Wooooooooow, I am really sorry about the long wait for this chapter. Finals, writer's block and laziness all converged upon me at the same time, making it nigh on impossible for me to get anything done. I tried to make it a little longer because of it, but still. Damn, I'd kill me if I were you people.
Anyhow, we're fast approaching the end. I refuse to stick my foot in my mouth anymore than I already have by giving a chapter count till the end. This story has a history of taking ME for a ride while being written so I'm not even sure as to when it's going to end. Probably soon, but don't count your chickens. Heehee, chickens. Sorry.
I hope you enjoy this very overdue chapter. It's about five pages longer than usual, so...maybe that will make up for the huge delay. (Yeah, right...) Please enjoy and thank you for sticking with me for so long.
Where Lost Souls Meet Again
Chapter Fourteen: Though We Rant...
Something was tugging at his ear.
Inuyasha's ear twitched beneath the constant tugging as the dog-demon's eyes slowly opened to the pale light of the morning. In the distance, the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, its glow bleeding across the open sky and smearing the landscape with reds and yellows. Clouds stretched languidly across the horizon, their thin trails tinted pink and amber in the glow of the rising sun. The waterfall gently roaring in the distance sparkled and flared in such a way so that each time the light connected the water cascading into the basin disappeared into a faerie-coloured prism. It was beautiful.
It would have been more so were Inuyasha not besieged by this relentless, annoying tugging.
It was just like Kagome to wake him up in the worst fashion she knew, he thought sourly, squinting his eyes against the glare. He hated mornings-the light made his head hurt. So did rubbing his ears. But no one seemed to care about that, no. '"Let's just pluck at those cutsy little triangles on Inuyasha's head",' he mocked to himself, the voice in his head taking on a distinctly female timbre. '"Oh, it's just so much fun". Damn girl. She always does this.' Somewhere inside, Inuyasha was fairly certain she did it on purpose, just to see him squirm, especially considering how much her companion loathed having his ears subjected to such treatment. Well, he'd show her a thing or two.
Rolling over onto his back, the half-breed snatched at the hands offending his head, grinning devilishly. She meeped and he could see her shadow moving just beyond his peripheral vision. His grin widened. Oh, he'd definitely teach her a thing or two for messing with his ears. Damn straight he'd teach her. With the culprit's hands in tow, Inuyasha snapped his wrists back and brought his arms down full force, dragging his victim toward him. There was a screech as his captive shot forward over his head to land with a plop on his chest.
"Haha! Caught you in the act, huh, Kagome? Though you could just tug my ears...did...you..." His voice faded away as he looked with lidded eyes at not a captured Kagome but a trapped Shippou. The kit wriggled about, trying to free his hands from the dog-demon's grip. When Inuyasha's voice faded away into stunned silence, Shippou stopped struggling long enough to give his friend a childish, almost prankish grin.
"Hi there, Inuyasha. I thought I'd wake you up today."
For his part, Inuyasha did not throttle the kit when he grinned. Gritting his teeth almost painfully, the half-breed forced his hands to open-even though they desperately wanted to close and break the kitsune's wrists. Every fibre of his body wanted to brutally lash out at the snickering demon sitting daintily on his belly for daring to wake him in such a way-a way that he not only hated but that made him think Kagome was still there. Kagome...Thinking of his love clenched at the half-breed's heart like a vice, making it even harder not to toss Shippou halfway across the clearing. But no matter how much he wanted to, he knew he never could. Difficult as that may be. 'The runt is injured,' he reminded himself-continually-as he shifted to a sitting position, Shippou still lounging in his lap. 'He almost died. If I were to toss him now, he might just do so. And then I would die, because Sango would kill me.' The clenching caught him again and he tagged on: 'So would Kagome...'His eye spasmed chaotically and his resolve began to waver as the fox-demon reached up and tugged on his ear again. 'Must...not...kill... runt...'
Oh, but it was hard.
Finally sensing the imminent pain promised to his person, Shippou let go of his companion's ear and scooted off his lap. Inuyasha's whole body twitched and spasmed with restrained violence-his teeth grinding was quite audible. For a second, Shippou felt a little bad about his stunt. He hadn't meant to get the dog-demon so worked up he was convulsing; he'd just wanted things to return to the barest hint of normalcy. A day in which Inuyasha didn't get upset with him was a strange day indeed. And after yesterday and the few days beforehand, Shippou could use as much normalcy as he could get.
It was strange, though, he realised as he kicked the ground lightly, waiting for Inuyasha's spasm to cease. He'd never once before in his life considered actually seeking out his volatile friend's temper. Most of his time was spent running from it, instead. 'I was always running away,' he mused, his eyes riveted on a particularly intriguing pebble. 'I always wanted to be protected. Strange that I was looking to get thwaped today...' He sighed and bent over to pick up the stone. 'I guess that's what happens when you almost die. You look for the things that always happened before-whether good or bad-and find comfort in them. Getting a thwap on the head is a lot safer and a lot more endearing than being crushed by a giant ogre...'
Pulling his arm back, the kitsune let the stone fly, watching it until the pebble landed, disappearing among the dew-drenched grass and he couldn't see it anymore. For some reason, he smiled. 'So that's normalcy. Heh, it's odd, but...realising that makes me feel a lot older and wiser than I did a moment ago.' The kit's gaze wandered to a still twitching Inuyasha and his smile widened until he was grinning broadly. He almost felt like his old self. 'I'll have to tell Kagome how much I've grown up when we get her back later today. But first, I need to apologise to Inuyasha for upsetting him so much.'
Happy with his newfound insight, Shippou took a seat beside his friend, still waiting for the dog-demon's fit to subside so that he could apologise for upsetting him so. While he sat watching Inuyasha calm down, something struck him from his thoughts that he hadn't thought to apply to the situation. Kagome wasn't here right now. But Inuyasha...had thought Shippou was Kagome. "'Caught you in the act, huh, Kagome?'" The words dove in at him and suddenly the kit felt even worse. No wonder why Inuyasha was so upset! He'd woken thinking Kagome was back and up to her old tricks again. The normalcy which the kitsune had sought when he woke suddenly became far more than he'd bargained for.
Inuyasha getting mad at Shippou was normalcy.
But Kagome playing with Inuyasha's ears was also normalcy.
And so as he realised his error, Shippou began to cry.
Shaking off the last of his annoyance a few minutes later, the first thing Inuyasha heard was Shippou crying. 'Oh great,' he grumbled to himself, eyes rolling to the back of his skull, 'I made the runt cry. Probably squeezed his wrists too hard.' A long sigh escaped his lips and he turned to give the kitsune a gentle pat on the head. Why'd he have to get stuck with the whiny brat? Where was Ka-Sango when you needed her? Giving himself a mental beating, the half-breed ground his teeth together. Something was wrong with the runt, he reminded himself, angry at his slip-up. Kagome wasn't there to help and he couldn't keep kicking himself because of it. Especially since the kit needed comforting now. It was just... 'I'm not cut out for this type of thing...What the hell am I supposed to do?'
"There, there," he droned, unsure what else to say to his weeping friend. "There, there."
Now, he'd expected Shippou to react to his "comforting," but he'd never expected the kit to act the way he did. Crying even harder than before, Shippou buried his face in Inuyasha's chest. The half-breed grimaced-the runt was getting snot on his clothes. Patting him awkwardly on the back, Inuyasha swallowed hard. He could really use some help here, but judging from the sure lack of females around him at the moment, it was obvious he was on his own. Looking away in embarrassment, he mumbled out: "Hey, runt, I'm, uh, sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean to-"
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha!" Shippou wailed in interruption. "I didn't mean to make you sad! I'm sorry!" The kit's voice was muffled from the other demon's clothing and thick with emotion. His small hands trembled in the folds of the cloth; suddenly, being drenched in snot didn't matter so much to the half-breed. Slowly, the fox-demon tilted his face upward toward his friend. Inuyasha couldn't help but flinch back from that gaze. "I just...I just wanted you to get mad at me like you always do!" the kit whispered hoarsely. "I didn't...mean...to remind you of Kagome...!" Saying her name sent him into a renewed bout of sobbing and Shippou buried his face again into Inuyasha's robes, sniffing loudly.
Understanding dawned on him as the half-demon looked down at the shuddering little boy clinging desperately to him. 'So that's it...the runt was crying because he thought I was mad at him for acting like Kagome...' A smile touched his lips and he found himself ruffling the kit's fur playfully. Shippou sniffed and fidgeted under the attention, but didn't pull his face away from the comfort of his friend's robe. Inuyasha's smile got a little bigger. 'I can't blame him, really, since I was mad about it. I wouldn't have hurt him for it-well, not much-but he didn't have to get so upset over it, either.' "Hey, runt," Inuyasha murmured, tapping Shippou's chin so he was looking up at the half-breed's face; the dog-demon grinned, causing his companion to blink owlishly. His grin widened. "Stop being such a wimp and pull yourself together. You're getting your snot all over me."
"Inuyasha..."
The dog-demon shook his head and ruffled Shippou's red curls some more. "Hey, you're a grown up now, right runt? You took on an ogre and lived. So what are you doing crying into my lap like a girl?" He flicked the fox cub between the ears and laughed when the boy fell over backward with a yelp. "Kagome would be so pissed if she saw you crying like a baby. I thought you promised to save her?"
Shippou looked up at his companion, rubbing the small bump between his eyes. "Inuyasha..."
