Inuyasha
Coming of Age
((Author Note: I keep referring to one of the characters as 'the cat'. If anyone's curious, the cat is actually a cheetah. For some reason I didn't want to call it the cheetah youkai or the cheetah. Oh well now onto other matters. At the very start I had Kyoko sort of interested in Kisho. That's why she wanted to join up with him if anyone caught that. In reality I wasn't planning on any sort of love interest for Kisho, but my friend asked if Kyoko had an eye for him and that's when it began. Anyways this chapter expands on her feelings a bit more, but not much is going to happen after that since Kisho needs to march his ass to the village to go kill Naraku with everyone. When is that going to happen? I keep saying that they are headed towards the village and so far it's taken about 2 chapters to get close to the village before they backtracked. Ha-ha, well maybe it will happen in the next chapter? shrugs ))
Chapter 19
Tetsusaiga, the sword carved out of my fang has the power to wield the wind scar and destroy life in order to protect and defend at the user's whim. Tenseiga, you were also born of my fangs. Your power heals the living even from death. Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga, your powers were born from my own and thus I separated these powers to be given to my two sons. I knew my sons would confront each other to the death, but the two swords could never clash against one another. They were complete opposites with no median. Their powers could never be combined with each other, yet I have witnessed a strange development as I watched over my grandchildren. Those very powers exist in one single body. The gift to bring death and the gift of life. Coming of age is drawing near and there will be a choice to be made soon that will affect the existence of the living world.
The day was hot and many of the people in the villages were staying indoors while their children played in streams and lakes. Kisho had been staying close to the river for now as he journeyed alone down a small path. Occasionally he would walk in the rivers waters since it was so hot. He was supposed to meet up with his father and everyone else at the village where Naraku was rumored to be headed. Despite impeding doom, Kisho was enjoying himself. He had taken off his coat so he would be cooler, leaving him in his lighter cloths that he wore underneath (I bet you thought he was naked for a brief moment). Kisho had his coat over his shoulder while he walked with his arms behind his head. As he walked his stomach began to growling and Kisho abruptly stopped.
"Hmm...I'm getting a bit hungry. Well if I'm going to fight soon, I better get a good meal, right?" Kisho's stomach growled again and he patted his stomach lightly, "I'll take that as a yes. Off to food!"
Meanwhile...
Inuyasha and the gang had spent the night at the other end of the river in hopes that Kisho would have caught up with them by now. After waiting all day for him a few of the members were getting worried and annoyed with Kisho's tardiness.
"I bet my life he chickened out," Keiji said from behind one of the tree's where he was resting.
"He wouldn't do that," Kyoko said in Kisho's defense. She was resting right beside her brother.
"Ok, then. He became highly distracted and now he's doing something else!" Keiji glanced to his sister who was now giving him a cold look.
"You know damn well he isn't like that."
Despite what Kyoko was saying, at that exact moment in time Kisho was at a village just in time for a party and he was indeed highly distracted.
"Why do you always defend him? What's so good about him?" Keiji demanded as he wrinkled his nose to her.
Kyoko placed a finger to her lips in thought, "Well...he's kind, loyal to his friends, strong, he doesn't ever give up and he's very inspiring."
Keiji started at her for a moment before he realized Kyoko was day dreaming. He waved his hand out in front of her eyes, "Hello? Did I loose a connection to you...? Guess so," Keiji kicked back against the tree again, "You really do have a thing for him."
That brought Kyoko right back from her day dreaming, "I do not! Don't make me hurt you again!"
Keiji gave her a serious look as he faced her with his brown eyes staring directly into her own, "Tell me the truth."
Kyoko sank down slightly, "Well I-"
"Hey you two, the group needs to make a decision on something and we need you both," Miroku said just before Kyoko finished what she was saying.
Kyoko wasn't upset by the interruption and she quickly got to her feet, "Ok!"
She quickly ran off while Keiji waved his hands and arms at her, "Hey you didn't finish what you're saying!"
Keiji sighed before his eyes shot to Miroku, "What?" Miroku said not sure what just happened as he watched Keiji march off.
"Nothing...let's get this over with."
"Hmm...if you say so," Miroku followed after Keiji to join the rest of the group.
Inuyasha waited for everyone to arrive before he began to speak, "Listen, I know we're about to come face to face with Naraku, but I need to find Kisho. He's more important right now, so..."
"We understand," Sango said with a smile, "But I also want to say something. We all want to face Naraku, but we shouldn't march up together. It would be too easy to trap us all at once. I think we should split up."
"It would give us the chance to regain our strength and to take care of any unfinished business," Miroku suggested to everyone who nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled then," Inuyasha said as he began to walk past everyone, "I'm leaving now."
"Umm..." Kyoko began to say but as soon as Inuyasha turned around she felt her throat tighten up and she couldn't get the words out of her mouth.
Inuyasha looked at her for a moment before he snorted, "If you have something to say, then spit it out already."
Kyoko nodded her head lightly as she looked down for a moment, trying to collect herself the best she could, "I would like to go with you. I mean we can't afford you becoming injured...and you may need help."
"Listen I don't need any-"Inuyasha had begun to say before Miroku suddenly hit him square in the stomach with his staff.
"Now, now don't listen to him. He'll be happy to have you go along, you better tell your father."
Kyoko looked at Inuyasha on the ground holding his stomach before she smiled to Miroku, "Ok, thanks."
Miroku waved to her as she ran off before Inuyasha grabbed him by his collar to drag him to the ground, "What was that for!"
"Inuyasha, I swear you're still as dense as ever. She wants to help find Kisho. It's rather cutie really."
Inuyasha released his hold on Miroku as he got up off the ground, "Why? I don't see them talk that much."
Miroku sighed as he walked off, "I give up."
"Huh?" Inuyasha blinked lightly as he watched the monk walk off. His ears twitched slightly in annoyance over the matter.
Since the group had agreed to split up they all began to move their separate ways. Miroku and Sango went off together to Sango's old village. Sango wanted to fix her bone boomerang for the battle and Miroku had agreed to help her. As they both left on Kirara they waved back to Inuyasha and Kyoko who were running along the beaten path they all had followed earlier. Koga and Keiji were headed off to the mountains to see if there would be any other wolf demons willing to help. Even though they didn't have their jewel shards they both still moved at great speeds. They left a trail of dust as they past by everyone. Shippo decided to stay in one of the villages nearby to train for a little bit. He wanted to prefect his fox fire a little bit more before the battle and he also mentioned something about acquiring a weapon.
