No Longer Alone
Disclaimer: I'm gonna be straightforward this time, Inuyasha and co. do not belong to me! ::sobs hysterically::
Please read this: Whew, it's been a while since I updated! And it's gonna be another while before I update again. I foresee the future. LOL, just kidding, I'm going to be going to Yellowstone National Park for a week so it might take up to two weeks to get updated! That also means that my other story that I'm working on called Owarinai Yume will be on hold as well, but not for long. This is for any of you out there who actually are reading it LOL. Anyway, I decided to make this story rated PG-13, because I won't be putting in a lemon. I'm underage after all, hehehe, you guys didn't hear me say that ^_^ So after this chapter, I'll change it to PG-13. Thank you all for your reviews!
Ch. 7How am I going to get Kagome back? Inuyasha asked himself. They're too far away at the moment. I guess I'll just have to give up the jewel. I care more about Kagome than I do about this stupid thing. But… if I give it to Hiten, what will the consequences be?
"Fine!" Inuyasha barked out, "I'll give you the jewel, but you have to come down here and promise to let Kagome go, unhurt."
"Oo, aren't we the bossy one," Hiten mocked.
"Do we have a deal?" Inuyasha growled.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he agreed, He wrapped an arm around Kagome's waist and flew to the bottom of the mountain with the air of his fire wheels. He stood a fair distance away from Inuyasha and held out his hand, "Now give me the jewel."
Inuyasha gripped it tighter, "Not until you release Kagome, then I'll give you the jewel." He argued.
"Give me the jewel now, or the girl dies!" Hiten shouted.
Inuyasha gave a low growl and carefully, he tossed the jewel to Hiten. It gleamed once from a patch of sunlight that escaped the dark clouds before falling into Hiten's hand. He gave a maniacal laugh and gripped the jewel tightly. "Finally, finally I have the Jewel of the Four Souls, and now, not even Naraku can stop me!" He swallowed the jewel and instantly, his aura flared out powerfully. Kagome whimpered softly.
"Wait!" Inuyasha cried, "You promised to give back Kagome!" Hiten snorted, "Hah, too bad for you, but I've decided to keep her. She's a pretty bitch. I'll let her work for me as a prostitute. Hell, I'll even pay her a bit if she does a good job." He gave another barking laugh and crushed his lips to Kagome's in a bruising kiss.
Inuyasha let out a howl of outrage. He crossed the distance between them in a flash and punched Hiten in the stomach before he could react. A small bit of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth and his fist flew out on reflex to connect with Inuyash's chin. Hiten gave a smirk as Inuyasha sailed painfully into a nearby crop of rocks.
Kagome watched the two battle with worry, wishing she could help. She heard a small, "Pst!" to her left. A small boy popped out from behind a rock and motioned for her to come over to where he was. She snuck away from the battlefield unnoticed by her captor. "What are you doing here?" She whispered to the boy, "This is no place for a child."
Shippo pouted, "I'm a demon and a lot older than you! I'm Shippo and I cam here with Inuyasha, so it's my duty to see that you get away safely. Now come on!" He tugged on her skirt.
"I won't abandon Inuyasha!" She said fiercely, "I have to find him a weapon. He's at the disadvantage against that lightning pike."
Shippo smiled proudly, "I know where the Thunder Brothers keep a weapon! My father told me about a sword in the cave over there. It's said to be very powerful, but Hiten doesn't use it for some reason. Come on! I'll show you where it is!"
Kagome allowed herself a final backward glance at Inuyasha before letting the young boy to pull her away. Inside the cave, there was absolutely no light. An occasional rock tripped her making her stumble and the rough stone wall under her guiding right hand was wet a tad bit slimy. Shippo on the other hand, made his way through the cave with ease.
"See that light up ahead?" Shippo plucked at her shirt, "That's where the sword is." Kagome squinted and could see the bluish glow of light. When they reached the light, Kagome could barely contain her surprise. They were in a beautiful and perfectly round cavern. The walls were smooth and made of glass as a cover for the lapidary behind it. On the ceiling, a crystal lantern hung and Kagome realized that the blue light bathing the small room came from there. On closer inspection, tiny blue fireflies could be seen, floating lazily around in their crystal chamber, producing the odd colored glow.
In the very middle of the cavern, a raised platform stood. And that was where the sword was. Two triangular shaped rocks pinned the sword down on its side on a glazed slab of rock. The words 'The Tetsusaiga' were emblazoned upon the side of the stone platform. The handle of the sword was wrapped in gray, torn-up strips of cloth and the hilt was a dull yellow circular piece of metal. The sword itself was sheathed in its black scabbard.
