Chapter Six: 'Poor Wretched Creature'
(Author's Note: This really should be in the format of a journal entry told from Sango's point of view. However, due to my complete inability to write in first person, and my sense of drama, I have Changed My Mind. (Ha! I get to do that if I want to!) It has now been translated into third person omniscient and given free rein. Thanks & sorry. Signed, Le'letha.)
It was definitely the sun lancing into her eyes that woke her. Groaning slightly, Kagome sat up and rubbed her aching eyes. Automatically, she glanced around the small room she shared with her four friends and one pet cat. It would appear that nobody else was awake. They all lay quietly on the wooden floor under travel-worn blankets or sat against the wall, slumped over. Reasonably sure no one was watching, she stretched luxuriously and smiled.
You almost look like you're going to purr, a voice remarked in her head.
Do not! she retorted, automatically responding on the same telepathic link, established by complete accident a while back.
Do so.
Knowing that this was exactly the type of repetitive, pointless argument he would win by sheer bullheaded stubbornness, she refrained from responding and looked slightly to one side. Fairly close to her, but far enough so that no one would comment- though everyone knew that it was an excellent way to start another dispute- her best friend lay apparently sleeping, head pillowed on his arms. She knew better.
How long have you been awake? she asked curiously.
I'm not.
Yes, you are.
Prove it.
You're talking to me.
That can be changed if you'd like.
And if I don't? she inquired in the stupidest street-slang of her native time, adopting a silly mental accent she'd invented on the spot simply because she knew it would confuse him.
There was a brief pause in the telepathic conversation while he sorted out the meaning of that mouthful of nonsense.
Feh, he eventually responded silently. She decided to interpret that, correctly, as it happened, as 'say what?' and an end to the conversation.
Whatever, she thought privately. It's too early for his stubbornness.
Stretching again- and thinking loudly Not one word out of you- she rose and padded over to her backpack, looking for clothes to wear. Dragging a change of clothes out of the very bottom of her bag, she went outside to change out of her nightclothes in private. As she turned around to close the door behind her, she smiled indulgently as she noticed that one of Inuyasha's dog-ears had twitched in her direction, tracking her by sound alone.
When she got back, she was not at all surprised to see that most everyone else was awake, except for Shippo, who was still curled in a furry ball, using his bushy fox-tail as a pillow. She was greeted by a chorus of 'good morning' from Miroku and Sango, and a 'miaow' from Kilala.
"Which way are we going today?" she asked. "I've forgotten, if I ever knew."
"North, into the mountains," Miroku responded, ready for the day. "Do we wait for Shippo to get up, or does someone want to carry him?"
"Leave him here, he'll catch up," Inuyasha suggested in a sullen mutter, knowing full well that nobody was listening to him.
"You won't do that!" Shippo protested, sitting up abruptly. "Kagome won't let you," he added confidently, sure he had an unshakeable argument.
"Fox, do you want to start another one-sided fight before you're even two minutes awake?" Inuyasha responded far too pleasantly.
"I've been awake longer than that. Bully," he muttered, scampering to Kagome, who picked him up and settled him on her shoulder, perched on her backpack as usual.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Several hours later, moving on toward noon, the ragtag pack of humans and demons were a good distance away from where they'd started. It was a relatively peaceful day, if a little cloudy, threatening light rain maybe later that evening. Though they hadn't even gotten a quarter of the way to their somewhat vague destination- 'the mountains' were a big place, after all- the land was already beginning to change, becoming more rocky and slightly less forested, though there wasn't really a noticeable difference.
And, of course, there was the other definition of 'peaceful,' and quite frankly the one that made the most difference. It was unusually quiet, no animals, no people, and definitely no demons.
"Strange. It's been a while since we've had a quiet day of hiking like this," Sango mused aloud, breaking the silence.
"It's nice though. No battles, no risk of our lives, no psychotic maniacs trying to kill us…" Miroku joked.
"We need more days like this," Sango agreed, still walking a safe distance from Miroku. If there was one all-applicable rule among all of them, it was 'stay out of arm's reach.'
"Hmmmm," Kagome murmured, not really listening.