Since everyone was off doing their own things, it gave Inuyasha less to worry about. He knew they were capable of defending themselves, plus he wasn't their babysitter. Inuyasha had Kisho's scent in the air and he followed it all the way to the river where he had met Kikyo, but the trail ended there. Inuyasha was on all fours sniffing the ground trying to find the scent again. While he was doing that Kyoko was looking for any sort of clues of his whereabouts.
"Grr...I don't like this," Inuyasha said with a growl in his voice. He could also smell Kikyo's scent but he didn't mention it. He still cared for Kikyo, but things were different now and it wasn't the right time to be thinking over old matters again.
"I'm sure he's fine," Kyoko said as she kept searching the ground, "There's no scent of blood. So, he might have traveled in the water for a little bit. It is hot."
"Of course he has to make this more difficult then it is."
"What you are searching for, lies closer then you think," a cloaked man said on the other side of the river. He had appeared before in front of Kagura and now he was standing in the presents of Inuyasha and Kyoko. His dark hood still concealed his identity as his arms rested at his side.
Inuyasha quickly got to his feet, "You know where Kisho is?"
"Perhaps, but he'll be the one to find you. I believe you should be concern more with your own safety."
Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga out while Kyoko pulled out her bow and arrow, "Is that a threat?"
"Oh, no. It was a mere warning. The threat is quiet unknown to you. The last shard you seek will cause tears to be shed and a heart to be broken. When blood is shed the shard will show itself."
Inuyasha felt strange all of a sudden when he listened to the strange cloak man. He felt like his senses and feelings were entangled with each other. Inuyasha didn't like this feeling one bit and he swung Tetsusaiga forward abruptly to release the wind scar at the man. The attack blew away the ground and part of the river, leaving a scar in the land from the attack. Debris was blown everywhere as tiny bits of rock and dirt fell against Inuyasha's white hair.
Kyoko had to shield her eyes from the dirt, but as soon as soon as the dust settled she instantly uncovered her eyes to see if the man had survived the attack. "He's gone. Who was he?"
"I don't' know...."
"Well who ever he was, he's gone for sure now," Kyoko set her arrow back on her back when suddenly she smelled the scent of a youkai she had failed to pick, "Youkai?"
"Huh?" Inuyasha sniffed the air as well. He had also failed to pick up the scent of a youkai nearby. He raised Tetsusaiga again, but before he was able to swing his sword down on the offending youkai, it leaped out from the bushes and slice Inuyasha from his arm down to his chest. The youkai was fast and Inuyasha hardly even saw it as it past by him. The slice caused him to fumble back a bit with Tetsusaiga as he held his wounded arm, "Kyoko, watch out!"
Kyoko's eyes were quick enough to see the creature as it sped towards her. The creature was a cat like youkai. Its entire body frame was light and flexible as it twisted it tail slightly to turn. Kyoko guessed it was built for maximum speed by the way it looked. The creature was skinny; due to the fact it bared no fat, but pure muscle. It had its claws extended on its hands as it ran towards her. The creature had spots all over its body while its tail was longer then most cats Kyoko had seen. Even though this creature was fast, so was Kyoko. As the cat youkai neared her she quickly leaped to the side to avoid its strike. To Kyoko everything moved in slow motion, but as Inuyasha watched everything was passing before his eyes at high speeds. Once the creature missed her it skidded to a stop to face her directly, "You are indeed fast. You're the one I seek."
"What?" Kyoko asked as she kept a close eye on the youkai.
"You have a shikon jewel shard. Yes..., no wolf is as fast as I. I must have the jewel shard."
Kyoko growled at the cat creature, "There's no way you're taking this from me."
"Do you work for Naraku?" Inuyasha yelled out as he slowly joined Kyoko at her side. He was bleeding, but Inuyasha was strong enough to handle the injury.
"No, I know no Naraku. I work for myself," the youkai said as its small ears flickered.
"We're not giving you the shard," Kyoko said with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not asking for it. I'll just take it!" the youkai leaped forward while Inuyasha did the same.
"You can have it if you can go through my Wind Scar."
"I don't need to go through it!" the youkai was so fast it sped right in front of Inuyasha before he could swing once again. The creature spun its body around and kicked him square in the gut knocking Inuyasha straight back into a tree.
While the creature was occupied with fighting Inuyasha Kyoko took her chance and ran towards the cat youkai. She was quick as well and she raised her hand and swung her fist right into the youkai face. The youkai was careless in his prediction and he was struck right in his cheek, knocking it back against the ground. As he skidded across the ground his clawed hands dug into the dirt and he slowed his decent back. He wiped his cheek lightly as he stared at Kyoko with his cold cat eyes "No one has ever hit me in the face before...not even a female."
Kyoko cracked his fingers as she smirked lightly, "Well it's about time someone had then."
The cat like eyes of the youkai narrowed as it got back up on its feet, "You shall pay!
The cat youkai ran towards her again except this time it zig zagged at her. Inuyasha was on his feet again too and this time he had his chance to use his Wind Scar. While the cat was busy zig zagging Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga across the ground releasing its power. The Wind Scar ate away the ground as it headed towards the speeding cat demon. The cat demon side glanced to the attack for a brief moment as it continued towards Kyoko.
Kyoko had her hands ready to strike the creature again. Her eyes kept up with its high speeds as she readied herself. The Wind Scar was just in reach of the cat demon now and just when Inuyasha thought the creature would be swallowed up in its power the cat disappeared. Kyoko also saw the creature disappear, "Where did he go?"
"Right here!" the cat demon sliced through both of Kyoko's leg as it ran past her. The cat had used a quick burst of speed that made it seem like it disappeared. Luckily for Kyoko the attack didn't knock her shard out of her leg. Kyoko was bent over on the ground holding her bleeding legs while the cat turned around on his thin legs, "This has been rather amusing, but this is where the fun ends."
