I live!
This marks the first time I've written something new (aka not just outlined or edited old stuff) in MONTHS. Depressive episodes are a pain, you guys, and finding balance is much harder than it looks.
I'm fairly pleased with this chapter but at the same time I'm just so goddamn happy I've WRITTEN something cohesive/plot-furthering that it could possibly be crap and I don't really care lol because something is better than nothing.
Hope you enjoy!
If you liked it and would also like to brighten my day...
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Chapter 28: Letting Go
"Of course, the crazy witch would live somewhere where this exists," Kohana grumbled, flinching when the narrow wood planks of the rope bridge creaked ominously. "How do people even make these? Over a small river or gorge, sure, but this canyon is huge and we're so high up—"
"Perhaps less time spent commenting on the danger would help ease your mind," Kaede coolly suggested.
Shippo giggled loudly at that. Inuyasha wasn't much help, either—she could hear the chuckle he tried to mask with a cough. She sent both of them glares and felt a surge of pride when they flinched back. They were smart to be cautious; she was the one in charge of the food rations, after all.
The trip into the mountains had been eerily peaceful so far, with no signs of ogre activity or any demon presence. Maybe that was why she was so twitchy—it was too quiet.
You really think you're fooling yourself? Kikyo asked, her tone as dry as her sister's. Kohana scowled at the wooden boards beneath her feet and pointedly ignored the priestess' words. They both knew the truth, both had access to Kohana's every errant thought or opinion, and so denying it wasn't an option. Silence would have to do.
Kohana could almost feel Kikyo's sigh of exasperation in her own chest.
While we're connected like this, I feel your pain like it is my own. Take it from someone who was taught from a very young age that to be vulnerable is to be weak—hiding from your feelings never ends well.
"You and Nobu are way too goddamn similar," Kohana hissed under her breath as she carefully avoided a flimsy-looking plank. At that moment, Shippo let out an anxious yip behind her and she whipped around to see the cause. The kit was perched on Inuyasha's shoulder but was anxiously sniffing the air. Kohana felt a shiver along her spine in the same moment that the silver haired half-demon's body tensed.
"We got company," Inuyasha growled, golden eyes finding hers for a moment before fixing themselves on the other side of the bridge.
"Let me guess…not the friendly kind?" Kohana joked without much humor as she drew an arrow. She glimpsed the approaching enemies before anyone could respond and what she found answered her own question—definitely not the friendly kind.
Converging on both sides of the bridge were slow-moving soldiers; they moved clumsily and woodenly, like poorly conducted puppets. Their faces were clearly inspired by human ones but were all identical and lacked any hint of defining features. Kohana felt a shiver of unease at the blank expressions carved there, almost peaceful, which was a harsh contrast to the ruthless swinging of their swords and daggers.
"Kaede, get behind Inuyasha!" Kohana ordered as she let her first arrow fly. It hit the nearest soldier and he exploded in a flash of light and ash—no, not ash, dust. Some crumbles of what had once been the man fell close to her feet and her stomach lurched when she saw bits of what could only be bone mixed in—
"The ogre has used the remains of these fallen soldiers to construct slaves of clay!" Kaede cried. "If she has the ashes of my sister—"
"—then she could create a clay version of Kikyo that's under her control!" Inuyasha finished, his teeth baring in a furious growl as he easily decapitated two of the clay soldiers at once. Kohana felt Kikyo's mind slip in next to hers, disgust radiating through their now-shared body.
It won't be you in that body, don't worry, Kohana silently reassured the older girl. Kikyo's worry didn't abate as Kohana had hoped; if anything, it seemed to increase.
But even without my soul entering the clay body along with the ashes, as the ogre most likely anticipates, the creation could still be quite dangerous, Kikyo mused.
Kohana sent her a mental nudge, smiling to herself as she purified another soldier.
Then it's a good thing you're in here to help me fight it.
Kikyo's soul sparked in fond reprimand. You say that as if I'd ever let you face it alone.
A sharp cry ripped Kohana's focus from her side of the battle. Kaede had stumbled in her retreat from a soldier and was now sporting a small gash on her shoulder.
"Kaede!" Kohana shouted, blindly stabbing her dagger into the eye of the soldier in front of her and only half-surprised by the way the blade channeled her spiritual energy. Ignoring the implications, not even really aware of them at that moment, Kohana flung herself towards the older priestess.
