High Voltage: Reviving the Thunder- Chapter 14: "A-Head of the Game"
By Matoko Shizaki
Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha is copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise Inc. All of the characters have been made up by me except Kaede, Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kiara, Myoga, Hiten, and Manten.
Notes: I finally finished the last chapter!!! YAY!!! THIS IS MY LONGEST RUNNING FIC EVER!!! WOOHOO!!! Thanks to people who have been reviewing one some of my fics such as:
Mayuka/May
DarkAngelRn
Cacat-angel
Chibi Washu
Animegirl3
Tikimoof
YamiBishounen and her sister
It's really appreciated! Peace out!
@~@~@~@~@
"Got the ice cream and hot fudge Kagome?" Aoi asked as she opened the doors to the sacred well.
"Yes…" Kagome mumbled around her back pack that she was struggling to carry out in front of her. With a large, thankful sigh, Kagome dropped it all.
"You really liked that hot fudge sundae didn't you Aoi?" Kagome chuckled. Aoi nodded. 'Kind of like when you introduce Inu-Yasha to ramen.' Kagome thought.
"So, we just jumped back in?" Aoi asked while nervously starring into the well's dark depths.
"That's it." Kagome said hefting her back pack onto her back.
Planting one hand on the side of the well, Aoi vaulted over the edge and into the darkness yelling, "See you at the bottom!"
Darkness became light and Kagome stood up to breath in the fresh air. Aoi lay on the ground next to her, rubbing her sore bottom. "Are… you okay?" Kagome asked.
But Aoi was already starting to scale the side of the well. "Yeah, just fine. Let's go! Kiara's going to be waiting for us!"
Another drop of water fell from the ceiling to the puddle below and Hiten once more sent electrical charges up his binds but to no avail. "Damn that bastard… What did he do to make me so helpless?" Hiten cried. He hung his head, the rest of his body hanging loosely, only held up by the chains holding his hands in place. His cell was like any other in the fortress, damp, dusty, wet, and smelly. But this one was unusually large with one barred window above Hiten's head and he had no cell mate.
Just then, the door opened, a small shaft of light pouring into the room.
"Sire, are you sure? This prisoner is highly dangerous!" the guard exclaimed. His master merely waved him off.
"Nonsense! This is an old friend of mine." The door closed as Toriyama stepped into the light from the window, the light that almost purpose missed hitting Hiten. "So Hiten, my friend," Toriyama asked with a fanged grin. "How are you enjoying our luxury suite?"
Chains binding Hiten to the wall rattled as he stood up. "Hn. Nice… if you like to be in the same fortress as a total bastard." Hiten replied with an equally sarcastic smile. Toriyama snorted and opened the door again, calling the guard to his side.
"See to it that our friend gets a beheading worthy of a nobleman. Axe, chopping block, and all."
"Yes sire."
Morning light streamed in, hitting the wall just above his head. But he was already awake so it did not stir him. He knew what was coming, and none of the aspects to it were pleasing to him. Between naps that barely dented his fatigue, Hiten had heard the guard outside talking about him. Something was up and Hiten knew that today he was scheduled to be beheaded.
"Damn Toriyama…" the thunder demon muttered as another pang of hunger caused him to double over. "Too bad I can't kill him and feast on his flesh…" He then began to curse as loud as his dry throat would allow. This didn't last long for the sound of clanking keys interrupted him as voices came down the hallway.
"Do we have to go back in there with him?"
"Yes you block head. Orders from Lord Toriyama!"
Hiten chuckled at the first voice, one very similar to his own. It was the guard that was usually there, one that looked like him too. Day in and day out Hiten threatened him to no end, just for kicks. It seemed that his intimidation had worked. A key turned in the lock and the newly appointed head guard (because the last one had been killed) pushed open the door shedding light on Hiten's scraggly and no longer proud form. He had become paler then usual due to little light exposure and his eyes squinted at the first sign of day. Clothes that once fit him perfectly were now a little lose since he had not been fed in days. Stray pieced of hair sprouted from the once neat braid as Hiten flipped it onto his shoulder.
"So, you've come back have you?" he taunted showing his still glistening fangs. The guard swallowed and it scared Hiten how much he resembled him… only as a wimp. He chuckled as the guard ducked behind his supervisor.