The sound of a pained cry from outside brought Kagome back to her senses. She grabbed the sword by the handle and wrenched it from the stone holders, expecting resistance. Surprisingly, it came out quite easily. With Shippo at her heels, she stumbled back out of the cave to be met by a horrifying sight.
A large blood patch covered the front of Inuyasha's red shirt, darkening the original color tone. Numerous cuts lined his clothes and body. Kagome arrived just in time to see Hiten come down onto him with his lightning pike. In a quick downward motion, he slashed at his opponent's shoulder. Inuyasha gave another cry of agony and fell to his knees from the force of the blow. He clutched his shoulder, blood spurting from his wound and running down hi arms. It collected together into a puddle of red. His beautiful silver hair was flecked with blood and dirt, making it a muddy, red color. Hiten leapt away from him and sniggered like a child getting his way.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out, "Catch!" She threw the sword with all her might. Inuyasha's hand flew up instinctively and caught it.
He looked at it in surprise, "A sword…?"
Hiten gaped in shock. His mouth opened and closed doing a perfect imitation of a fish. After a few seconds, he managed to say a few words, "How… how did you get that out of the rock? No one should be able to touch that thing without getting shocked or electrocuted! Even the great Thunder Brothers failed at pulling it out!"
"Enough talk!" Inuyasha interrupted, "Let's fight now!" He unsheathed the sword and threw away the scabbard in one fluid motion. He charged at Hiten and swung his new sword. Hiten managed to parry the blade just in time. They jumped away from each other and Inuyasha did a double take at his sword as he landed. "This is a sword?" He asked in disbelief. "It looks more like scrap metal to me!"
Small chips gouged the metal surface and other indents and scratches covered it. The blade's edge was dull and looked as if it had been cutting at a rock. It really did look like scrap metal squashed together to resemble a sword. He growled in annoyance, this was just perfect.
"Ho, Brother!" A voice called from above him.
Inuyasha looked up and saw a particularly dark looking cloud overhead. On top of the cloud, sat a demon. His clothes were similar to Hiten's, but stretched out to accommodate his rather plump body. He had sharp beady eyes and three lone hairs stuck out of his otherwise bald head. A small braid was to the back of his neck. His head was an odd shape, it resembled an egg with an almost sharp point at the chin. The demon's fangs stuck out from his upper lip, creating a leering expression. Fancy ribbons were wrapped around him.
"Ah, Manten!" Hiten called back, "You're back! I trust you have caught our little spy?"
"Ay, Brother, I have. He was a sneaky little bastard, but I caught him." Triumphantly, he held up the pelt of an orange fox in front of him, "I hope you'll allow me to make this into a coat. It really is quite fine fur. I wouldn't want it to go to waste." His lips curved upward in a cruel grin.
Hiten gave a smirk, "Of course, Brother! By all means, make your coat."
Suddenly, Shippo could no longer hold it in and let out a soul-shattering wail. He struggled in Kagome's impeding arms as tears splashed down his pudgy face. He had gone considerably paler, his small frame wracked with sobs. "Papa!" He cried out mournfully. "Papa, wake up! Don't leave me! You can't leave me! You said you would always be there for me! You said you would never leave me!" He chocked on his words and continued to cry.
"You bastard," Inuyasha growled, "You killed Naoko!" He was about to leap at Manten, but Hiten interrupted.
"Your battle is with me, whelp!" He charged at him with his pike raised, shooting blast after blast of blazing blue lightning. "Manten!" he called over his shoulder, "Make sure the girl and the fox do not escape. You may kill them if you wish." Manten clapped his hands gleefully. With a small pop, his cloud dissipated, and despite his bulky form, he managed to land nicely, even it a bit heavily, on a stone ledge beneath him.
He advanced menacingly toward Kagome and Shippo. The two backed away slowly, with each step Manten took. Suddenly, he threw his mouth open wide and energy crackled as a ball of yellow lightning formed. They both gave a yell of surprise and jumped behind a boulder an instant before the lightning created a crater where they had been standing.
"Let's get back to that cave. We'll catch him by surprise in the cavern," Kagome whispered to Shippo. His face was still tear streaked but he nodded bravely and wiped them away. Together, they sprinted to the caves, running haphazardly, making themselves a harder target to hit. They ducked into the cave and Kagome once again stumbled forward, tripping over the rocks and pebbles in her path while Shippo's demon vision allowed him to skip nimbly past them. When they reached the cavern, Kagome motioned from Shippo to flatten himself against the wall next to the entrance. She flattened herself against the wall on the other side, both of them hidden from Manten's view, and they patiently waited for the demon to come.
They did not have to wait long. They could clearly hear Manten's heavy footsteps nearing them. The clacking sound ricocheted off the smooth stonewalls. The sound grew louder and louder. Kagome felt that if her heart were beating any more loudly, the demon would surely have heard her. Slowly, she bent down and picked up a fairly large rock. When she was certain Manten was just outside the cavern, she jumped out with a wild cry and bashed the rock on the monster's bald head. At the same time, Shippo produced a large top from who knows where and spun it onto Manten's head as well.