"There you go again, whining like a cub. Kagome's gonna kick the shit out of you when she finds out her 'hero' is just a snotty baby who cries into people's clothes." He grinned, then let the smile fade away when Shippou's lower lip began trembling violently. Leaning down so that his eyes were level with the kit's he whispered in a very quiet, somewhat solemn voice: "You know something, runt? I know that you're a lot stronger than this. Sure you were a cowardly, whiny cub when I first met you-well, even up until just a few months ago-but you're also the one who grew up the most since Kagome left. You didn't run away when you fought Sesshoumaru and you took on that demon even though it almost killed you. You physically grew up to get my ass moving, even though you felt terrible the whole time. You took on the soot-wolf by yourself, as well. Where do you get off crying now? You have nothing to apologise to me for, especially not now." He pulled back, then smacked Shippou upside the head. "So stop crying and get ready to save Kagome."
The kitsune rubbed his head, pouting and glaring up at his friend. Then he nodded and smiled. Still petting his head to ease the pain a bit, Shippou stood and said emphatically: "Okay, Inuyasha. And I'll show you. I am the hero that'll save Kagome! And I'll do it without crying. Just you wait and see! You'll never see me cry again!"
"That's good." And just because he could, Inuyasha smacked the kit again. When Shippou growled at him and glared fire, the half-breed raised his arms in defence. "I just wanted to make sure! Really."
Behind him there was a rustle, a crash, then a scream and Inuyasha shot forward so fast he planted his face in the dirt. Shippou yelled and fell to the side, flailing his little arms for all he was worth to try and keep his balance. He landed with a thud beside Inuyasha, slightly dazed. He really didn't need to be falling all over the place...
Shaking the dizziness from his head, the kitsune looked up just in time to see Sango bolting over from where she'd been making breakfast, her eyes ablaze and focused on the dog-demon struggling to his knees. Shippou's eyebrow raised slightly; this could be rather interesting.
Inuyasha stood just as Sango reached him. The demon hunter threw her arm back and brought it around with as much force as she could, sending her companion sprawling again. Standing over his prostrate form, hands on hips, she yelled: "What do you think you're doing, hitting Shippou like that? You inconsiderate idiot!"
"I am not!" the half-breed retorted, jumping from his place on the ground, one hand pressed firmly to the glowing red spot on his cheek. The demon hunter raised an eyebrow and leaned back slightly, arms crossed beneath her breasts. She pursed her lips. He scowled. "I'm not! It was just a playful tap!"
She nodded, her eyes still the size of saucers. "Oh, so that's all it was. Just a playful tap, huh? Well, here, I'll show you a playful tap." Her eyes dark and brows drawn, the demon hunter pulled her arm back for another swing at the dog demon. Inuyasha braced himself for the attack, figuring it was useless to try and dodge her; Shippou stifled a laugh that tried desperately to break away and resound through the air. This was too good! He hadn't seen a fight like this in too long!
Sango's fist came around at lightning speed, her knuckles white and aimed directly at the dog-demon's cheek. Inuyasha waited for it, his eyes open and glaring the whole time.
Just before her fist connected, however, there was a terrifying scream from across the clearing and everything stopped. The world was suddenly blanketed in silence. Both Inuyasha and Sango turned their heads toward the origin of the noise, their small spat forgotten for the time being; the demon hunter's fist hung suspended in the air, scant inches from her target's face. Neither noticed. Shippou contorted himself so that his upper body faced in the direction of the noise while his lower body remained facing the two combatants. When the strain of keeping his body turned so began to aggravate his wounds, he flipped all the way around, finally taking a cross-legged position. After that, no one moved.
There was silence for the longest time. Slowly, Sango dropped her hand, unaware of the dull ache forming in her muscles from holding her arm in a suspended position for such a protracted amount of time. Inuyasha swivelled his ears this way and that, hoping to pick up the noise again. He couldn't hear anything; even the wind was silent. 'What the hell is going on...?'
Minutes passed. Without any of them noticing, Miroku stepped up beside Sango, a hand wrapping itself protectively around the hunter's waist. She leaned into him silently but made no other motion that she acknowledged his presence. All her senses were attuned to the open glade ahead of her. In the distance, the waterfall glimmered innocently as the sun made his way higher into the sky.
Miroku didn't understand what was going on. Standing on the other side of camp, busy making breakfast, he didn't notice anything as he rearranged the pots and utensils Sango dropped in her mad dash to reprimand Inuyasha for being too rough with the kit. Thinking about Shippou had the monk's eyes automatically roving about, looking for the kitsune; he breathed in silent relief to see the boy sitting-uninjured-not far away. Like the others, his senses were strained outward, toward the waterfall and across the open expanse of grass. Miroku chewed on his lower lip. Why was everyone so focused on that direction?
'I don't get it. What happened here? One minute Sango and Inuyasha were fighting as usual and the next everything's forgotten. Did I miss something important?' Curious, the monk looked at his love askance, noting her severe expression; like him, she was biting her bottom lip, too deep in thought to notice the action. Her hands played nervously with the hem of her robe and her foot stamped lightly against the ground. Miroku's eyebrows arched questioningly. 'What is she so worried about...?'
"San-"
Her foot slamming on his silenced him faster than the glare Inuyasha directed his way. Biting back a cry of pain, the monk released Sango's waist in order to grab his own foot. He massaged the appendage gently, hopping up and down to keep his balance. She didn't have to stamp so hard... 'I only wanted to know what's going on-'
Suddenly, the most god-awful noise pierced through his thoughts, cutting short anything the monk had in mind at the moment. It tore across the silence like some terrible claw, rending everything to pieces. Inuyasha's ears swivelled back and his eyes squeezed shut as the scream ripped through his auditory senses. Shippou whimpered and covered his ears, rocking back and forth to ward off the harshness of the sound. Sango bit her lip harder but let the scream inundate her senses. Miroku gasped when he saw a trickle of blood slip down his love's chin, her teeth having punctured the soft flesh of her mouth. She didn't even notice.
"What...the hell...was that?"
The monk's exclamation resounded in the silence left after the scream faded away into the trees. Sango turned her face to his, her eyes wide and skin as pale as snow. Miroku reached out and gently brushed a finger across her cheek, then down along her jaw and to her chin, where he wiped away the small trickle of blood. Seeing the red come away on his finger, she gasped and drew a hand to her lips. Her eyes sought his as her whole body trembled. "Miroku...?"
Taking her into his arms, the monk ran his fingers through her raven locks, his voice soothing as he murmured to her. Next to them, Inuyasha let his ears unfold from where he'd pinned them to his head. His eyes were dark. When he spoke, it was to Shippou, the kit still sitting in front of him staring out toward the waterfall.
"Oi, runt...Can you fight?"
His question roused Sango, the demon hunter's eyes narrowing in anger. Stepping forward she hissed out vehemently: "Inuyasha, no!"
He didn't even look at her, let alone acknowledge her admonition. "Well, runt, can you?"
Shippou didn't answer for a long time. He kept his back to all the others, his face hidden away by his fiery hair. A tiny breeze picked at his tail, dragging the thick fur along the ground and kicking up flecks of dirt and grass. The only sound was Miroku's hushed whispers to Sango and the demon hunter's heavy breathing.
Staring across the open expanse, the kitsune couldn't help but think about the night before, regardless of his recent vow to be strong and save Kagome. On this same plain, as the sun tipped down beneath the distant mountains, he'd fought for his life against an ogre. An ogre a thousand times more powerful than himself. He'd fought and fought, all alone as Shoukaki dealt with her own demons-and in the end he'd lost. He could still feel that terrifying grip, could hear his bones begin to snap. The blood running through his veins rushed to his ears and deafened him as his eyes rolled back to welcome oblivion's darkness. The kit couldn't forget the gnawing ache in his chest as that bone-jarring grip ripped all his hopes from him and dragged him toward death. He couldn't forget that he would never ever see Kagome or Inuyasha or the others again. Never...ever again. As he looked across the clearing at the waterfall thundering in the distance, Shippou remembered it all and felt his stomach flop. Something bitter was in his mouth.
Behind him, he could hear Inuyasha ask him if he could fight. Fight...? Of course he could fight. He could always fight. 'And that's where the problem lies, doesn't it?' he thought darkly. The taste in his mouth grew stronger and he had to swallow it down. 'I can fight and fight until I can't move anymore, but it doesn't mean I can win. I can never win. I can't...I can't win against an ogre-what makes you think I can win against him, huh, Inuyasha? Well?' "What does it matter?" he whispered hoarsely. "I want to fight. I want to save Kagome...so bad...But what does it matter? What does fighting matter when I can't fight and win?"
Even though he didn't look behind him, Shippou could tell that Inuyasha's face was drawn back angrily. Of course he'd be angry. He was Inuyasha, the all-powerful dog-demon. He hated weak things. 'Weak...He hates me, because I'm weak. Save Kagome? Ha! Stupid cub's dream, that's all it is. Sure, I can say over and over again...that I'm strong enough to do it. But...I'll never be anything more than the cowardly lump of fur that hid behind Kagome whenever a fight came up. I'll always be the defenseless, snivelling coward clinging to everyone else's pant legs. I can't win...I can't go out there and win...I can't...'
A hand on his shoulder roused him from his thoughts and Shippou tilted his head back to see who was holding him. He blinked when he realised it was Inuyasha. Why was the half-breed looking at him like that? Was that...compassion...?
"Shippou, don't talk like that..." Sango's voice carried across the small distance between them, sad and pleading. "You don't have to fight. Inuyasha, he doesn't have to-"
"Shut up, Sango!" Inuyasha's eyes never left the kit's and his voice was low and calm, but the admonition caught Sango by surprise. Taken aback, the demon hunter clenched her fists at her sides and took a deep breath. But although she glared daggers at her companion, she didn't say anything more.
Inuyasha waited a moment to see if she would respond, then turned his attention on the fox-demon sitting in front of him when Sango failed to speak up. His voice was amazingly quiet, Shippou noted, even as his eyes blazed with suppressed anger. Where was his compassion now? "I don't know what you're talking about, runt, but you'd better get that shit out of your head this instant. Did I ask you if you could win? I don't care if you can or not-I just wanted to know if you could fight. Because, quite frankly, I don't think you can win anyhow."