The cat turned its head towards Inuyasha who was gripping his injured arm some again, but his eyes still burned with the will to fight. With a curled lip the speedy cat slowly walked towards Inuyasha, "Perhaps I shall finish your friend off first. I would enjoy peeling off the flesh of a dog. Even if it's only a hanyou."
"You bastard," Inuyasha growled as he rested against Tetsusaiga some. The injury didn't seem that severe at first to Inuyasha, but now he was starting to feel the painful affects of the attack.
The cat extended its claws as it lowered its body slightly to make a quick sprint at him. Its legs pushed off the ground forward, but on its second step some sort of force knocked it back. Like any cat this youkai landed right on its feet as it hissed at its new attacker. Walking out of the shadows of the trees was Sesshomaru with his sword drawn. His cold eyes were narrowed to the cat creature who in return glared back. Sesshomaru drew his sword back to attack, but the cat youkai quickly retreated. It ran towards Kyoko and threw her over its shoulder, "You win this time, but I'm taking this."
"Stop him, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled as he tried to get completely upright.
Sesshomaru didn't say a word as the cat youkai ran off away from them taking Kyoko with him. Sesshomaru casual placed his sword back in his belt as he glanced back to Inuyasha, "Pitiful that a cat got the best of you."
"It's pitiful that you let the cat get away."
"The cat was not my concern and neither are you. Imagine if you were to face Naraku. You would have died by now," Sesshomaru said as he began to walk away.
Inuyasha growled at him, but decided it wasn't the best time to be arguing with his brother. He wasn't sure what Sesshomaru was even doing there in the first place, but whatever the reason. Inuyasha was sort of glad Sesshomaru had intervined.
"Hang on for a little bit, Kyoko. I'll come after you as soon as the bleeding stops," Inuyasha was holding onto his arm as tightly as he could, waiting for the pain to subside and the blood.
Meanwhile, Kyoko was trying her best to struggle against the creature that was casually jogging towards his home, "Let me go!"
"That's hardly an option. Don't try anything either. If you do I'll slice your pretty little neck faster then you could blink."
Kyoko snorted lightly as she continued on struggling. She only hoped someone would find her before she became this cat's play toy.
Ironically the person she was hoping for was actually only a few yards away. Kisho was waving his goodbyes to the villagers after a large festival. The villagers were excited to have a youkai like Kisho and they gave him offerings and fixed his cloths up so they would look nicer, "Ha, ha bye now," Kisho said as he waved.
"Ok, now I have to get back for sure...hey that scent," Kisho lifted his head slightly to catch Kyoko's scent. Kisho didn't have the best sense of smell compared to most dog youkai, but his was better then a humans. Since he knew that was Kyoko's scent he headed straight towards her location. He ran up one of the trees and leapt straight into the air to have a look. He shielded his eyes some the sun's glare as he had a look around. His white and black hair whipped around in his face as his light colored eyes scanned the entire area until he saw her, "Kyoko?"
Kyoko saw Kisho in the air. She blinked a couple of times blankly before she realized it was him, "Kisho!"
"What the?" Kisho said to himself as he slowly fell from the sky to the ground below.
The cat demon looked over his shoulder a growl lightly, "Another friend I presume?"
"Yeah and this one will kick your ass since he's the offspring of the dog youkai back there."
"You mean the hanyou? Ha, don't make me laugh. This should be easy then."
The cat demon leaped forward with a great increase in its speed. Kyoko had notice that this youkai was only fast at short burst, he defiantly slowed down when it came to long distances. The cat looked over his shoulder as it ran to check if anyone was there, "You see, no one's there."
"That's because I'm not right behind you," Kisho said from the right side of the cat. He was running through the trees, dodging only when one came directly in his path. He had a grin across his face that made the cat demon hiss in anger at his confidence.
"You damn dog!" the cat demon swung its claws and some sort of youkai energy blades were thrown from them. The little energy claws sliced through the trees right towards Kisho. Having no other choice Kisho leapt through the tree canopies. Kisho quickly swung his claws to make a hole through the leaves and branches as he busted through the tree tops. Surprisingly one of the claw attacks had sliced Kisho's cheek without him even knowing it at first. He wiped his cheek with his hand and licked the blood, "So you want to play games? Alright, then let's play."
Kisho's cheek healed in an instant as he raised one of his claws to try a new technique he had been itching to try for awhile. His claws swung just ahead of the speeding cat's path and at first it seemed like nothing happened, but something indeed was happening. His claws had created a small sonic boom that could be directed. There was no indication the attack had been implicated until the ground suddenly exploded knocking the surprise cat into the air. He dropped Kyoko on the ground while he landed on his feet. Kisho landed on one of the tree branches before he leaped over to the next until he was back on the path where the cat and Kyoko were.
"I'm impressed. There's a small amount of youkai blood in you, yet you are able to wield it so well."
"Enough with the compliments. What are you doing with my friend over there?" Kisho said as he pointed to Kyoko.
"Her? She has a shikon shard. I want it and maybe I'll take her as my little play toy when I get bored."
"Hey! I'm no one's toy. You got that?," Kyoko said with a growl as she waved her fist.
"Listen you sick little hair ball. Give her back unless you want my claws tearing you into little cat nip pieces."
"I believe it's I who will be making you into a chew toy."
The cat demon leaped forward just like before in a zig zag fashion. Kyoko's eyes widened as she shouted out to Kisho, "Watch out! He's super fast."
Kisho nodded to her lightly as he watched the cat demon. Kyoko had her hands pressed against her chest. She was afraid that Kisho had no idea just how fast the cat youkai could be. The cat demon suddenly disappeared and Kyoko felt herself holding her breath as she waited for the out come.
Suddenly the cat demon appeared just as Kisho leaped forward with his claws out. The two were suddenly face to face as they leaped past each other. Kyoko felt a wave of relief since Kisho seemed fine for the moment, but she also felt a wave a shock, "Wait a moment how the hell did he see that and not me?"
The cat demon and Kisho landed on the ground at the same time with their backs to each other. It felt like two swordsman had just used their ultimate attacks and now they were waiting for the first to collapse.
"I'm impressed once again," the cat demon said.
"Not to bad..." Kisho said as he suddenly fell to his side.
"Kisho?" Kyoko said in a concern voice as she tried to see what was wrong.