"I told you!" he hissed to the new head guard. "This one is really creepy!" His companion shrugged him off and approached Hiten with a sneer.
"This one won't be giving us any more trouble." he said as he reached into his pocket. Laughing, he pulled out a few talismans, ones Hiten had recognized to have been carried by Miroku. They burned the flesh of a demon upon impact. "Now," The guard held the erect paper to Hiten's cheek so that it sizzles and burned a scrape into his flesh. "Come quietly and without a struggle and I won't have to ram this halfway down your throat."
Hiten smiled, trying to humor them while thinking of an escape plan. "What do you think I am human? I'm not your dog. I'm just going to humor you." The shackles fell from his wrists and thick roped them bound them together again, but behind his back. A loop was slipped over his head and tightened. With a jerk, the guard caught Hiten off guard and sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Damn you!" Hiten muttered to the floor. The guard he had once tortured smiled and kicked him sharply in the side.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he asked gleefully.
"Come on," his partner said. "Lord Toriyama is waiting for us." The head guard turned to Hiten and smiled. "You have a date with the chopping block."
Rough wood collided with Hiten's soft skin as his head was slammed into the chopping block, held down forcefully by the head guard. "Hey, can you loosen it up? It's uncomfortable here." Hiten joked, trying to make light of his sticky situation.
"Shut up you!" his captor snapped as Toriyama came in, followed by several other guards.
"You insolent fools. I was here earlier and you weren't there. Now I can't stay to watch!" Toriyama growled. He turned to Hiten with new found grace. "I'm sorry my friend but I can't stay to enjoy your company. I have a punishment to carry out." He turned to his guards. "Is it possible to postpone?"
The guard coughed in surprise to be addressed in such a polite manner. "Uh, yes sire!"
"Good, then I'll be back shortly. You three," Toriyama turned to the three guards with him. "Come with me." The door closed behind them and the head guard sighed.
"I need attend as well. You watch him." He motioned to the smiling Hiten. The other guard gulped and nodded as he suddenly became the only one guarding the prisoner.
"Hey you…" Hiten hissed. The guard looked up. "Come here." The guard smiled and whipped out a talisman.
"You had better not try anything demon."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Hiten sneered.
With one swipe, Toriyama finished the punishment that delayed him from witnessing the excecution. The guard's head fell to the floor with the clunk and his lifeless decapitated corpse slumped to the ground. "It serves him right." Toriyama muttered as he held his katana to his lips to savor the blood running down the blade. "He did abandon his post. Am I right?" Toriyama turned to his head guard who, in a startled manner, saluted.
"Yes sire."
Happy to have the forced apporval of his faithful followers, Toriyama kicked the head toward another guard. "You there." He exclaimed. "Take this and put it on a spear in my chamber." The guard saluted and walked off, sheepishly handling the head.
"To think that this sad cuss delayed me from watching the similar death of my rival." Toriyama said examining the body.
"I'm sure his punishment shall be all as sweet sire."
Toriyama nodded. He turned down the hallway and slid open the door to the room where the excecution would take place. Inside, the guard stood over Hiten, struggling to hold his head to the chopping block as he tried to struggle free. "Let go of me you phoney bastard!" Hiten snarled, the first signs of panic surfacing.
"He's been trying to escape!" the guard told the head guard.
"Well then, it seems that the great Hiten does fear death." Toriyama laughed. The guard who had been restraining Hiten snorted angrily but gave no other reply. "Head guard," Toriyama exclaimed. "You may proceed when you wish."
Over in the corner of the room, the head guard finished sharpening his katana. "Thank you my lord. I couldn't find an axe though so I figured this would do." He held up the glistening katana. "This'll do the job with one shot." Toriyama nodded for him to go ahead.
Holding the katana over Hiten's head, the guard chuckled. "Any last words?"
"You bastards!" Hiten cried in a panic. The guard shrugged and readied the katana.
"Goodbye Hiten! You may have survived my curse but this you won't come back from."
The clang of the katana hitting the bare chopping block rang in the room as black locked rained down, severed from their usual spot. The head of Toriyama's arch rival fell to the ground, blood leaking from the sockets, blood that matched his scarlet eyes. Toriyama picked up the head and studied it.
"Well my friend," Toriyama laughed. "You should have stopped while you were a-head of the game."
