Ch. 106- The Raid


Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi


It was around nightfall and Inuyasha was still in the forest, searching for the true culprit behind the attacks at the village. For almost 3 hours, he tracked the scent of demon and human blood through the woods until he stopped at a particular spot. He crouched down on all fours and sniffed the soil beneath the dead leaves, then gasped as he realized that the scent was at its strongest here.

'Right here,' he thought as he began to brush the leaves aside. 'I'm sure of it!' He placed his hands over the soil, which felt a bit softer compared to the rest of the forest floor.

"It's fresh..." he whispered. "Like it was just buried-"

Suddenly, the ground gave out beneath his feet and crumbled, causing him to scream as he tumbled down into a dark tunnel.

"Ugh..." Inuyasha groaned as he managed to shake off the disorientation. "Damn, that hurt..." He then looked around. "Where am I? What is this place?"

Deciding he wouldn't get any answers just sitting around, he soon stood up and carefully made his way down the tunnel, as he walked further, something crunched beneath his feet, causing him to glance down and see that he had stepped on an old skull...a human skull. As he looked ahead, he gasped silently as he saw that there were at least 40 or more of them, all of them scattered on the ground, stripped clean of their flesh, and that wasn't all. In a corner of the chamber, there was this massive clump of slimy silk containing round objects that were broken open. As Inuyasha drew closer and poked a finger into the slime, he came to one conclusion.

"These are eggs..." he noted. "And it looked like something just hatched out of them, too! This is definitely the demon's nest..." He then gasped as he realized something else. "Oh, no...now that they've hatched, the mother probably took them out to teach them how to hunt...and to hunt what? Human flesh, that's what!" He then turned and ran out as fast as he could. "That means Kagome's in danger...and I gotta get back to her, and fast!"

XXX

Concurrently, at Jinenji's hut...while Jinenji's Mother and Kagome lied sleeping, Jinenji stared at the small fire in the firepit. As he did, he then glanced over at Kagome, who had a peaceful smile on her face as she slept...and seeing her made his heart seem to skip a beat or two.

'This feeling...I can't explain it,' he thought. 'When I'm around her...suddenly, I feel so warm...like all my troubles are gone.'

Suddenly, a rock came crashing through the window, causing Jinenji to gasp and alerting Kagome and Jinenji's Mother, who both sat up as they heard the angry clamorings of the villagers coming from outside.

"You monsters!"

"You think we don't know that you didn't kill those people?!"

"Get out here, you damn half-demon, so we can kill you!"

Jinenji whimpered as he hugged himself and screwed his eyes shut while Kagome and Jinenji's Mother both got up, the latter grabbing her gardening hoe.

"Ma...!" Jinenji whimpered.

"Don't you worry, Jinenji," said his mother. "I'll drive 'em off. You just wait right here."

Soon, she exited the hut, only to be pelted with rocks and sticks as the villagers continued to yell at her.

"Worthless old witch!" shouted one of them.

"And we let you live near us, too!" yelled another as he threw another rock at the old woman, who grunted as it hit her square in the forehead, which soon spilled a bit of blood.

"Hey!" Kagome shouted as she came out and stood before Jinenji's Mother. "Knock it off, all of you! Don't you have any shame at all?! Attacking a poor old woman?!"

"Bah!" scoffed one of the villagers. "You foolish girl! Why are you defending them?!"

"Because they didn't do anything!" Kagome shouted. "You'd know that if you all weren't so quick to judge!"

"You hear that?!" asked one of the villagers. "She's just as bad as they are!"

"Anyone who loves half-demons as much as she does must be one!" shouted another. "I bet she's guilty, too!"

"What?!" Kagome questioned. "No, wait! I'm not-" She then gasped when the villagers began to throw torches at the hut, setting the roof ablaze! "Oh, no! Jinenji's still inside!"

"Jinenji!" cried his mother while inside, the hulking half-demon cowered in the corner, even as embers began falling from the ceiling.

"Let the monster burn!" shouted one of the villagers.

"Serves you right, you man-eaters!" yelled another one.

"That does it!" Jinenji's Mother yelled before she charged at the mob with her hoe. "Now you've gone too far!"

Just as she was about to attack, however...something else attacked first. A scream of terror and pain suddenly rent through the air, causing the mob of villagers to turn around, only to gasp upon seeing a huge, centipede-like creature with a huge head, glowing red eyes, and six arms...and it was surrounded by smaller-looking insects, and by smaller, they were really about as big as the average man!

"AH! A DEMON!" screamed one of the villagers, just as the smaller insects began to devour one of their fallen members.

"The young'uns are eatin' on him!" cried one of the villagers in horror. "Next, they'll eat us!"

"You see that?!" questioned Jinenji's Mother. "There's your real flesh-eatin' monster, right there!"

Once the demon's young had eaten the villager, they soon turned to their mother, which gave a gurgling cry. "Go...eat them all!"

Obeying their mother, the smaller demons soon chased after the villagers, as well as Kagome, who was trying to get Jinenji's Mother back to the burning hut.

"I've gotta do something," she whispered. "And quick!"

Back inside the hut, Jinenji whimpered, still too frightened by the fire and the noises outside to flee. However, he soon heard footsteps rushing inside, prompting him to turn around and see Kagome, who grabbed her bow and arrows before she turned to the half-demon.

"Jinenji, come quick!" she urged. "Your mom needs your help!"