"Inuyasha!"
"I said: Shut up, Sango! I'm not talking to you." Inuyasha's eyes bore holes into Shippou's head as he continued: "You piss poor excuse for a demon. And after what you said to me not ten minutes ago, too. All you are is arrogant talk, just spouting off nonsense to make yourself look better. But you can't do any of it, can you? Ha, save Kagome? You're right-you'll never win. I don't even see why I bothered to ask. You'll just get in the way, like always. Forget I even asked you to come along. You're worthless to me, now. I'll go save Kagome alone." Standing, the dog-demon turned and began walking out across the clearing.
Shippou didn't move. Sango broke away from Miroku and collapsed to her knees beside the kit, wrapping warm arms around him and pulling him close. The fox-demon didn't feel it and even if he could, he didn't want to. Inuyasha was right: he would always be in the way. He'd always be hiding in someone else's arms. Sango...was just giving him what he deserved. A coward's embrace and a whimpering child's escape route.
But he didn't want it.
He didn't want to run away anymore.
He wanted to follow through with what he said and be a hero.
So why couldn't he get up and fight? Why couldn't he fight? Why was he rooted to that spot, shaking and frightened and unable to follow Inuyasha toward the origin of that agonising scream?
Why was he always a coward?
'"You're worthless to me now. I'll save Kagome alone." Why? Why would he say that? He told me...he told me I was strong!' The words echoed in his skull, over and over, never ceasing. '"I know that you're a lot stronger than this." But I'm not...I'm not stronger...Why? Why can't I be stronger? Inuyasha! Why can't I be stronger? "I know that you're a lot stronger than this."' Tears trickled lightly down his cheeks, wetting his face and dripping onto his hands as they clasped the fabric of his pants. The water darkened his skin where it hit. "Why...?"
Sango pulled away from him, her eyes wide. Reaching up, she caught one of her friend's tears on a slender finger. "Shippou...?"
Shippou sniffled loudly, the tears blinding him. "Why? Why? Why why why why why?" With each successive query his tears increased along with the anger seething beneath his skin. "Why, Inuyasha? Why?"
Ahead, the dog demon stopped. Whether because he heard the fox-demon's question or because he was waiting for Sango and Miroku to join him, Inuyasha halted his advance and looked back toward where Shippou still sat, glaring after him. His ears swivelled forward.
And then he laughed.
Beckoning them all forward, he called out: "Why don't you come out here and answer that yourself, runt?"
Shippou clenched his jaw painfully as he shot forward, the tears in his eyes dripping coldly down his face. Sango cried out as she fell forward, the kit suddenly gone from beside her. Miroku ran to keep her steady, his eyes on the demons about ready to clash a couple yards ahead of him. "Shippou..." he whispered, gathering Sango close to him.
The two met in a flurry of fur, Shippou swinging wildly and Inuyasha laughing as he easily dodged each attack. For a time, Shippou forgot about his injuries, forgot about the pain in his body and focused solely on kicking Inuyasha's ass, anger rushing through him, propelling him forward. How dare Inuyasha treat him like useless baggage! He wasn't a coward! He promised he wouldn't be! He promised he'd save Kagome! So he wasn't a coward and he wasn't useless! "Inuyasha, I hate you!"
The dog-demon barked a laugh and dodged another punch. "And that's something new? What made you get up and come out here, runt? I thought you couldn't fight? I thought you couldn't do anything?"
At his query, Shippou's eyes popped open. The punch meant to land on Inuyasha's chest flew wide, throwing the kit off balance and sending him toppling to the ground in a heap. Heaving, the kitsune looked down at his hands that clenched the dirt, then up at the laughing dog-demon. Scowling, he cried: "Stop laughing at me, you jerk! What's so funny?"
Inuyasha just laughed harder, sinking to the ground beside his friend and wiping away the tears that sat on his bottom lids. Wrapping a strong arm around the fox-demon, he gave the other a stout squeeze and said: "See? I told you you weren't as weak as that. You just needed to see it yourself."
Shippou didn't think he could feel any angrier than he did just then. All of that talk...Inuyasha telling him he was useless and saying he would save Kagome alone...it'd all been show?! 'That...That...bastard! He made me angry on purpose! He...he...' The kitsune couldn't find the words to finish his thought, so instead he ground his teeth together angrily. How dare he do that? What, just because he was Inuyasha he could make Shippou feel like crap and get him out here and pick a fight and prove that he wasn't...a...coward...Turning his head to face his still-laughing companion, Shippou couldn't help the blush that crept across his cheeks. 'He did it...for me...So that's what he meant...'
Inuyasha stopped laughing when he felt the small hand of his friend reach out and grab his robes. The kit was looking at him strangely, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to thank the dog-demon or send him to his grave. He was guessing it was probably the latter, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just waited for the kit to speak.
It took a while, but Shippou finally said, very softly: "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't realise what you were doing when you told me those things..." He turned his eyes away and focused on the ground, studying the marks his small hands had made earlier in earnest. Interesting marks, yes indeed they were. "And...I wanted to say thank you..."
Nodding, the dog-demon smiled. "Of course, runt. It wasn't anything ha-What the hell are you doing?!"
Before Inuyasha could finish his arrogant speech, Shippou was on him, clinging to the front of the older demon's robes and staring him down. The fox-demon's teeth ground together as he pulled his companion closer and snapped out: "And don't you ever do that to me again, you jerk! I almost believed you and gave up! I can't believe you would do that to me!"
By now Sango and Miroku had joined the two, saving Inuyasha from having to come up with a good excuse as to why he'd put the kitsune through hell. Grabbing hold of the hem to Miroku's robe, the half-breed hauled himself to his feet, simultaneously knocking Shippou off his chest and sending the monk sprawling to the ground. Their yells were somewhat satisfying. The smack to his head from Sango wasn't quite so. The demon hunter glared at her friend, then bent over to help Shippou to his feet.
"Sometimes, Inuyasha, I simply can't believe you."
He shrugged. "And sometimes, Sango, I can't believe that you do." He grinned when she shot him a rather spiky look. "Come on. We need to get going. Whoever made that noise hasn't made it in a while, but I for one don't want to hear it again." His eyes darkened and he flexed his claws viciously. "Besides...I have the feeling Sesshoumaru is behind this somehow and I have to have a little...talk...with my big brother. So let's go."
Sango scowled at him, but turned to follow as the dog-demon began his trek across the open expanse of grass. "Well, we wouldn't be stalling here if you didn't need to pick a fight every two seconds." Clinging to her back where he'd moved after she picked him up, Shippou giggled and nodded in agreement. Sango titled her head back and smiled at him, then continued walking.
Miroku lay on the ground a moment or so longer, one hand outstretched, waiting for his love to help him up. When it became apparent that help wasn't coming, the priest pushed himself to his feet, scowling. Some people had no respect for the holy, he grumbled, picking up his staff and hurrying after the others. No respect at all.
They reached the edge of the glen in about an hour and spent another walking the banks of the river beneath the falls. Thunder resounded everywhere as mist roiled about their feet and soaked their clothing. Miroku plucked at his robes distastefully, but didn't say anything. He'd already received enough looks for his initial comment about the humidity when they first arrived at the waterside; he didn't need to hear them again. 'Even Shippou has a smart comment all the time, now. I swear, the more time he spends with Inuyasha the worse he becomes. If only for the kit's sake, we need to get Kagome back. She'll knock some sense back into him.'
Shippou skipped ahead, scouting the area for any of Sesshoumaru's underlings. They hadn't heard the scream since before Shippou and Inuyasha's fight; all of them were on edge, wondering why. Who had screamed? Why were they screaming? The answers to those thoughts made the kit shudder and he tried his best not to think of them. 'I just want to find Kagome and get out of here. Before she ends up being the one that screams...'
He skittered lithely up the next knoll, peering out to the sides and into the distance. The waterfall thundered so loudly that his sense of hearing was all but null and void and the overpowering scent of water dulled his sense of smell enough to make it useless. 'Sesshoumaru picked a damn good spot for his little get-together, didn't he? Jerk.' Straining, the kit did his best to see through the swirling mist that seemed almost to spring from the ground itself, soaking into his skin. It was almost bad enough to knock out his eyesight. 'I hate this place.'
Inuyasha came up behind him, crouching low. Even if they couldn't see anything from where they were, being up high and silhouetted by the mist made it easy for anyone else to see them. "Oi, runt, see anything yet?"
"Obviously not," he responded, doing his best to keep the aching sarcastic reply he had in mind from coming forth. "I said I'd call to you when-and if, considering this stupid mist-I saw anything."
"Well hurry up and see something. Kagome can't be far away-we've been walking for hours."
Oh, how he wanted to say something harsh. But instead, Shippou just ground his teeth together and hissed out: "I'll tell you when."
Just then, a bolt of lightning shot up from the earth, crackling fiercely in the dampness. Another bolt joined it and the two came crashing back down to earth, sending shudders through the soil. The demons braced themselves as the shock wave tore through their knoll. Behind them, they could hear Miroku cry out and land with a squishy thud on the ground.
Turning to Inuyasha, Shippou smiled coldly and said: "Well, I saw something."
"You know, if I wasn't worried about Kagome being in that blast, I'd smack you so hard..."
Shippou grinned. "I know." Then he jumped up and ran back to Sango, the demon hunter helping her lover to his feet. They both nodded as the kit motioned emphatically for them to join him on the hillside, then he dashed back and resumed his place beside Inuyasha. Taking up the smile he'd worn just moments before, he chirped: "I told them."