Paw hit gravel as Kagoyo perked up his wolf ears and looked around. Him and several wolves from his elder brother's tribe had come up to Toriyama's fortress warily to see what Hiten was doing. Barking stopped Kagoyo's solo search as several wolves ran up, the one in the back dragging something behind him. Kagoyo replied with several barks as the others cleared and the one in back dropped what he had found. Lying there on the rocks was Hiten's lifeless body, the head severed from right where it met the neck. The black locks of silky hair had been cut off as well and a few strands lay across his back with a mixture of blood and sweat. Part of the collar of his shirt had been ripped off and some plates of armor stolen. Kagoyo cringled and pawed at the arm of the body. 'How am I going to tell the others?' he wondered.
The door to the inn room opened and Aoi peered in curiously, Kagome coming in behind her. Inside, the others had gathered around the table, shaking their heads sadly. Shippo cowered behind Miroku's shoulder as the monk talked in hush, probably a prayer. Aoi couldn't help but notice the shocked and sorrowed expression on Manten's visage. "What's going on?" Kagome asked.
Inu-Yasha turned around, startled. "Oh, nothing…" he muttered. Aoi dropped her pack.
"Any word from Hiten on how the espionage is going?"
Shippo sighed. "Speaking of Hiten…" he muttered.
Inu-Yasha seized Shippo by the collar and growled, "You little runt! You weren't supposed to say anything!"
"What are you looking for? Move…" Aoi commanded as she pushed Inu-Yasha aside. Upon seeing the table, she stood back gasping in surprise, tears running donw her cheek.
"No…no…" she muttered as Kagome looked and jumped back in a similar fashion. "It can't be him! It isn't!"
Kagoyo put his arm around Aoi's shoulders. "I'm sorry Aoi. We found his body in the trash heap behind the fortress. He must've been caught and executed."
"That bastard Toriyama!" Aoi screamed. She slumped to the floor in tears. "I'll kill him… if it's the last thing I do!"
@~@~@~@~@
Kind of a short chapter but what can I say? It's a main turning point. Let's hope that I'm not attacked for this. But honestly, do you think that it'll be depressing the rest of the way? Trust me, things always work themselves out. This is one of my stories!
By Matoko Shizaki
Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha is copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise Inc. All of the characters have been made up by me except Kaede, Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kiara, Myoga, Hiten, and Manten.
Notes: I finally finished the last chapter!!! YAY!!! THIS IS MY LONGEST RUNNING FIC EVER!!! WOOHOO!!! Thanks to people who have been reviewing one some of my fics such as:
Mayuka/May
DarkAngelRn
Cacat-angel
Chibi Washu
Animegirl3
Tikimoof
YamiBishounen and her sister
It's really appreciated! Peace out!
@~@~@~@~@
"Got the ice cream and hot fudge Kagome?" Aoi asked as she opened the doors to the sacred well.
"Yes…" Kagome mumbled around her back pack that she was struggling to carry out in front of her. With a large, thankful sigh, Kagome dropped it all.
"You really liked that hot fudge sundae didn't you Aoi?" Kagome chuckled. Aoi nodded. 'Kind of like when you introduce Inu-Yasha to ramen.' Kagome thought.
"So, we just jumped back in?" Aoi asked while nervously starring into the well's dark depths.
"That's it." Kagome said hefting her back pack onto her back.
Planting one hand on the side of the well, Aoi vaulted over the edge and into the darkness yelling, "See you at the bottom!"
Darkness became light and Kagome stood up to breath in the fresh air. Aoi lay on the ground next to her, rubbing her sore bottom. "Are… you okay?" Kagome asked.
But Aoi was already starting to scale the side of the well. "Yeah, just fine. Let's go! Kiara's going to be waiting for us!"
Another drop of water fell from the ceiling to the puddle below and Hiten once more sent electrical charges up his binds but to no avail. "Damn that bastard… What did he do to make me so helpless?" Hiten cried. He hung his head, the rest of his body hanging loosely, only held up by the chains holding his hands in place. His cell was like any other in the fortress, damp, dusty, wet, and smelly. But this one was unusually large with one barred window above Hiten's head and he had no cell mate.
Just then, the door opened, a small shaft of light pouring into the room.
"Sire, are you sure? This prisoner is highly dangerous!" the guard exclaimed. His master merely waved him off.
