Disclaimer: Me. Own Inuyasha. Not. :)
AN: Sorry for any errors in spelling/grammar/punctuation/etc. I know how annoying (and distracting) they can be...although the story's probably not interesting enough to hold your attention like that anyway ;). Anyhow, because I've recently been assigned to a rather nice-but poorly equipped-computer which does not happen to have that wonderfully convenient program called Microsoft Word, I have had to proofread my chapters manually (ugh). Therefore, if you observant readers happen to find a whole myriad of dumb mistakes, it's because I was too freaking lazy to do more than skim carelessly over the words at the speed the cursor moves over them... . Not that that means I don't care; I will of course do my best to spot and destroy any careless error I've made ;P. I apologize again for the inconvenience. Well now, enough of me boring you to sleep...
PS. Does anyone else think I sound like an elderly...? -- By the way, I also apologize for any errors I make in the chronological order of events, and the circumstances in which they happen ;).
Twist
Chapter Two
What the hell?!
I sucked in a sharp breath with a hiss, and winced as the girl let out a shriek high enough to nearly split my eardrums. It took all of my willpower to not chew her out right then and there. I dearly wanted to, but that could wait. There were more pressing matters at hand at the moment.
"MUHAHAHA, I can feel the power of the Shikon no Tama...so close, so close!" I looked then upon the speaker, and wrinkled my nose in disgust. Not only was her reek enough of an incentive to make me want to replace it with lots of blood, she looked as ugly as hell too. Perhaps about sixty feet or so in length, her entire body, excluding the humanlike figure above the waist, consisted of sectioned components, each sprouting at least three hairy insectoid legs on either side. The part of her above the waist was even worse, if possible, than the buggy rest of her. From the waist up, she looked like a nude human woman with a ridiculously evil look on her face. She looked like she could've been fifty years old, if she'd been human. I couldn't care less if she'd looked like a hundred, because at the moment, the thing unwrapped itself from around us, coiling around the human as it lifted her above my head and squeezed a yelp from her.
This would've been all fine and dandy with me, seeing as now I didn't have either the annoying whelp or the stinking bug wrapped around me, if it weren't for the fact that that annoying woman had grabbed hold of my eartails as she'd been pulled away. Now, as a result, I was being yanked along with her.
"Ow ow ow ow! Let go, you stupid bitch!" I yelled, trying to prevent my head from being popped off my neck. Not that there was much I could do about it.
"Kyaaaaaaa----!"
"Stop screaming and let go of me!"
"I can't---!"
"What the hell is----ow ow ow!"
A few seconds and tons of hair loss later she fortunately managed to lose her grip, and I was freed from being her Hair Rope of Rescue. As I shook my head to clear out the stinging coming from my temples, I happened to keep my eyes on the scene in front of me.
I wondered what would happen now. The human was obviously no match for the centipede, and as if to confirm my insightful observation, it squeezed harder, causing the girl to grimace.
"Foolish human! Did you actually think that you could escape from Mistress Centipede?" it cackled. "Hand over the Shikon no Tama now before I eat you!"
"I...don't...know what...you're talking about!" the girl squeaked. She braced her hands on the sides of the exoskeletal surface around her and twisted her face into a frown of deep concentration. This piqued my interest mildly and I looked more closely to see what she would do.
I was so focussed in on her face that I almost didn't notice the glow coming from beneath her hands. As I started to wonder whether she was flushing from her exertion over being squished, or from an urgent need to go to the potty, she took a deep breath and, screwing her eyes shut, yelled out:
"Let me go, you big fat worm!!" at the same time that an intense light- a pink light, for crying out loud- shot out from beneath her fingertips to skewer parts of the bug surrounding her, allowing her to be dropped promptly to the ground as Mistress Centipede writhed about in pain, all the while making a hell of a riot. The girl picked herself off of the ground, and, to my surprise, proceeded to head my way. I stared at her as she approached, unsure of how to respond to what had just happened. What I had just witnessed, that explosion of light, could have been none other than an expression of a miko's power. This girl, who looked so much like Kikyo yet acted like the exact opposite of her, possessed the spiritual power of a shrine maiden while looking and smelling like no other human I'd ever met before. When she had first come up to the tree, she had seemed to be just like any other weak little human running from a scary bug. But now, on closer inspection, I realized that the clothes she wore, as well as that strange tinge in her scent, were more foreign than anything I'd ever encountered. I was curious as to what exactly she was, but another thought came up from behind that one and threatened to overwhelm me with hope. If I could just get her to listen to me, then...
I was about to open my mouth to call out to her when a sudden rush of air, followed closely by an expression of such rage that the eyes bulged and threatened to pop out, swooped in on the girl with mouth wide and teeth glistening. The human had her back to the centipede, but feeling the movement of the wind, started to turn around. However, she was not quick enough, and before I could even utter out a warning, Mistress Centipede had the girl in her jaws and was flying out towards the sky with her prize. I mentally cursed myself for not seeing it coming sooner. Had I actually thought that some little fireworks from an otherwise useless human could finish off a bug, however weak, of that size? I sighed. I wasn't really interested in the human- Mistress Centipede could have her for dinner after I was done for all I cared- but the bug had
mentioned something of interest to me. The Shikon no Tama. It was still around. Well, why wouldn't it be? I didn't know how long I'd been stuck to this tree, but it couldn't have been more than four or five years at most, judging from my current physical condition. If I could get my hands on the Jewel, then I could finish the wish Kikyo had interrupted and become a full demon. Then, insects like Mistress Centipede would be of no concern to me.