Inuyasha suppressed the urge to smack the kit hard upside the head and instead stood. Charging down the hill, he assumed the others were following close behind and focused all his attention on reaching the area where the lightning had struck. 'Kagome, please don't be where it hit. Oh gods please, don't be where it hit...'
The dog-demon tore across the moist earth, sending sod and mud flying behind him as his claws raked across the ground. Up one hill, down another. Up another hill, jump a stream, skid down the opposite side and keep going. The pattern became a blur as the hanyou shot toward his destination. The sounds of his companions struggling to follow faded away as the distance between them grew, but he hardly even noticed. 'Kagome, please be safe...!'
Inuyasha crested the latest hill and nearly smashed into a rather large rock sitting in his path. Growling in frustration, he pushed past it, only to halt once more. Behind him, the others struggled to get up the hill, Sango and Miroku breathing heavily in the wet air. Shippou ran up beside Inuyasha and stopped, the question he harboured for the dog-demon dying on his lips. "Oh no..."
Ahead of them lay a smouldering, blackened ruin. Scorch marks tore across the destroyed earth; fragments of boulders scattered along the small valley, fire licking at their remains while others split open and popped from the remaining heat. The vague furrows of streams lay empty, the water forced from them, burned away by the ferocity of the lightning that not long ago had speared into the ground. What looked like the charred remains of living beings littered what land that wasn't covered by stone and fire. Sango gasped, finally reaching the crest and beholding the destruction for herself. Miroku said a silent prayer, clasping his staff with whitened knuckles.
"Kagome..." Like a shot, Inuyasha tore down the hill, his mind racing furiously. The air was heavy and hot, electricity sizzling through the atmosphere. The dog-demon's breath burned his lungs as he inhaled the painful air, but he had to know. 'Kagome's scent...I have to find her scent...! Even after that attack, it would still linger. I could still smell it! Where is it...? Where is it?'
Apparently, Shippou had the same idea, as the kit went dashing past the older demon, his small nose raised to the air and sniffing rapidly. He ran to each of the charred bodies, taking in as deep a draught as he could, then moving on. Long before Inuyasha checked all the bodies, the kitsune sat panting on the ruined ground, breathing heavily, exhausted. But he smiled when the others approached him, whispering: "I...I didn't smell her. She wasn't...here..."
"Thank God," Sango breathed, leaning into Miroku as relief washed over her. "I was so worried..."
Miroku nodded, turning to face Inuyasha as the half-breed loped up to them. The dog-demon was breathing heavily, but he didn't stop. He'd caught wind of another scent travelling beyond the vale, the smell tinged with char. So instead of waiting for the others, he barked a "Let's go!" and turned toward the next hill, intent on climbing it. Shippou shrugged and jogged after him. After a few minutes, Miroku began following, Sango leaning heavily against his arm. 'Please find her, Inuyasha,' he thought silently, knowing that Sango mirrored his wish.
Inuyasha and Shippou raced across the landscape, following the lingering scent of char from the valley. Someone survived that massacre and they needed to know who. 'Whoever it is, they'll surely lead me to Kagome,' Inuyasha figured. 'And when I find them, I'll rip their throats out for what they did back there.'
"Inuyasha! Over there!"
The demons nearly collided with one another as Shippou made to dash across the path Inuyasha travelled. Inuyasha yelled, stumbling over the kit-he barely caught himself from smashing into the ground. "What the hell...!" he fumed, spinning around and following the fox-demon with his eyes as Shippou darted up the nearest hill. Biting back a string of curses, Inuyasha followed suit when he caught sight of a lone silhouette on the hilltop. The smell of char and death and decay wafted down from the heights on the thin breeze, setting the dog-demon's jaw on edge. He should have known...That bastard...Growling from deep in his throat, his eyes darkening in anger, the hanyou propelled himself forward even faster. Taking in as deep a breath as he could, he screamed: "Sesshoumaru!"
Sesshoumaru turned at the sound of his name, easily side-stepping the attack his brother aimed at him. He just as easily dodged Shippou's sloppy attempt, staring contemptuously at the two sprawled on the ground in front of him. Eyes lidded and mouth tightly drawn, he sneered: "You ignorant fools. You have no idea what you've done."
Inuyasha looked up from where he lay, his eyes afire with hatred. Preparing himself for his next launch, he ground out: "Just what the hell are you talking about?" Without waiting for an answer, he attacked. "You bastard!"
Just as easily as before, Sesshoumaru dodged his brother's attack, glaring disdainfully at the half-demon. Ever so quietly, he said: "You're a fool, Inuyasha. And you may have just killed us all."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
His brother shook his head and looked out across the expanse of water swirling at the bottom of the hill. "Come see for yourself," he replied, his eyes not leaving the writhing masses that pooled at the basin's edge. "Come and see the face of your death with your own eyes."
Scowling, Inuyasha stalked up the hill, claws ready to rip his sibling apart lest he try anything. When Sesshoumaru made no hostile move, the dog-demon slackened his guard and looked out in the direction his brother faced. He inhaled sharply, involuntarily taking a step back. Sesshoumaru only sneered at him again, saying nothing.
Beneath them lay hundreds upon thousands of demons, milling along the water and crowding the land as more joined them from the black, seething void situated just beneath the roiling surface of the waterfall's basin. Erected in their midst was a pole, the surface harsh and covered in spines and needles. Glass shards littered the surface, reflecting the pale light that made it through the billowing clouds of mist. Those that didn't reflect light were dark with blood and glistened wetly. Three silent, weary shapes hung suspended from pegs.
Inuyasha turned sharply and faced his brother, anger in his whole being. "What is that? Sesshoumaru, what is that? And where is Kagome?"
The older demon looked at it dispassionately, replying: "A warning to us." His eyes were shadowed as he turned to face his brother. "Come, we can't stay here. And I don't have your woman anymore."
"What makes you think I'll go anywhere with you, you asshole?" Inuyasha took a step back, prepared to fight. "And what do you mean you don't have her? Where-where the hell is she?" Inuyasha fought to keep his thoughts from unravelling too much. Now was not the time and place to lose his wits. "Damnit, Sesshoumaru. This is all your fault, so don't you dare think I'll go anywhere with you, you monster."
Sesshoumaru sighed. "Fine. Stay here and die; I really don't care." And he turned to leave.
Inuyasha hmphed and turned away, taking in the sight beneath him. The mass thronging by the water looked agitated. Could they... 'Do they know we're here?' "Sesshoumaru, do they know we're here?"
The older demon shrugged. "Probably. It's only a matter of time before they realise it, in any case."
"We can't beat them, can we?"
He shrugged again, slightly surprised at the hesitancy in his younger sibling's voice. "With Testusaiga, yes, we probably could. But you may not want to. You'd hit those strung to the pole." He shrugged again. "But it's your choice."
Inuyasha growled: "You really don't care, do you? Even though Rin is down there..."
There was a very long pause after that, until Sesshoumaru finally said: "If I didn't care I'd have destroyed the entire mass by now. Now I'm going. If you wish to save your ghost friend, you're welcome to come along." His voice was quiet, almost distant and Inuyasha had no doubts that his brother meant every word he said.
For a moment, Inuyasha simply stood in stunned disbelief. The confirmation that his brother did, in fact, care for the young human girl shocked the half-breed to no end. 'So my brother does have a heart...' he mused silently, looking the Lord of the Western Lands over with hooded eyes. 'But he also...that was his lightning that destroyed that clearing we passed. He...he killed them all. Can I really follow him-can I trust him? He thought about it a moment longer, casually looking back over his shoulder at the demons milling at the base of the hill. 'More importantly,' he conceded, turning back to his brother, 'do I have any other choice?'
Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha finally nodded and moved to follow Sesshoumaru. "Fine. But as soon as I get the chance, I'll kill you for taking Kagome away."
"Very well," the older demon agreed. "Hopefully you can find your woman when it's all over. Now come along. They'll be coming any second now."
Inuyasha scowled at the words, but moved to follow his brother, regardless.
Off to the side a ways, Shippou finally crawled to his feet and looked out toward the thundering waterfall at the bottom of the hill. He cried out as his eyes caught sight of the pole, transfixed on the prisoners strapped to it, even as the hoard noticed their presence and began seething toward them. Blood slipped down among the thorns and glass and needles, seeping from the numerous cuts in the three prisoners' bodies that hung helplessly from ropes staked to the spire. Every now and then one would moan, only to be hit with a whip by one of the thousands of monsters milling about. One remained completely silent, staring straight at the three on the hill, her eyes bright with hope.
"Shoukaki..."
A hand on his shoulder shook him and the kit looked up to see Inuyasha staring intently at the hoard fast approaching. "Come on, runt, we have to go. Now." He didn't even look down as he spoke the words. Behind him, Sesshoumaru had already turned to leave.
"We can't!" the kitsune wailed, turning back to catch the eyes of his friend. Shoukaki smiled at him from where she hung, but made no other move than that. Shippou's heart lurched. "What about Shoukaki? We can't just leave her!" He whirled about to face Sesshoumaru, the older demon having stopped to wait for his juniors. "And you! Isn't Rin on that pole, too? How could you be so heartless?"
Sesshoumaru glared at him. "I do not have to answer to you."
"And I don't have to go with you," Shippou countered, ripping his shoulder away from Inuyasha's grip and turning back toward the oncoming mass of demons. "I won't leave her behind. I won't!"
The demons were fast approaching and Inuyasha found he didn't have much of a choice. 'He'll hate me for this when he wakes up. Hell, I hate myself for this. But if it's the only way...' Bringing his arm up, the dog-demon brought his hand down hard on the back of Shippou's head, knocking the kit out. He slumped forward, unconscious; Inuyasha scooped him up and turned to face his brother.
"I'm ready anytime you are."
