the side of the face.
The demon shouted and fell back onto the ground, while the rest of us watched with surprise. "That's one way to go about," Kagome admitted. "Whatever works for you, I guess," Shippo added, and I nodded. "Good job, Master Inuyasha! Bringing him down in the final round with the old one-two right in the kisser!" Myoga said. I blinked. "Weren't you just call him a fool a minute ago?" I asked he flea. Hiten slowly stood, rubbing his face as his body started glowing blue and rising. "I've been struck in the face before. I refuse to let it happen again," he said. "He's gonna explode!" Shippo exclaimed. "Take this!" Hiten called, and he swung down at Inuyasha with all his might. Inuyasha slid across the ground and grabbed the sheath, blocking just in time.
But Hiten pressed hard, enough that a fissure began forming. "The sheath's starting to crack!" Kagome, Shippo, and I all said. "Oh no. Master Inuyasha is powerful, but should the sheath shatter..." Myoga said, trailing off. "He'll die?!" Kagome said, before looking over at the body of Manten. "I have to get him the Tetsuaiga!" "Got it!" Shippo said, and he abruptly jumped out of the hiding spot and started for the sword. My eyes grew wide and I called "Shippo! Come back!" and started after him. Kagome picked up the fur of Shippo's father and did the same. I looked to the side to see Hiten fire a blast of lightning just like Manten had done, and with a last-ditch effort I leaped forward and use my body to shield Shippo.
The blast hit us with full-force and all three of us were sent flying, me landing on my back with Shippo on top of me. "Yume!" he said weakly, having been hurt by the blast as well. But not, to my relief, killed. There was a distinct ringing in my ears, and I could vaguely hear Hiten taunting Inuyasha, and the two of them fighting. But I was more worried about Shippo and Kagome. I looked and saw the Kagome was alright as well. I frowned though; how could she not be hurt? Shippo and I both had demon in our blood, so we were harder to kill. But Kagome was human, so how did she survive? Then the fur of Shippo's father glowed a bright blue, and it rose into the air along with the rest of us.
"Father?" Shippo asked. The fur caught flame and disintegrated, and then the flame enveloped the rest of us. But rather than hurt, I could feel the flames healing us, getting rid of our injuries and setting us down on the ground. Inuyasha was kneeling in front of five Jewel Shards, having just finally beaten Hiten. "Inuyasha!" Kagome said happily. He looked up in shock, and Kagome said "Inuyasha, you fought the battle hard and well." "And in the end, I finally managed to avenge my father," Shippo added. "Nice work," I said. Myoga jumped onto Inuyasha shoulder and said "Behold! The souls have come to bid you a final farewell before they make the departure to the other side."
Inuyasha looked at him in shock, and then at us when the foxfire blazed higher around us. "Don't go!" he called, grabbed Kagome's wrist. She gasped and looked at him, but he was seeing the foxfire take the shape of a fox once more above us before vanishing. "Kagome!" he yelled, but then he stopped when he saw us. "Yeah?" Kagome asked. He looked at us. "Hey, you're still here!" he said in shock. "Yeah. What was with all the 'don't go' stuff?" Kagome asked. Shippo looked us, and we both smiled a the realization. Shippo's father had used that foxfire to protect us- making sure his son stayed alive. "I-I should be more clear. When I said 'souls' I really meant 'foxfire that had came from the fur of Shippo's father during the battle'," Myoga amended.
"Yeah, I make that mistake all the time," Inuyasha said, his eyebrow twitching. "Well, you're only human. Well, half-human anyway," Myoga replied. "Uh, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, looking own at his hand, which was still holding her wrist. He saw it too, and instantly pulled back like he had been burned. "Well, th-this is all your fault with that 'you fought the good fight' line! Die if you're gonna die; it's not like it make any difference to me!" he said, turning around and crossing his arms. Kagome looked at him confusedly, while I was doing my best not to laugh.
Later the next day we were walking along a path, and Inuyasha was still grumbling. Kagome said "Come on, Inuyasha. Your lips are flapping but I'm not getting any audio. Why don't you tell us what the problem is anyway?" When he didn't answer, Myoga did. "I believe Master Inuyasha is ashamed, for he thought you were dead and, in a moment of grief, may have revealed more than he bargained for," he said. At that Inuyasha looked back angrily at Myoga, who hurriedly ducked back into the basket of Kagome's bike. Satisfied, he looked back and Shippo, who was currently sitting atop my right shoulder. "And why are you still here, Shippo?" he demanded. "Now now, he's all alone in the word," Kagome said "Yeah, I'm a defenseless orphan!" Shippo seconded.
"Come on Inuyasha; can't he stay with us for a little bit?" I asked. He looked at me, before grunting and looking back ahead. "Fine! You can stay, but only until you find some new place to call home!" he said. I smiled and nodded my thanks, but then Shippo leaned into my ear and whispered "Um... Yume?" I looked at him, and I saw that his expression had changed from indignant to hesitant. "Yeah? What is it?" I asked. "It's just... you remember when you shield me? From Hiten's attack?" he asked. When I nodded he was silent for a moment, before saying "When you did that I... I felt like... calling you 'Mom'. Could I?" I gasped and looked at him, before my face threatened to split apart from the huge smile that appeared on it.
"Of course you can," I said, taking Shippo and holding him in my arms. An embrace he returned, and even caused him to ignore Inuyasha calling him an idiot. I was the happiest I had been in a long moment, and with a new person to call family I walked forward.
Well, that wraps up the mess of the Thunder Brothers, and it looks like things turned out pretty well between Shippo and Yume, huh? But the new moon is close upon us, and with it who knows what horrors will arrive? Find out next chapter!
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)