Hey everybody. I just had a real ass of a day, and at the bottom I'll tell you why. But for now...READ THE BLINKIN' STORY!
Chapter 32: Reinforcements Are En Route
Inuyasha barreled down the dimly lit streets of downtown Tokyo, barely noticing the shocked glances of the few pedestrians still out. All that mattered to him was that Kagome was in trouble, and he needed to get her out of it. He quickened his pace.
Tobias slowly lowered his sword. "Calm down," he said in a placating voice. "It isn't her you want...it's me."
"Yeah," said the man in a grizzled voice. "But we can use her to get to you." He jerked her roughly. Kagome screamed. The man held his hand over her mouth as he spoke.
"Now, put down that sword, and we'll let her live." Tobias's eyes widened. Kagome looked at him, terrified. Don't do it, Tobias! she silently screamed. If you do, he'll kill us both!
"You wouldn't harm a defenseless girl, would you?" said Tobias soothingly. He was obviously stalling for time.
"You think I wouldn't?" roared the man, jamming the gun against Kagome's head.
"Well, you might not. If you have a decent bone in your body..." Tobias took a step forward.
"Don't come any closer!" yelled the man. Tobias stopped. "I know your secret," continued the man, in a quieter voice. "I know the source of your power. It's that sword." Tobias visibly flinched. "So here's what I want you to do. Hand me that sword, and I'll let her live."
"I doubt it," countered Tobias. "You'll probably kill both of us and all your buddies once you get your hands on this." The man's henchmen seemed to realize this. Some backed away, some approached.
"Hey, Boss, he's right!" "You wouldn't hurt us...would you?" "You'd protect us! Right?!"
"SHUT UP!" bellowed the man. "You've got five seconds to give up that sword or the girl dies. One...TWO..."
Tobias was panicked. But suddenly, a flash of red caught his eye. He glanced upward and saw Inuyasha on top of the next building. Tobias grinned. Perhaps this would work after all.
Inuyasha leaped onto a building. Was this...yes! Kagome was down there...a man was holding her with a – what was it? a gun? – next to her head. He was confused for a second. Wait...that's the same thing Tobias got hit with – and the same thing he shot me with! Kagome won't survive that...I have to help her! And kill the bastard who put his hands on MY mate! He leaped down.
"Here you go," Tobias said, almost cheerfully. He unsheathed his sword and tossed it in the air towards them.
To Kagome, the next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion. Everything was happening at once.
- Tobias's sword floating through the air -
- The man tossing her aside and lunging for the sword -
- A blur of red flashing from the sky...Inuyasha? -
- "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!!"
The man was torn to pieces. Tobias bolted and ran for the still-airborne sword, grasping it in the tips of his fingers. The machine-gunners were confused. Who was this new threat? They opened fire on the entire alleyway. Kagome spun to one side and ducked behind a streetlight as bullets peppered the walls around her.
With a roar, Inuyasha pitched into the assassins, ripping them to shreds with his claws and his brute strength. Tobias sliced up two snipers and yanked Inuyasha to one side. He grabbed Kagome with his other arm and pulled the two into a condemned building, away from the battle.
"Listen. They aren't after you two, they're after me. I can hold them off. Inuyasha, I need you to protect Kagome and get her back to the well. Can you make it?" Inuyasha nodded and gripped Kagome, very possessively. "Good. Now go! Run!"
The men gathered outside the door. "Come out of there, Tobias!" one of them barked.
The rusty iron door burst off its hinges and took out one of the men. Before the rest could recover, Tobias barreled out and cut three of them down with one swift stroke. He hissed in pain as an armor-piercing bullet shot through his shoulder, then returned the favor with the taste of his sword.
Inuyasha, holding Kagome, stepped out of the door and ran. He ran, dodging bullets and evading astonished pursuers. A gunner opened fire at them, and Inuyasha howled as bullets ripped through his flesh. He stumbled, but managed to hold Kagome as they rolled into an alley.
"Inuyasha," whispered Kagome. "There's so many of them..."
