Three worlds intertwin
Here is the next chapter of the story. Also I have chosen the voice actor for my character Nariko. The voice actor for my character will be Anna Cathcart.
Chapter six: The shadowy beast and Ushio's past part 1
It didn't take long for the Uwabami to appear within the clearing. The youkai snake looked around angrily for its prey before a stone the size of a human's fist was thrown at Uwabami's left eye. The Uwabami let out a hiss of surprise and anger at the sudden attack. The serpent shook its head for a moment before a female voice called out to it.
"Hey, earth worm, over here!"
The snake youkai turned its head in the direction it had heard the voice. When it did, the Uwabami saw Nariko standing twenty feet in front of it. She smirked before shouting out an insult towards the large serpent.
"Man you're so slow! Those extra pounds must be weighing you down!"
The Uwabami hissed out in rage before it shot towards Nariko. The young she-wolf waited at the last second before she jumped out of the way. The serpent, after learning its lesson in attacking Nariko straight on, quickly stopped itself from crashing its head into the ground. When Nariko landed, the Uwabami tried to slam its tail down on the she-wolf. Nariko saw this and jumped upwards as the serpent's tail slammed down on the spot where she had been standing. The young she-wolf flipped through the air before landing in a crouch on one of the tree's thickest branches. Nariko frowned as she glared at the Uwabami in front of her with the youkai glaring right back at her.
'He's starting to figure out my movements,' thought Nariko quietly to herself. 'Hopefully he won't catch on to our plan.'
"I will make sure that you suffer a painful death you little whelp," hissed the Uwabami in a threatening voice.
"That all depends on if you can catch me, worm," said Nariko with a smirk.
The snake bared its fangs at Nariko before another fist size rock hit it square in the right eye. The demon quickly turned in the direction the rock had been thrown, and saw Ushio standing a few feet away from it.
"Hey, over here!" shouted Ushio before he began to run.
The serpent smirked before it shot forward to chase after Ushio. Nariko quickly jumped out of the tree and swiftly run after the Uwabami, while keeping a safe distance behind the youkai. Ushio headed towards where the two boulders stood and quickly ran around them before he turned to face the Uwabami. The snake demon paused behind the boulders as it glared down at Ushio in hunger and hatred.
"Well, spear bearer. Have you finally stopped running and accepted your end?" questioned the Uwabami with a hiss.
"Yeah right," said Ushio with a smirk upon his face. "Like I'd let myself get killed by a over grown garden snake like you."
The Uwabami let out an enraged snarl before it lunged forward in an attempt to kill Ushio once and for all. Ushio stood his ground as he waited for the Uwabami to strike him. The snake was almost upon Ushio before it suddenly let out a surprised grunt when something crashed into the back of its head. The snake's head then slammed into the ground, while the base of its neck was wedged between the two boulders. The thing that had slammed into the Uwabami's head was none other than Nariko. When the youkai had been distracted, Nariko had taken the chance to sneak up and attack the serpent from behind. The she-wolf leaped off from the snake's head and landed beside Ushio before the two gazed at the Uwabami in front of them. The youkai snake let out a groan of pain as he laid still between the two boulders. Nariko stared at the unmoving snake, while keeping her body tense and ready in case the serpent made any sudden moves.
"Do you think he's knocked out?" asked Ushio as he glared at the youkai.
"It looks like it," answered Nariko softly.
"Then this is our chance," said Ushio as he began to rush forward. "We need to get this monster to drink the sake now!"
"Ushio, wait!" shouted Nariko.
Ushio ignored Nariko's warning as he rushed towards the unconscious youkai. But when he got within six feet of the serpent, the Uwabami's eyes flashed open as a nasty smirk appeared on its face. Nariko saw this and quickly dashed forward just as the Uwabami raised its tail up and swung it towards Ushio. Nariko was able to push Ushio out of the way before the snake's tail slammed into her. The force for the Uwabami's tail sent Nariko flying and crashing into the trunk of a large tree. Nariko let out a grunt of pain before falling to the ground. Ushio, who had just sat up, turned to look over at Nariko and gasped when he saw her laying on the ground.
"Nariko!" shouted Ushio.
Ushio quickly stood up and started to run towards the young she-wolf. But he was intercepted when the Uwabami's tail suddenly wrapped around him. Ushio let out a grunt as the snake lifted him up from the ground and began to struggle. In his struggle, Ushio lost his hold on the sake bottle, which fell to the ground and smashed against a rock. Its contents spilled out upon the dried up dirt. The Uwabami chuckled as it dislodged its head from the crack between the two boulders. The serpent reared its upper body up as it wrapped more of its coils around Ushio, while smirking down at the struggling boy in the process. Nariko slowly lifted her head up as she turned her gaze towards the scene in front of her. The young she-wolf's eyes widened when she saw that Ushio was caught within the Uwabami's coils.
