Well, another chapter: and in only two days! ::GASP!::
Hehehe…just kidding ^_^; sorry for taking so long last time, and hopefully I haven't made you all paranoid that I won't update again for a long time because I didn't update last night (grrrrrr…f*cking history teacher didn't accept my poster and paper I worked 3 hours on; it was due yesterday, but I was sick and he said it was late even though I had a note…), but yeah: review responses, then on with boku no hanashi!
Cheler: Yeah, I know…don't worry about being surprised I'm a guy, I'm most likely always going to get reviews with stuff like, "You're a guy!?" and "I can't believe you're a guy!": I take them as compliments, except when I get about 50 of them for one chapter in which I plainly said "I'm a guy, not a girl"…lol. But yeah: thanks for the review ^_^.
Inuficcrzy: Thank you, but they have a right to be pissed, lol: I pretty much vanished off the face of the earth for three weeks straight, I just got a little annoyed that people thought I was doing this just to squeeze reviews out or see how many people would email me to ask if I was discontinuing the storyline…but thanks for the support ^_^.
Mattielover: Hmmm…your name would imply you're already in love with someone else…lol. Sorry, couldn't resist ^_^.
Sanosuke: Well, I didn't know what the name of the song was, and it popped up with about 200 hits on my software, so I figured "Hey, this must be the name…"; thanks for the info, though!
Cheler (yes, again!): Don't worry about the vocabulary thing; I know the feeling…my vocabulary and typing skills are malfunctioning because I had to wear a Little Caesars' mascot costume for 4 hours at work today out in 90 degree heat, so I know what fatigue can do to your skills.
AznDreamer2: Lol, calm down…I'm not some guy to be revered or anything, and I am not the best writer on fanfiction.net. But yeah, sorry about the shortness; I was in an insomniac-mindset that night and wrote that at like 1 AM, so it felt a lot longer than it was…I'll try to make my chapters longer and update AT LEAST once every two days (boy, last time I said that I ended up with a three week absence…hope I didn't jinx it this time….^_^0).
Finally, yes, I am planning a trip to Japan…and it's not a school trip, the school doesn't really know about it (Sado Club, the Japanese Club here at school, was never all that popular, and now that they're phasing out Japanese it's all but unnoticed by the school), but yes: I'm the one whose planning it. Good parts: I get to choose where we're going, how long we're going to be where, and I get to choose the places I wanna visit ^_^. Bad parts: I have to plan everything, set up tickets, make sure everyone's got their passports, find a chaperone, set up reservations, find out prices on EVERYTHING, etc
-_-. I'll actually be kind of glad when it's over, but I can't wait to go ^_^.
Youkai Chick Supreme: Mmm…underwear gnomes…hehehe, you didn't piss me off or anything; and even if someone made me angry, I'd still write: I like doing it. And you all don't have to worry: I'll never have a sudden, unexplained three week absence again (I will, however, have an explained four-week absence from July 13th to August 11th if I'm still writing this by that time: I'll be in Japan ^_^). Jaa ne…uh…hmmm…gotta think up a nickname for you there ^_^
Whew…I forgot review responses were that much fun ^_^. Oh well, on with the story…
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. You don't own Inuyasha. Nobody on FF.net owns Inuyasha (well, theoretically/technically you can if you have one of those little cute plush toys of him…)
Chapter Thirty-Four
"I'm here, Kagome," Inuyasha smiled, batting the almighty backhand away like it was nothing; raw power shining from his eyes, finding its form in the pulsating sword he carried at his belt; finding its expression in the light that now shone from his liquid gold eyes.
"You…you came back?" She asked, looking into eyes that, mere moments earlier, had been filled with tormented memories and present anguish. "You've been gone for almost a week…I was beginning to worry that…"
"Keh. Didn't I tell you I'd never run away from you?" He smiled, then the old Inuyasha—swaggering and arrogant—regained control as he growled and regarded the monster above him with, "Or something like him?"
The hand that Inuyasha had been holding back was no longer a problem: a whistling shriek, followed by a silver arc of light that grew into an explosion of yellow energy, made sure of that, while an angry roar made sure that Inuyasha—if whatever the hell this detachment of Naraku was hadn't already—was noticed. The severed hand, made of something that looked like smoke turned solid, twitched sporadically as its twin flew at Inuyasha, wrapping him in a crushing grip and squeezing him with a strength that belied the loss of a limb.
"You fool," it breathed, limb re-growing in an instant, adding even more pressure to the hanyou ensconced in its grip. "That hurt."
Slash!
"Good, maybe that did too." Inuyasha laughed, watching as viscous gobs of whatever the creature was made of splattered the ground; hissing and smoking as they hit, but the thing didn't even have time to feel whatever pain it might have: the 'useless' sword's might screamed forth once more, its roar matching the scream of anger that tore forth from Inuyasha's throat, shaping the three words that were the key to Tetsuaiga's true power:
"Kaze no KIZU!"