"I'm fine—" the old woman attempted to say but Kohana ignored her, holding her close with one hand while the other hand seemed to move all on its own. Kikyo's own fury fueled the movement and their energies joined together in one glorious, pink-purple detonation that originated from her extended hand.
The bridge was untouched but the group of soldiers around them disappeared in explosions of arid smelling dust. Kaede let out a sound of shock but Kohana only felt grim satisfaction that the soldiers that had injured Kaede were gone. Innocent soldiers enslaved they may be but they had hurt Kaede and that was reason enough to destroy them without mercy.
Kohana blinked at the savageness of that thought, coming back to herself with a shake of her head. Kikyo reached out with her own spiritual energy and scanned Kaede's form for any other injuries, only calming when she found none.
Inuyasha let out a barking laugh. "I don't know where the hell that came from but hey, I'm not complaining!" he commented as he kicked a clay soldier clean off of the bridge.
Kaede was looking at her like she was seeing her for the very first time. Kohana put a hand on the woman's shoulder, about to open her mouth to urge her to focus on the incoming clay soldiers when a horrible screech filled the air.
Kohana barely had time to look up before a huge presence shook the bridge. It was the ogre woman—gnashing her teeth in anger as she landed in the open space between Inuyasha and Kohana, mere feet away from Shippo.
"Shippo, get outta there!" Inuyasha bellowed, but it was too late. Kohana felt her stomach drop when the ogre woman reached out with one gnarled hand and snatched the panicked fox kit from his perch, quick to hold the large scythe's blade to the child's throat when Inuyasha moved to attack.
"Enough of this!" the ogre shrieked, bulbous eyes gleaming with an ugly red sheen.
"Let him go," Kohana growled, itching to draw an arrow but terrified of what the ogre would do if she dared. "Now."
The demon turned to her, then, and her lips peeled back into a horrible grin of triumph. "Oooh, so I was right—you're just as fond of children as the woman whose soul was reborn into your body! How convenient!"
Kikyo's anger burned bright and Kohana didn't hesitate to let Kikyo borrow her voice to declare:
"If you let him go, your death will be quick and relatively painless. If not…then yours will be the rare example of a death that I savor."
The ogre woman blinked in surprise at the clear shift in Kohana's voice but recovered quickly, her grin widening.
"No one else's blood needs to be spilled, reincarnation. That is, if you come willingly. I have no use for demon-child flesh—the taste is terrible and spoils the stew completely—so letting him go would be in my best interest once my task is complete," the demon crooned, stroking one dirty fingernail against Shippo's cheek.
Inuyasha's menacing snarl cut through the air like a whip; Kohana took a faint pleasure at the ogre's seemingly instinctive flinch away from the sound.
We just need to get Shippo away from her—then we can strike, Kikyo soothed. Kohana did her best to be reassured but the sight of Shippo's body trembling in the grasp of the ogre made it a near impossible feat.
Kaede's hand on her elbow jolted her out of the in-between space with Kikyo—the woman was shaking her head.
"You cannot go, Kohana, not when you know what she plans."
Kohana gently extracted herself. "I have to, Kaede. She has one of mine," she explained, ignoring Kaede's pleas for her to reconsider and handing the woman her bow and quiver.
"Inuyasha, take care of Kaede," Kohana asked quietly, meeting his furious golden stare and shaking her head when he made to move forward.
In an instant, the ogre woman had grabbed Kohana's arm and wrenched until she was secure against the demon's body. In the next, they shot into the air, high above the bridge, but something was wrong…the bridge was suddenly split in two and all the inhabitants were falling—
"No!" Kohana and Shippo screamed in near-unison, watching in horror as Inuyasha and Kaede quickly disappeared into the misty depths of the canyon.
Everything felt numb as the ogre pushed her towards the large stone tub filled with foul green liquid, her mind refusing to believe that Inuyasha and Kaede were dead but at the same time unable to stop imagining the worst. What if Inuyasha hadn't managed to get to Kaede in time and the woman had—
Focus, Kohana—Shippo needs you to focus, Kikyo reminded her, though the woman's own grief was no less sharp than Kohana's. They just needed the ogre to drop Shippo or set him down, then they would send another spiritual energy bomb her way and end this.
