Title: Return of the blind swordsman
By: EVL5011
E-Mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com
Chapter 2: Reunion
Everything was pitch black, the cries and pleas of unknown people could be heard all around, and I could feel some invisible creatures biting and tearing at my flesh. I thought that I had escaped this hellish nightmare, but here I am again. The same foul stench was in the air, that of burning flesh and blood, why am I here? The sounds of countless faceless people suddenly became silent. I felt something staring me in the face, it began to breath directly into my face, I could hear it begin to open its mouth and speak. The small invisible creatures stopped biting me and could be heard scurrying away.
"Mekura…you thought that you could escape us? How inconsiderate of me, you can't see who I am!" chuckled the mysterious person.
"That voice, I recognize that voice, it can't be. You're dead!" Mekura felt a cold chill run down his back. The faceless creature placed its large rough hand over Mekura's eyes, and suddenly a bright light overwhelmed him, he could see with his new sense of sight. He focused his eyes on the creature in front of him and found himself facing the Hell-Spawn Lizard.
"How does it feel to stare your tormentor in the eyes?" asked the demon.
Mekura began looking around at his environment and found the sights to be horrifying. His arms and legs were shackled to large chains. From what he could see, he was in the underworld. The Hell-Spawn Lizard's face was blistered and burned by the fire around them. The large demon grabbed Mekura by the throat and drew his face closer to him.
"Not even a hello?" asked the large scaly demon while giving a twisted smile.
"What hell is this?" Mekura struggled to break free of the powerful demons grasp, but found his restraints holding him tightly in place.
"That's exactly where you're at…hell! I don't know how you escaped the first time, but this time you're here to stay!" The large demon raised his claw high into the air and thrust it deep into Mekura's gut. The warm blood spilled onto the hot ground and sizzled. "I going to enjoy tearing you apart for all of eternity!" smiled the demon. The evil creature twisted his claws inside of Mekura's gut and playfully tugged at his intestines while smiling.
"ARRGGGHHHH!" screamed Mekura, suddenly as his pain became increasingly more intense he could hear a faint female voice calling his name.
"Mekura…wake up!" it sounded so familiar and it repeated, but only louder and much more clearer. "Mekura! Wake up!"
Mekura woke up screaming in a cold sweat. His sight was gone and he could hear the familiar voice of someone talking to him, "Mekura, you were having a nightmare. Do you know who I am?" asked the female voice.
"S-Sango? Is that you?" Mekura asked. He suddenly felt the female embrace him tightly.
"Yes, it me…you were having a nightmare." Sango replied. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know…you said that I was having a nightmare?" Mekura placed his arms around Sango and hugged her tightly against his chest. "It all seemed so real, I dreamt that I had died, was brought back, and died again. Please tell me that it was nightmare and that none of it happened."
Sango released her gentle embrace and knew that she would have to tell the blind swordsman the truth, "Mekura, we found you yesterday. You were traveling through a wasteland. Do you remember anything?" she asked. Before he could even reply Inuyasha walked in and found Mekura awake.
With his keen senses, Mekura knew who had entered the small house. Mekura released Sango and got out of bed. He stood upright and noticed that they were the only three in the room, "Can someone please tell me what's going on?" he asked.
Sango and Inuyasha found it difficult to tell Mekura about what they believed had happened to him. Inuyasha asked Mekura to sit back down and explained everything to him. They told him about how he died and how Naraku or Kagura or possibly both might have revived him. Mekura took the news hard and leaned back against the wall.
"So, it wasn't a nightmare after all, I did really die and go to hell. One thing I don't understand is why did Naraku and Kagura bring me back to life?" Mekura waited inventively for an answer.
Sango then explained what Naraku had done with her brother. She told him about how Naraku revived him after death and utilized his skills to attempt and kill Inuyasha and the others. Mekura understood completely, he knew that he was only a pawn in Naraku's ultimate plan.
"One thing bothers me though…" Inuyasha faced Mekura and resumed, "Why aren't you with them? I can't figure why they'd bring you back to life only to let you wander into the wastelands."
Mekura sat silently and tried to remember what could have happened that night. He thought deeply about the vague voices that echoed continually in his head. With a quiet gasp, it came back to him. He remembered two voices, one of them was female, and the other was a male. Both of them had the stench of demons, but only one was familiar.
He turned his attention back at Sango and Inuyasha, "Yesterday night, I remember being in darkness, the silence was unbearable. I couldn't move or talk, I was alone with my own thoughts, and then I heard a female voice. It was the demon you call Kagura, I heard her say something. She said…dance of the dead." Mekura thought about what happened next, "I could barely make out what they were saying, but almost immediately I felt my heart begin to beat."
"Take your time." whispered Sango. The female demon slayer knew that reliving what happened had to be painful.
"I knew that Kagura and Naraku were responsible for you being alive again!" shouted Inuyasha.
"The male demon, Naraku, buried two tiny sharp objects deep into my heart. I felt my heart beat faster, for some reason I couldn't break free of their control. And then, when I heard Naraku mention what he wanted me to do, by instinct I made a fist and put it through his skull." Mekura wiped the sweat from his forehead and resumed, "The female fled and left me alone. I could hear the constant voice of Naraku telling me to submit to his will, but I overpowered his demonic influence and began walking aimlessly."
Inuyasha found it hard to believe that Mekura was able to break free of Naraku's control. If Mekura were indeed telling the truth, Naraku and Kagura would be out looking for him. Naraku would never let someone make a fool of him and escape with two shards of the shikkon jewel. Sango and Inuyasha both excused themselves for a minute and walked outside to talk privately. "Sango, I know how you must feel right now, but you know as well as I do that Mekura isn't supposed to be here right now." Inuyasha had no other way to tell her what he thought, "I don't want to sound like a cold hearted bastard, but Mekura isn't meant to be alive."
"We can't just turn our back on him, he did after all break free of Naraku's control. Its fate that brought him back to us." Sango couldn't bear to lose Mekura again.
Just as they were both about to go back inside, Mekura had been behind them the whole time, "I don't want to be a burden to the two of you. Sango, I have one thing to ask of you, do you know where my sword is?"
"Yes, I've had it ever since you di…" Sango stopped herself, she didn't want to repeat that dreadful word anymore, "Y-Yes, here…" she grabbed the sword from her side and handed it to Mekura.
"Wait! What the hell are you planning to do?" asked Inuyasha in a loud voice. "I hope you don't plan on taking on Naraku and Kagura alone. Those two jewel shards are safer inside your heart then in Naraku's hands." Even though he didn't want to admit it, Inuyasha couldn't let Mekura walk to his death.
"You need to rest, you were through a lot yesterday. I don't know if you remember, but you killed three demons by yourself". Sango grabbed Mekura by the hand, "I can't bear to lose you, not today. We'll set off to find Naraku and Kagura with you in a few days. Today, I just want to cherish this time with you."
Inuyasha felt awkward hearing Sango spill her heart out and walked away quietly. Mekura felt a strange feeling come over him as Sango held his hand tightly. She smiled and looked at his face, his eyes were a pale gray, his look revealed no true emotions. The two of them began walking and left the safety of the small village. They entered the tranquil forest and made their way towards a small creak. Mekura felt at peace as he walked with Sango, he hated the fact that most of his memories had not yet emerged. He smelled a familiar scent on Sango, it was the lotus flower, and the two of them sat down on the grass and listened to the water. Mekura was uncertain, but something about that flower was trying desperately to emerge from his repressed memories.