This time, Inuyasha's attack wasn't wasted on severing a single arm: he had directed the winds of youki directly towards the main body of the creature that had held him there. Yellow youki met dark matter, and youki won as lines of power carved themselves into the monster's 'skin'—then exploded with pent-up energy, rending flesh to nothing more than tatters. He watched in grim satisfaction as the thing's skin flash-burned in the blast; listened with melancholy triumph as he heard it roar and scream in agony—then turned his attention from these petty things back onto Kagome.
She was still a little surprised, to say the least: he'd been gone for almost a week, she'd searched for him, yelling his name, hoping that she'd somehow find him if he didn't want to be found—and all of a sudden he'd come back, to play the role of the savior he was accustomed to, and now he was sure to leave again…
Except that Inuyasha had wrapped her in a tight embrace, one that felt like he hadn't seen her—hadn't held her—in forever, as he said,
"I'm sorry I scared you again, Kagome."
Kagome's eyes went wide in surprise for a moment—this was only the second or third time he'd ever apologized to her vocally before; not to mention the fact that the rage and bloodlust that always welled up inside him when he fought was so quickly replaced by his long-imprisoned tender side—but she tried to push away the fear, anger, and adrenaline that had been surging through her body mere moments before and return Inuyasha's embrace: he needed her right now.
He released his hold on Kagome ever-so-slightly…just enough so she'd be able to recline and look up at him…and then leaned down and kissed her gently, something he'd wanted to do for the entire time he'd been gone; something he'd wanted to do every possible chance since he'd met her; something that could keep him chained to this solid world, rather than slip back into the torrent of memories that threatened to gush from his mind if he let go. Kagome could feel his need, embrace and kiss alike, and returned it hungrily; trying to feed her own fire even as she attempted to snuff those inside of him; black hair deftly mixing with silver as they were locked away in their own world…
…yet a warning pulse from the Tetsuaiga went unheeded; a quiet clamor of instinct was stilled by intellect; warning bells were ringing, but the silence of staying like this with Kagome was drowning it out.
That is, until a crushing wave of the detachment wrapped itself around Inuyasha and Kagome; cutting off light, shocking them out of their daydreaming state, and greatly enraging one currently emotionally-unbalanced hanyou; it cut them off from light, flattening them against the ground, and leaving them in a small pocket, supported only by Inuyasha's main strength.
The thing's flesh trembled as it quickly regenerated itself, the crushing weight growing heavier and heavier as Inuyasha struggled to stand from hands and knees, trying to keep from crushing Kagome as animal growls of anger escaped from his throat; hand longed to reach for the Tetsuaiga, but to do so would mean death for Kagome.
"Ka…gome...," Inuyasha grunted, neither rising nor falling as he kneeled, weight driving his knee into the ground as he tried valiantly to get to his feet. "Are you…okay?"
"Un," Kagome affirmed, unable to move in the constricted area. "Are you?" Inuyasha began to respond, but he was cut off by a voice that rumbled and shook the walls of their cell.
"Oh, how touching…the Mighty Inuyasha, baring his soul for all to see to a little girl who's nothing more than a shadow of the great miko, Kikyou," it laughed, unaware of Inuyasha's rising anger. "I'd just give up now, by the way…at least then you'll die together with your 'beloved'. Besides, it's not like you have a choice in the matter: you can't break free of your little cage, and you can't kill something that's made out of nothing but youki, now can you?"
It dawned on Inuyasha that most of Naraku's detachments were exactly like the original: cocky. Arrogant. Powerful.
And stupid.
Rage grew once again inside him, drawing anger forth from memories: the same memories that, minutes before, had tormented him; he unconsciously cracked his knuckles, feral growls sounding from his throat. Adrenaline surged through his body, tightening his throat, heightening his senses, his strength—and he felt something snap deep inside him.
And, suddenly, the crushing weight wasn't heavy enough—a scream that raised the hackles on Kagome's neck tore its way loose from Inuyasha's throat, and in a blinding flash of yellow power, the youki cocoon around them dissolved. In its place was an Inuyasha standing guard over Kagome, hand on Tetsuaiga, rage shining out of his eyes with a visible aura of power standing out from his skin.
"How…how did you…" It started, but Inuyasha cut it off mid-sentence.
"DON'T YOU EVER TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO YOU BASTARD!!!"
Yes, I know: I suck for leaving you hanging like that. Really really sorry about it, but I have to sleep now…work was busy, and for some reason my body decided that, since I'd got enough sleep for once, it'd make me tired just for the hell of it…gomen nasai, yo. Well, I've gotta get to bed now…as always, please read and review! Thanks a lot!