Kisho had the cat's two claws sticking in his shoulder as sweat rolled off his forehead. The cat sneered as it looked down to him. Across the cats face was Kisho's claw marks burned in the cat's skin, "You managed to hit me. Not too many are able to do that. My poison claws should have you paralyzed for the rest of the day. I'll leave you here to the other youkai who may want a snack. Later puppy."
The cat demon walked over to Kyoko and threw her back over his shoulder again. Kyoko stared at Kisho who was now lying against the ground motionless. His eyes were shut while his hair rested against the ground just as lifeless as he was. Kyoko felt herself trying to reach out to him, but it was no use as she watched his image slowly disappear from her eyes.
The cat demon had taken her to some sort of underground hideout. Well it wasn't as fantasy as Naraku's. In simple words the cat demons hideout was really just a hole in the ground with some tunnels. He had sliced open Kyoko's leg to take her shard. Once he had her shard he tied her hands up and locked her in one of the hole tunnels. Kyoko almost felt like crying as she sat there. How could she be so careless to loose her jewel too? At lest it wasn't in Naraku's hands.
"I hope Kisho is ok...maybe Inuyasha found him and now they're looking for me..." Kyoko sighed heavily, "Who am I kidding? It's not like he's just going to fall out of the sky."
As soon as Kyoko said that Kisho fell right through the dirt that made up the roof and he landed on his back right in front of Kyoko, "Ow...I think I made it."
"Kisho!" Kyoko said surprised once again, "What? How?"
Kisho sat up rubbing the back of his head, "Huh?"
"Don't huh me! How the hell do you fall through the roof of this place? We're underground."
"Oh, that's easy," Kisho said with a grin as he rubbed the dirt off his face, "I dug. Like any good dog, I can dig a killer hole."
Kyoko felt like squeezing Kisho's neck for being so happy at a time like this, "I thought you were paralyzed."
Kisho scratched his head for a moment, "Oh yeah. I guess not. Maybe my healing powers stopped it? I felt fine after an hour or two."
"I'm so...I don't even know!" Kyoko shouted for no real reason.
Kisho laughed lightly to her as he got to his feet, "Ha, didn't think you were the nervous type."
"What?" Kyoko questioned as Kisho sliced through her restraints.
"You seem calm all the time. This is the first time I've seen you so worked up. It's sort of funny."
Kyoko felt herself blush as she attempted to ignore him.
"Alright well I don't think you can get out of here with your wounds. So I'll carry you up. Crawl up on my back."
Kyoko stared at him for a moment and this time she really was blushing, "What? Hell no. I can do it myself. Move aside."
Kyoko attempted to get up, but her legs couldn't take the weight and she didn't budge.
Kisho crossed his arms as he watched her, "Are you done? Would you just climb up on me?"
"No! Just shut up," Kyoko said as she covered her face.
Kisho really wasn't catching on why she didn't want to nor did he realize she was blushing, "I won't bite or anything. Come on, don't make me use force."
Kyoko grumbled some before she finally allowed him to help. Kisho gathered her up on his back and he kept a firm grip on her injured legs. He moved under the hole he made and leapt straight up towards fresh air. Kyoko held onto his neck gently. She was just glad Keiji wasn't there to see this. "Kisho...he took my shard."
"Really? I knocked him out before I dug the hole. Do you realize that cat isn't that fast when it comes to long runs? All I did was wore him out."
Kyoko was relieved to here that, "Good. Just one less shard Naraku has."
Kisho nodded just as they both burst out of the hole and landed back above ground.
"Hmm...something's not right here," Kisho said as he set Kyoko down on the ground.
"What?" Kyoko asked as she looked around and that's when she saw the cat demon against the tree except there was a big problem. The cat demon was dead and all over the place including the tree, "Oh my...he's all over the place."
Kisho growled as he swung his claws suddenly toward the trees above. Leaping out from the canopy was Iluska with the shard in hand, "You're becoming quiet observant brother. Have you taken control of your powers some?"
"Perhaps, but why did you do that to the cat? It was highly unnecessary."
Iluska laughed as she leaped into the sky and disappeared, "My dear brother. Everything I do is necessary. Naraku just needs the last shard and then your life will be in my hands."
Kisho looked to the sky as he listened to Iluska's voice until it completely faded away. Kyoko watched Kisho closely. His face carried a heavy burden and a hint of sadness was there.
"Kisho? Are you ok?"
Kisho felt himself being brought back to reality and he looked down to the injured Kyoko. He covered his feelings with a light smile as he bent down to her level, "I should be saying that to you."
"I'm fine, but what she said..."
"About being my sister?" Kisho said as Kyoko nodded her head lightly.
"I was going to tell everyone later. I didn't want the news to affect anyone's fighting judgment."
"Then you are ok with us fighting your own sister?"
Kisho opened his mouth to saying something, but he stopped abruptly. His teeth were clamped down tightly as he flung his arms into the air, "I don't know! She's always wanted to kill me. You would think I'd feel the same way towards her."
"But you don't."
Kisho nodded his head, "I don't. Despite what she has become, I can't destroy my own sister."
Kisho rubbed his head lightly as he laughed to himself, "It's funny really. Not to long ago I was living any loser kid's life. I had no friends, no future, nothing. I went to school, came home to day dream about places far from my reach. I dreamt a day where I would have a family with a mom and dad who would check up on me at night and tell me that they loved me. Now..." Kisho sank down to the ground.
Kyoko tilted her head towards Kisho as she nudged him lightly with her hand to get his attention. When Kisho looked up his eyes were streaked with tears. Kyoko felt sorry for Kisho and she felt like she needed to comfort him, "You know...things aren't that bad now for you. You have friends who care for you and your father cares so much for you that he's willing to risk his very life to keep you safe. You've manage to fit in so well here. This is where you belong."
"But it isn't," Kisho said as he rested his head against his knee, "I'm not from this time."
Kyoko sighed lightly as she leaned over towards his rested head. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged his head lightly, "It doesn't matter. You have friends who believe in you now. Past, future doesn't matter."
Kisho smiled lightly as he listened to her, "Thank you. I will have to deal with this as it comes...for now I'm glad to know there's a place that I truly belong in."
