Author's Notes: Blah... here it is, finally. the second chapter of 'The Demon's Reign'... ((sigh)) i'm bored... horribly, horribly bored... and yes, i changed the name of this chappie.. it was "Departure" and now it's called "The Clincher" because 'clincher' fit MUCH better. and yes, i DO love Chevelle... bite me... I love the song, but i didn't know what the name meant and when i looked it up, it fit the second chappie perfect! check it out:
clinch'er- n. A decisive point, argument, act, etc.
so, without further... erm..coughstallingcough, ONWARD! TO THE STORY!
Disclaimer: okay... first to the disclaimer... ((reads script inattentively)) 'Blah, blah, blah... I don't own InuYasha or Chevelle, which i mentioned in the AN's... umm... ((still reading inattentively)) 'I also like pink ponies and unicorns and --HEY! WHO THE HELL MESSED WITH MY SCRIPT!
Kitsune: ((does heroic dive out of window conveniently))
DSK: KITSUNE, YOU GET THE HELL BACK HERE!
Kitsune: What! You think I messed with your script, just because I happened to be practicing my heroic dive out of a window!
DSK: ... ((sigh)) screw it.. on to the story
"What I wanted to tell you all," Kaede began, "Is that you shouldn't rush what happens now." The elderly priestess looked at each of them in turn, and they all met her eyes fearlessly. She continued: "You've all been through so much, and you are wise far beyond your years. Everyone thanks you for your amazing skills. We are forever in your debt for your return of our freedom."
"We couldn'tve done it without you, Kaede-sama!" Kagome said, grinning broadly.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't even have met each other!" Sango said happily.
"Screw all that!" Inu-Yasha growled, "The fact of the matter is, we now have a vastly powerful demonic item in our midst! It holds one, and only ONE, miracle-working wish! The question is, who gets it!"
"Is that all you can think of at a time like this!" Shippo growled at him.
"Yeah, Inu-Yasha, that's pretty shallow!" Miroku said, failing to look threatening or scolding at all, considering he was leaning back, his hands behind his head, and seemingly fairly relaxed.
"Hoshi-sama, what will you do now?" Sango asked Miroku. He leaned forward and stared her straight in the face and seemed to think for a long moment.
"I will find someone to be my bride!" He concluded triumphantly. Of course, this made several people sweatdrop.
"And you called Inu-Yasha shallow?" Kagome said, holding her head in her hand. She was giving him 'The Look.' It was the pissed-off look that she always gave Inu-Yasha before a particularly painful 'Sit!' session. For good reason, Miroku gulped.
"I didn't mean it like that!" He stated in a mortified tone, scooting back slowly.
"Whatever..." Kagome said, sighing, "So, Sango-chan, what will you do now?"
"Go back to my village, you know, to honor my family. I'll try to rebuild it as best as I--" She was cut off as Kohaku interupted.
"You mean we'll try to rebuild it the best that we can!" He grinned at his sister. She gave him a smile back, it was filled with sadness and happiness all at once.
"Yeah... we! Brilliant!" She continued,grinning broadly, "Well, we'll rebuild it as best that we can, then we'll see if there are any kids or young adults in any of the villages that would like to train with us! And of course, Kohaku-kun, you never completed your training, either." She sent him a fake-scolding glance and continued, "I'd love to finish training you, if you want!"
"Sure!" Kohaku said brightly. He truly reminded them all of the innocent, kind boy Sango had always described, with those sad, far-away expressions that didn't exist anymore.
"Ahem!" Inu-Yasha caught their attention again, "As I was saying: The damned jewel has one wish and someone's going to have to get it!"
"Ugh!" Kagome shouted at him, standing and pointing her finger in his face accusingly, "You are such a JERK sometimes! KAMI-SAMA!"
"If I annoy you so much, why don't you go home, dammit!" The hanyou shouted back. Sango and Miroku stared. Inu-Yasha could be rude and cruel sometimes, but this was crossing the line.
'Maybe... the prospect at becoming a full demon does that to a hanyou...' The Slayer and Monk mused in unision, without realizing their wonderings were synchronized.
Inu-Yasha's rant continued through their thoughts: "Stupid girl! This is the SHIKON JEWEL we're talking about, not some stupid little charm that makes everything happy and good in the world!"
"WELL, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T PRETEND IT ISN'T!" Kagome shouted back angrily.
"YOU'RE SO DAMN NAIVE, KAGOME!" The half-demon was close to making the girl cry, and he clearly didn't care, "THE JEWEL IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT!"
"WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US! DON'T WE MATTER!" The young priestess burst into tears, yet continued her arguement with the stubborn boy.
"I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU, SOMEONE'S GOING TO HAVE TO GET THE DAMN THING! I NEVER CLAIMED IT FOR MYSELF, YOU KNOW! WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU THINK I AM!"