As the top spun, it grew larger and larger, filling up the cave tunnel with its loud thrumming sound as well as its size. Manten's head vibrated violently as the top ground down on his skull. Slowly, the top diminished in size, reverting to its original form and falling onto the rocky ground. Manten shook his head a bit and tentatively lifted a hand to where his thee strands of hair stood. But before a single finger could touch them, they dislodged by themselves and fluttered slowly down to join the top. The demon shuddered, his head lowered and his arms hugging his trembling form.
"My hair…" he chocked out, "My beautiful hair! You wretched have plucked the last strands of my hair!" He howled.
"Come on, Shippo, we'd better get out of here!" Kagome lifted him into her arms and ran while Shippo helpfully directed her around the rocks. A faint light blazed behind them. They had reached the entrance, but Kagome found herself tripping over yet another rock. She and Shippo thudded painfully to the ground just as a blast of lightning shot over them. The lightning bolt just barely grazed their backs. Kagome felt the intense heat pass over her, sending a rush of hot air like that of an oven after its wake.
Shakily, she stood up and picked up Shippo. Knowing that Manten would most likely be coming out to hunt for their blood, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. In the distance, she could still hear the clashing of sword against pike, but she was confident Inuyasha could take care of himself.
Behind her, a roar of anger sounded and an outraged Manten tacked her. She fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her. The bulk of Manten's body made it extremely difficult to draw breath. He stood up and dragged Kagome up by her hair. She gave a whimper of pain that was immediately stopped by a brutal smack to her cheek. His hands left her hair and found its way to her neck, slowly cutting off her air supply. She gave a chocked cry that gurgled to a stop in the back of her throat. In a desperate attempt to save her, Shippo lunged at Manten and latched firmly onto the skin of his throat, his tiny fangs digging into his flesh.
"You two bastards destroyed my precious hair. I will make sure that you both travel to the next world!" He declared. He removed one hand from Kagome's throat to pound heavily on Shippo's head. Small tears squeezed out of his clenched eyes, but he refused to let go.
"Inu… ya… sha…" Kagome managed to say quietly.
As if his hearing was targeted on her voice, Inuyasha's head whipped in her direction, "Kagome!" he cried out worriedly. She had fainted from lack of air and Shippo looked like her was on the brink of unconsciousness as well. With lightning speed created by desperation, he appeared by them and landed a flying kick into Manten's gut.
"Brother!" Manten called out, getting up from his position on the ground, "Let me take on this fellow. The other two were way too easy. I'll save you the trouble of killing him!"
"Very well," Hiten called back in agreement, "But make it quick!"
Inuyasha had Kagome in his arms and was lightly patting her face. Shippo lay on her stomach holding his head. Inuyasha had sheathed the Tetsusaiga and was now glaring at Manten murderously, "You will pay for this!" He spat.
Slowly, Kagome came to, her breathing slightly ragged and choppy. "Inuyasha…" She said after a few gulps of air, "You saved me."
He lifter her from his lap gently, "Stay back, Kagome I'm going to kill this bastard!" Suddenly, he stared in surprise at the sword sheathed at his side. He felt an unmistakable pulse coming from it. What's going on? He wondered.
"Here I come!" Manten shouted blundering over to his opponent. Inuyasha drew out his sword automatically and slashed at the demon. Manten gave a howl of agony as his blood spewed forth from a large gash on his side. Inuyasha froze in shock as he examined his blade.
It… it looks like a fang!
The sword was at least three or four times longer than the original form and at least ten times wider. Energy crackled around it powerfully and at the hilt was a mass of gray fur.
"Why you!" Manten screamed. "Take this!" He shot a blast form his mouth. Inuyasha deflected the attack by using his sword like a baseball bat. Manten sucked in air for a second blow. Inuyasha took the opportunity and threw the sword right into his chest. He gave a surprised cough and blood dribbled from his mouth. His eyes rolled to the back of his head ad he slumped back in death.
The Tetsusaiga had untransformed and was stuck upright in the large slit its other form had created. Blood gushed form the wound, spilling over his body and in a pool underneath him. His inner organs could be seen from the enormous cut. Inuyasha drew out his sword, dripping with blood.
"Brother!!" Hiten yelled in anguish. He flew to his brother's side as Inuyasha leapt away, carrying Kagome and Shippo. "Brother!" He cried again. Tears streamed from his eyes as he clutched his brother's still form. "Brother, I swore to you that I'd always stay with you no matter what." He plunged his hand into his wound and tore out his brother's heart. "I swear I will avenge your death, dear brother." Savagely, he devoured his brother's heart, blood smearing all over his face as he feasted.