Shippo squirmed in the ogre's hold, trying without success to bite the twisted fingers that held him. Luckily for him, the demon seemed more amused than annoyed by his efforts and merely held him farther from her body in response.
"Come out, now; no use in keeping you hidden any longer," the ogre called into the dark cave opening, red eyes shining with cruel satisfaction. Shippo and Kohana both froze at the delicate sound of bare feet against smooth stone and their eyes met in a moment of shared shock. Had the ogre already created—?
The question was answered when a human figure exited the cavern—a beautiful, familiar woman dressed in pristine red and white priestess attire.
"Kikyo?" Shippo squeaked, fear forgotten for a moment, but the frighteningly realistic looking clay figure of Kikyo didn't react to the sound of the kit's voice. In fact, her entire face was as smooth as the faces of the clay soldiers from before, though not for lack of human features.
The mind of Kikyo inside of Kohana had gone deathly, awfully quiet.
"Isn't she exquisite? Must more carefully crafted than my usual stock," the demon woman crooned. "Though useless as a bag of rocks without the soul—that's where you come in," she finished, nodding to Kohana.
The girl in question lifted her chin. "If you want my cooperation, you'll let Shippo go. He's of no use to you."
The ogre cackled. "Oh but he is! See, if I let him go, what's to stop you from using that delightfully explosive ability I witnessed earlier? I may be evil, little human, but I'm not stupid." With a click of her fingers, a faceless clay servant shambled out of the cave. Shippo was handed off and his new captor wasted no time in holding a knife to the kit's throat in place of the scythe.
"Fuck," Kohana muttered, panic rising as she realized how stupid she had been to assume that the ogre would let her guard down enough to strike.
Through all of this, Kikyo remained silent and unreadable.
"Now—" the ogre murmured. "—into the tub you go."
Kohana looked at Shippo, whose eyes were filling with helpless tears. He was going to survive this, that was the only thing she was sure of. She would take a chance and purify the ogre...that would likely break the hold that the demon had on the clay soldier and so Shippo would escape. Yes, that was the best option, and so she took a deep breath and—
Without warning, Kikyo moved across the wall and forcibly shoved herself into Kohana's body. Their roles were reversed; Kohana was the one stuck behind the wall while Kikyo smoothly moved Kohana's limbs so that she climbed into the tub and submerged herself in the liquid.
Kohana shouted and screamed, trying without success to shove her way back in but Kikyo's presence was unyielding, practically a force of nature. Kohana felt only the faintest sensations of the ogre demon pouring a thick leafy mixture into the tub, horror surging through her at the feeling of being in her body but not in her body.
Kikyo, what are you doing, please talk to me—
Kohana was met with silence, and it was then that a burning pressure began to tingle at the edges of her consciousness. It was so faint that she almost didn't register it at first but with a bit of concentration she felt echoes of it from the other side. She flung herself against the barrier with more force once she realized it—Kikyo was choosing to separate, was shielding her from the pain.
A new voice had entered the scene, a masculine rasp of a voice that should have comforted her but didn't even reach Kohana in her frantic attempts to reach Kikyo. The pressure reached a fever pitch, so strong that the burning began to reach Kohana's side at last.
Kikyo's voice was still strong when she finally did speak, strong but somehow still gentle:
This is the way it's meant to be, Kohana. You have to let me go—otherwise, the separation will destroy us both.
Kohana was unable to cry but felt the tell-tale ache of tears in every corner of her being all the same.
What'll happen to you if I do? I can't let this demon use you as a weapon, I just can't, she sobbed.
Kikyo chuckled, then, though the sound was tinged with sorrow.
You promised you would have faith in me, Kohana—so have faith in me.
Kohana felt the wall slowly crumbling, felt the essence of the barrier being torn apart at the very seams. Time and space blurred as a horrid ripping sensation filled the space the wall had taken, the agony dulled by Kikyo's efforts but only barely.
With one last desperate embrace with Kikyo's mind, with thoughts passing back and forth so quickly that it was impossible to tell who was thinking what—
I don't know what I'll do without you in here with me—you saved me—take care of them if I don't come out of this—you're not alone, even once I'm gone—I hope this fucking works—the pain is worth it if it helps ensure that what I've seen comes to pass—
—Kohana let go.