Coming of Age
((Author Note: I keep referring to one of the characters as 'the cat'. If anyone's curious, the cat is actually a cheetah. For some reason I didn't want to call it the cheetah youkai or the cheetah. Oh well now onto other matters. At the very start I had Kyoko sort of interested in Kisho. That's why she wanted to join up with him if anyone caught that. In reality I wasn't planning on any sort of love interest for Kisho, but my friend asked if Kyoko had an eye for him and that's when it began. Anyways this chapter expands on her feelings a bit more, but not much is going to happen after that since Kisho needs to march his ass to the village to go kill Naraku with everyone. When is that going to happen? I keep saying that they are headed towards the village and so far it's taken about 2 chapters to get close to the village before they backtracked. Ha-ha, well maybe it will happen in the next chapter? shrugs ))
Chapter 19
Tetsusaiga, the sword carved out of my fang has the power to wield the wind scar and destroy life in order to protect and defend at the user's whim. Tenseiga, you were also born of my fangs. Your power heals the living even from death. Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga, your powers were born from my own and thus I separated these powers to be given to my two sons. I knew my sons would confront each other to the death, but the two swords could never clash against one another. They were complete opposites with no median. Their powers could never be combined with each other, yet I have witnessed a strange development as I watched over my grandchildren. Those very powers exist in one single body. The gift to bring death and the gift of life. Coming of age is drawing near and there will be a choice to be made soon that will affect the existence of the living world.
The day was hot and many of the people in the villages were staying indoors while their children played in streams and lakes. Kisho had been staying close to the river for now as he journeyed alone down a small path. Occasionally he would walk in the rivers waters since it was so hot. He was supposed to meet up with his father and everyone else at the village where Naraku was rumored to be headed. Despite impeding doom, Kisho was enjoying himself. He had taken off his coat so he would be cooler, leaving him in his lighter cloths that he wore underneath (I bet you thought he was naked for a brief moment). Kisho had his coat over his shoulder while he walked with his arms behind his head. As he walked his stomach began to growling and Kisho abruptly stopped.
"Hmm...I'm getting a bit hungry. Well if I'm going to fight soon, I better get a good meal, right?" Kisho's stomach growled again and he patted his stomach lightly, "I'll take that as a yes. Off to food!"
Meanwhile...
Inuyasha and the gang had spent the night at the other end of the river in hopes that Kisho would have caught up with them by now. After waiting all day for him a few of the members were getting worried and annoyed with Kisho's tardiness.
"I bet my life he chickened out," Keiji said from behind one of the tree's where he was resting.
"He wouldn't do that," Kyoko said in Kisho's defense. She was resting right beside her brother.
"Ok, then. He became highly distracted and now he's doing something else!" Keiji glanced to his sister who was now giving him a cold look.
"You know damn well he isn't like that."
Despite what Kyoko was saying, at that exact moment in time Kisho was at a village just in time for a party and he was indeed highly distracted.
"Why do you always defend him? What's so good about him?" Keiji demanded as he wrinkled his nose to her.
Kyoko placed a finger to her lips in thought, "Well...he's kind, loyal to his friends, strong, he doesn't ever give up and he's very inspiring."
Keiji started at her for a moment before he realized Kyoko was day dreaming. He waved his hand out in front of her eyes, "Hello? Did I loose a connection to you...? Guess so," Keiji kicked back against the tree again, "You really do have a thing for him."
That brought Kyoko right back from her day dreaming, "I do not! Don't make me hurt you again!"
Keiji gave her a serious look as he faced her with his brown eyes staring directly into her own, "Tell me the truth."
Kyoko sank down slightly, "Well I-"
"Hey you two, the group needs to make a decision on something and we need you both," Miroku said just before Kyoko finished what she was saying.
Kyoko wasn't upset by the interruption and she quickly got to her feet, "Ok!"
She quickly ran off while Keiji waved his hands and arms at her, "Hey you didn't finish what you're saying!"
Keiji sighed before his eyes shot to Miroku, "What?" Miroku said not sure what just happened as he watched Keiji march off.
"Nothing...let's get this over with."
"Hmm...if you say so," Miroku followed after Keiji to join the rest of the group.
Inuyasha waited for everyone to arrive before he began to speak, "Listen, I know we're about to come face to face with Naraku, but I need to find Kisho. He's more important right now, so..."
"We understand," Sango said with a smile, "But I also want to say something. We all want to face Naraku, but we shouldn't march up together. It would be too easy to trap us all at once. I think we should split up."
"It would give us the chance to regain our strength and to take care of any unfinished business," Miroku suggested to everyone who nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled then," Inuyasha said as he began to walk past everyone, "I'm leaving now."
"Umm..." Kyoko began to say but as soon as Inuyasha turned around she felt her throat tighten up and she couldn't get the words out of her mouth.
Inuyasha looked at her for a moment before he snorted, "If you have something to say, then spit it out already."
Kyoko nodded her head lightly as she looked down for a moment, trying to collect herself the best she could, "I would like to go with you. I mean we can't afford you becoming injured...and you may need help."
"Listen I don't need any-"Inuyasha had begun to say before Miroku suddenly hit him square in the stomach with his staff.
"Now, now don't listen to him. He'll be happy to have you go along, you better tell your father."
Kyoko looked at Inuyasha on the ground holding his stomach before she smiled to Miroku, "Ok, thanks."
Miroku waved to her as she ran off before Inuyasha grabbed him by his collar to drag him to the ground, "What was that for!"
"Inuyasha, I swear you're still as dense as ever. She wants to help find Kisho. It's rather cutie really."
Inuyasha released his hold on Miroku as he got up off the ground, "Why? I don't see them talk that much."
Miroku sighed as he walked off, "I give up."
"Huh?" Inuyasha blinked lightly as he watched the monk walk off. His ears twitched slightly in annoyance over the matter.
Since the group had agreed to split up they all began to move their separate ways. Miroku and Sango went off together to Sango's old village. Sango wanted to fix her bone boomerang for the battle and Miroku had agreed to help her. As they both left on Kirara they waved back to Inuyasha and Kyoko who were running along the beaten path they all had followed earlier. Koga and Keiji were headed off to the mountains to see if there would be any other wolf demons willing to help. Even though they didn't have their jewel shards they both still moved at great speeds. They left a trail of dust as they past by everyone. Shippo decided to stay in one of the villages nearby to train for a little bit. He wanted to prefect his fox fire a little bit more before the battle and he also mentioned something about acquiring a weapon.