What is that buzzing sound? she thought, annoyed. I thought it was just my ears ringing, but we're not even at high altitude yet. And my ears don't go louder and softer and louder and softer and so on and so forth, et cetera. And I'm going to drive myself insane narrating like that.
It's coming from, she concentrated hard for a moment, there. She guessed at a location on her left, and not that far away.
Maybe if I find it, I can shut-it-UP! she thought with unusual ferocity. It's grating on my nerves.
"Guys," she started, breaking in on no conversation at all, "I keep hearing a ringing noise in my ears. Does anyone else hear anything?"
Everyone listened hard.
"I don't hear anything," Inuyasha summed everyone's unspoken conclusions up in his usual brash manner, ears twitching slightly. "You sure you're not imagining things?"
"It's too annoying to be imaginary. I think the source of it is over there." She gestured in the direction she'd guessed at before, lifted Shippo from her shoulder, and handed him to Miroku. "You all keep going; I'll catch up to you once I've turned it off or down or whatever I can do about it."
"Kick it. Hard." Inuyasha suggested. "And you shouldn't go alone."
"Inuyasha, really. We haven't seen sight nor sound of danger today. I don't think it's that far, and I would have sensed a demon. Go on."
He sighed but didn't stop her or follow as she made a sharp left turn into the denser forest off the path, making her way through surprisingly well.
"Be careful, Kagome," he called after her. She waved a cheerful response and vanished from view.
They continued on as she had requested, not overly worried. She could take care of herself, and one call would have brought them all running.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Not surprisingly, Inuyasha was the first to realize what had happened. He stopped short abruptly, eyes wide. An expression of confusion crossed his face, closely followed by shock, fear, and horror; a strange procession of emotions as he rarely showed such openly.
"Inuyasha, what's-" was all anyone could say before he cried out in despair, turned on one heel, and set off running at top speed back the way they had come.
It didn't take long for everyone else to guess.
'Something's happened to Kagome!" Shippo cried, voicing the thought they were all thinking. They hurried back as quickly as they could.
Finding them was easy. The odor of fresh-spilled blood drifted on the wind in overwhelming strength. Even the humans could follow it to its source; a barren circle, surrounded by tall stones, reminiscent of an arena- or a sacrificial altar, even to the blood staining the ground.
The source was equally, painfully obvious. Inuyasha knelt in the rough center of the clearing, crying bitterly but silently, holding Kagome's mangled body in his arms. He didn't seem to be aware of anything else.
Miroku, Sango, and Shippo stumbled back, unable to look for more than an instant.
"No…it's not possible…no…" Sango whispered, unable to form a coherent thought.
Shippo crept into her arms, petrified with horror. She hugged him tightly.
Miroku bit his lip hard and stepped back into the arena, feeling like being sick from the stink of death. He blinked hard for two reasons. To keep back the tears, and because Inuyasha had vanished. Kagome's body still lay there, but the half-demon was gone.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Despite their now deeply felt horror of the area, they continued on their mission to a remote location high in the mountains.
"She would have wanted us to go on," Miroku half-shouted when asked why they were persisting in their undertaking, several days after burying Kagome's body.
"What about Inuyasha?" Sango asked quietly. "We've not seen him…" she trailed off.
"We've heard him though."
She looked at Shippo, startled. "What?"
"You heard those sounds two nights ago, remember? We all heard."
"Shippo, those were the cries of a wild creature."
Shippo smiled without humor, and it seemed more like a grimace. The loss of his foster-mother had caused him to grow up hard, fast, and ice-cold. "Yes. So what? He's gone. He may still be alive, but probably not for long. And anyway," he gulped before continuing, "her loss will have shattered him. Even if we did find him, he wouldn't recognize us. And it was him. I know his voice when I hear it, and I know madness when I hear that too."
"Surely not…"
"Yep. So we go on?"
"Yes! We must!"
Suddenly, a shape materialized at the edge of their camp. It was humanoid in form, though distinctly reptilian, made evident by the flickering tongue and scaly skin.
"Leave these mountains, my territory, or I, Shikar, will be forced to make an example of another of your kindred," it- he- hissed sibilantly.
