Hey all. So many reviews...my life is happy. I cannot WAIT for the 100th review. That will be the coolest thing...100 reviews...I can finally say I've done something with all the time I wasted watching anime. Long chapter this time, and while I really hate to do this to you, I will end it on...ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! WORSHIP ME, MORTALS! I CONTROL YOUR STORY! Ahem. Bit of a power trip, there. I'll do my best to get the next chapter up by Monday.
Chapter 27: The Fight Rages On
Kagome was watching the whole situation from the cave. She saw Tobias battling all three with the courage and ferocity of any demon.
"Come on, Tobias," she muttered. "You can beat them. Just don't hurt Inuyasha..." The three demons backed off. She saw the army of demons, Tobias's fighting stance, his impressive Blade of Death attack. "Wow! That's almost as good as the Kaze no Kizo!" Her thoughts were cut a bit short by Inuyasha subsequently disarming Tobias, and the three of them guarding his sword.
"Oh no," she whispered. "Tobias...he's just a normal human now. I just hope they don't pick it up."
Tobias looked the three demons right in the eye. Then, incredibly, he began to run full speed at them. Full human speed, however, was not that impressive. Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and Koga looked almost bored as they waited for him to arrive. Tobias reached into a pocket...
...and pulled out the BIGGEST pistol Kagome had ever seen. It was an old-fashioned six-shooter, but it looked almost new. It was as if he hadn't ever used it before. Tobias aimed with one hand and steadied his grip with the other. He fired his first shot.
*BANG!!!*
Sesshomaru was struck in the chest and flung aside. Tobias grimaced as the recoil of the gun almost broke his wrist. The sound of the gun going off caused the other two to howl in pain and clamp their hands over their ears. Which was exactly how Tobias had wanted it. Still running, he took aim again.
*BANG!!!*
Koga dropped like a stone. Tobias groaned in pain at the gun's powerful kick. "This is so much easier when I'm super-strong..." he muttered. He aimed at Inuyasha. He had a shot lined up, but even as he ran, he hesitated. Could he shoot Inuyasha?
*BANG!!!*
Apparently so. Inuyasha fell, clutching at his chest. He tucked his gun, which by Kagome's count now had three bullets left in it, back into his pocket. All three demons now indisposed, Tobias ran and grabbed his sword with his right hand as he ran by. The second he possessed the sword again, he took a mighty leap into the air, rebounding off several trees, and landed back in front of the cave. Without turning, he spoke to Kagome.
"There's another cave about 500 yards from here," he said quickly. "I saw it when the trees were destroyed from my attack. Go to there. Remember I said not to leave? Leave for there."
"But..." She looked at the fallen youkai. "Will they..."
"They're demons, Kagome!" shouted Tobias. "They can take that kind of punishment." The three began groaning and trying to pick themselves up again. "It won't keep them down for long." Inuyasha got up, growling. "RUN!!"
And Kagome ran, as she had never run before. Sesshomaru leaped at her from behind, but Tobias came sailing in and knocked him out of his path. Kagome fairly flew in the direction Tobias had indicated, not even glancing over her shoulder to see the approaching demons. Inuyasha came roaring up the path, eyes blood red.
"SIT! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!!!" Inuyasha got pounded into the ground so hard he left an Inuyasha-shaped crater. Kagome found the cave and darted inside. At least this one doesn't smell so bad, she thought.
The General looked with at his sword, and the events depicted in its reflection. Without making a single facial expression, he managed to convey his obvious disapproval.
"Now where is that witch?" he said quietly. "Witch?" He raised his voice. "Witch? Are you near?"
The old witch came sailing in through the window. "You rang, Colonel?" she said sweetly. Or at least, what she thought was sweetly. It turned out to be a horrible, grating tone that made anyone but the General grimace.
"What, no more rhyming? And I am a general, not a colonel."
She shrugged. "The rhyming was just a gimmick. And I know your rank, I'm just pulling your leg...Captain!" She exploded in foul laughter. The General's expression did not waver.
"Can you cast a spell from a long distance? That girl keeps disabling Inuyasha with some magical rosary beads and the command word sit, and I would appreciate it if you would make it so she could not speak that word. Can you?"
"Certainly, Commander. But it'll only last as long as her heat spell." The witch's eyes glowed pale black. (A/N: Work with me here. Try and imagine a pale black.) She began to speak.
"Es brillig war. Die schlichte Toven
Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben;
Und aller-mümsige Burggoven
Die mohmen Räth' ausgraben!"
The General nodded slightly.
"That is perfect. You may go."
"See you later, Sarge!" The witch laughed maniacally all the way out of the General's room and down the corridor. The General shook his head.
"Batty old woman," he said softly. "But, she has useful abilities, so we shall retain her services. And if Naraku..." here his eye twitched, "if Naraku tries to get rid of her..." He lapsed into silence.
In the new cave, Kagome was hunkered down, watching Tobias battling Inuyasha and the others outside.
Suddenly, Kagome felt a faint tingling feeling; like when she had been hit by the witch's spell, only far less in intensity. She could almost hear the echo of the witch's voice. What was that? Ugh...that spell must have had some lasting effects. It's like she cast it all over again, only less so.