Since everyone was off doing their own things, it gave Inuyasha less to worry about. He knew they were capable of defending themselves, plus he wasn't their babysitter. Inuyasha had Kisho's scent in the air and he followed it all the way to the river where he had met Kikyo, but the trail ended there. Inuyasha was on all fours sniffing the ground trying to find the scent again. While he was doing that Kyoko was looking for any sort of clues of his whereabouts.
"Grr...I don't like this," Inuyasha said with a growl in his voice. He could also smell Kikyo's scent but he didn't mention it. He still cared for Kikyo, but things were different now and it wasn't the right time to be thinking over old matters again.
"I'm sure he's fine," Kyoko said as she kept searching the ground, "There's no scent of blood. So, he might have traveled in the water for a little bit. It is hot."
"Of course he has to make this more difficult then it is."
"What you are searching for, lies closer then you think," a cloaked man said on the other side of the river. He had appeared before in front of Kagura and now he was standing in the presents of Inuyasha and Kyoko. His dark hood still concealed his identity as his arms rested at his side.
Inuyasha quickly got to his feet, "You know where Kisho is?"
"Perhaps, but he'll be the one to find you. I believe you should be concern more with your own safety."
Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga out while Kyoko pulled out her bow and arrow, "Is that a threat?"
"Oh, no. It was a mere warning. The threat is quiet unknown to you. The last shard you seek will cause tears to be shed and a heart to be broken. When blood is shed the shard will show itself."
Inuyasha felt strange all of a sudden when he listened to the strange cloak man. He felt like his senses and feelings were entangled with each other. Inuyasha didn't like this feeling one bit and he swung Tetsusaiga forward abruptly to release the wind scar at the man. The attack blew away the ground and part of the river, leaving a scar in the land from the attack. Debris was blown everywhere as tiny bits of rock and dirt fell against Inuyasha's white hair.
Kyoko had to shield her eyes from the dirt, but as soon as soon as the dust settled she instantly uncovered her eyes to see if the man had survived the attack. "He's gone. Who was he?"
"I don't' know...."
"Well who ever he was, he's gone for sure now," Kyoko set her arrow back on her back when suddenly she smelled the scent of a youkai she had failed to pick, "Youkai?"
"Huh?" Inuyasha sniffed the air as well. He had also failed to pick up the scent of a youkai nearby. He raised Tetsusaiga again, but before he was able to swing his sword down on the offending youkai, it leaped out from the bushes and slice Inuyasha from his arm down to his chest. The youkai was fast and Inuyasha hardly even saw it as it past by him. The slice caused him to fumble back a bit with Tetsusaiga as he held his wounded arm, "Kyoko, watch out!"
Kyoko's eyes were quick enough to see the creature as it sped towards her. The creature was a cat like youkai. Its entire body frame was light and flexible as it twisted it tail slightly to turn. Kyoko guessed it was built for maximum speed by the way it looked. The creature was skinny; due to the fact it bared no fat, but pure muscle. It had its claws extended on its hands as it ran towards her. The creature had spots all over its body while its tail was longer then most cats Kyoko had seen. Even though this creature was fast, so was Kyoko. As the cat youkai neared her she quickly leaped to the side to avoid its strike. To Kyoko everything moved in slow motion, but as Inuyasha watched everything was passing before his eyes at high speeds. Once the creature missed her it skidded to a stop to face her directly, "You are indeed fast. You're the one I seek."
"What?" Kyoko asked as she kept a close eye on the youkai.
"You have a shikon jewel shard. Yes..., no wolf is as fast as I. I must have the jewel shard."
Kyoko growled at the cat creature, "There's no way you're taking this from me."
"Do you work for Naraku?" Inuyasha yelled out as he slowly joined Kyoko at her side. He was bleeding, but Inuyasha was strong enough to handle the injury.
"No, I know no Naraku. I work for myself," the youkai said as its small ears flickered.
"We're not giving you the shard," Kyoko said with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not asking for it. I'll just take it!" the youkai leaped forward while Inuyasha did the same.
"You can have it if you can go through my Wind Scar."
"I don't need to go through it!" the youkai was so fast it sped right in front of Inuyasha before he could swing once again. The creature spun its body around and kicked him square in the gut knocking Inuyasha straight back into a tree.
While the creature was occupied with fighting Inuyasha Kyoko took her chance and ran towards the cat youkai. She was quick as well and she raised her hand and swung her fist right into the youkai face. The youkai was careless in his prediction and he was struck right in his cheek, knocking it back against the ground. As he skidded across the ground his clawed hands dug into the dirt and he slowed his decent back. He wiped his cheek lightly as he stared at Kyoko with his cold cat eyes "No one has ever hit me in the face before...not even a female."
Kyoko cracked his fingers as she smirked lightly, "Well it's about time someone had then."
The cat like eyes of the youkai narrowed as it got back up on its feet, "You shall pay!
The cat youkai ran towards her again except this time it zig zagged at her. Inuyasha was on his feet again too and this time he had his chance to use his Wind Scar. While the cat was busy zig zagging Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga across the ground releasing its power. The Wind Scar ate away the ground as it headed towards the speeding cat demon. The cat demon side glanced to the attack for a brief moment as it continued towards Kyoko.
Kyoko had her hands ready to strike the creature again. Her eyes kept up with its high speeds as she readied herself. The Wind Scar was just in reach of the cat demon now and just when Inuyasha thought the creature would be swallowed up in its power the cat disappeared. Kyoko also saw the creature disappear, "Where did he go?"
"Right here!" the cat demon sliced through both of Kyoko's leg as it ran past her. The cat had used a quick burst of speed that made it seem like it disappeared. Luckily for Kyoko the attack didn't knock her shard out of her leg. Kyoko was bent over on the ground holding her bleeding legs while the cat turned around on his thin legs, "This has been rather amusing, but this is where the fun ends."
