CHAPTER FOUR
*
A dark figure ran through the woods, skidding down embankments, slipping lightly over grass and streams. Inuyasha gritted his teeth, ignoring the burning in his legs and chest. The only burning he planned to pay attention to was his own anger.
No one is going to hurt Kagome, he thought furiously, gripping the Tetsusaiga. I'll take on Naraku himself right now if he's attacked her. And if I have to do it as a human, then so be it!
He skidded to a halt as he saw a glimmer of light ahead. But it wasn't a campfire or torch. Instead it was the moon-pale beam of Kagome's flashlight. And it was coming from inside the bushes. Inuyasha knelt down and pulled two battered objects from inside.
One was a half crushed reed basket. The other was the flashlight Kagome carried with her.
Now I know something's happened to her, he thought grimly. As he knew from when he had toyed with it, Kagome valued the flashlight in this era. She kept warning him not to waste the batteries, since it would take a trip through the well to replace them if they were empty. Certainly she wouldn't drop it, and never without turning it off...
A faint smell reached Inuyasha's nose. He winced; it reeked even for a human's senses. I recognize that smell, he thought darkly. At least I know what kind of demon I'm up against.
*
Kagome woke with a start as the snake dropped her. She tumbled down a small hill and landed under a tree. She hoped that the shadows would veil her enough... that the snake wouldn't see that her hand had just twitched by itself.
"Ah, the venom is wearing off," the snake hissed, stumping over to the other side of the clearing. "All too brief, if I give too little."
"You're not going to get away with kidnapping me!" Kagome said, laboriously pushing herself onto her numb knees. "Inuyasha will NEVER let you get away if you do anything to me!"
The snake crouched down, lettings its threadbare robe fall in folds over its stumpy limbs. It was making that wheezing laugh again, and its eyes were glowing red. "Oh, I know that, pretty human. I know that too well."
"Then it's pretty stupid of you to kidnap me!" Kagome fired.
"Far from it. After all, if I kidnapped you, he shall come to find you, correct?"
Kagome didn't answer. She had the growing feeling that this rotten demon was just waiting for her to say the obvious.
"Of course he shall," the demon said, leering. "And I'm hardly going to be upset about that.
"He'll kill you," Kagome warned him, hoping she looked braver than she felt.
"Oh, I think not. Not tonight. If I had taken you yesterday, or tomorrow, it would have been different. But he's all but helpless now, isn't he? Come now, tell me truthfully, girl."
Kagome shrank back, hiding her face against her knees. The icy, numb feeling was fading away, but not fast enough. She still couldn't feel her feet or hands, and didn't dare try to stand. Inuyasha... she thought.
"No, don't worry, he heard every squeal you made," the snake continued, grinning. "I made sure to herd you close to where he was resting. Climbing trees isn't my strong point. Besides, I like the idea of bringing him to me, rather than the other way round. Even with his feeble senses, he should find us soon."
"How do you know?" Kagome asked hoarsely.
"Oh, I have been following the whelp Inuyasha for well over fifty years," he hissed, spreading his twisted, clawed hands on the ground. "Imagine my frustration when he was sealed to a tree... and then my relief when he was released. Ever since, I have followed him at a distance, watching every night when he stayed clear of you, girl." He wheezed happily. "The only night he was always away was that of the new moon. After all, a weak, feeble human might just be less alluring. And I'm sure he will be coming for you soon. Surely, after the ways I have seen him watch you, he would not let you be swallowed whole like a mouse."
Kagome shivered. "Inuyasha's strong enough to beat you, even as a human." But her words seemed shrill and empty in the silent clearing.
"I think not, girl," the snake said gleefully. "After all, I could not beat Inuyasha, wretched halfbreed that he is. Nor could my father before me. But a human is easy prey for me. Even strong samurai have been devoured by me. And before the night is out, I will swallow the hated Inuyasha and suck the marrow from his bones..."
His eyes glowed slightly, as if he were thinking. His forked tongue flicked out and brushed Kagome's cheek. "Although, it occurs to me that if I made a mistake, I will still have a tasty little meal waiting right here for me. If he's too dense to show up, it won't be a complete loss to me."