"Example…" Sango stuttered, then leapt to her feet.
"You!" she shrieked, adding (unprintable) obscenities and hurled her favorite weapon, her truly colossal boomerang, straight at the figure of Shikar. However, all her strength and rage were wasted, as the boomerang passed straight through the figure with not even a ripple to mark its passage. It sailed on and lodged in a tree with a formidable thunk.
"I," Shikar's illusion affirmed happily, sporting a hideous approximation of a smile. "And I will continue to pick you off one by one for as long as you remain here. My borders are five hours straight walk from here, that way." He extended one finger, pointing in a direction slightly to their left. "You have until sundown- I am not unreasonable, as it appears you did not understand my first message. Now go."
Shikar's illusion vanished without a trace.
"So, now we know," Shippo gritted through clenched teeth. "And there's nothing we can do about it!"
Miroku sat down hard and buried his face in his hands. "We'll do as he ordered," he said in barely a whisper. "But next time we see him, if ever, he will pay!" he raged, shouting the last word. He rose and picked up his staff. "Let's go," he said dully, and began trudging southward, followed by Shippo, Shippo, and Kilala, who had been ignored recently and fully understood why.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
That night they heard it again; the horrible, empty sound of Inuyasha's, for so it must have been, cries; a horrifying mixture of wild beast and someone who had once been a person in more pain than he could stand. Miroku stuffed his fingers in his ears and hid under a blanket to cry. Sango wept openly, and Shippo curled into a little ball and stared into space.
Needless to say, no one got much sleep that night.
"I was thinking," Miroku said hoarsely next morning, "and even though it's not a good thought in any way, I feel that I have to say it." He fell silent and stared at his sandals like they were the latest in revolutionary anything.
"And…?" Shippo inquired finally, not in the best of moods.
Miroku mumbled something under his breath.
"Say what you have to say or just shut up in future," Shippo gritted out.
He looked up unhappily. "Mercy stroke," he said miserably.
No one had to ask for an explanation or elaboration, not after last night.
"We can't," Sango breathed, still shocked.
"Maybe we have to."
Sango bit her lip hard. "You really think it would be best?" she said, just before she hurt herself visibly.
"Yes," Miroku whispered.
She sighed and rubbed one hand over her face. "All right," she said finally, "as it seems life is determined to throw as much in our way as it can, let's help life out a little bit. We'll have to find him."
"Yes, and that will be hard enough. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be."
"He's gone completely insane," Shippo pointed out. "He won't be worried about staying too hidden."
"We could hear him last night," Sango added resolutely, determinedly ignoring the ugly specter of truth that kept shouting that she was planning the execution of one of her friends. "And all of us can sense a demon's presence." She stood up; biting her lip so hard she began to draw blood, she continued, "Let's go."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Despite their clear thinking, their ghoulish hunt wasn't as easy as they had first suspected.
First off, his normally active personality had vanished. Wherever he was, he was lying very, very, very low. Not only were there no rumors of a demon boy with white hair, no matter who they asked, there wasn't the faintest sense of his aura, and Sango and Miroku had excellent sixth senses for such. After a week, the three of them, and Kilala, were frustrated, tired, and depressed.
Second off, their very mission was depressing. No matter how many times they heard his wretched howling, (they hadn't heard it since the night before their decision) they still wouldn't look their goal in the face. The fact that they were setting out to kill their friend and comrade, merciful as it might be, was not one anyone wanted to consider too deeply.
Third off, the loss of Kagome had hit them hard. They missed her cheerfulness, her friendliness, and her in general. They'd become accustomed to their 'pack' as it had been, and before, even the temporary absence of one of them, for whatever reason, had thrown everyone a little off kilter. The permanent absence of two made life feel wrong.
Before long, everyone was completely down in the depths of despair, depression, and plain bad mood. What was more, they were all spoiling for a fight.
"I HATE this!" Miroku finally shouted one evening.
"Yeah, well, you're not the only one," Sango muttered sourly.
"Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it!" he ranted.
"Look, this was your stupid idea in the first place."
"Shut up," he snapped.