The cat turned its head towards Inuyasha who was gripping his injured arm some again, but his eyes still burned with the will to fight. With a curled lip the speedy cat slowly walked towards Inuyasha, "Perhaps I shall finish your friend off first. I would enjoy peeling off the flesh of a dog. Even if it's only a hanyou."
"You bastard," Inuyasha growled as he rested against Tetsusaiga some. The injury didn't seem that severe at first to Inuyasha, but now he was starting to feel the painful affects of the attack.
The cat extended its claws as it lowered its body slightly to make a quick sprint at him. Its legs pushed off the ground forward, but on its second step some sort of force knocked it back. Like any cat this youkai landed right on its feet as it hissed at its new attacker. Walking out of the shadows of the trees was Sesshomaru with his sword drawn. His cold eyes were narrowed to the cat creature who in return glared back. Sesshomaru drew his sword back to attack, but the cat youkai quickly retreated. It ran towards Kyoko and threw her over its shoulder, "You win this time, but I'm taking this."
"Stop him, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled as he tried to get completely upright.
Sesshomaru didn't say a word as the cat youkai ran off away from them taking Kyoko with him. Sesshomaru casual placed his sword back in his belt as he glanced back to Inuyasha, "Pitiful that a cat got the best of you."
"It's pitiful that you let the cat get away."
"The cat was not my concern and neither are you. Imagine if you were to face Naraku. You would have died by now," Sesshomaru said as he began to walk away.
Inuyasha growled at him, but decided it wasn't the best time to be arguing with his brother. He wasn't sure what Sesshomaru was even doing there in the first place, but whatever the reason. Inuyasha was sort of glad Sesshomaru had intervined.
"Hang on for a little bit, Kyoko. I'll come after you as soon as the bleeding stops," Inuyasha was holding onto his arm as tightly as he could, waiting for the pain to subside and the blood.
Meanwhile, Kyoko was trying her best to struggle against the creature that was casually jogging towards his home, "Let me go!"
"That's hardly an option. Don't try anything either. If you do I'll slice your pretty little neck faster then you could blink."
Kyoko snorted lightly as she continued on struggling. She only hoped someone would find her before she became this cat's play toy.
Ironically the person she was hoping for was actually only a few yards away. Kisho was waving his goodbyes to the villagers after a large festival. The villagers were excited to have a youkai like Kisho and they gave him offerings and fixed his cloths up so they would look nicer, "Ha, ha bye now," Kisho said as he waved.
"Ok, now I have to get back for sure...hey that scent," Kisho lifted his head slightly to catch Kyoko's scent. Kisho didn't have the best sense of smell compared to most dog youkai, but his was better then a humans. Since he knew that was Kyoko's scent he headed straight towards her location. He ran up one of the trees and leapt straight into the air to have a look. He shielded his eyes some the sun's glare as he had a look around. His white and black hair whipped around in his face as his light colored eyes scanned the entire area until he saw her, "Kyoko?"
Kyoko saw Kisho in the air. She blinked a couple of times blankly before she realized it was him, "Kisho!"
"What the?" Kisho said to himself as he slowly fell from the sky to the ground below.
The cat demon looked over his shoulder a growl lightly, "Another friend I presume?"
"Yeah and this one will kick your ass since he's the offspring of the dog youkai back there."
"You mean the hanyou? Ha, don't make me laugh. This should be easy then."
The cat demon leaped forward with a great increase in its speed. Kyoko had notice that this youkai was only fast at short burst, he defiantly slowed down when it came to long distances. The cat looked over his shoulder as it ran to check if anyone was there, "You see, no one's there."
"That's because I'm not right behind you," Kisho said from the right side of the cat. He was running through the trees, dodging only when one came directly in his path. He had a grin across his face that made the cat demon hiss in anger at his confidence.
"You damn dog!" the cat demon swung its claws and some sort of youkai energy blades were thrown from them. The little energy claws sliced through the trees right towards Kisho. Having no other choice Kisho leapt through the tree canopies. Kisho quickly swung his claws to make a hole through the leaves and branches as he busted through the tree tops. Surprisingly one of the claw attacks had sliced Kisho's cheek without him even knowing it at first. He wiped his cheek with his hand and licked the blood, "So you want to play games? Alright, then let's play."
Kisho's cheek healed in an instant as he raised one of his claws to try a new technique he had been itching to try for awhile. His claws swung just ahead of the speeding cat's path and at first it seemed like nothing happened, but something indeed was happening. His claws had created a small sonic boom that could be directed. There was no indication the attack had been implicated until the ground suddenly exploded knocking the surprise cat into the air. He dropped Kyoko on the ground while he landed on his feet. Kisho landed on one of the tree branches before he leaped over to the next until he was back on the path where the cat and Kyoko were.
"I'm impressed. There's a small amount of youkai blood in you, yet you are able to wield it so well."
"Enough with the compliments. What are you doing with my friend over there?" Kisho said as he pointed to Kyoko.
"Her? She has a shikon shard. I want it and maybe I'll take her as my little play toy when I get bored."
"Hey! I'm no one's toy. You got that?," Kyoko said with a growl as she waved her fist.
"Listen you sick little hair ball. Give her back unless you want my claws tearing you into little cat nip pieces."
"I believe it's I who will be making you into a chew toy."
The cat demon leaped forward just like before in a zig zag fashion. Kyoko's eyes widened as she shouted out to Kisho, "Watch out! He's super fast."
Kisho nodded to her lightly as he watched the cat demon. Kyoko had her hands pressed against her chest. She was afraid that Kisho had no idea just how fast the cat youkai could be. The cat demon suddenly disappeared and Kyoko felt herself holding her breath as she waited for the out come.
Suddenly the cat demon appeared just as Kisho leaped forward with his claws out. The two were suddenly face to face as they leaped past each other. Kyoko felt a wave of relief since Kisho seemed fine for the moment, but she also felt a wave a shock, "Wait a moment how the hell did he see that and not me?"
The cat demon and Kisho landed on the ground at the same time with their backs to each other. It felt like two swordsman had just used their ultimate attacks and now they were waiting for the first to collapse.
"I'm impressed once again," the cat demon said.
"Not to bad..." Kisho said as he suddenly fell to his side.
"Kisho?" Kyoko said in a concern voice as she tried to see what was wrong.