"Nonsense! This is an old friend of mine." The door closed as Toriyama stepped into the light from the window, the light that almost purpose missed hitting Hiten. "So Hiten, my friend," Toriyama asked with a fanged grin. "How are you enjoying our luxury suite?"
Chains binding Hiten to the wall rattled as he stood up. "Hn. Nice… if you like to be in the same fortress as a total bastard." Hiten replied with an equally sarcastic smile. Toriyama snorted and opened the door again, calling the guard to his side.
"See to it that our friend gets a beheading worthy of a nobleman. Axe, chopping block, and all."
"Yes sire."
Morning light streamed in, hitting the wall just above his head. But he was already awake so it did not stir him. He knew what was coming, and none of the aspects to it were pleasing to him. Between naps that barely dented his fatigue, Hiten had heard the guard outside talking about him. Something was up and Hiten knew that today he was scheduled to be beheaded.
"Damn Toriyama…" the thunder demon muttered as another pang of hunger caused him to double over. "Too bad I can't kill him and feast on his flesh…" He then began to curse as loud as his dry throat would allow. This didn't last long for the sound of clanking keys interrupted him as voices came down the hallway.
"Do we have to go back in there with him?"
"Yes you block head. Orders from Lord Toriyama!"
Hiten chuckled at the first voice, one very similar to his own. It was the guard that was usually there, one that looked like him too. Day in and day out Hiten threatened him to no end, just for kicks. It seemed that his intimidation had worked. A key turned in the lock and the newly appointed head guard (because the last one had been killed) pushed open the door shedding light on Hiten's scraggly and no longer proud form. He had become paler then usual due to little light exposure and his eyes squinted at the first sign of day. Clothes that once fit him perfectly were now a little lose since he had not been fed in days. Stray pieced of hair sprouted from the once neat braid as Hiten flipped it onto his shoulder.
"So, you've come back have you?" he taunted showing his still glistening fangs. The guard swallowed and it scared Hiten how much he resembled him… only as a wimp. He chuckled as the guard ducked behind his supervisor.
"I told you!" he hissed to the new head guard. "This one is really creepy!" His companion shrugged him off and approached Hiten with a sneer.
"This one won't be giving us any more trouble." he said as he reached into his pocket. Laughing, he pulled out a few talismans, ones Hiten had recognized to have been carried by Miroku. They burned the flesh of a demon upon impact. "Now," The guard held the erect paper to Hiten's cheek so that it sizzles and burned a scrape into his flesh. "Come quietly and without a struggle and I won't have to ram this halfway down your throat."
Hiten smiled, trying to humor them while thinking of an escape plan. "What do you think I am human? I'm not your dog. I'm just going to humor you." The shackles fell from his wrists and thick roped them bound them together again, but behind his back. A loop was slipped over his head and tightened. With a jerk, the guard caught Hiten off guard and sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Damn you!" Hiten muttered to the floor. The guard he had once tortured smiled and kicked him sharply in the side.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he asked gleefully.
"Come on," his partner said. "Lord Toriyama is waiting for us." The head guard turned to Hiten and smiled. "You have a date with the chopping block."
Rough wood collided with Hiten's soft skin as his head was slammed into the chopping block, held down forcefully by the head guard. "Hey, can you loosen it up? It's uncomfortable here." Hiten joked, trying to make light of his sticky situation.
"Shut up you!" his captor snapped as Toriyama came in, followed by several other guards.
"You insolent fools. I was here earlier and you weren't there. Now I can't stay to watch!" Toriyama growled. He turned to Hiten with new found grace. "I'm sorry my friend but I can't stay to enjoy your company. I have a punishment to carry out." He turned to his guards. "Is it possible to postpone?"
The guard coughed in surprise to be addressed in such a polite manner. "Uh, yes sire!"
"Good, then I'll be back shortly. You three," Toriyama turned to the three guards with him. "Come with me." The door closed behind them and the head guard sighed.
"I need attend as well. You watch him." He motioned to the smiling Hiten. The other guard gulped and nodded as he suddenly became the only one guarding the prisoner.
"Hey you…" Hiten hissed. The guard looked up. "Come here." The guard smiled and whipped out a talisman.
"You had better not try anything demon."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Hiten sneered.
