Changing Wyrds
Chapter 10: Please Don't Leave Me
Perhaps it had been a while between visits the last time, but two sets of injuries in a fortnight was rather a lot. And to top it off, they had lost Kureru. After all the work she had done to save him. Well, they had better find him again, was all she could say about it. There was no reason to go around losing people recently nursed to health into the hands of health hazards. She, for one, wasn't going to stand for it. And as soon as Inuyasha was on his feet, she would say as much. Of course, the feet part wouldn't take so long if Kagome had remembered that Hashiaku had attacked his legs.
"Kaede-san?" She turned to the door. Kagome stood there, dark hair falling untidily over one shoulder.
"Yes, Kagome?"
"I brought you supper. That is, unless...do you want me to take over here?" Kaede smiled, knowing full well that a smile from her old face wasn't entirely reassuring.
"I'll take your offer and eat with the others," she said, standing creakily. "I don't think he'll be much trouble." Kagome sat down with the small tray and wished her a good meal. Of course he wouldn't be much trouble. Around Kaede. That was Kaede's good luck. Kagome knew, though, that if anyone could get stuck with an angry waking Inuyasha, it was her.
To match her thoughts, he woke just as she began to eat. Sitting up abruptly, he announced:
"Bastard!" She dropped her hashi in her soup bowl.
"Inuyasha! He's gone. You're at Kaede's." He turned to her curiously, as though her being there was more surprising than his.
"We lost, then."
"No, we tied."
"How many of us were hurt or captured versus how many of him?"
"Well...Kureru, Miroku, Shippou, you...he was all right."
"That's losing." She lost patience.
"Who cares? It's not over, anyway, and no one is dead. There's nothing that can't be changed by the end of the war."
"Why are you talking about the end of the war? You don't want any of it, from what I remember." It dawned on Kagome that while he had saved her, he hadn't in any way declared his feelings unhurt. Unfortunately , guilt doesn't always come out kindly.
"Are you still moping?" she snapped. "'Cause I've had enough of it. I didn't mean to say what I did, and if you would for once shut up and let me finish a sentence, you would know that. As it is, I'm getting really sick of hearing about your poor little feelings." She was gearing up for a good rant. Just as soon as he answered, she'd have her ammo. As soon as he....answered...?
But no. He wouldn't make it easy to turn him into the bad guy this time. He leaned against the wall, his silence making Kagome exceedingly nervous. How could he get all sensitive now, the first time she'd said the thing that would push the other over the edge? She hoped he wouldn't take her place entirely and start crying. Remorse began to overwhelm anger. Her breath paused while she summoned her courage.
"I'm sorry. I really, really didn't mean what you thought I-- no, what I said. I was overreacting to something you didn't mean to do. When all you were doing was being protective. I'm so sorry."
"Kagome?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't move." There was a pause.
"What?"
"I. Can't. Move." Kagome's heart raced.
"That can't be right. I mean, Kaede said you'd be fine in a few days. She didn't see anything abnormal about your injuries."
"Kagome. If I could move, I would have. Before you started yelling."
"You mean you won't accept my apology?" Her vision flickered.
"Don't cry, girl! I do accept it. I just-"
"You do? That's a first."
"Kagome, forget that! I can't fricking move! Find Kaede, won't you?"
"Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"This isn't good."
"You're telling me?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He shivered, and someone laughed. It was a cold laugh, as cold as the dirt beneath him.
"Kureru, it's so nice to see you awake." He opened his eyes and what small light was present blinded him. Slowly, the outline of Hashiaku's lithe but solid figure focused in from of him.
/I hate you/
"I know. Why waste time thinking about it?"
/get out of my head, you son of a bitch/
"She was that. Oh, fine. Mean little slave, you never let me have any fun." He remained silent and curled up, trying to seem indifferent. "Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Kureru! I'll send Moto down with some food. Then we'll talk, hm?"
/donttalkdonttalkdonttalk/
"Silly creature. You know you'll say whatever words I think should be in your mouth."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"OW!!" Inuyasha glared.
"So you really can't move?" Miroku asked curiously.
"NO!"
"Not so," said Kaede. "He's just temporarily paralyzed from the waist down."
There was a pause followed by a discreet cough. Inuyasha turned scarlet. " I think so anyway," Kaede finished, selectively oblivious.
"You mean you don't know if it's temporary?! I am NOT going to stay on this stupid floor in this stupid village for the rest of my life!"
"Of course not," said Kaede. She was no more reassuring than her smile was dazzling. "We are fairly certain that it is because of Hashiaku's aura that you've been rendered helpless." Inuyasha growled. "That kind of thing will almost always run its course and be on its way. Most likely, you will either recover or die."
"Die?! From this? Feh!"
"Inuyasha, settle down. The more you rest, the easier it will be for you to recover. You can't kill Hashiaku or help Kureru in this condition." As little as he liked it, she had him there.
"Fine. But don't expect me to be happy about it."