"Don't worry, mate," growled Inuyasha. "I'll keep you safe. Besides, these are just humans. We take on this many demons every week in Sengoku Jidai, remember? And don't worry about Tobias. He can take care of himself."
Moments later, Tobias came flying in and smashed into the brick wall, sending bits of brick and mortar everywhere. He quickly recollected himself and turned to the other two.
"They've got us surrounded," he hissed. "There's no choice. We'll have to fight our way out." Kagome trembled. "Don't be upset. We can do this, if we just stick together. Inuyasha? Protect Kagome, at all costs. Kagome, see if you can find a safe place to hide. I started this, but we can finish it." Bullets chewed through the bricks in the wall above them. "Ready?"
Inuyasha was suddenly struck by the look on Tobias's face. There was no hint of fear, or doubt, or anxiety. Here was a man who was going to war and was prepared to win. Nothing showed but grim determination. "Ready??" Tobias's voice broke his thoughts.
"GO!" roared Inuyasha. The two of them rushed out and ran smack into a pack of machine-gunners. Before they could squeeze off a single shot, the twin swordsmen were upon them, slashing them to ribbons.
Kagome leaped up and ran, nearly tripping over a startled-looking man who emerged from the shadows. He was in a black trenchcoat and carried a long, white knife. Kagome paid him little attention as she dashed from alcove to alcove, desperately seeking for the safety that could not be had in this chaos. She turned a corner and almost collided with Inuyasha, who was ripping a pack of swordsmen to shreds.
At the far end of the alley, three more men spotted them and let loose with their machine guns. Kagome shrieked and flung her arms over her face to protect herself.
As much to her surprise as anybody's, a translucent blue shield materialized in front of her. The bullets bounced off with as much effect as ping-pong balls. Stunned, the men had only a second to react before Inuyasha leaped at them. Kagome chose to go in the opposite direction. Inuyasha or Tobias could keep me safer... she thought as she dashed blindly, ...but they attract assassins by the dozens, and I don't, so I'm better off just running.
Tobias confronted a squad of rocket launchers. Boggled, some of the men spun heavily in his direction and sent missiles roaring down the path towards him.
Time seemed to slow down as Tobias twisted in midair to compensate. The rockets flew past him at a snail's pace. The rippling heat waves in the air still distorted his vision as he caromed off the side of a building and dived at the squad. His sword techniques made quick work of them.
Far away, on the other side of town, the General stood in a condemned building. He stared into his sword and almost smiled at the antics he saw.
"Amazing," he said in his regular monotone. "That it would be so easy to do such a thing. A rumor here, a whisper there, some information doled out from the shadows, and the entire population of lowlifes and scoundrels is up in arms. All they needed to hear was that Tobias was in town, and they assembled in such a pattern. Sometimes I even amaze myself."
His eyebrows twitched downwards. "Wait...it would not do to get conceited. Many things could happen between now and then. I shall not get caught up in the moment, but see how my plan turns out.
"And for once, that idiot Naraku is not breathing down my neck about his jewel shards or what have you. Doing things alone is always much easier...the years have taught me that much." He regained his normal blank expression. "But he shall miss me, and it will take much effort for me to get him to forgive me, so I must leave." He sheathed his sword. "Things will happen as they happen. Observing will not change a thing. If he comes back, then I will know my plan has failed. If he does not, then I will slay Naraku, collect the jewel shards, and..." He trailed off and walked away.
Naraku raged, stormed, threw things. "The insubordinate weakling!!" he howled. "He leaves...without permission? He will not be able to 'My liege' his way out of this one! When I find him again, I will make sure he understands his place!"
By sheer coincidence; Kagome, Inuyasha, and Tobias all ran into the same alley. Kagome managed to stop in time, Tobias and Inuyasha collided with a thump. Dazed, Tobias staggered backwards until he hit the wall.
"Where the hell have you been?" he gasped. "I've been shot at least five times-"
*BANG!*
Tobias's head snapped back as another bullet hit him in the skull. Shaking his head violently, Tobias ducked down and continued in a low whisper.