"U-Ushio..." spoke Nariko in a strained voice.
"How pathetic," spoke the Uwabami as it leered down at Ushio. "You let your guard down and assumed that I had been knocked out by that little whelp's surprise attack. Though that's to be expected. After all, the stories of you jumping into battles without analyzing the situation, or giving a second thought about your safety has been told amongst us demons for quite some time. And you had to rely on that pet of yours to get you out of situations that were too difficult for you to handle."
"You're wrong!" shouted Ushio as he glared up at the Uwabami.
"Am I?" questioned the Uwabami with a smirk. "After all, you were just a child back then who knew nothing about us demons. Much less believed in our existence until you brought the Beast Spear back into the world. And when you finally did acknowledge our existence, it was only because you wanted to kill us out of pleasure. You felt superior when you had possessed that spear and wanted all monsters to bow before your great power. Especially the great demon Nagatobimaru, who coward within your shadow."
Ushio gritted his teeth at the snake's words before he shouted at it: "That's not...!"
Ushio's words were quickly cut short by the Uwabami wrapping the tip of its tail around the young man's neck.
"I've had enough with hearing your petty denials," hissed the Uwabami as it strangled Ushio. "It's time that I end your miserable life. And once you're out of the way I'll kill that mother of yours. Along with that blonde haired descended of that a cursed woman."
Nariko, who was struggling to pick herself off the ground, paused at what the Uwabami had said.
'Blonde hair?' thought Nariko quietly to herself. 'Is that snake talking about Mayuko? If so then that would mean...'
Nariko's eyes widened in horror as the thought of Sumako and Mayuko dying by the fangs of this mad serpent filled her mind.
'No,' thought Nariko fiercely.
Nariko's horror slowly began to change to rage as the claws on her fingers extended, and sunk into the dirt underneath her. The she-wolf's bangs covered her eyes, while her lips pulled back into a snarl.
'I won't let that happen!'
The Uwabami continued to strangle Ushio while it smirked down at its prey in hunger.
"How I've waited so long to eat the flesh of the spear bearer," purred the Uwabami softly. "I bet you'll taste delicious."
The snake demon then opened its large mouth and started to bring it down upon Ushio. The young man could only watch helplessly as the Uwabami's great maw grew closer. But just as the serpent was getting ready to swallow the boy whole, its body suddenly tensed. The youkai's eyes widened slightly in fear when it felt an intense aura behind it.
"W-what is this intense feeling of blood lust?" whispered the Uwabami nervously.
"You bastard," spoke a female voice that had a hard edge to it.
The snake demon twitched slightly at the sudden voice before it turned to look behind it. When it did, the Uwabami's eyes widened when it saw Nariko crouched on all fours like a wild animal. The sleeves of Nariko's shirt slowly burned off as the markings on her upper arms began to glow and spark with electricity. Her fur, hair and tail slowly puffed up as if electrocuted by the electrical charge from her markings.
"It's beings like you that make me sick," growled Nariko in a low voice. "I won't let you kill Ushio, his mother or Mayoko."
The snake demon glared at Nariko with a guarded expression on its face: "Oh really? And what are you going to do about it, whelp? You can barely stand after I threw you into that tree."
Ushio, who was barely conscious, weakly stared at Nariko in concern. A dark smirk appeared on Nariko's lips before she spoke again.
"You must be really dumb if you think something like that is enough to knock me out for the count."
Nariko then slowly lifted her head to reveal that her eyes had once again changed into icy lambent blue. Her slit pupils glared into the Uwabami's eyes without fear.
"You'll find that I'm no ordinary mortal, you over grown worm."
The snake demon flinched at the sight of Nariko's eyes as cold fear briefly ran down its body. Nariko then let out a loud roar before she shot forward, and punched the Uwabami in the face. The force of her fist was so powerful that the snake's head flew back and crashed into the cliff side. It also caused the Uwabami's coils to loosen around Ushio. When they did, Nariko took the chance to pull him out of the snake's coils. She then jumped up into the air with Ushio held tightly within her arms. Nariko landed on the ground and knelt down as she leaned Ushio up against the trunk of a large tree. Ushio let out a groan as he laid back against the tree behind him. Nariko stared at Ushio in concern before she turned to glare back at the Uwabami again. The snake demon slowly reared up, but its expression now held a look of anger instead of the fear it had a moment ago.