Inuyasha seemed to be battering Tobias an awful lot; Tobias was definitely slowing down. He had scores of claw and bite marks, and quite a few wounds inflicted by Tetsusaiga. In this case, Inuyasha was about to leap onto Tobias from above while he was preoccupied by Sesshomaru and Koga. Kagome took a deep breath.
"S-" When she tried to say the word of subdual, she gagged on it and began coughing up a storm. Clearing her throat and shaking her head, she tried again.
"SI-" It was like the word stuck in her throat. Kagome tried again, and again, and again; with the same result every time. No matter how much she tried, Kagome just could not say "sit". Wait...that tingling...the witch's voice...maybe, she cast another spell! But how would she know? Kagome called out to Tobias, who was struggling to break the sword lock with Tetsusaiga.
"Tobias! The witch..." Tobias's sword flared. He knocked Inuyasha away, and slammed Sesshomaru and Koga into each other. He then ran to the entrance.
"What?" he demanded urgently.
"The witch cast another spell, I think. I can't say s-...I can't say s-i-t. Every time I try, I start choking, and..." Tobias's face twisted into a snarl.
"Dammit. That is just fucking ALL we need right now. How could...how would that old..." He stood up. "Never mind. I have more important things. If you see Inuyasha coming toward you, scream for me." He bent down close to her. "I will protect you, as long as I can stand and fight." He turned away just in time to repel Sesshomaru from barreling into the cave. Tobias cut him across his back with the sword, then leaped back into the fray.
All of a sudden, Inuyasha backed off again. He had a wicked smile on his face. Through the battle, Tobias's theory had been confirmed: his human side had been giving him intelligence without the benefit of its love for Kagome. When Inuyasha spoke again, it was in the same guttural, harsh voice; but his vocabulary had expanded.
"Think about it, Tobias," he growled. "You can smell it too, right?"
Tobias's expression flickered. "Smell what?" he said, trying to be confident. Sesshomaru tried to attack, but Inuyasha held him back.
"Kagome's heat? Doesn't it make you want to just pin her down and fuck her silly?"
Tobias closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He hated to admit it, but Kagome's scent had actually been growing stronger the last few minutes. "Stop it," he said forcefully.
"Don't try to deny it. I know you want to. We all want to. So why are we fighting?"
Beads of sweat appeared on Tobias's forehead. His grip on his sword tightened, then loosened a little.
"If you let us have her, we'll let you go first. While she's still innocent."
Tobias's closed eye began twitching. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to go along with what Inuyasha was saying, but his heart told him otherwise.
"No!" he growled at them. "I won't do that to her!"
"Why would you care what she thinks? You're stronger and faster than her...you could just take her and there would be nothing she could do about it. Come on. Make your choice."
Every muscle in Tobias's body clenched for a second as he and his instincts fought a furious battle for control. Most unfortunately, he chose this moment to take a deep breath, to try and calm his frayed nerves. This sort of had the opposite effect, considering Kagome's arousing scent in the air. Tobias opened his eyes.
His eyes were flecked with spots of red, and Tobias smiled viciously even as he turned back to the cave. "You know what?" he said softly. "You're right." He began to walk back to the cave. "Oh, Kagome?" he called out.
Kagome had seen the whole thing happen, and heard most of it. She knew what Tobias was coming for, and she wanted no part of it. "S-stay away!" she screamed, backing up in the cave until she hit the far edge of the damp wall. "I mean it! Don't come any closer!"
Tobias was undeterred. He walked into the mouth of the cave. "Kagome, the boys and I had a little talk," he said; his voice tinged with desire. "We decided that, while this spell lasts, what harm would it do to..." Before he could finish, Kagome began screaming at him.
"Don't listen to them, Tobias! They're trying to trick you! I don't want us to do...that! Go away! Fight them! THEY'RE JUST STANDING THERE!!!"
"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome. There are certain...extenuating circumstances to take into account here. Your scent, for one." Tobias walked up to her. He grabbed her left arm and smiled evilly right into her face. "I know I want to."
Kagome shrieked and struggled. Out of pure desperation, she wound up and punched him in the nose.
Oddly enough, this worked. Tobias let go of her and flew through the air, slamming into the far stone wall and smashing his head on the rock. His hand flew to his nose, which was now a bloody mess.
Kagome looked at her fist in pure astonishment, and saw that it was glowing white. My miko powers! Of course...they come to my defense.
"Ow! That fucking hurts! You know I'm hurt already...why would you do that to-" He cut off. Tobias looked at his hand, which was covered in blood from his broken nose. He tried to take a sniff, but only got blood, no air at all.
Tobias began to laugh. He stood back up again. His eyes were back to their normal black color. He marched right out of the cave and faced down the demons again.
"Kagome just broke my nose," he said simply. "Miko powers, I suspect. The upshot is that I can't smell anything anymore." Comprehension dawned on everyone's face, including Kagome's. "So, if you please, I'll continue this fight where we left off." They wasted no time in charging him, and he them.
Tobias began to win. It seemed as though; now that the heat scent had let go of him, he had cleared his mind and redoubled his efforts. He battered Inuyasha, Koga, and Sesshomaru with a vengeance. His sword flashed as if there were five in his hands.