At the moment, however, I was at a disadvantage. Mistress Centipede had carried away the supposed bearer of the Jewel, that girl, so I would be lucky even to get the human back in one piece. If I couldn't get the Jewel itself, then I would at least need the human, because from what I'd seen, there was a possibility-a very small one at that, but a possibility nonetheless-that she possessed enough spiritual power to break the seal on this stupid arrow. If I could just get free of this tree, then I could easily handle Mistress Centipede and the human. Getting the Shikon no Tama then would be no problem. I thought of how I would like to get my claws on that pompous excuse for a demon, and allowed myself a smile at the image. Now all I had to do was to think of some way to get her down here with the human, whom I hoped she had not torn completely to pieces yet.
Just as I was about to call out a taunt to her, something fell to the ground a few feet from me, bounced and rolled a bit in a way that was somehow familiar, and finally came to a stop beneath my feet. I looked down to see the girl lying facedown in the dirt by the tree. I made to call her to see if she was concious when I was stopped by the smell of blood. Looking more closely, I noticed a dark stain on her right side beneath the ribs. It didn't seem that large to me, but it must've been enough to make her pass out. I was wondering how I could get her to pull out the arrow now in her current state when Mistress Centipede came along and helpfully solved my problem for me by wrapping herself around the trunk again, therefore pushing the human up against me. That wasn't the only thing she did. While being scooped up and pressed against me the girl seemed to have regained conciousness, and was currently staring at me groggily. As I waited for her to get her bearings, I glanced at Mistress Centipede and immediately regretted doing so. Her humanoid figure had transformed and was now covered in sallow, clammy-looking skin, while her face was now an unrecognizable and even uglier mess of bulging red eyes, slitty nostrils and jutting teeth too big for her jaws. She no longer resembled any human woman, and the sight of her now made my knuckles crack in anticipation of her fatal division.
Mistress Centipede seemed to notice my smirk and slid around to puff her bad breath in my face. I twisted my face in disgust and spat out, "Hey, you talk big and think you're so important, but in reality you're just a pathetic worm who couldn't even defeat one little human." Her eyes opened wider, if possible, and she hovered to and fro in front of me as if agitated. I was tired of her boasting about herself and felt the need to make my complaint known. With a snort, she replied, "HA! You're just a hanyou, aren't you," while snickering between sickening blasts of putrid puffs. I tried to close my nostrils, to no avail. "All I need to do is bite your little head off and you won't be able to mouth off anymore." She loomed in close as if to do just that, making me want to punch her right in those bulby eyeballs of hers.
"Keh! You think you're so powerful, but the only reason you're still alive is because I'm stuck to this tree. If I were free, I wouldn't even need three seconds to get rid of you," I sneered, putting as much scorn as I could muster into my words. If I could get her distracted with rage, then it would buy me some time to get the now wary human to pull out the arrow.
"How DARE you insult ME, you insolent half-breed!!" Mistress Centipede brought herself up to some height, preparing to dive down at us. Now was my chance. I looked down at the human, who was staring at me with an expression of confusion mixed with incredulity. I spoke slowly and in a low voice, not wanting to startle her too much.
"Hey, do you think you could pull out this arrow?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the furious centipede in the air.
"W-what?!" It appeared that she did not realize the full extent of the situation. I lost my patience and glared down at her, causing her to flinch.
"I said, can you pull out this arrow or not?" I snapped, flicking my gaze towards the bug again. She seemed about to dive. Impatiently, I continued. "Look, it's either pull out this arrow or get eaten by Mistress Centipede over there, and I really don't think you'd want that, would you? At least with me you'll have a chance." She stared at me a moment, then lowered her gaze.
I looked back up to see the insect rushing down towards us. A tug at my shoulder told me that the human had grasped the arrow and was about to pull it out. Wishing she would just hurry up and do it, I braced myself for the pain. Instead, the arrow seemed to glow with a soft white light. After a moment, it shattered into an innumerable amount of minuscule pieces and disappeared in a flash of bright light. Before I had time to be surprised, I felt a distant throb permeat my entire being. It came a second time, causing my blood to pound in my veins and my sight to blur. When the pulsing happened a third time, bringing warmth and energy with it, I felt a subtle change take place in my mind. It was as if a tension I hadn't known was there had been lifted, and I could finally breathe freely. I took a deep breathe, luxuriating in the sensation of air flowing easily to my lungs, and then sprang into action. I was eager to move, to flex my claws and feel that flesh rip apart in my hands. As a smile crept onto my face, I shot towards Mistress Centipede with a giddiness I had not felt in a long time.
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Har har har! I've finally finished another chapter! Whoo yeah
Oh yeah, there's something I have to clarify: In the first chapter, I said, "This story is a product of my imagination." Now, that would've been fine except for the wee little fact that I'm actually recounting the events from episode one on. So, basically I'm wracking my brain trying to retell the story with all the events in correct sequence and detail and all, and there I go saying that the story is a product of my imagination, when in reality it's just a written copy of the actual story. Hypocritical, you say? Yes, that's exactly it. If anyone is pissed off by now, hold on to your vegetables and let me explain: I'd meant to say that although the events here are based on the actual story, any changes I make to the storyline, not the story itself, would be products of my imagination. It was not my intention to sound as though I owned INUYASHA. Alright, that should clear it up. For those of you who are mad now because you think that I thought you were not observant enough to understand what I'd meant to say, I'm sorry if I sounded like that :).
ThebigW: Yo! Thank you for your generous review, I'm glad I could paint a picture with these words :D. I'm pretty lucky to have such a review for this fick...and I'mma go read your updates in a sec too :D. Thanks again!