"We never do," said Kagome with a hinted smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You couldn't break Shippou, you won't break me." Hashiaku chuckled.
"Don't be childish. You're already broken," he said. "Now, really, if you hadn't been so foolish as to be disloyal to me, I wouldn't have to punish you. You brought it on yourself; if you don't know the rules after six years, I don't know what will teach you. Well, besides this." He moved away to inspect his work. There was no chance that Kureru would be going anywhere for some time, even with the effects of his disembodiment just wearing off.
"They'll take you at your word, you know. You told them that you'd meet again, and they'll make sure the time of the battle is their choice. They'll win, Hashiaku. You won't be able to hurt anymore innocent people."
"You being among the 'innocents', I presume."
"Then you presume wrong!" Kureru snapped. "I know what I am."
"And what is that?" murmured Hashiaku. "A worthless piece of half- breed trash?"
"There's no reason others should pay for it."
"You started their payment with the death of that boy," Hashiaku scoffed. "It's your own fault if anyone is hurt by your claw."
"I know."
"There, you see?" exclaimed the youkai. "You have been broken for a long time now. Therefore, I can not be trying to break you. I am simply teaching you." Kureru didn't reply.
"Ah, well," Hashiaku sighed. "I suppose your lesson has been learned. Moto!" The girl entered quickly. "Clean this up, and put Kureru in his room." She nodded, and the master of the house stepped soundlessly from the room.
"Kami-sama, Kureru-kun, look what he's done to you," she whispered, wiping blood from the hanyou's face. "You know you shouldn't go against him."
"No," he returned. "I should. You should. It's just not safe." She clucked and shook her head, then pulled him up by both arms.
"I can't walk, Moto-chan."
"Of course you can't," she answered with a snort, and ducking underneath him, picked him up in a careful swoop that was perfected by experience. By the time she had laid him gently on his floor, he was asleep.
"I hope they do come," she muttered. "We can only take so many beatings."
____________________________________________________________________________ __
Author's Notes: So...what do you think of this Moto girl? Is she human or youkai? Is she a yes or a 'kill it off, please'? How long is this story gonna be? I'm actually not sure, but I think only a few more chapters.
Lady Pyro: yeah, I know I beat up on Kureru-kun a lot. But hey. He'll get back at Hashiaku for it, ne?? I actually like Hashiaku, though...
By the penguin, I wanted to apologize for the long spaces between updates. I can only get online once or twice a week, and I don't always remember the disk I need when I can. I'm trying, really, really, trying! ^^
See ya next time. 6.~
Chapter 10: Please Don't Leave Me
Perhaps it had been a while between visits the last time, but two sets of injuries in a fortnight was rather a lot. And to top it off, they had lost Kureru. After all the work she had done to save him. Well, they had better find him again, was all she could say about it. There was no reason to go around losing people recently nursed to health into the hands of health hazards. She, for one, wasn't going to stand for it. And as soon as Inuyasha was on his feet, she would say as much. Of course, the feet part wouldn't take so long if Kagome had remembered that Hashiaku had attacked his legs.
"Kaede-san?" She turned to the door. Kagome stood there, dark hair falling untidily over one shoulder.
"Yes, Kagome?"
"I brought you supper. That is, unless...do you want me to take over here?" Kaede smiled, knowing full well that a smile from her old face wasn't entirely reassuring.
"I'll take your offer and eat with the others," she said, standing creakily. "I don't think he'll be much trouble." Kagome sat down with the small tray and wished her a good meal. Of course he wouldn't be much trouble. Around Kaede. That was Kaede's good luck. Kagome knew, though, that if anyone could get stuck with an angry waking Inuyasha, it was her.
To match her thoughts, he woke just as she began to eat. Sitting up abruptly, he announced:
"Bastard!" She dropped her hashi in her soup bowl.
"Inuyasha! He's gone. You're at Kaede's." He turned to her curiously, as though her being there was more surprising than his.
"We lost, then."
"No, we tied."
"How many of us were hurt or captured versus how many of him?"
"Well...Kureru, Miroku, Shippou, you...he was all right."
"That's losing." She lost patience.
"Who cares? It's not over, anyway, and no one is dead. There's nothing that can't be changed by the end of the war."
"Why are you talking about the end of the war? You don't want any of it, from what I remember." It dawned on Kagome that while he had saved her, he hadn't in any way declared his feelings unhurt. Unfortunately , guilt doesn't always come out kindly.
"Are you still moping?" she snapped. "'Cause I've had enough of it. I didn't mean to say what I did, and if you would for once shut up and let me finish a sentence, you would know that. As it is, I'm getting really sick of hearing about your poor little feelings." She was gearing up for a good rant. Just as soon as he answered, she'd have her ammo. As soon as he....answered...?
But no. He wouldn't make it easy to turn him into the bad guy this time. He leaned against the wall, his silence making Kagome exceedingly nervous. How could he get all sensitive now, the first time she'd said the thing that would push the other over the edge? She hoped he wouldn't take her place entirely and start crying. Remorse began to overwhelm anger. Her breath paused while she summoned her courage.