"Huh? Ma?" Jinenji asked, worriedly, before he soon followed Kagome out, where he saw his mother, gasping in horror as the mother demon drew closer. Kagome raised her bow and aimed her arrow at the beast, hoping to drive to at least drive it off and buy the villagers, plus Jinenji and his mother some time.

"Get back!" Kagome shouted as she fired the arrow, which managed to hit the mother demon's side, causing her to shriek in pain as a bit of flesh was blown off. "I got it!"

"Curse you, girl!" the mother demon roared as she swiped her tail at Kagome, knocking her to the ground, out cold.

"Ah!" Jinenji gasped in horror.

"Oh, no! Kagome!" Jinenji's Mother shouted.

"I'll devour you, next!" the mother demon declared as her long tongue came slithering out of her mouth, attempting to pull Kagome toward her...but then, all of a sudden, Jinenji's eyes flashed red as he felt something inside him snap.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" he roared as he suddenly charged at the beast and punched right through her head! "I WON'T LET YOU EAT HER, MONSTER!"

"Rrrgh...damn half-demon...!" the mother demon gurgled before she wrapped her tail around Jinenji's throat, causing him to gag as he felt it beginning to choke him. It was at that moment that Kagome woke up, only to gasp in horror as she saw Jinenji towering over her while holding the demon back.

"Jinenji!" she and Jinenji's Mother cried.

"Hurry...get away!" Jinenji shouted. "Aside from Ma...you were the only one...who ever treated me as if I were a real person! If I let you die here, I wouldn't even deserve to be half-human!"

"Jinenji...!" Kagome whispered.

Meanwhile, the villagers were trying to fight off the demon's young, but due to being outnumbered and their weapons being useless against their strong exoskeletons, they had no choice but to flee. Just as they were about to be devoured, however...

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!"

Streaks of demon light suddenly flashed in the night air, revealing that it was none other than Inuyasha, who rent the demon offspring to shreds in mere seconds.

"Kagome!" he called. "Where are you?!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called. "Please help Jinenji!"

Inuyasha gasped as he saw Jinenji grappling with the mother demon, even while the monster still tried to choke him to death.

"Just hang on!" Inuyasha called. "I'll be there in a-"

"No!" Jinenji's Mother shouted. "Don't you do it!"

"What?!" Inuyasha questioned.

"You mustn't help him!" cried the old woman. "Jinenji has to learn to fight for himself!"

"What?! Now?!" Kagome asked in shock while Jinenji started to gag for breath.

'The old hag's right,' thought Inuyasha. 'It's now or never!'

It was then that he spotted the villagers out of the corner of his eye, all of them attempting to walk away while the demon was distracted...but then, Inuyasha leaped in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked while he popped his knuckles. "And the fun's only just starting...so, who are the cowards, now, huh?"

"We are, okay?!" answered one of the frightened villagers before they kneeled in front of him. "Please...you gotta help us! We're beggin' ya!"

"Oh...I get it," Inuyasha smirked. "You guys are just a bunch of mangy dogs. Whoever's strongest leads your pack, right?" He then turned to Jinenji. "Jinenji! Show these cowards and teach 'em who's boss!"

Jinenji growled as he glared at the monster, who growled as she bit into his bicep...but then, with a roar, he suddenly pulled the demon's tail off of his neck and pulled her into a crushing bear hug. His body then began to glow a blue light and his eyes flashed red and fiery. All of a sudden, the demon exploded into bits and chunks of flesh, leaving only its head alive!

"DIE~!" Jinenji yelled as he punched the mother demon's head, completely obliterating it. Nearby, the villagers, his mother, and Kagome all gaped in awe...and perhaps a bit of fear from the villagers, mostly.

"Incredible...!" Kagome whispered in disbelief.

At that moment, Jinenji turned to the villagers, who all gasped in horror as he began lumbering toward them.

"Well," Inuyasha began with his arms crossed inside his sleeves, "better they learn late than never."

"What are you talking about, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome. "You make it sound like you want Jinenji to hurt them!"

"Well, what choice does he have?" asked Inuyasha. "If he doesn't do it, they'll never respect him!"

"But he's not a monster!" Kagome argued. "Isn't that what we just tried to prove?!"

"...Maybe, in order for people to respect you, you should be a monster," Inuyasha muttered with his eyes cast at the ground, causing Kagome to gasp silently.

'Inuyasha...did you...?' she thought.

As for Jinenji, who stood in front of the villagers, who all whimpered as they bowed their heads before him.

"Please...we're sorry...!" said one of them. "Please, don't hurt us! We'll never bother you again!"

Just then, Jinenji lowered his hand...revealing several bundles of herbs, to the villagers' surprise.

"Here," Jinenji said. "Lots of you are hurt. This will help you feel better."

"Uh...th...thank you," said one of the village men as he took the herbs.

"Oh, come on, are you kidding me?" Inuyasha asked.

"Stop it, Inuyasha," Kagome chided as she nudged him in the side. "That's enough. Truthfully, I'm glad he decided to help them."

"But...they...he...!" Inuyasha stammered, only to sigh. "Keh..."

"Hi ya, Ma..." Jinenji said as he gently put his finger to his mother's forehead. "You're not too hurt, are you?"

"Jinenji..." his mother whispered, a proud smile on her face.

"I know..." Jinenji nodded.

'...So gentle...just like your father,' thought Jinenji's Mother. 'If that's how things are...that's how they'll be.'


Up next, another one of my favorite moments!

Review, please!