Deceitful Eyes
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
InuYasha's bare feet whispered across the grass as he ran. He could see a huge hill rising out of the meadow ahead...if he climbed to the top, he would be able to look out for miles and see if there was a town nearby. If there was, he would be able to judge how long it would take them to reach it. If not...he wasn't sure what they'd do then.
He crested the hill, feeling the cool wind streaming through his hair and catching the loose folds of his clothes. He crouched breathless from his sprint at the top and stared out at the landscape...the stream widened into a river below him, running through several more miles of meadow before disappearing into a forest. And resting on its left bank near to the woods was a large and established village.
He rose back onto his feet and calculated in his head how long it should take to reach the town...they could make it by nightfall, he decided.
"How lovely to finally find you by yourself," said a voice behind him. He spun, hand resting on the handle of the Tetsusaiga, and found himself facing Nurako.
"All right you bastard, what's going on here?" he demanded, drawing the sword from its sheath.
Nurako laughed. "Are you referring to the state your friends are in, or why I'm here?"
"Don't play dumb with me," InuYasha growled.
"Very well...your friends are under the influence of a powerful notishi potion...I had Kikyo spike those blackberries you devoured yesterday. The elixir remains dormant in the bloodstream until I release it...it sends the person into a blind and uncontrollable rage until they're forced to succumb to the feverish delirium it invokes. There is only one cure."
"Well what the hell is it?"
"I really shouldn't tell, but I'm about to kill you anyway, so it doesn't matter. There's a certain plant that grows in the dunes with tiny yellow flowers and four-pronged leaves...if you crush the leaves and mix them with any sort of liquid, it will break the fever and the illness will fade away."
"Now why go to the trouble of killing me in a battle if I'm just going to fall into this sickness anyway?"
"It will not affect you because of your demon blood," Nurako said. "Are you satisfied with my explanation now?"
"Yeah, I figured I'd better collect my information before I kill you," InuYasha snarled.
"You shouldn't be so confident of your skills right now...you are obviously shaken by the ailment that that has befallen your friends. And surely you must know that Kagome is the only one remaining to fall under its spell. Not only is your life riding on this battle, but also the lives of those you love. You can not afford to be arrogant."
"Just shut up and fight already!" yelled InuYasha, swinging the Tetsusaiga. Nurako dodged the blade, leaping backwards.
"All right, if that's how you want it," he said and bowed his head. A swirl of dusky purple smoke swirled out from him, causing InuYasha to stumble and bury his nose and mouth in his sleeve.
"Dammit, poison gas," he coughed, feeling it's affects kicking in.
"Not so cocky now, are you," Nurako laughed, stepping through the haze with his own sword raised. "I'll kill you myself, rather than calling out the demons." He swung at InuYasha's head and the latter rolled back, swiping at him with the Tetsusaiga as he went. Nurako sidestepped the blow and arced his own blade. InuYasha blocked it weakly, his vision blurred from the poison.
"You're losing your strength...face it, InuYasha. You have lost." Nurako held the sword over his head and brought it crashing down. The blade sung as it bounced back, vibrating from being forced away.
"What?" he said in disbelief. Lying face down perpendicular to InuYasha was Kagome, shielding him with Sango's boomerang.
"Don't you dare touch him," she spat angrily, picking herself up off the ground and notching an arrow to her bow.
Nurako laughed as she aimed the weapon at his heart. "You really think you can kill me with that?" She took a step forward, placing the tip of the arrow at his throat.
"You have caused so many people so much pain," she hissed, tears forming in her eyes. "The curse you put on Miroku's family, controlling Sango's little brother...you are such absolutely scum, this death will be too good for you."
"You don't seem to realize that I can control you know too," Nurako said. "The potion is still in your blood."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Kagome, leave him to me," said InuYasha, rising to his feet. He gripped the Tetsusaiga numbly in his hands.
"Ah, this will be most interesting to watch," said Nurako, drawing a small vial from his sleeve. "The lovers dancing to the music of Death." He titled the bottle and a single drop splashed the ground between his feet, bring Kagome to her knees.
"You bastard!" shouted InuYasha, swinging his sword, but Nurako had already disappeared, leaving his sword on the ground.
"Kagome," he said, kneeling at her side. "Don't give in to it." She was already trembling as the potion awoke. Her eyes began to shimmer emerald and she reached out to touch InuYasha's face.
"Go," she whispered. "Find him."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Please...don't let me hurt you. Just leave."
"Fight it. Prove that bastard wrong."
"InuYasha...I...can't." The trembling stopped and she lifted Nurako's sword.
"JUST GO!" she screamed, swiping at him with the blade. He stepped back and shook his head.
"You're fighting it...you can still feel your emotions."
"How can this be?" Nurako's voice echoed through the air. "How can her feelings for you possibly overpower the notishi, even in the slightest bit?"
"Because I LOVE HIM!" she yelled, driving the sword into a tree and snapping the blade in half. "And I hate you...you must DIE!"
"She can redirect the rage...that's impossible!" his voice surrounded them.
"Stop hiding; I can feel your fear!" she said, grabbing her bow and letting an arrow fly into the tree. Nurako fell to the ground, the arrow quivering in his arm.
"This is quite impressive," he grunted, pulling the arrow out. "But I'm afraid I must leave." He snapped the arrow and the poison cloud whirled around him once again. By the time it had dissipated, there was no sign of Nurako.
"Kagome," said InuYasha, catching her as she collapsed.
"He got away," she whispered.
"Don't worry about it...there's a village ahead and I know the cure...you and Sang and Miroku will be fine," he said, lifting her up. She buried her face in his chest as he made his way back down the hill.
* * *
Author's Note: yes, there's one more chapter coming...I don't want to end on a note like this. It'll be done shortly, but in the meantime, please review!