"What is he doing?!" Kagome cried, clutching her own throat.
"He's absorbing his brother's powers." Inuyasha said gripping the Tetsusaiga tighter.
Suddenly, all three of them felt Hiten's power increase. He turned to them, his eyes glowing a dangerous red. "Kagome stay out of the way," Inuyasha told her, pushing her back. She took his advice and picked up Shippo, running behind a rock. She watched the Inuyasha battling Hiten worriedly. Hiten seemed to have gotten much better and Inuyasha was taking several painful hits. She was about to turn to Shippo and ask him on what they should do when she saw he was running toward Manten's corpse. She knew at once that he was planning to get his father's body back.
"Shippo wait!" She called to him, "Don't go over there, come back!" Her voice attracted Hiten's attention and he turned his head just in time to see Kagome helping Shippo take his father's corpse from Manten. Hiten gave a cruel grin and opened his mouth, energy radiating from his mouth. Inuyasha currently had his sword locked against Hiten's thunder pike.
"Kagome! Shippo! Get out of there! He's going to…" But it was too late, Hiten had released his bolt of lightning and in no time, the blast had swallow up Kagome and Shippo. Both of them had looks of surprise and horror on their faces before the blinding light engulfed them. Inuyasha froze. "No…" he whispered, "NO! It can't be! You bastard!" He screamed at Hiten, "You slaughtered my friends!" He put more pressure on his blade, pushing Hiten back. Small tears beaded at his eyes.
"That's right, half demon! I killed your precious woman!" Hiten mocked. Inuyasha took one hand away from his sword and dug into his bleeding shoulder.
"Blades of Blood!" He yelled, slashing at Hiten. The blood left his claws and formed into small blades. Hiten blocked the blow by turning his pike sideways to intercept them. That was all Inuyasha needed. He lifted his sword and brought it down Hiten furiously. Hiten had a look of shock on his face as a large cut appeared on his body running from his forehead down to his stomach.
"Im… possible. You defeated me… You defeated… the both… of us…" Hiten fell to his knees and then to the ground. No blood came from his wound. His body became fainter and fainter until it disappeared altogether. The Jewel of the Four Souls lay at Inuyasha's feet. He didn't pick it up.
Inuyasha stuck his sword into the ground and lowered his head. A lone tear traveled down his face. A picture of Kagome's smiling face flickered through his mind. She was gone. She had come into his life, changed him, and now she was gone. It had been so fast, but now she wasn't ever going to be able to come back.
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Ok, like I said, I won't be able to update for a while. I might be able to get up a chapter of Owarinai Yume up tonight though I seriously doubt it. Please review!
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Review Responses~*~*~
ladykaa28: Thank you for your idea, though I had a different idea in mind. I do understand what you're trying to say though. I'll make Inuyasha have a nicer side to him as a human. Thanks! Review again!
moonlight: Wow, thanks for all the ideas! Yeah, I'm basing this story a lot on the original ::winces:: I have to stop that. Hmm, but the full demon thing is a good idea! Thank you so much! Even though I'm changing this to PG-13, I hope you'll still read it!
Leomae108: LOL, yes I'm a girl, you don't think a guy would pick a name like Cattykit, right? LOL. Sorry, but I won't be doing a lemon. I'm too underage for that ^_^ which is why I'll be changing it to PG-13, I hope you'll still read this though! You will right? Thanks for your review and don't forget to review for this one!
DemonKitty: LOL, thanks! I don't like kikyo either! But for formality I have to capitalize her name in the story, LOL. And as for your question, I won't tell you just now or it'll ruin it. I'm going to explain later on about how Inuyasha recovered. Yupyup! LOL, I love your review!
Lord-Hiei: Whoa, hyper aren't we? LOL, well I am going to be changing this to PG-13. Sorry! I hope you'll still read this though! Your reviews mean a lot to me! I'm sure putting a lot of gore won't be offensive for a PG-13 fic! Haha, I really couldn't spell for this chapter. You wouldn't be able to guess how many times I had to go over it! I'm not going to read it over, so if there are any mistakes, let me know!
Inu Yasha III: OMG!! Really?! Thank you so much! Love ya! ::hugs:: I won't be keeping it an R story though. I still hope you'll be reading it though! If you want hentai stories, just go to mediaminer.org, they've got plenty of them! Thank you so much for your review!
ArtemisMoon: LOL, I hate colds myself. I mean, you're always sniffling and coughing and watching as other people can actually breath through their noses! Sucks don't it? Anyway, holy shmucky ducky (lol)! 25 chapters is a lot. I hope I can get that much, but I'll take your advice. I'll try to squeeze in quality as well as quantity! Thanks!