Kisho had the cat's two claws sticking in his shoulder as sweat rolled off his forehead. The cat sneered as it looked down to him. Across the cats face was Kisho's claw marks burned in the cat's skin, "You managed to hit me. Not too many are able to do that. My poison claws should have you paralyzed for the rest of the day. I'll leave you here to the other youkai who may want a snack. Later puppy."
The cat demon walked over to Kyoko and threw her back over his shoulder again. Kyoko stared at Kisho who was now lying against the ground motionless. His eyes were shut while his hair rested against the ground just as lifeless as he was. Kyoko felt herself trying to reach out to him, but it was no use as she watched his image slowly disappear from her eyes.
The cat demon had taken her to some sort of underground hideout. Well it wasn't as fantasy as Naraku's. In simple words the cat demons hideout was really just a hole in the ground with some tunnels. He had sliced open Kyoko's leg to take her shard. Once he had her shard he tied her hands up and locked her in one of the hole tunnels. Kyoko almost felt like crying as she sat there. How could she be so careless to loose her jewel too? At lest it wasn't in Naraku's hands.
"I hope Kisho is ok...maybe Inuyasha found him and now they're looking for me..." Kyoko sighed heavily, "Who am I kidding? It's not like he's just going to fall out of the sky."
As soon as Kyoko said that Kisho fell right through the dirt that made up the roof and he landed on his back right in front of Kyoko, "Ow...I think I made it."
"Kisho!" Kyoko said surprised once again, "What? How?"
Kisho sat up rubbing the back of his head, "Huh?"
"Don't huh me! How the hell do you fall through the roof of this place? We're underground."
"Oh, that's easy," Kisho said with a grin as he rubbed the dirt off his face, "I dug. Like any good dog, I can dig a killer hole."
Kyoko felt like squeezing Kisho's neck for being so happy at a time like this, "I thought you were paralyzed."
Kisho scratched his head for a moment, "Oh yeah. I guess not. Maybe my healing powers stopped it? I felt fine after an hour or two."
"I'm so...I don't even know!" Kyoko shouted for no real reason.
Kisho laughed lightly to her as he got to his feet, "Ha, didn't think you were the nervous type."
"What?" Kyoko questioned as Kisho sliced through her restraints.
"You seem calm all the time. This is the first time I've seen you so worked up. It's sort of funny."
Kyoko felt herself blush as she attempted to ignore him.
"Alright well I don't think you can get out of here with your wounds. So I'll carry you up. Crawl up on my back."
Kyoko stared at him for a moment and this time she really was blushing, "What? Hell no. I can do it myself. Move aside."
Kyoko attempted to get up, but her legs couldn't take the weight and she didn't budge.
Kisho crossed his arms as he watched her, "Are you done? Would you just climb up on me?"
"No! Just shut up," Kyoko said as she covered her face.
Kisho really wasn't catching on why she didn't want to nor did he realize she was blushing, "I won't bite or anything. Come on, don't make me use force."
Kyoko grumbled some before she finally allowed him to help. Kisho gathered her up on his back and he kept a firm grip on her injured legs. He moved under the hole he made and leapt straight up towards fresh air. Kyoko held onto his neck gently. She was just glad Keiji wasn't there to see this. "Kisho...he took my shard."
"Really? I knocked him out before I dug the hole. Do you realize that cat isn't that fast when it comes to long runs? All I did was wore him out."
Kyoko was relieved to here that, "Good. Just one less shard Naraku has."
Kisho nodded just as they both burst out of the hole and landed back above ground.
"Hmm...something's not right here," Kisho said as he set Kyoko down on the ground.
"What?" Kyoko asked as she looked around and that's when she saw the cat demon against the tree except there was a big problem. The cat demon was dead and all over the place including the tree, "Oh my...he's all over the place."
Kisho growled as he swung his claws suddenly toward the trees above. Leaping out from the canopy was Iluska with the shard in hand, "You're becoming quiet observant brother. Have you taken control of your powers some?"
"Perhaps, but why did you do that to the cat? It was highly unnecessary."
Iluska laughed as she leaped into the sky and disappeared, "My dear brother. Everything I do is necessary. Naraku just needs the last shard and then your life will be in my hands."
Kisho looked to the sky as he listened to Iluska's voice until it completely faded away. Kyoko watched Kisho closely. His face carried a heavy burden and a hint of sadness was there.
"Kisho? Are you ok?"
Kisho felt himself being brought back to reality and he looked down to the injured Kyoko. He covered his feelings with a light smile as he bent down to her level, "I should be saying that to you."
"I'm fine, but what she said..."
"About being my sister?" Kisho said as Kyoko nodded her head lightly.
"I was going to tell everyone later. I didn't want the news to affect anyone's fighting judgment."
"Then you are ok with us fighting your own sister?"
Kisho opened his mouth to saying something, but he stopped abruptly. His teeth were clamped down tightly as he flung his arms into the air, "I don't know! She's always wanted to kill me. You would think I'd feel the same way towards her."
"But you don't."
Kisho nodded his head, "I don't. Despite what she has become, I can't destroy my own sister."
Kisho rubbed his head lightly as he laughed to himself, "It's funny really. Not to long ago I was living any loser kid's life. I had no friends, no future, nothing. I went to school, came home to day dream about places far from my reach. I dreamt a day where I would have a family with a mom and dad who would check up on me at night and tell me that they loved me. Now..." Kisho sank down to the ground.
Kyoko tilted her head towards Kisho as she nudged him lightly with her hand to get his attention. When Kisho looked up his eyes were streaked with tears. Kyoko felt sorry for Kisho and she felt like she needed to comfort him, "You know...things aren't that bad now for you. You have friends who care for you and your father cares so much for you that he's willing to risk his very life to keep you safe. You've manage to fit in so well here. This is where you belong."
"But it isn't," Kisho said as he rested his head against his knee, "I'm not from this time."
Kyoko sighed lightly as she leaned over towards his rested head. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged his head lightly, "It doesn't matter. You have friends who believe in you now. Past, future doesn't matter."
Kisho smiled lightly as he listened to her, "Thank you. I will have to deal with this as it comes...for now I'm glad to know there's a place that I truly belong in."