Sesshoumaru nodded and headed swiftly down the other side of the hill, Inuyasha trailing close behind as the hoard seethed over the crest and onward, following the demons' descent.
Anyhow, we're fast approaching the end. I refuse to stick my foot in my mouth anymore than I already have by giving a chapter count till the end. This story has a history of taking ME for a ride while being written so I'm not even sure as to when it's going to end. Probably soon, but don't count your chickens. Heehee, chickens. Sorry.
I hope you enjoy this very overdue chapter. It's about five pages longer than usual, so...maybe that will make up for the huge delay. (Yeah, right...) Please enjoy and thank you for sticking with me for so long.
Where Lost Souls Meet Again
Chapter Fourteen: Though We Rant...
Something was tugging at his ear.
Inuyasha's ear twitched beneath the constant tugging as the dog-demon's eyes slowly opened to the pale light of the morning. In the distance, the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, its glow bleeding across the open sky and smearing the landscape with reds and yellows. Clouds stretched languidly across the horizon, their thin trails tinted pink and amber in the glow of the rising sun. The waterfall gently roaring in the distance sparkled and flared in such a way so that each time the light connected the water cascading into the basin disappeared into a faerie-coloured prism. It was beautiful.
It would have been more so were Inuyasha not besieged by this relentless, annoying tugging.
It was just like Kagome to wake him up in the worst fashion she knew, he thought sourly, squinting his eyes against the glare. He hated mornings-the light made his head hurt. So did rubbing his ears. But no one seemed to care about that, no. '"Let's just pluck at those cutsy little triangles on Inuyasha's head",' he mocked to himself, the voice in his head taking on a distinctly female timbre. '"Oh, it's just so much fun". Damn girl. She always does this.' Somewhere inside, Inuyasha was fairly certain she did it on purpose, just to see him squirm, especially considering how much her companion loathed having his ears subjected to such treatment. Well, he'd show her a thing or two.
Rolling over onto his back, the half-breed snatched at the hands offending his head, grinning devilishly. She meeped and he could see her shadow moving just beyond his peripheral vision. His grin widened. Oh, he'd definitely teach her a thing or two for messing with his ears. Damn straight he'd teach her. With the culprit's hands in tow, Inuyasha snapped his wrists back and brought his arms down full force, dragging his victim toward him. There was a screech as his captive shot forward over his head to land with a plop on his chest.
"Haha! Caught you in the act, huh, Kagome? Though you could just tug my ears...did...you..." His voice faded away as he looked with lidded eyes at not a captured Kagome but a trapped Shippou. The kit wriggled about, trying to free his hands from the dog-demon's grip. When Inuyasha's voice faded away into stunned silence, Shippou stopped struggling long enough to give his friend a childish, almost prankish grin.
"Hi there, Inuyasha. I thought I'd wake you up today."
For his part, Inuyasha did not throttle the kit when he grinned. Gritting his teeth almost painfully, the half-breed forced his hands to open-even though they desperately wanted to close and break the kitsune's wrists. Every fibre of his body wanted to brutally lash out at the snickering demon sitting daintily on his belly for daring to wake him in such a way-a way that he not only hated but that made him think Kagome was still there. Kagome...Thinking of his love clenched at the half-breed's heart like a vice, making it even harder not to toss Shippou halfway across the clearing. But no matter how much he wanted to, he knew he never could. Difficult as that may be. 'The runt is injured,' he reminded himself-continually-as he shifted to a sitting position, Shippou still lounging in his lap. 'He almost died. If I were to toss him now, he might just do so. And then I would die, because Sango would kill me.' The clenching caught him again and he tagged on: 'So would Kagome...'His eye spasmed chaotically and his resolve began to waver as the fox-demon reached up and tugged on his ear again. 'Must...not...kill... runt...'
Oh, but it was hard.
Finally sensing the imminent pain promised to his person, Shippou let go of his companion's ear and scooted off his lap. Inuyasha's whole body twitched and spasmed with restrained violence-his teeth grinding was quite audible. For a second, Shippou felt a little bad about his stunt. He hadn't meant to get the dog-demon so worked up he was convulsing; he'd just wanted things to return to the barest hint of normalcy. A day in which Inuyasha didn't get upset with him was a strange day indeed. And after yesterday and the few days beforehand, Shippou could use as much normalcy as he could get.
It was strange, though, he realised as he kicked the ground lightly, waiting for Inuyasha's spasm to cease. He'd never once before in his life considered actually seeking out his volatile friend's temper. Most of his time was spent running from it, instead. 'I was always running away,' he mused, his eyes riveted on a particularly intriguing pebble. 'I always wanted to be protected. Strange that I was looking to get thwaped today...' He sighed and bent over to pick up the stone. 'I guess that's what happens when you almost die. You look for the things that always happened before-whether good or bad-and find comfort in them. Getting a thwap on the head is a lot safer and a lot more endearing than being crushed by a giant ogre...'
Pulling his arm back, the kitsune let the stone fly, watching it until the pebble landed, disappearing among the dew-drenched grass and he couldn't see it anymore. For some reason, he smiled. 'So that's normalcy. Heh, it's odd, but...realising that makes me feel a lot older and wiser than I did a moment ago.' The kit's gaze wandered to a still twitching Inuyasha and his smile widened until he was grinning broadly. He almost felt like his old self. 'I'll have to tell Kagome how much I've grown up when we get her back later today. But first, I need to apologise to Inuyasha for upsetting him so much.'
Happy with his newfound insight, Shippou took a seat beside his friend, still waiting for the dog-demon's fit to subside so that he could apologise for upsetting him so. While he sat watching Inuyasha calm down, something struck him from his thoughts that he hadn't thought to apply to the situation. Kagome wasn't here right now. But Inuyasha...had thought Shippou was Kagome. "'Caught you in the act, huh, Kagome?'" The words dove in at him and suddenly the kit felt even worse. No wonder why Inuyasha was so upset! He'd woken thinking Kagome was back and up to her old tricks again. The normalcy which the kitsune had sought when he woke suddenly became far more than he'd bargained for.
Inuyasha getting mad at Shippou was normalcy.
But Kagome playing with Inuyasha's ears was also normalcy.
And so as he realised his error, Shippou began to cry.
Shaking off the last of his annoyance a few minutes later, the first thing Inuyasha heard was Shippou crying. 'Oh great,' he grumbled to himself, eyes rolling to the back of his skull, 'I made the runt cry. Probably squeezed his wrists too hard.' A long sigh escaped his lips and he turned to give the kitsune a gentle pat on the head. Why'd he have to get stuck with the whiny brat? Where was Ka-Sango when you needed her? Giving himself a mental beating, the half-breed ground his teeth together. Something was wrong with the runt, he reminded himself, angry at his slip-up. Kagome wasn't there to help and he couldn't keep kicking himself because of it. Especially since the kit needed comforting now. It was just... 'I'm not cut out for this type of thing...What the hell am I supposed to do?'
"There, there," he droned, unsure what else to say to his weeping friend. "There, there."
Now, he'd expected Shippou to react to his "comforting," but he'd never expected the kit to act the way he did. Crying even harder than before, Shippou buried his face in Inuyasha's chest. The half-breed grimaced-the runt was getting snot on his clothes. Patting him awkwardly on the back, Inuyasha swallowed hard. He could really use some help here, but judging from the sure lack of females around him at the moment, it was obvious he was on his own. Looking away in embarrassment, he mumbled out: "Hey, runt, I'm, uh, sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean to-"
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha!" Shippou wailed in interruption. "I didn't mean to make you sad! I'm sorry!" The kit's voice was muffled from the other demon's clothing and thick with emotion. His small hands trembled in the folds of the cloth; suddenly, being drenched in snot didn't matter so much to the half-breed. Slowly, the fox-demon tilted his face upward toward his friend. Inuyasha couldn't help but flinch back from that gaze. "I just...I just wanted you to get mad at me like you always do!" the kit whispered hoarsely. "I didn't...mean...to remind you of Kagome...!" Saying her name sent him into a renewed bout of sobbing and Shippou buried his face again into Inuyasha's robes, sniffing loudly.
Understanding dawned on him as the half-demon looked down at the shuddering little boy clinging desperately to him. 'So that's it...the runt was crying because he thought I was mad at him for acting like Kagome...' A smile touched his lips and he found himself ruffling the kit's fur playfully. Shippou sniffed and fidgeted under the attention, but didn't pull his face away from the comfort of his friend's robe. Inuyasha's smile got a little bigger. 'I can't blame him, really, since I was mad about it. I wouldn't have hurt him for it-well, not much-but he didn't have to get so upset over it, either.' "Hey, runt," Inuyasha murmured, tapping Shippou's chin so he was looking up at the half-breed's face; the dog-demon grinned, causing his companion to blink owlishly. His grin widened. "Stop being such a wimp and pull yourself together. You're getting your snot all over me."
"Inuyasha..."
The dog-demon shook his head and ruffled Shippou's red curls some more. "Hey, you're a grown up now, right runt? You took on an ogre and lived. So what are you doing crying into my lap like a girl?" He flicked the fox cub between the ears and laughed when the boy fell over backward with a yelp. "Kagome would be so pissed if she saw you crying like a baby. I thought you promised to save her?"
Shippou looked up at his companion, rubbing the small bump between his eyes. "Inuyasha..."
"There you go again, whining like a cub. Kagome's gonna kick the shit out of you when she finds out her 'hero' is just a snotty baby who cries into people's clothes." He grinned, then let the smile fade away when Shippou's lower lip began trembling violently. Leaning down so that his eyes were level with the kit's he whispered in a very quiet, somewhat solemn voice: "You know something, runt? I know that you're a lot stronger than this. Sure you were a cowardly, whiny cub when I first met you-well, even up until just a few months ago-but you're also the one who grew up the most since Kagome left. You didn't run away when you fought Sesshoumaru and you took on that demon even though it almost killed you. You physically grew up to get my ass moving, even though you felt terrible the whole time. You took on the soot-wolf by yourself, as well. Where do you get off crying now? You have nothing to apologise to me for, especially not now." He pulled back, then smacked Shippou upside the head. "So stop crying and get ready to save Kagome."