"Who made you the boss of the world?" she growled, balling her hands into fists and assuming a fighting stance.
He turned on her, mouth half-open, about to give her what-for, when a ripple in his sixth sense distracted him. From his companions' reactions, they had felt it too, at exactly the same time.
"There he is," Shippo muttered.
"Let's get this over with," Miroku sighed, grabbing his staff. "Wait, everyone. Try just to bring him down, knock him out. We don't want to have to strike the final blow if we don't have to."
The foursome (Kilala, remember?) moved out, splitting up and homing in on their sense of the half-demon.
Sango moved through the woods, riding Kilala in her transformed incarnation. Like this, the fire-cat demon was the size of a pony, and just as easy to ride. Kilala was better than a pony. She could fly. They made their way into the air and circled, trying to spot their quarry.
A blur of movement indicated someone's position. They dived to check it out. Avoiding tree branches as they plunged toward the earth, Kilala landed by a winded Miroku, who was leaning on his staff, half-propped against a tree. He nodded breathlessly, indicating that they were on the track of the right person.
"Went that way," he gasped, indicating the way they were already facing. "Lashed out at me, he did. Ah!" He gasped as a scratch on his cheek began to bleed suddenly. "Didn't recognize me at all…" he added before Sango and Kilala dashed off in pursuit.
Riding hard, they managed to cut in front of the fleeing half-demon before he could get too far away. Seeming somewhat startled by their arrival, he leaped backwards, landing on all fours and snarling. Sango didn't have to look any harder to realize that he'd gone completely mad.
"Sorry," she whispered, knowing that he most likely didn't understand her, and definitely didn't care, and let fly her boomerang. He dodged the missile agilely and turned tail, vanishing into deeper forest.
"Oh no you don't," Sango muttered grimly, catching her boomerang with great talent as it returned. She felt slightly better now, or at least no worse. It really was just another hunt now. She had seen for herself that her friend was, indeed, gone. Kilala leaped into the air and they followed from above.
Her sixth sense was strong enough to track him as he ran. They landed in front of him again, trying the same tactic twice. Normally that wasn't recommended in any situation, but she figured he wouldn't be expecting it, as it wasn't wise.
He hadn't expected it. He stopped short in surprise, and her Hiraikotsu struck him squarely. He collapsed and lay utterly still.
(Author's Note: Sorry. The Japanese was unavoidable, honestly. The English for Hiraikotsu is 'boomerang bone,' and, duh, it's the name of Sango's boomerang. Sounds terrible in above context. Pronounced hih-RII-coats, in case you care. Le'letha.)
She dismounted and walked over to him, almost absently retrieving her boomerang from the air as it zipped back towards her. Kneeling, she could see that he was definitely unconscious, though still breathing. Her brow furrowed as she caught sight of long gashes across his throat, some still bleeding sluggishly.
Miroku never did that; he doesn't carry a blade. Looks like he's been in a bit of trouble; unsurprising… she thought before realizing the truth. Horrified, she tested her theory, crooking her fingers like claws and brushing them gently across her own throat. The pattern matched exactly. Her eyes widened in horror and pity.
"Kilala," she called. The still pony-sized cat trotted over to her. "Fetch Miroku, and if Shippo's anywhere around, bring him too," she told her pet. As Kilala trotted off obediently, she turned her attention back to Inuyasha. She hoped he wasn't going to wake up before the others got here. She didn't want to have to strike him twice, though an overly perceptive corner of her mind realized that she was the only one with a blade. She hurriedly sat on that thought as hard as she could and started keeping a lookout for Kilala's return, one cautious eye staying on her lost friend.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Later that evening, the sky darkening towards actual night, they'd set up camp in the forest. Inuyasha still lay unconscious, bound in a powerfully Miroku-spelled circle he'd never escape. Sango, Shippo, and Miroku, whose cheek had been bandaged up, sat around a makeshift campfire, all keeping a watchful eye on their prisoner, all pretending they were doing nothing of the kind. Now that they had their quarry, nobody wanted to take the final step and actually draw a blade across his throat. An uneasy silence had permeated the camp quite a while ago, and had settled in to stay.
