I'd like to apologize to all of my readers, but the time has come for me to move on from things like…
Hahaha, I'm just kidding; but on a more serious note, I'd like to sincerely apologize for my unexplained three-week absence from continuing the story: I either forgot, didn't have the urge, or was too busy to write (I'm the sole planner for my school's trip to Japan and, pardon my language, but it's been kicking my ass trying to get all this stuff settled); but no more: here I am, and you don't want to read anymore of my pathetic excuses, so here you go!
(By the way: Kaze no kizu means "Wound of the Wind" or "The Wind's Wound")
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. You know that, you just want to read my story, right? ^_^0
Boku wa shinenai, baaka: I can never be killed, fool.
Chapter Thirty-Three (FINALLY!)
Slowly and stealthily, he had crept in…under a moonlit and starry sky he had stolen into the village. He had not been able to smell, been able to sense, the hanyou that lay deep within the forest, had not paid heed to the single home that contained a single young girl, trapped in painful dreams of sorrow and pity for Inuyasha, burning anger for Naraku.
Not a person had been awake, not a child been from the beautiful embrace of their dreams…
…that is, of course, until the screams began.
Kagome bolted upright, startled out of troubled dreams by the first tormented screech that was ended by a horrible ripping squelch, only to be replaced by another—then two more—and finally a hell's chorus of torment rang through the village as she vaulted out of bed, grabbing her bow and arrows out of habit as she ran towards the cries…then stopped in shock at the nightmarish form that towered above the small huts of the villages.
Jaki flowed from it in a suffocating wave, paralyzing the poor villagers that were awakened from their beautiful, though false, dreams into a terrifyingly true nightmare. Even as Kagome watched, its enormous clawed hands grabbed yet another helpless villager and lifted it high into the air; claws dug in mercilessly as the villager screamed in terror—then the screams were replaced by a tearing splash as he was ripped completely in half, blood flowing in a crimson tide into the demon's mouth as it snarled a single word, throwing the victim's corpse carelessly into its mouth.
"More…"
Inuyasha's head snapped up at the sound of the screams; ears twitched to catch the faintest little sound, nose strained to catch the scent of Kagome, to make sure she was alright. Hand flashed to the Tetsuaiga, to his father's fang, at the smell of blood—and he took off, running through the forest as only a half demon could. Trees flashed by, leaves and branches torn off by his speed as painful and good memories alike fled his mind, replaced by only one thought, a thought that found its form in the word that he now whispered to the wind:
"Kagome…"
Purple light blazed, ripping the air with a whistling shriek as pure light tore towards dark malevolence. Kagome smiled at the accuracy of her shot: there was no possible way it could miss—and, indeed, it did not.
But it also did not have the desired effect. The pure aura of Kagome's miko arrow burst into a bright purple flash, charged with the pent-up passions of anger and rage that coursed through her at the slaughtering of the villagers, but the nightmarish being did nothing more than growl in annoyance, part of its arm shifting fluid-like into a tentacle to rip the offending arrow out and cast it back at its shooter.
Kagome leapt as nimbly as possible back, dodging the now jaki-infused arrow as it tore into the ground, hissing and bubbling as the very earth beneath it melted and boiled into poisonous muck.
"Chikusho!" She cried, grasping two arrows as she fired them in a futile effort at the monster that paid no heed to her onslaught of arrows. The fact that they did not penetrate the monster's skin—or, for that matter, do anything more than annoy it—did not deter her. What else could she do—just sit idly by and watch this hellspawn devour these innocent villagers?
Anger coursed through her body, staining her miko aura bright red as the fires of holy rage burned inside her heart. She notched her next arrow, watching in grim satisfaction as energy formed an explosive aura around the very tip of it. In a motion so quick one would be hard pressed to follow it, she launched that arrow, grabbed another, notched and fired it, then fired three more in rapid succession. They erupted into flames and purifying light as they burst asunder upon the skin of the monster, but did not even elicit action from the beast until the final arrow struck the its eye straight and true.