The kitsune rubbed his head, pouting and glaring up at his friend. Then he nodded and smiled. Still petting his head to ease the pain a bit, Shippou stood and said emphatically: "Okay, Inuyasha. And I'll show you. I am the hero that'll save Kagome! And I'll do it without crying. Just you wait and see! You'll never see me cry again!"
"That's good." And just because he could, Inuyasha smacked the kit again. When Shippou growled at him and glared fire, the half-breed raised his arms in defence. "I just wanted to make sure! Really."
Behind him there was a rustle, a crash, then a scream and Inuyasha shot forward so fast he planted his face in the dirt. Shippou yelled and fell to the side, flailing his little arms for all he was worth to try and keep his balance. He landed with a thud beside Inuyasha, slightly dazed. He really didn't need to be falling all over the place...
Shaking the dizziness from his head, the kitsune looked up just in time to see Sango bolting over from where she'd been making breakfast, her eyes ablaze and focused on the dog-demon struggling to his knees. Shippou's eyebrow raised slightly; this could be rather interesting.
Inuyasha stood just as Sango reached him. The demon hunter threw her arm back and brought it around with as much force as she could, sending her companion sprawling again. Standing over his prostrate form, hands on hips, she yelled: "What do you think you're doing, hitting Shippou like that? You inconsiderate idiot!"
"I am not!" the half-breed retorted, jumping from his place on the ground, one hand pressed firmly to the glowing red spot on his cheek. The demon hunter raised an eyebrow and leaned back slightly, arms crossed beneath her breasts. She pursed her lips. He scowled. "I'm not! It was just a playful tap!"
She nodded, her eyes still the size of saucers. "Oh, so that's all it was. Just a playful tap, huh? Well, here, I'll show you a playful tap." Her eyes dark and brows drawn, the demon hunter pulled her arm back for another swing at the dog demon. Inuyasha braced himself for the attack, figuring it was useless to try and dodge her; Shippou stifled a laugh that tried desperately to break away and resound through the air. This was too good! He hadn't seen a fight like this in too long!
Sango's fist came around at lightning speed, her knuckles white and aimed directly at the dog-demon's cheek. Inuyasha waited for it, his eyes open and glaring the whole time.
Just before her fist connected, however, there was a terrifying scream from across the clearing and everything stopped. The world was suddenly blanketed in silence. Both Inuyasha and Sango turned their heads toward the origin of the noise, their small spat forgotten for the time being; the demon hunter's fist hung suspended in the air, scant inches from her target's face. Neither noticed. Shippou contorted himself so that his upper body faced in the direction of the noise while his lower body remained facing the two combatants. When the strain of keeping his body turned so began to aggravate his wounds, he flipped all the way around, finally taking a cross-legged position. After that, no one moved.
There was silence for the longest time. Slowly, Sango dropped her hand, unaware of the dull ache forming in her muscles from holding her arm in a suspended position for such a protracted amount of time. Inuyasha swivelled his ears this way and that, hoping to pick up the noise again. He couldn't hear anything; even the wind was silent. 'What the hell is going on...?'
Minutes passed. Without any of them noticing, Miroku stepped up beside Sango, a hand wrapping itself protectively around the hunter's waist. She leaned into him silently but made no other motion that she acknowledged his presence. All her senses were attuned to the open glade ahead of her. In the distance, the waterfall glimmered innocently as the sun made his way higher into the sky.
Miroku didn't understand what was going on. Standing on the other side of camp, busy making breakfast, he didn't notice anything as he rearranged the pots and utensils Sango dropped in her mad dash to reprimand Inuyasha for being too rough with the kit. Thinking about Shippou had the monk's eyes automatically roving about, looking for the kitsune; he breathed in silent relief to see the boy sitting-uninjured-not far away. Like the others, his senses were strained outward, toward the waterfall and across the open expanse of grass. Miroku chewed on his lower lip. Why was everyone so focused on that direction?
'I don't get it. What happened here? One minute Sango and Inuyasha were fighting as usual and the next everything's forgotten. Did I miss something important?' Curious, the monk looked at his love askance, noting her severe expression; like him, she was biting her bottom lip, too deep in thought to notice the action. Her hands played nervously with the hem of her robe and her foot stamped lightly against the ground. Miroku's eyebrows arched questioningly. 'What is she so worried about...?'
"San-"
Her foot slamming on his silenced him faster than the glare Inuyasha directed his way. Biting back a cry of pain, the monk released Sango's waist in order to grab his own foot. He massaged the appendage gently, hopping up and down to keep his balance. She didn't have to stamp so hard... 'I only wanted to know what's going on-'
Suddenly, the most god-awful noise pierced through his thoughts, cutting short anything the monk had in mind at the moment. It tore across the silence like some terrible claw, rending everything to pieces. Inuyasha's ears swivelled back and his eyes squeezed shut as the scream ripped through his auditory senses. Shippou whimpered and covered his ears, rocking back and forth to ward off the harshness of the sound. Sango bit her lip harder but let the scream inundate her senses. Miroku gasped when he saw a trickle of blood slip down his love's chin, her teeth having punctured the soft flesh of her mouth. She didn't even notice.
"What...the hell...was that?"
The monk's exclamation resounded in the silence left after the scream faded away into the trees. Sango turned her face to his, her eyes wide and skin as pale as snow. Miroku reached out and gently brushed a finger across her cheek, then down along her jaw and to her chin, where he wiped away the small trickle of blood. Seeing the red come away on his finger, she gasped and drew a hand to her lips. Her eyes sought his as her whole body trembled. "Miroku...?"
Taking her into his arms, the monk ran his fingers through her raven locks, his voice soothing as he murmured to her. Next to them, Inuyasha let his ears unfold from where he'd pinned them to his head. His eyes were dark. When he spoke, it was to Shippou, the kit still sitting in front of him staring out toward the waterfall.
"Oi, runt...Can you fight?"
His question roused Sango, the demon hunter's eyes narrowing in anger. Stepping forward she hissed out vehemently: "Inuyasha, no!"
He didn't even look at her, let alone acknowledge her admonition. "Well, runt, can you?"
Shippou didn't answer for a long time. He kept his back to all the others, his face hidden away by his fiery hair. A tiny breeze picked at his tail, dragging the thick fur along the ground and kicking up flecks of dirt and grass. The only sound was Miroku's hushed whispers to Sango and the demon hunter's heavy breathing.
Staring across the open expanse, the kitsune couldn't help but think about the night before, regardless of his recent vow to be strong and save Kagome. On this same plain, as the sun tipped down beneath the distant mountains, he'd fought for his life against an ogre. An ogre a thousand times more powerful than himself. He'd fought and fought, all alone as Shoukaki dealt with her own demons-and in the end he'd lost. He could still feel that terrifying grip, could hear his bones begin to snap. The blood running through his veins rushed to his ears and deafened him as his eyes rolled back to welcome oblivion's darkness. The kit couldn't forget the gnawing ache in his chest as that bone-jarring grip ripped all his hopes from him and dragged him toward death. He couldn't forget that he would never ever see Kagome or Inuyasha or the others again. Never...ever again. As he looked across the clearing at the waterfall thundering in the distance, Shippou remembered it all and felt his stomach flop. Something bitter was in his mouth.
Behind him, he could hear Inuyasha ask him if he could fight. Fight...? Of course he could fight. He could always fight. 'And that's where the problem lies, doesn't it?' he thought darkly. The taste in his mouth grew stronger and he had to swallow it down. 'I can fight and fight until I can't move anymore, but it doesn't mean I can win. I can never win. I can't...I can't win against an ogre-what makes you think I can win against him, huh, Inuyasha? Well?' "What does it matter?" he whispered hoarsely. "I want to fight. I want to save Kagome...so bad...But what does it matter? What does fighting matter when I can't fight and win?"
Even though he didn't look behind him, Shippou could tell that Inuyasha's face was drawn back angrily. Of course he'd be angry. He was Inuyasha, the all-powerful dog-demon. He hated weak things. 'Weak...He hates me, because I'm weak. Save Kagome? Ha! Stupid cub's dream, that's all it is. Sure, I can say over and over again...that I'm strong enough to do it. But...I'll never be anything more than the cowardly lump of fur that hid behind Kagome whenever a fight came up. I'll always be the defenseless, snivelling coward clinging to everyone else's pant legs. I can't win...I can't go out there and win...I can't...'
A hand on his shoulder roused him from his thoughts and Shippou tilted his head back to see who was holding him. He blinked when he realised it was Inuyasha. Why was the half-breed looking at him like that? Was that...compassion...?
"Shippou, don't talk like that..." Sango's voice carried across the small distance between them, sad and pleading. "You don't have to fight. Inuyasha, he doesn't have to-"
"Shut up, Sango!" Inuyasha's eyes never left the kit's and his voice was low and calm, but the admonition caught Sango by surprise. Taken aback, the demon hunter clenched her fists at her sides and took a deep breath. But although she glared daggers at her companion, she didn't say anything more.
Inuyasha waited a moment to see if she would respond, then turned his attention on the fox-demon sitting in front of him when Sango failed to speak up. His voice was amazingly quiet, Shippou noted, even as his eyes blazed with suppressed anger. Where was his compassion now? "I don't know what you're talking about, runt, but you'd better get that shit out of your head this instant. Did I ask you if you could win? I don't care if you can or not-I just wanted to know if you could fight. Because, quite frankly, I don't think you can win anyhow."