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
InuYasha's bare feet whispered across the grass as he ran. He could see a huge hill rising out of the meadow ahead...if he climbed to the top, he would be able to look out for miles and see if there was a town nearby. If there was, he would be able to judge how long it would take them to reach it. If not...he wasn't sure what they'd do then.
He crested the hill, feeling the cool wind streaming through his hair and catching the loose folds of his clothes. He crouched breathless from his sprint at the top and stared out at the landscape...the stream widened into a river below him, running through several more miles of meadow before disappearing into a forest. And resting on its left bank near to the woods was a large and established village.
He rose back onto his feet and calculated in his head how long it should take to reach the town...they could make it by nightfall, he decided.
"How lovely to finally find you by yourself," said a voice behind him. He spun, hand resting on the handle of the Tetsusaiga, and found himself facing Nurako.
"All right you bastard, what's going on here?" he demanded, drawing the sword from its sheath.
Nurako laughed. "Are you referring to the state your friends are in, or why I'm here?"
"Don't play dumb with me," InuYasha growled.
"Very well...your friends are under the influence of a powerful notishi potion...I had Kikyo spike those blackberries you devoured yesterday. The elixir remains dormant in the bloodstream until I release it...it sends the person into a blind and uncontrollable rage until they're forced to succumb to the feverish delirium it invokes. There is only one cure."
"Well what the hell is it?"
"I really shouldn't tell, but I'm about to kill you anyway, so it doesn't matter. There's a certain plant that grows in the dunes with tiny yellow flowers and four-pronged leaves...if you crush the leaves and mix them with any sort of liquid, it will break the fever and the illness will fade away."
"Now why go to the trouble of killing me in a battle if I'm just going to fall into this sickness anyway?"
"It will not affect you because of your demon blood," Nurako said. "Are you satisfied with my explanation now?"
"Yeah, I figured I'd better collect my information before I kill you," InuYasha snarled.
"You shouldn't be so confident of your skills right now...you are obviously shaken by the ailment that that has befallen your friends. And surely you must know that Kagome is the only one remaining to fall under its spell. Not only is your life riding on this battle, but also the lives of those you love. You can not afford to be arrogant."
"Just shut up and fight already!" yelled InuYasha, swinging the Tetsusaiga. Nurako dodged the blade, leaping backwards.
"All right, if that's how you want it," he said and bowed his head. A swirl of dusky purple smoke swirled out from him, causing InuYasha to stumble and bury his nose and mouth in his sleeve.
"Dammit, poison gas," he coughed, feeling it's affects kicking in.
"Not so cocky now, are you," Nurako laughed, stepping through the haze with his own sword raised. "I'll kill you myself, rather than calling out the demons." He swung at InuYasha's head and the latter rolled back, swiping at him with the Tetsusaiga as he went. Nurako sidestepped the blow and arced his own blade. InuYasha blocked it weakly, his vision blurred from the poison.
"You're losing your strength...face it, InuYasha. You have lost." Nurako held the sword over his head and brought it crashing down. The blade sung as it bounced back, vibrating from being forced away.
"What?" he said in disbelief. Lying face down perpendicular to InuYasha was Kagome, shielding him with Sango's boomerang.
"Don't you dare touch him," she spat angrily, picking herself up off the ground and notching an arrow to her bow.
Nurako laughed as she aimed the weapon at his heart. "You really think you can kill me with that?" She took a step forward, placing the tip of the arrow at his throat.
"You have caused so many people so much pain," she hissed, tears forming in her eyes. "The curse you put on Miroku's family, controlling Sango's little brother...you are such absolutely scum, this death will be too good for you."
"You don't seem to realize that I can control you know too," Nurako said. "The potion is still in your blood."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Kagome, leave him to me," said InuYasha, rising to his feet. He gripped the Tetsusaiga numbly in his hands.
"Ah, this will be most interesting to watch," said Nurako, drawing a small vial from his sleeve. "The lovers dancing to the music of Death." He titled the bottle and a single drop splashed the ground between his feet, bring Kagome to her knees.
"You bastard!" shouted InuYasha, swinging his sword, but Nurako had already disappeared, leaving his sword on the ground.
"Kagome," he said, kneeling at her side. "Don't give in to it." She was already trembling as the potion awoke. Her eyes began to shimmer emerald and she reached out to touch InuYasha's face.
"Go," she whispered. "Find him."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Please...don't let me hurt you. Just leave."
"Fight it. Prove that bastard wrong."
"InuYasha...I...can't." The trembling stopped and she lifted Nurako's sword.
"JUST GO!" she screamed, swiping at him with the blade. He stepped back and shook his head.
"You're fighting it...you can still feel your emotions."
"How can this be?" Nurako's voice echoed through the air. "How can her feelings for you possibly overpower the notishi, even in the slightest bit?"
"Because I LOVE HIM!" she yelled, driving the sword into a tree and snapping the blade in half. "And I hate you...you must DIE!"
"She can redirect the rage...that's impossible!" his voice surrounded them.
"Stop hiding; I can feel your fear!" she said, grabbing her bow and letting an arrow fly into the tree. Nurako fell to the ground, the arrow quivering in his arm.
"This is quite impressive," he grunted, pulling the arrow out. "But I'm afraid I must leave." He snapped the arrow and the poison cloud whirled around him once again. By the time it had dissipated, there was no sign of Nurako.
"Kagome," said InuYasha, catching her as she collapsed.
"He got away," she whispered.
"Don't worry about it...there's a village ahead and I know the cure...you and Sang and Miroku will be fine," he said, lifting her up. She buried her face in his chest as he made his way back down the hill.
* * *
Author's Note: yes, there's one more chapter coming...I don't want to end on a note like this. It'll be done shortly, but in the meantime, please review!