"You little bitch!" hissed the Uwabami as it glared down at Nariko. "You're going to pay for that!"
Nariko stood up and glared right back at the Uwabami: "You know what worm? You're starting to get on my last nerve!"
The snake demon let out a loud hiss of anger, while Nariko roared before launching herself forward to attack the Uwabami again. Ushio, who was barely conscious, weakly watched through blurry eyes as Nariko fought against the snake demon.
"N-Nariko," voiced Ushio as he tried to climb to his feet while using the tree to support him. "Damn it...I need to...help her!"
Ushio tried to take a step forward, but he soon grew dizzy and started to fall forward.
'Damn it,' thought Ushio as his vision began to turn black. 'I can't let Nariko fight that snake on her own...if only I had the Beast Spear...if only Tora was here...'
Ushio's eyes soon closed as he finally lost consciousness, but if he had been awake he would have noticed someone catching him before he hit the ground.
Back with the fight, Nariko slashed and clawed at the Uwabami as she left deep scratch marks all over the snake's body. The demon retaliated by snapping its jaws at the she-wolf or whipping its tail in an attempt to get a good hit in. But so far, Nariko proved to be faster than the Uwabami as she seemed to blur in and out of existence.
"Damn it!" cursed the Uwabami as Nariko dogged its attack once again. "Hold still you little whelp so that I can give you a quick death!"
"Or maybe you're age is finally catching up to you," snarked Nariko as she landed in a crouch on top of a large boulder.
"You insolent pup!" shouted the Uwabami in rage as it shot its head towards Nariko.
Nariko smirked before jumping upwards just as the Uwabami's head crashed into the boulder. The serpent let out a groan as it slowly lifted its head up and shook it to clear the dizziness away. While it was distracted, Nariko had landed on top of the Uwabami's head in a crouch and sunk her claws deep into the demon's scales. The snake demon let out a hiss of pain before it started to shake its head around furiously in an attempt to throw Nariko off.
"Get off me you vermin!" yelled the Uwabami.
"It seems like you're carrying a lot of anger worm," said Nariko as the markings on her shoulders started spark. "How about I give you some shock therapy to help fry your nervous system?"
Nariko's markings blazed at her words before a great bolt of electricity ran down her arms and began to electrocute the Uwabami beneath her. The youkai let out a scream as a powerful current of electricity zapped him from both inside and outside its body. The serpent began to thrash about in pain while trying to throw Nariko off its head in the process. The she-wolf continued to cling onto the Uwabami's head like tick to a dog with her claws digging deeper into the snake's scales. This continued on for a while before the Uwabami made a last ditched effort to dislodging the she-wolf from his head. The snake demon threw back its head and crashed it into the cliffside behind it along with Nariko. That action caused the electricity to stop before the Uwabami pulled its head away from the cliffside. When it did, it revealed Nariko plastered to the rock wall of the cliff. She let out a groan as she fell and crashed into the stone hard ground. The snake demon glared down at Nariko as the she-wolf struggled to lift herself up from the ground.
"You little whelp!" hissed the Uwabami furiously. "I can see that I'll have to deal with you first before I devour the spear bearer!"
Nariko weakly lifted her head, while opening one eye to glare up at the snake demon. The snake demon then shot its head forward towards the young she-wolf.
"Your life ends now!"
Nariko could only watch as the Uwabami's jaws were about to descend upon her. Just as she thought her life would come to an end, the snake's jaws stopped about two feet above her. Nariko opened her other eye to stare at the Uwabami in confusion before noticing that its eyes were wide in shock. Then suddenly, Nariko felt an intense aura of blood lust rising up within the stone clearing. It was so strong that the fur on Nariko's neck stood up straight. She then saw a large shadow appear behind the Uwabami's head.
The shadow wasn't as large as the Uwabami, but it was definitely larger than a human. She guessed that it was probably around nine to ten feet tall. Nariko wasn't able to make out any features within the shadowy figure, but she could tell that its form was that of some kind of beast. The young she-wolf then noticed the shadow's white eyes. She saw that they were glowing a bright red, but not enough to wash out the white within the figure's eyes.
Nariko stared at the shadow as the being in darkness gripped the back of the Uwabami's head with just one clawed hand. Then, after a moment of silence, a deep gravely voice spoke from the shadow.
"How pathetic. Did you really think that you could muzzle into my territory and take what's rightfully mine?"