"I'm sorry. I really, really didn't mean what you thought I-- no, what I said. I was overreacting to something you didn't mean to do. When all you were doing was being protective. I'm so sorry."
"Kagome?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't move." There was a pause.
"What?"
"I. Can't. Move." Kagome's heart raced.
"That can't be right. I mean, Kaede said you'd be fine in a few days. She didn't see anything abnormal about your injuries."
"Kagome. If I could move, I would have. Before you started yelling."
"You mean you won't accept my apology?" Her vision flickered.
"Don't cry, girl! I do accept it. I just-"
"You do? That's a first."
"Kagome, forget that! I can't fricking move! Find Kaede, won't you?"
"Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"This isn't good."
"You're telling me?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He shivered, and someone laughed. It was a cold laugh, as cold as the dirt beneath him.
"Kureru, it's so nice to see you awake." He opened his eyes and what small light was present blinded him. Slowly, the outline of Hashiaku's lithe but solid figure focused in from of him.
/I hate you/
"I know. Why waste time thinking about it?"
/get out of my head, you son of a bitch/
"She was that. Oh, fine. Mean little slave, you never let me have any fun." He remained silent and curled up, trying to seem indifferent. "Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Kureru! I'll send Moto down with some food. Then we'll talk, hm?"
/donttalkdonttalkdonttalk/
"Silly creature. You know you'll say whatever words I think should be in your mouth."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"OW!!" Inuyasha glared.
"So you really can't move?" Miroku asked curiously.
"NO!"
"Not so," said Kaede. "He's just temporarily paralyzed from the waist down."
There was a pause followed by a discreet cough. Inuyasha turned scarlet. " I think so anyway," Kaede finished, selectively oblivious.
"You mean you don't know if it's temporary?! I am NOT going to stay on this stupid floor in this stupid village for the rest of my life!"
"Of course not," said Kaede. She was no more reassuring than her smile was dazzling. "We are fairly certain that it is because of Hashiaku's aura that you've been rendered helpless." Inuyasha growled. "That kind of thing will almost always run its course and be on its way. Most likely, you will either recover or die."
"Die?! From this? Feh!"
"Inuyasha, settle down. The more you rest, the easier it will be for you to recover. You can't kill Hashiaku or help Kureru in this condition." As little as he liked it, she had him there.
"Fine. But don't expect me to be happy about it."
"We never do," said Kagome with a hinted smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You couldn't break Shippou, you won't break me." Hashiaku chuckled.
"Don't be childish. You're already broken," he said. "Now, really, if you hadn't been so foolish as to be disloyal to me, I wouldn't have to punish you. You brought it on yourself; if you don't know the rules after six years, I don't know what will teach you. Well, besides this." He moved away to inspect his work. There was no chance that Kureru would be going anywhere for some time, even with the effects of his disembodiment just wearing off.
"They'll take you at your word, you know. You told them that you'd meet again, and they'll make sure the time of the battle is their choice. They'll win, Hashiaku. You won't be able to hurt anymore innocent people."
"You being among the 'innocents', I presume."
"Then you presume wrong!" Kureru snapped. "I know what I am."
"And what is that?" murmured Hashiaku. "A worthless piece of half- breed trash?"
"There's no reason others should pay for it."
"You started their payment with the death of that boy," Hashiaku scoffed. "It's your own fault if anyone is hurt by your claw."
"I know."
"There, you see?" exclaimed the youkai. "You have been broken for a long time now. Therefore, I can not be trying to break you. I am simply teaching you." Kureru didn't reply.
"Ah, well," Hashiaku sighed. "I suppose your lesson has been learned. Moto!" The girl entered quickly. "Clean this up, and put Kureru in his room." She nodded, and the master of the house stepped soundlessly from the room.
"Kami-sama, Kureru-kun, look what he's done to you," she whispered, wiping blood from the hanyou's face. "You know you shouldn't go against him."
"No," he returned. "I should. You should. It's just not safe." She clucked and shook her head, then pulled him up by both arms.
"I can't walk, Moto-chan."
"Of course you can't," she answered with a snort, and ducking underneath him, picked him up in a careful swoop that was perfected by experience. By the time she had laid him gently on his floor, he was asleep.
"I hope they do come," she muttered. "We can only take so many beatings."
____________________________________________________________________________ __
Author's Notes: So...what do you think of this Moto girl? Is she human or youkai? Is she a yes or a 'kill it off, please'? How long is this story gonna be? I'm actually not sure, but I think only a few more chapters.
Lady Pyro: yeah, I know I beat up on Kureru-kun a lot. But hey. He'll get back at Hashiaku for it, ne?? I actually like Hashiaku, though...
By the penguin, I wanted to apologize for the long spaces between updates. I can only get online once or twice a week, and I don't always remember the disk I need when I can. I'm trying, really, really, trying! ^^
See ya next time. 6.~