It noticed that.
An almighty roar ripped from the throat of the beast as it held its wounded eye; multifaceted eyes glittered with rage and malevolence as it saw the pesky human insect that had been annoying it with its stings for so long—then let loose a second unearthly roar as its titanic body shook the ground in its charge.
Kagome turned to run, tried to get out of the way of this titan's rush, and narrowly succeeded as pitch black tentacles ripped themselves up out of the monster's—was it really skin?—flesh and pockmarked the ground with holes the diameter of sewer pipes on the exact spot Kagome had been standing.
Yet, stubborn as she was against this nightmare, Kagome knew she stood no chance of winning. Even as she rolled out of the way, notching another arrow in the process, she saw a stark white mark on the back of the dark beast: a spider-shaped mark, what could almost be a burn. A mark she knew all too well: the mark of Naraku.
If she had been angry before, it was nothing as compared to now: power flowed in waves from her body, making her shine with an inhuman low as the energy found its way into her eyes. Her hands gripped bow and arrow alike in a white-knuckled grip as the arrow itself shone with blinding white light; tears welling up in her eyes as the anger coursed, unbounded, through her body.
"WHY DOES NARAKU SEND GODDAMNED MONSTROSITIES LIKE YOU TO TORMENT HIM!?!?" She screamed, tears dripping from her eyes at the memories of all the pain that Naraku's detachments had caused. "ANSWER ME!!!! WHY!? WHY!?!?!?"
She released the arrow, the force of the energy blowing her back off her feet as it flew straight at the monster's chest. White met black, light clashed with dark, and the detachment began screeching in agony as it struggled to tear the searing light away from its flesh. Kagome smiled, sure in her triumph as the soul arrow tore a gaping hole through what could be the chest cavity—then her face fell and fear welled up inside her as the monster merely grinned.
"Baaaaka…," it hissed, the hole closing itself seamlessly as burnt, smoking flesh healed and grew back as good as new. "Boku wa zenzen shinenai, baaka…"
It paused to grin wickedly at the look of awestruck horror upon Kagome's face—then swung it's hand in a backhanded blow, spikes growing as it traced an arc through the air; enough power was in that blow to kill a hundred men, more than enough to kill a teenage girl, and Kagome closed her eyes and screamed…but the blow never arrived.
"What…," Kagome started as she opened her eyes, but then stopped at the sight she beheld, and gasped in awe as she sensed rage, concern, and—above all else—raw power coursing through the person in front of her, holding the monster's hand back with a single hand; stopping it cold as though it were nothing.
"Inu…yasha?" Kagome asked, hardly daring to believe it was him, refusing to let go of the aspect it was just a hallucination: the idea of which was shattered when he turned around, smiled his first true smile in what felt like forever, and whispered,
"I'm here, Kagome."
Yay: I'm back and my ::insert forty-seven expletives here:: creative kryptonite is gone! Sorry to leave you all hanging, yet again, but this should tide you over until tomorrow (I swear I will do my utmost to post tomorrow!).
That's all for the story, but before I go, let me make one thing clear: I did not cut myself off from ff.net for so long intentionally. I did not do it to see how many people would email me, I did not do it to squeeze as many reviews as possible out of this chapter, and I did not do it because I wanted to hold you all in suspense. That would be just messed up in my mind, and I hope that you all aren't too mad at me for leaving you hanging for so long ^_^0. I've just been really busy in real life, and my creative energies haven't had much time to express themselves, and they haven't been able to express themselves in the work I've been doing (it's kind of hard for my energies to burst forth at my job in a pizza place or pour forth in the form of a math problem ^_^).
I hope to never make you guys wait so long again for a chapter, and feel free to flame me: yes, I deserve it. Lol…I'm going to bed, I have a history project due tomorrow. As always, please review, and requests, tips, death threats, requests for me to kill myself, and angry letters are welcome…heh. 'night, all.