The serpent's eyes widened even more as fear began to show upon its face: "That...that voice. I can't be..."
White, knife like teeth appeared as the shadowy being smirked at the Uwabami's words: "You bet it's me, you sick bastard."
The hand of the shadowy beast tightened around the back of the Uwabami's neck, which caused the serpent to let out a choking gasp of pain. Nariko watched in bewilderment and apprehension at just how effortlessly the beast in shadow was holding the demon snake with only one hand.
The being then spoke again in a dangerously low voice: "Not only did you invade my territory and try to eat my prey in my absence, but you had the gall to insult me and call me a coward?"
"P-please," spoke the Uwabami in a fearful voice. "Have mercy on me."
"Mercy?" repeated the being as it bared its teeth in a cruel smile while blue sparks of electricity began to spark from its forehead. "You should know by now that I don't give mercy to those who piss me off."
The serpent's eyes widened even more before it began to stutter: "N-no...please don't..."
Nariko barely had enough time to turn her eyes away before a flash of blue-white lightning engulfed the Uwabami. She heard the snake demon scream in agony as its voice echoed throughout the clearing. The sound was painful to Nariko's canine ears so she quickly lifted her hands up to cover them. Then, as soon as the screams of the Uwabami had started, they quickly ended. Nariko continued to lay flat on the ground for a moment before she slowly opened her eyes, which were now back to their normal color. When she did, Nariko lifted her head up and what she saw made her eyes grow wide. Lying in front of the she-wolf was the charred remains of the now dead Uwabami.
"W-whoa..." breathed Nariko in shocked amazement.
Nariko then remembered the shadowy beast and began to look around the area to see if it was still about. But all she saw was the corps of the Uwabami and nothing else.
'W-where did that creature go?' thought Nariko with a frown appearing on her face.
Nariko's then picked up the sound of a groan and quickly turned to where she heard it. She saw Ushio leaning slumped against the base of the tree's trunk.
"Ushio!" shouted Nariko.
She quickly picked herself up from the ground and rushed over to Ushio's side. As she did, Nariko was unaware that she was being watched from over head. Floating above the clearing was none other then the shadowy creature. It watched as Nariko ran over to Ushio and knelt down near his side. Its eyes narrowed slightly as it watched her.
'That girl,' thought the creature as it observed Nariko quietly from a distance. 'She's definitely no ordinary mortal. No creature except youkai are able to get up that fast after a fight like that. Not to mention having the same ability to summon lightning like me.'
The creature continued to watch as Nariko gently shook Ushio's shoulder. After a moment the shadowy beast scoffed as it crossed its arms over its chest.
'Still...at least that runt is keeping Ushio out of trouble. I don't want him dying on me when I come back to haunt him again.'
The shadowy beast then raised its right claw hand up to look at it. As it did, the black began to fade slightly and started to reveal the muted color of orange. The being flexed its hand slightly, while extending the claws on its fingers.
'And hopefully soon,' thought the shadowy beast before looking back down at Nariko and Ushio again as a light smirk appeared on its muzzle. 'Honestly, even though the kid has grown up, he still seems to get himself into trouble.'
Back on the ground, Nariko continued to shake Ushio's shoulder while calling out his name in the process.
"Ushio? Ushio can you hear me?" said Nariko as she tried to wake Ushio up. "Come on, say something."
The only response she got from Ushio was a light groan. Nariko grew concerned before a determined expression appeared on her face. Without having very many options, Nariko decided to try and carry Ushio back to the temple.
"Okay...I can do this," voiced Nariko quietly to herself.
Nariko slowly began to maneuver Ushio's body across her shoulders. Once he was securely on her shoulders, Nariko stood up and began to head back to the temple. The she-wolf grunted slightly under Ushio's weight, but was somehow able to carry him without difficulty. The trek back to the temple was long, but throughout the journey Nariko never felt the strain of carrying Ushio over her shoulders. She felt like she carrying a backpack more than a human being. It didn't take long for Nariko to reach the steps of the temple. When she got closer, Nariko noticed Sumako, Asako and Mayuko standing on the top step of the stairs with worried expressions upon their faces. When they saw the she-wolf carrying Ushio, the three gasped in shock and horror.
"Ushio!" shouted Asako as she ran down the stairs.
Mayuko quickly followed behind her friend before the two of them stopped in front of Nariko.
Mayuko was the first one to speak: "Is he alright?"
"Yeah," replied Nariko with a nod. "He's just unconscious."
"Hurry and bring him inside," spoke Sumako in a serious voice.