With one swipe, Toriyama finished the punishment that delayed him from witnessing the excecution. The guard's head fell to the floor with the clunk and his lifeless decapitated corpse slumped to the ground. "It serves him right." Toriyama muttered as he held his katana to his lips to savor the blood running down the blade. "He did abandon his post. Am I right?" Toriyama turned to his head guard who, in a startled manner, saluted.
"Yes sire."
Happy to have the forced apporval of his faithful followers, Toriyama kicked the head toward another guard. "You there." He exclaimed. "Take this and put it on a spear in my chamber." The guard saluted and walked off, sheepishly handling the head.
"To think that this sad cuss delayed me from watching the similar death of my rival." Toriyama said examining the body.
"I'm sure his punishment shall be all as sweet sire."
Toriyama nodded. He turned down the hallway and slid open the door to the room where the excecution would take place. Inside, the guard stood over Hiten, struggling to hold his head to the chopping block as he tried to struggle free. "Let go of me you phoney bastard!" Hiten snarled, the first signs of panic surfacing.
"He's been trying to escape!" the guard told the head guard.
"Well then, it seems that the great Hiten does fear death." Toriyama laughed. The guard who had been restraining Hiten snorted angrily but gave no other reply. "Head guard," Toriyama exclaimed. "You may proceed when you wish."
Over in the corner of the room, the head guard finished sharpening his katana. "Thank you my lord. I couldn't find an axe though so I figured this would do." He held up the glistening katana. "This'll do the job with one shot." Toriyama nodded for him to go ahead.
Holding the katana over Hiten's head, the guard chuckled. "Any last words?"
"You bastards!" Hiten cried in a panic. The guard shrugged and readied the katana.
"Goodbye Hiten! You may have survived my curse but this you won't come back from."
The clang of the katana hitting the bare chopping block rang in the room as black locked rained down, severed from their usual spot. The head of Toriyama's arch rival fell to the ground, blood leaking from the sockets, blood that matched his scarlet eyes. Toriyama picked up the head and studied it.
"Well my friend," Toriyama laughed. "You should have stopped while you were a-head of the game."
Paw hit gravel as Kagoyo perked up his wolf ears and looked around. Him and several wolves from his elder brother's tribe had come up to Toriyama's fortress warily to see what Hiten was doing. Barking stopped Kagoyo's solo search as several wolves ran up, the one in the back dragging something behind him. Kagoyo replied with several barks as the others cleared and the one in back dropped what he had found. Lying there on the rocks was Hiten's lifeless body, the head severed from right where it met the neck. The black locks of silky hair had been cut off as well and a few strands lay across his back with a mixture of blood and sweat. Part of the collar of his shirt had been ripped off and some plates of armor stolen. Kagoyo cringled and pawed at the arm of the body. 'How am I going to tell the others?' he wondered.
The door to the inn room opened and Aoi peered in curiously, Kagome coming in behind her. Inside, the others had gathered around the table, shaking their heads sadly. Shippo cowered behind Miroku's shoulder as the monk talked in hush, probably a prayer. Aoi couldn't help but notice the shocked and sorrowed expression on Manten's visage. "What's going on?" Kagome asked.
Inu-Yasha turned around, startled. "Oh, nothing…" he muttered. Aoi dropped her pack.
"Any word from Hiten on how the espionage is going?"
Shippo sighed. "Speaking of Hiten…" he muttered.
Inu-Yasha seized Shippo by the collar and growled, "You little runt! You weren't supposed to say anything!"
"What are you looking for? Move…" Aoi commanded as she pushed Inu-Yasha aside. Upon seeing the table, she stood back gasping in surprise, tears running donw her cheek.
"No…no…" she muttered as Kagome looked and jumped back in a similar fashion. "It can't be him! It isn't!"
Kagoyo put his arm around Aoi's shoulders. "I'm sorry Aoi. We found his body in the trash heap behind the fortress. He must've been caught and executed."
"That bastard Toriyama!" Aoi screamed. She slumped to the floor in tears. "I'll kill him… if it's the last thing I do!"
@~@~@~@~@
Kind of a short chapter but what can I say? It's a main turning point. Let's hope that I'm not attacked for this. But honestly, do you think that it'll be depressing the rest of the way? Trust me, things always work themselves out. This is one of my stories!