Sango rose and stretched. Kilala, back in cute-cat form, fell off her lap with an indignant squeak of surprise. Ignoring her pet's resentful miaows, which ceased when she realized she wasn't getting any attention, she wandered to the half-lit rim of firelight, and stared into the darkness.
You have to do it, she told herself sternly. It has to be done.
Exasperated with herself, her companions, fate, everything, she kicked a rock, huffed at the sudden pain in her toes, and walked over to where Inuyasha lay still.
Squinting in the twilight that developed away from the fire, she saw with surprise that his eyes were open, the fire reflected in them. He didn't even blink once. Simply stared into space.
On some level, no matter how deep, he knows he's caught; it's over, she realized. And he doesn't care.
She set her jaw firmly and turned to her friends. "It has to be done," she said, giving voice to her inner debate. "I'll do it. Miroku. You raised this barrier; I need you to take it down."
"I don't need to," he said. Thankfully, his voice remained steady. If it had quavered, she would have lost her nerve. "It won't affect you, as you're human."
She nodded resolutely and drew her sword. Stepping through the circle of spells, which didn't have an effect on her at all, she knelt beside him and set the blade to his throat.
He still didn't move. He really doesn't care, Sango thought torn between pity and horror. He wants to die.
She stared into his eyes. They didn't flicker; gave no indication that she, her sword, or anything existed. Suddenly, an image flashed before her eyes. Inuyasha as he had been before Shikar, powerful, half wild, although really half Kagome's pet, annoying, but alive.
Shikar… she thought, will pay. I will make sure that he will be punished.
"Poor wretched creature," she murmured, "you can hear me. I can't know what you have gone through, but I offer a way out. I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but it must be done.
"The one you hunt is called Shikar. Go! Find him! Make him pay for what he has done," she continued, raising her voice. She sheathed her sword abruptly and kicked out backwards, breaking the circle of confinement. "I command you. Bring him down, and take your revenge."
She stepped backwards quickly as he rose. She'd been gambling, but it appeared that he had heard her words. Now, if he understood…that was different.
He looked around at the four of them, his eyes…different. She didn't know what she read there. Perhaps… there was someone behind those eyes now. Moving backwards slowly, never taking his eyes off them, he vanished into the darkness of the night.
"Sango, what did you do?" Miroku asked, shocked. "I thought we were going to put him out of his misery."
"I thought so too. But then I realized that if we killed him, Shikar would never pay for what he has done to us. All of us; the whole pack. We can't bring him to justice, but if my words got through to him, Inuyasha can. And, at the very least, he might now have a reason to live."
Miroku shook his head. "Maybe what you've done is best. I honestly don't know. But I hope you're right."
"How will we know?" Shippo asked.
"We probably never will."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Several months later, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were still traveling together, attempting to complete their original mission. One evening, Sango walked alone to the nearby stream to get water for the night. It wasn't too far by her reckoning, but it was out of earshot of camp.
As she knelt to fill her bucket with the cold, clear water, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Dropping the container quickly, she drew her sword and assumed a fighting stance.
"Put that away," a half-familiar voice growled behind her. "You missed your chance to use it months ago."
Her eyes widened, and she turned. She had correctly identified her visitor. Inuyasha stood a safe distance from her, face like stone.
"What did you think you were doing?" he hissed before she could say a word, face twisting into a mask of rage. "Did you think you were doing something kind and noble? Don't answer that, I know already. I'm not sure whether to hate you or not."
"Don't hate me," she replied meekly, somewhat frightened. "I…felt sorry for you. I wanted you to have a reason to live."
"I didn't want one! I still don't want one! Did you ever think of that! No. But now there's no choice. Do you realize what you have done?" Blood dripped from a gaping wound in his throat, but he kept speaking furiously. Clearly, he couldn't die by his own hand, though he'd just as clearly tried. "A reason to live is not as strong as my reason to die." He paused. Sango couldn't say a word.
"Shikar will die before I do, though. You have my word on that."
He turned and vanished, leaving Sango staring petrified at the place where he had been as tears rolled down her cheeks.
None of them ever saw him again.