Nariko didn't need to be told twice. She quickly climbed up the stairs and followed Sumako to the house. Mayuko and Asako shadowed behind the she-wolf in silence. Once they were inside, Nariko carried Ushio up to his bedroom and gently placed him down on his futon. Sumako quickly went down stairs to grab the clay jar that held the special medicine before coming back up again. Once she did, Sumako gently told the three girls to go wait downstairs in the living room while she check Ushio over for any serious wounds. Reluctantly, Nariko, Asako and Mayuko did what Sumako asked and quietly left the bedroom.
We soon find Nariko, Asako and Mayuko sitting silently around the chabudai table together. The trio were patiently waiting to hear about what Ushio's condition was, while not speaking to each other in the process. After a moment of silence, Asako was the first one to speak as she turned to look at Nariko with a frown.
"What exactly happened out there Nariko?"
"Yeah, we heard from Sumako that you were fighting some kind of a serpent youkai or something," spoke Mayuko with a worried expression upon her face.
Nariko, who was looking down at the surface of the chabudai table, let out a sigh before she answered Asako's question.
"Ushio was trying to help me fight off a Uwabami. We had come up with a plan to get the bottle of sake down the serpent's throat, but...let's just say that things didn't go as planned."
"I'm guessing he jumped in head first and didn't stop to think about the situation, huh?" guessed Asako with her shoulders slumping slightly.
Nariko only nodded her head at Asako's question: "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," said Asako in a gentle voice. "That's just the way Ushio is sometimes. He acts before he thinks when it comes to protecting or helping people."
"Yeah, but still...I should have made sure that the Uwabami youkai was really unconscious. Not to mention stopping Ushio before he leapt into action."
Mayuko gently placed a hand on top of Nariko's and gave the she-wolf a reassuring smile. Nariko looked at Mayuko as she gave the older teen a small smile in return. Just then, Nariko's ears twitched when she heard Sumako coming down the stairs. She turned her attention towards the door with Asako and Mayuko also doing the same. It was a second later that Sumako opened the door to the living room. Her face held a look of both exhaustion and relief as she walked over to the chabudai table.
"How's Ushio?" asked Mayuko.
"He should be fine," replied Sumako as she sat down at the chabudai table while placing the clay jar down beside her. "The only injuries that I found on him were the large bruises on his arms and neck. Luckily his ribs aren't broken, but he'll have to rest in bed for a while to recover."
Mayuko and Asako both let out a sigh of relief, while Nariko frowned as she gazed down at the table top of the chabudai. A serious expression was imprinted on the young she-wolf's face as she thought over the battle that she and Ushio had with the Uwabami. Sumako noticed Nariko's silent behavior and turned to look at the beast-girl.
"What's on your mind Nariko?" asked Sumako gently.
Nariko continued to stare down at the chabudai table for a moment before she raised her head up to look at the older woman. Then after a second of hesitation, Nariko finally spoke up.
"Mrs. Sumako...while me and Ushio were facing off against that snake youkai, it kept calling Ushio the 'spear bearer' or 'wielder of the Beast Spear'. And that's not the only thing that bothers me. The youkai seems to not only have a grudge against you and your son, but it also mentioned that it would come after Mayuko afterwards."
Mayuko stiffened slightly at what Nariko had just said, while Asako looked at her friend in both worry and concern. Nariko noticed this but ignored their expressions for the time being. She kept her eyes on Sumako, who was looking at Nariko with an expression that showed no emotions on it.
"Mrs. Sumako, just what exactly have you and Ushio done to get youkai to hate you so much? And why do they want to kill Mayuko? Please, I need to know what exactly is going on here."
Sumako sat silently as she and Nariko stared intently into each other's eyes without moving. Asako and Mayuko quietly watched as they glanced between Sumako and Nariko nervously. After a long moment of silence, Sumako finally let out a sigh as a look of sadness appeared on her face.
"I supposed you have the right to know," said Sumako as she gazed at Nariko with gentle eyes. "Though I must warn you. The story that I'm about to tell you is a long one."
Nariko responded by giving Sumako a gentle smile: "Well I don't really have anything planned for tomorrow, so I pretty much have a lot of time on my hands."
Sumako blinked at Nariko's response before chuckling slightly. Asako and Mayuko smiled when they felt the tension between Nariko and Sumako lighten a little bit. After she composed herself, Sumako's face took up a serious expression before she began to speak again.
"The tale begins long ago before you were born..."
To be continued
And here's the cliff hanger. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a great New Year.
White Hunter, howling out to you and creativity!