"Inuyasha!"
"I said: Shut up, Sango! I'm not talking to you." Inuyasha's eyes bore holes into Shippou's head as he continued: "You piss poor excuse for a demon. And after what you said to me not ten minutes ago, too. All you are is arrogant talk, just spouting off nonsense to make yourself look better. But you can't do any of it, can you? Ha, save Kagome? You're right-you'll never win. I don't even see why I bothered to ask. You'll just get in the way, like always. Forget I even asked you to come along. You're worthless to me, now. I'll go save Kagome alone." Standing, the dog-demon turned and began walking out across the clearing.
Shippou didn't move. Sango broke away from Miroku and collapsed to her knees beside the kit, wrapping warm arms around him and pulling him close. The fox-demon didn't feel it and even if he could, he didn't want to. Inuyasha was right: he would always be in the way. He'd always be hiding in someone else's arms. Sango...was just giving him what he deserved. A coward's embrace and a whimpering child's escape route.
But he didn't want it.
He didn't want to run away anymore.
He wanted to follow through with what he said and be a hero.
So why couldn't he get up and fight? Why couldn't he fight? Why was he rooted to that spot, shaking and frightened and unable to follow Inuyasha toward the origin of that agonising scream?
Why was he always a coward?
'"You're worthless to me now. I'll save Kagome alone." Why? Why would he say that? He told me...he told me I was strong!' The words echoed in his skull, over and over, never ceasing. '"I know that you're a lot stronger than this." But I'm not...I'm not stronger...Why? Why can't I be stronger? Inuyasha! Why can't I be stronger? "I know that you're a lot stronger than this."' Tears trickled lightly down his cheeks, wetting his face and dripping onto his hands as they clasped the fabric of his pants. The water darkened his skin where it hit. "Why...?"
Sango pulled away from him, her eyes wide. Reaching up, she caught one of her friend's tears on a slender finger. "Shippou...?"
Shippou sniffled loudly, the tears blinding him. "Why? Why? Why why why why why?" With each successive query his tears increased along with the anger seething beneath his skin. "Why, Inuyasha? Why?"
Ahead, the dog demon stopped. Whether because he heard the fox-demon's question or because he was waiting for Sango and Miroku to join him, Inuyasha halted his advance and looked back toward where Shippou still sat, glaring after him. His ears swivelled forward.
And then he laughed.
Beckoning them all forward, he called out: "Why don't you come out here and answer that yourself, runt?"
Shippou clenched his jaw painfully as he shot forward, the tears in his eyes dripping coldly down his face. Sango cried out as she fell forward, the kit suddenly gone from beside her. Miroku ran to keep her steady, his eyes on the demons about ready to clash a couple yards ahead of him. "Shippou..." he whispered, gathering Sango close to him.
The two met in a flurry of fur, Shippou swinging wildly and Inuyasha laughing as he easily dodged each attack. For a time, Shippou forgot about his injuries, forgot about the pain in his body and focused solely on kicking Inuyasha's ass, anger rushing through him, propelling him forward. How dare Inuyasha treat him like useless baggage! He wasn't a coward! He promised he wouldn't be! He promised he'd save Kagome! So he wasn't a coward and he wasn't useless! "Inuyasha, I hate you!"
The dog-demon barked a laugh and dodged another punch. "And that's something new? What made you get up and come out here, runt? I thought you couldn't fight? I thought you couldn't do anything?"
At his query, Shippou's eyes popped open. The punch meant to land on Inuyasha's chest flew wide, throwing the kit off balance and sending him toppling to the ground in a heap. Heaving, the kitsune looked down at his hands that clenched the dirt, then up at the laughing dog-demon. Scowling, he cried: "Stop laughing at me, you jerk! What's so funny?"
Inuyasha just laughed harder, sinking to the ground beside his friend and wiping away the tears that sat on his bottom lids. Wrapping a strong arm around the fox-demon, he gave the other a stout squeeze and said: "See? I told you you weren't as weak as that. You just needed to see it yourself."
Shippou didn't think he could feel any angrier than he did just then. All of that talk...Inuyasha telling him he was useless and saying he would save Kagome alone...it'd all been show?! 'That...That...bastard! He made me angry on purpose! He...he...' The kitsune couldn't find the words to finish his thought, so instead he ground his teeth together angrily. How dare he do that? What, just because he was Inuyasha he could make Shippou feel like crap and get him out here and pick a fight and prove that he wasn't...a...coward...Turning his head to face his still-laughing companion, Shippou couldn't help the blush that crept across his cheeks. 'He did it...for me...So that's what he meant...'
Inuyasha stopped laughing when he felt the small hand of his friend reach out and grab his robes. The kit was looking at him strangely, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to thank the dog-demon or send him to his grave. He was guessing it was probably the latter, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just waited for the kit to speak.
It took a while, but Shippou finally said, very softly: "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't realise what you were doing when you told me those things..." He turned his eyes away and focused on the ground, studying the marks his small hands had made earlier in earnest. Interesting marks, yes indeed they were. "And...I wanted to say thank you..."
Nodding, the dog-demon smiled. "Of course, runt. It wasn't anything ha-What the hell are you doing?!"
Before Inuyasha could finish his arrogant speech, Shippou was on him, clinging to the front of the older demon's robes and staring him down. The fox-demon's teeth ground together as he pulled his companion closer and snapped out: "And don't you ever do that to me again, you jerk! I almost believed you and gave up! I can't believe you would do that to me!"
By now Sango and Miroku had joined the two, saving Inuyasha from having to come up with a good excuse as to why he'd put the kitsune through hell. Grabbing hold of the hem to Miroku's robe, the half-breed hauled himself to his feet, simultaneously knocking Shippou off his chest and sending the monk sprawling to the ground. Their yells were somewhat satisfying. The smack to his head from Sango wasn't quite so. The demon hunter glared at her friend, then bent over to help Shippou to his feet.
"Sometimes, Inuyasha, I simply can't believe you."
He shrugged. "And sometimes, Sango, I can't believe that you do." He grinned when she shot him a rather spiky look. "Come on. We need to get going. Whoever made that noise hasn't made it in a while, but I for one don't want to hear it again." His eyes darkened and he flexed his claws viciously. "Besides...I have the feeling Sesshoumaru is behind this somehow and I have to have a little...talk...with my big brother. So let's go."
Sango scowled at him, but turned to follow as the dog-demon began his trek across the open expanse of grass. "Well, we wouldn't be stalling here if you didn't need to pick a fight every two seconds." Clinging to her back where he'd moved after she picked him up, Shippou giggled and nodded in agreement. Sango titled her head back and smiled at him, then continued walking.
Miroku lay on the ground a moment or so longer, one hand outstretched, waiting for his love to help him up. When it became apparent that help wasn't coming, the priest pushed himself to his feet, scowling. Some people had no respect for the holy, he grumbled, picking up his staff and hurrying after the others. No respect at all.
They reached the edge of the glen in about an hour and spent another walking the banks of the river beneath the falls. Thunder resounded everywhere as mist roiled about their feet and soaked their clothing. Miroku plucked at his robes distastefully, but didn't say anything. He'd already received enough looks for his initial comment about the humidity when they first arrived at the waterside; he didn't need to hear them again. 'Even Shippou has a smart comment all the time, now. I swear, the more time he spends with Inuyasha the worse he becomes. If only for the kit's sake, we need to get Kagome back. She'll knock some sense back into him.'
Shippou skipped ahead, scouting the area for any of Sesshoumaru's underlings. They hadn't heard the scream since before Shippou and Inuyasha's fight; all of them were on edge, wondering why. Who had screamed? Why were they screaming? The answers to those thoughts made the kit shudder and he tried his best not to think of them. 'I just want to find Kagome and get out of here. Before she ends up being the one that screams...'
He skittered lithely up the next knoll, peering out to the sides and into the distance. The waterfall thundered so loudly that his sense of hearing was all but null and void and the overpowering scent of water dulled his sense of smell enough to make it useless. 'Sesshoumaru picked a damn good spot for his little get-together, didn't he? Jerk.' Straining, the kit did his best to see through the swirling mist that seemed almost to spring from the ground itself, soaking into his skin. It was almost bad enough to knock out his eyesight. 'I hate this place.'
Inuyasha came up behind him, crouching low. Even if they couldn't see anything from where they were, being up high and silhouetted by the mist made it easy for anyone else to see them. "Oi, runt, see anything yet?"
"Obviously not," he responded, doing his best to keep the aching sarcastic reply he had in mind from coming forth. "I said I'd call to you when-and if, considering this stupid mist-I saw anything."
"Well hurry up and see something. Kagome can't be far away-we've been walking for hours."
Oh, how he wanted to say something harsh. But instead, Shippou just ground his teeth together and hissed out: "I'll tell you when."
Just then, a bolt of lightning shot up from the earth, crackling fiercely in the dampness. Another bolt joined it and the two came crashing back down to earth, sending shudders through the soil. The demons braced themselves as the shock wave tore through their knoll. Behind them, they could hear Miroku cry out and land with a squishy thud on the ground.
Turning to Inuyasha, Shippou smiled coldly and said: "Well, I saw something."
"You know, if I wasn't worried about Kagome being in that blast, I'd smack you so hard..."
Shippou grinned. "I know." Then he jumped up and ran back to Sango, the demon hunter helping her lover to his feet. They both nodded as the kit motioned emphatically for them to join him on the hillside, then he dashed back and resumed his place beside Inuyasha. Taking up the smile he'd worn just moments before, he chirped: "I told them."
Inuyasha suppressed the urge to smack the kit hard upside the head and instead stood. Charging down the hill, he assumed the others were following close behind and focused all his attention on reaching the area where the lightning had struck. 'Kagome, please don't be where it hit. Oh gods please, don't be where it hit...'