"KAGOME!" The cry split the silence, as the bushes seemed to explode outward. A human boy leapt into the clearing, with a nicked sword in his hand and a blaze in his dark eyes.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
A dark figure ran through the woods, skidding down embankments, slipping lightly over grass and streams. Inuyasha gritted his teeth, ignoring the burning in his legs and chest. The only burning he planned to pay attention to was his own anger.
No one is going to hurt Kagome, he thought furiously, gripping the Tetsusaiga. I'll take on Naraku himself right now if he's attacked her. And if I have to do it as a human, then so be it!
He skidded to a halt as he saw a glimmer of light ahead. But it wasn't a campfire or torch. Instead it was the moon-pale beam of Kagome's flashlight. And it was coming from inside the bushes. Inuyasha knelt down and pulled two battered objects from inside.
One was a half crushed reed basket. The other was the flashlight Kagome carried with her.
Now I know something's happened to her, he thought grimly. As he knew from when he had toyed with it, Kagome valued the flashlight in this era. She kept warning him not to waste the batteries, since it would take a trip through the well to replace them if they were empty. Certainly she wouldn't drop it, and never without turning it off...
A faint smell reached Inuyasha's nose. He winced; it reeked even for a human's senses. I recognize that smell, he thought darkly. At least I know what kind of demon I'm up against.
*
Kagome woke with a start as the snake dropped her. She tumbled down a small hill and landed under a tree. She hoped that the shadows would veil her enough... that the snake wouldn't see that her hand had just twitched by itself.
"Ah, the venom is wearing off," the snake hissed, stumping over to the other side of the clearing. "All too brief, if I give too little."
"You're not going to get away with kidnapping me!" Kagome said, laboriously pushing herself onto her numb knees. "Inuyasha will NEVER let you get away if you do anything to me!"
The snake crouched down, lettings its threadbare robe fall in folds over its stumpy limbs. It was making that wheezing laugh again, and its eyes were glowing red. "Oh, I know that, pretty human. I know that too well."
"Then it's pretty stupid of you to kidnap me!" Kagome fired.
"Far from it. After all, if I kidnapped you, he shall come to find you, correct?"
Kagome didn't answer. She had the growing feeling that this rotten demon was just waiting for her to say the obvious.
"Of course he shall," the demon said, leering. "And I'm hardly going to be upset about that.
"He'll kill you," Kagome warned him, hoping she looked braver than she felt.
"Oh, I think not. Not tonight. If I had taken you yesterday, or tomorrow, it would have been different. But he's all but helpless now, isn't he? Come now, tell me truthfully, girl."
Kagome shrank back, hiding her face against her knees. The icy, numb feeling was fading away, but not fast enough. She still couldn't feel her feet or hands, and didn't dare try to stand. Inuyasha... she thought.
"No, don't worry, he heard every squeal you made," the snake continued, grinning. "I made sure to herd you close to where he was resting. Climbing trees isn't my strong point. Besides, I like the idea of bringing him to me, rather than the other way round. Even with his feeble senses, he should find us soon."
"How do you know?" Kagome asked hoarsely.
"Oh, I have been following the whelp Inuyasha for well over fifty years," he hissed, spreading his twisted, clawed hands on the ground. "Imagine my frustration when he was sealed to a tree... and then my relief when he was released. Ever since, I have followed him at a distance, watching every night when he stayed clear of you, girl." He wheezed happily. "The only night he was always away was that of the new moon. After all, a weak, feeble human might just be less alluring. And I'm sure he will be coming for you soon. Surely, after the ways I have seen him watch you, he would not let you be swallowed whole like a mouse."
Kagome shivered. "Inuyasha's strong enough to beat you, even as a human." But her words seemed shrill and empty in the silent clearing.
"I think not, girl," the snake said gleefully. "After all, I could not beat Inuyasha, wretched halfbreed that he is. Nor could my father before me. But a human is easy prey for me. Even strong samurai have been devoured by me. And before the night is out, I will swallow the hated Inuyasha and suck the marrow from his bones..."
His eyes glowed slightly, as if he were thinking. His forked tongue flicked out and brushed Kagome's cheek. "Although, it occurs to me that if I made a mistake, I will still have a tasty little meal waiting right here for me. If he's too dense to show up, it won't be a complete loss to me."
"KAGOME!" The cry split the silence, as the bushes seemed to explode outward. A human boy leapt into the clearing, with a nicked sword in his hand and a blaze in his dark eyes.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.
TO BE CONTINUED