"Six times," he growled. "And people have been shooting rockets everywhere. Splitting up isn't working. We need to break the siege together. Ready?"
Again Inuyasha was struck by Tobias's expression. He was desperate, bordering on insanity; but he had a plan and he needed to win. Kagome clambered onto Inuyasha's back.
"GO!" roared Tobias. The three of them sprang from the shadows and blazed past rows of machine-gunners. Tobias sideswiped a group with his sword, without even slowing down. They ran, guns blazing from all sides, death closing in, but they ran!
Inuyasha failed to notice the man with a rocket launcher standing on the other side of the street. With impeccable timing, the man fired his shell. The rocket streaked across the dark night and slammed into the wall just in front of Inuyasha.
The blast knocked Inuyasha off his feet and sent Kagome flying. Inuyasha stagger-tripped and toppled. Snarling, he was about to get up, when a bullet pierced his skull and he fell, unconscious.
Tobias skidded to a halt when he felt the explosion behind him. He spun, searching frantically for Inuyasha and Kagome. Where are those two, goddammit?! His attention, however, was soon diverted. Bullets pinged off his armor as he did an about-face to stare down his opponents.
He let out a groan of despair. He had unwittingly led them into the main thoroughfare, and hundreds of assassins swarmed the street in front of them. They had outpaced them, but they were following at an incredible rate.
Shocked, Tobias could only stare dumbly at the oncoming crowds. He didn't even dodge the missile that was flying right towards him. It slammed into him with the force of a tank shell, and all was fire and death.
Kagome saw none of this. After picking herself up from the rubble, all she could do was run blindly in the direction they had been going. Safety, she thought desperately. If I can get to Inuyasha, then I'll be-
*BANG!*
Kagome felt a crushing pain, like someone had hit her with a sledgehammer. She spun with the force of the blow and knocked her head against a wall. She had only one last thought before blackness crept in.
Bullets hurt a hell of a lot more than I thought they would.
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I just got back from band practice. I play the tuba, see, and I'm marching in formation for two and a half hours. Normally, this is hard but bearable, me being a 104-lb. weakling and all. However...
Today, one of my fellow tuba players (who I shall call John for purposes of anonymity) was really griping at everyone and everything. You know. Being a real bastard. So at the end of practice, partly because of this and partly because the tuba section was goofing off, our section leader (who I shall call Jack) demanded we do a Jay lap. For those not in the know, a Jay lap is a lap around the football field with 15 pushups at every corner. It might not sound that bad, but after you've been marching with a 40-lb. tuba for over two hours; it's a little strenuous.
By the way, I haven't even mentioned the bad part yet.
The bad part is this. Jack (at 6' 3", a real brute of a guy) is barking at us to RUN, PUT OUR REARS IN GEAR. So we run. All except John. His feet were barely leaving the ground and he called it running. So Jack goes up and chews him out. John returns with a volley of insults.
BIG MISTAKE.
Now we must do 30 pushups at every corner, wait an additional 20 minutes after practice to wait for John to catch up to us at the corners, and maintain pushup position (while our arms go numb) while Jack yells at John for not doing pushups right and for mouthing off. Two of the bigger guys in the tuba section were waiting for John as he left. I don't know what they did and I don't want to know. But I have been assured that he is getting his just desserts.
Saying all that makes me feel better. And I hope John isn't reading this, or I'll get the ass beaten out of me next rehearsal.
So...REVIEW! REVIEW, I COMMAND THEE! BOW AND WORSHIP THE ALMIGHTY WRITER! I ALONE CAN SUPPLY YOU WITH MORE STORY GOODNESS! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! Ergh...mad with power...just disregard all that and review.
And to cinnamin girl: Think about it. The purpose of 'heat' in any animal is to alert the male that the female is most fertile, so now would be a good time to mate to ensure conception. So, chew on that while you read the story, and it'll make more sense. Toodles!