The dog-demon tore across the moist earth, sending sod and mud flying behind him as his claws raked across the ground. Up one hill, down another. Up another hill, jump a stream, skid down the opposite side and keep going. The pattern became a blur as the hanyou shot toward his destination. The sounds of his companions struggling to follow faded away as the distance between them grew, but he hardly even noticed. 'Kagome, please be safe...!'
Inuyasha crested the latest hill and nearly smashed into a rather large rock sitting in his path. Growling in frustration, he pushed past it, only to halt once more. Behind him, the others struggled to get up the hill, Sango and Miroku breathing heavily in the wet air. Shippou ran up beside Inuyasha and stopped, the question he harboured for the dog-demon dying on his lips. "Oh no..."
Ahead of them lay a smouldering, blackened ruin. Scorch marks tore across the destroyed earth; fragments of boulders scattered along the small valley, fire licking at their remains while others split open and popped from the remaining heat. The vague furrows of streams lay empty, the water forced from them, burned away by the ferocity of the lightning that not long ago had speared into the ground. What looked like the charred remains of living beings littered what land that wasn't covered by stone and fire. Sango gasped, finally reaching the crest and beholding the destruction for herself. Miroku said a silent prayer, clasping his staff with whitened knuckles.
"Kagome..." Like a shot, Inuyasha tore down the hill, his mind racing furiously. The air was heavy and hot, electricity sizzling through the atmosphere. The dog-demon's breath burned his lungs as he inhaled the painful air, but he had to know. 'Kagome's scent...I have to find her scent...! Even after that attack, it would still linger. I could still smell it! Where is it...? Where is it?'
Apparently, Shippou had the same idea, as the kit went dashing past the older demon, his small nose raised to the air and sniffing rapidly. He ran to each of the charred bodies, taking in as deep a draught as he could, then moving on. Long before Inuyasha checked all the bodies, the kitsune sat panting on the ruined ground, breathing heavily, exhausted. But he smiled when the others approached him, whispering: "I...I didn't smell her. She wasn't...here..."
"Thank God," Sango breathed, leaning into Miroku as relief washed over her. "I was so worried..."
Miroku nodded, turning to face Inuyasha as the half-breed loped up to them. The dog-demon was breathing heavily, but he didn't stop. He'd caught wind of another scent travelling beyond the vale, the smell tinged with char. So instead of waiting for the others, he barked a "Let's go!" and turned toward the next hill, intent on climbing it. Shippou shrugged and jogged after him. After a few minutes, Miroku began following, Sango leaning heavily against his arm. 'Please find her, Inuyasha,' he thought silently, knowing that Sango mirrored his wish.
Inuyasha and Shippou raced across the landscape, following the lingering scent of char from the valley. Someone survived that massacre and they needed to know who. 'Whoever it is, they'll surely lead me to Kagome,' Inuyasha figured. 'And when I find them, I'll rip their throats out for what they did back there.'
"Inuyasha! Over there!"
The demons nearly collided with one another as Shippou made to dash across the path Inuyasha travelled. Inuyasha yelled, stumbling over the kit-he barely caught himself from smashing into the ground. "What the hell...!" he fumed, spinning around and following the fox-demon with his eyes as Shippou darted up the nearest hill. Biting back a string of curses, Inuyasha followed suit when he caught sight of a lone silhouette on the hilltop. The smell of char and death and decay wafted down from the heights on the thin breeze, setting the dog-demon's jaw on edge. He should have known...That bastard...Growling from deep in his throat, his eyes darkening in anger, the hanyou propelled himself forward even faster. Taking in as deep a breath as he could, he screamed: "Sesshoumaru!"
Sesshoumaru turned at the sound of his name, easily side-stepping the attack his brother aimed at him. He just as easily dodged Shippou's sloppy attempt, staring contemptuously at the two sprawled on the ground in front of him. Eyes lidded and mouth tightly drawn, he sneered: "You ignorant fools. You have no idea what you've done."
Inuyasha looked up from where he lay, his eyes afire with hatred. Preparing himself for his next launch, he ground out: "Just what the hell are you talking about?" Without waiting for an answer, he attacked. "You bastard!"
Just as easily as before, Sesshoumaru dodged his brother's attack, glaring disdainfully at the half-demon. Ever so quietly, he said: "You're a fool, Inuyasha. And you may have just killed us all."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
His brother shook his head and looked out across the expanse of water swirling at the bottom of the hill. "Come see for yourself," he replied, his eyes not leaving the writhing masses that pooled at the basin's edge. "Come and see the face of your death with your own eyes."
Scowling, Inuyasha stalked up the hill, claws ready to rip his sibling apart lest he try anything. When Sesshoumaru made no hostile move, the dog-demon slackened his guard and looked out in the direction his brother faced. He inhaled sharply, involuntarily taking a step back. Sesshoumaru only sneered at him again, saying nothing.
Beneath them lay hundreds upon thousands of demons, milling along the water and crowding the land as more joined them from the black, seething void situated just beneath the roiling surface of the waterfall's basin. Erected in their midst was a pole, the surface harsh and covered in spines and needles. Glass shards littered the surface, reflecting the pale light that made it through the billowing clouds of mist. Those that didn't reflect light were dark with blood and glistened wetly. Three silent, weary shapes hung suspended from pegs.
Inuyasha turned sharply and faced his brother, anger in his whole being. "What is that? Sesshoumaru, what is that? And where is Kagome?"
The older demon looked at it dispassionately, replying: "A warning to us." His eyes were shadowed as he turned to face his brother. "Come, we can't stay here. And I don't have your woman anymore."
"What makes you think I'll go anywhere with you, you asshole?" Inuyasha took a step back, prepared to fight. "And what do you mean you don't have her? Where-where the hell is she?" Inuyasha fought to keep his thoughts from unravelling too much. Now was not the time and place to lose his wits. "Damnit, Sesshoumaru. This is all your fault, so don't you dare think I'll go anywhere with you, you monster."
Sesshoumaru sighed. "Fine. Stay here and die; I really don't care." And he turned to leave.
Inuyasha hmphed and turned away, taking in the sight beneath him. The mass thronging by the water looked agitated. Could they... 'Do they know we're here?' "Sesshoumaru, do they know we're here?"
The older demon shrugged. "Probably. It's only a matter of time before they realise it, in any case."
"We can't beat them, can we?"
He shrugged again, slightly surprised at the hesitancy in his younger sibling's voice. "With Testusaiga, yes, we probably could. But you may not want to. You'd hit those strung to the pole." He shrugged again. "But it's your choice."
Inuyasha growled: "You really don't care, do you? Even though Rin is down there..."
There was a very long pause after that, until Sesshoumaru finally said: "If I didn't care I'd have destroyed the entire mass by now. Now I'm going. If you wish to save your ghost friend, you're welcome to come along." His voice was quiet, almost distant and Inuyasha had no doubts that his brother meant every word he said.
For a moment, Inuyasha simply stood in stunned disbelief. The confirmation that his brother did, in fact, care for the young human girl shocked the half-breed to no end. 'So my brother does have a heart...' he mused silently, looking the Lord of the Western Lands over with hooded eyes. 'But he also...that was his lightning that destroyed that clearing we passed. He...he killed them all. Can I really follow him-can I trust him? He thought about it a moment longer, casually looking back over his shoulder at the demons milling at the base of the hill. 'More importantly,' he conceded, turning back to his brother, 'do I have any other choice?'
Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha finally nodded and moved to follow Sesshoumaru. "Fine. But as soon as I get the chance, I'll kill you for taking Kagome away."
"Very well," the older demon agreed. "Hopefully you can find your woman when it's all over. Now come along. They'll be coming any second now."
Inuyasha scowled at the words, but moved to follow his brother, regardless.
Off to the side a ways, Shippou finally crawled to his feet and looked out toward the thundering waterfall at the bottom of the hill. He cried out as his eyes caught sight of the pole, transfixed on the prisoners strapped to it, even as the hoard noticed their presence and began seething toward them. Blood slipped down among the thorns and glass and needles, seeping from the numerous cuts in the three prisoners' bodies that hung helplessly from ropes staked to the spire. Every now and then one would moan, only to be hit with a whip by one of the thousands of monsters milling about. One remained completely silent, staring straight at the three on the hill, her eyes bright with hope.
"Shoukaki..."
A hand on his shoulder shook him and the kit looked up to see Inuyasha staring intently at the hoard fast approaching. "Come on, runt, we have to go. Now." He didn't even look down as he spoke the words. Behind him, Sesshoumaru had already turned to leave.
"We can't!" the kitsune wailed, turning back to catch the eyes of his friend. Shoukaki smiled at him from where she hung, but made no other move than that. Shippou's heart lurched. "What about Shoukaki? We can't just leave her!" He whirled about to face Sesshoumaru, the older demon having stopped to wait for his juniors. "And you! Isn't Rin on that pole, too? How could you be so heartless?"
Sesshoumaru glared at him. "I do not have to answer to you."
"And I don't have to go with you," Shippou countered, ripping his shoulder away from Inuyasha's grip and turning back toward the oncoming mass of demons. "I won't leave her behind. I won't!"
The demons were fast approaching and Inuyasha found he didn't have much of a choice. 'He'll hate me for this when he wakes up. Hell, I hate myself for this. But if it's the only way...' Bringing his arm up, the dog-demon brought his hand down hard on the back of Shippou's head, knocking the kit out. He slumped forward, unconscious; Inuyasha scooped him up and turned to face his brother.
"I'm ready anytime you are."
Sesshoumaru nodded and headed swiftly down the other side of the hill, Inuyasha trailing close behind as the hoard seethed over the crest and onward, following the demons' descent.