But the demons had increased their efforts as well. They were fighting so heatedly it was as if they would never stop, as if they would keep fighting through all eternity. Hours passed, and they kept on battling. Tobias, even though his head was clear, was tiring rapidly. The battle was shifting in favor of the demons again.
Tobias was on his last legs. He needed to do something, and fast. Koga leaped at him from the left. Out of pure instinct fueled by anger and his sword's power, Tobias whirled on him and smashed a fist into his head as hard as he could.
To his considerable surprise, Koga dropped, and instead of springing back up, snarling; he lay motionless. The other two demons stopped to look. Tobias quickly knelt down and put his hand to Koga's throat. A pulse. I don't have to kill them...I can knock them out! Tobias twirled around and lunged for Sesshomaru. Taken by surprise, the Lord of the Western Lands could only stare dumbly as Tobias rushed at him.
Channeling his power into his fist, Tobias slammed a punch into Sesshomaru's forehead. Sesshomaru was unconscious before he hit the ground. Only Inuyasha now remained.
Tobias turned to face Inuyasha, but in that same instant, Inuyasha shoved Tetsusaiga through Tobias's unprotected stomach.
Tobias gasped, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth as he fell to his knees. Inuyasha kicked him once, for good measure; then turned back to Kagome. She whimpered and backed up, but she was against the wall and it did no good. Inuyasha advanced on her, he was almost in the cave...
"No..." she whispered, almost too softly for even Inuyasha to hear. And in that single word was not anger, or fear, or desperation. It was hopelessness. Hopelessness and terrible sorrow. That the person she loved could do such a thing. As soft as that word was, it reverberated through Inuyasha's head as if she had bellowed it. His human side stirred.
No! it said fiercely. I won't let you rape Kagome! I love her! I WON'T LET YOU!! Inuyasha froze in his tracks and clutched at his head. He howled and howled for the terrible wracks of pain that were pulsing through his mind. Kagome cowered in the corner. Inuyasha fell to his knees. Slowly, he dragged himself out of the cave, as if his very body was rebelling against him.
"Kagome..." he grunted. This was not that guttural voice his demon side had adopted, but his actual voice. And in his voice he held so much pain and sorrow he thought he might burst. "Run..."
Tobias wearily stood up. His face contorted in pain, he began to pull Tetsusaiga out of his stomach.
Kagome inched past him, and slipped out of the cave. She stopped and bent closer to him.
"Inuyasha..." she whispered. "I love you...always..."
"GO!!!" he screamed. Her heat was closer to him, and his demon side was rising up again. Tobias walked over, every step causing him pain. He held his sword in one hand and Tetsusaiga in the other. Summoning his final strength, he brought Tetsusaiga high into the air.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Summoning his final strength, Tobias slammed Tetsusaiga through Inuyasha's back and into the earth. Inuyasha roared in pain as he was smashed into the ground. The incredible might with which the sword had been stuck in the ground pinned him to the ground as effectively as if Kagome had 'sat' him, but likely longer lasting. His eyes were red as he clawed at the ground, trying to free himself. His demon side had taken over again.
"Come on, Kagome," said Tobias. "Let's go." Kagome moved closer to Tobias, and he reached an arm over her shoulder. She recoiled a little, thinking he was making a move on her, but he did nothing. Using that arm to hold himself up; he walked unsteadily away, with her supporting him.
When they were a good distance away (A/N: which took a long time considering Tobias's injuries), Tobias stopped. He turned to Kagome.
"I'm sorry, Kagome," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry..." To Kagome's complete astonishment, he began to cry. "I failed you," he whispered in a ragged voice. "I can't defend you any more."
"No! Don't say that..." Kagome was trying to comfort him, scrambling for answers as this was the LAST thing she expected to happen. "You protected me for almost a full day! Against those three!"
"But I'm useless now," he continued to sob. "I can't fight; I can hardly lift my sword. I can't run; I need your help to walk. And they'll be back on our trail in minutes." Tears streamed down his face as he sat down heavily. "There's nothing more I can do. They'll be tracking us like a couple of bloodhounds. There's no way to get rid of them!" He slammed his fist down on the rock, but this simple gesture took so much of what little energy he had left that he collapsed into lying down.
Kagome pondered his words with a heavy heart. She shared his thoughts, there was nothing they could do, they were like bloodhounds, they...
Bloodhounds???
"Tobias!" He lifted his head a little. "Wait! You haven't failed yet. I have an idea! It's-"
Yeah, you guessed it. It's the end of the chapter. Another cliffhanger. You just want to hunt me down and explain to me why I should resolve my cliffhangers; likely with some very sharp and searing hot metal instruments to drive the point home. I know some people do.
LASAKO! WHERE ARE YOU??? I MUST GET FEEDBACK... feedback... feedback... echo... echo...
Oh yeah. The witch's spells aren't just gibberish, you know. They're actually stanzas from a rather well-known poem, in another language. Whoever gets both the language AND the poem correct gets...a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Hey, what can I do over the Internet? Also you'll get kudos from me in the subsequent chapter.