"I thought you were a good person..." She looked at the ground, her long ebony hair shadowing her eyes, with only the silver tears running down her face visible, "I thought... You were different from the other demons... But now I see..." She looked up now, revealing her eyes, blazing with fury, "YOU'RE JUST THE SAME AS ALL THE OTHERS! YOU'D DO ANYTHING FOR THIS DAMN THING, WOULDN'T YOU! WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT! YOU CAN HAVE THE STUPID JEWEL! 'CUZ, OBVIOUSLY, YOU DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS IF ANYONE ELSE HAS A WISH!" She threw the jewel at him. Of course, with his demonic reflexes, he caught it. He stared for a moment and his eyes flashed red.
"I'M LEAVING! AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Kagome screamed at him, and, without bothering to gather her things, seeing as all she had there was a book bag full of bandages, she leapt down the well, never to return. This time, with everyone besides Inu-Yasha, thoughts were synchronized: That didn't just happen... did it! Kagome didn't... leave...?
Sango, Miroku, Kaede and Kohaku all turned to the seething Inu-Yasha in horrified unision.
"Inu-Yasha...?" Miroku's voice sounded terrfied and small.
"Are you okay...?" Sango asked timidly.
"You IDIOT!"Shippo totally destroyed any hope they had of reining in the hanyou, "What is yourPROBLEM!"
"Shippo...?" Miroku said in a horribly unsure voice.
"What, Miroku! Can't you see I'm ranting!"
"Shippo.. Shut up... Now.. " Sango said, taking a few steps back and retrieving Hiraikotsu from its position, leaning against the outside wall of the hut, "Kirara..." She muttered under her breath. The demon cat caught the warning and transformed.
"What're you guys doing?" Shippo asked, seeing Sango's movements and also noticing that Miroku had taken hold of his prayer beads and Kaede had readied her bow.
He heard laughter... Horribly familiar laughter. He turned slowly. His young blue eyes met bloody crimson eyes.
"Inu-Yasha... Please... don't do this..." Miroku was begging.. pleading. Completely unlike his usual, laid-back tone. Shippo looked on in horror.
"That stupid little wench... She delayed me for so long..." Shippo recognized that voice.
Inu-Yasha was a full-demon. A mortifying, bloodthirsty, full-fledged demon. Out of control, and most definately dangerous.
"HIRAIKOTSU!" Sango acted fastest and now, her mighty weapon lashed out, slashing through the trees.
The demon laughed. Hiraikotsu cracked against his fore-arm block. He wouldn't let the Slayer retaliate, again though, she had attacked him. She was going to pay. He drew Tetsusaiga. Sango's face paled considerably. It wasn't hard to tell she was terrified.
"SANGO-SAMA, MOVE!" Miroku dove and grabbed her and Shippo, ducking on the ground as the devastatingly powerful Kaze no Kizu lashed out above them.
"I... didn't even see it coming... " Sango was out of breath, gasping and clutching Miroku for support.
"We must retreat!" Kaede called out to them, "Come, please, you four! We must go, NOW!"
"There is no escape for you... You can't run forever!" Inu-Yasha's 3-inch claws dug a massive hole in the ground, only centimeters away from where Sango's body lay. Miroku grabbed her again, tossed Shippo to Kaede and helped the elderly priestess mount Kirara in front of he and Kohaku.
"Kirara, GO!" The monk pleaded to the demon-cat. The Neko nodded, to show her understanding and launched into the air urgently.
"Heh heh... They don't matter for right now..." The youkai that stood on the ground below them was no longer their ally. He shot away in the forest named after the hanyou that no longer existed.
Sango awoke, blinking. She sat up, immediately aware of her surroundings.
"Sango-sama... Thank the gods..." Miroku said in a bleak tone.
She smiled, "I had the worst nightmare! Kagome-chan and Inu-Yasha had another of their stupid arguements, and Kagome-chan left, and Inu-Yasha became a full-demon and he cracked Hiraikotsu, and he attacked us and..." She noticed how solemn they looked. She glanced around the room, "H-hey... Where are Kagome-chan and Inu-Yasha...? ... No..." She whirled around so fast the room spun after her, but her eyes settled on the one thing that she didn't want to see. Hiraikotsu lay in the corner.. a wicked crack stained its flawless surface where the bone had been shattered cleanly, "No..." She breathed and broke down again, her emotions spilling through her expressions, "Why did Kagome-chan do this..! Why! We can't deal with his demon form! Even Tetsusaiga didn't stop him! Why!" Sango bent over, her tears falling into her lap, her head in her hands.
"Sango-sama... now, now.. All hope is not lost..." Miroku immediately cursed himself. Even he didn't belief what he just said. How the hell could he comfort her when it was obvious this was hopeless?
"Onee-San... Please don't cry..." Kohaku looked close to crying himself. He had his knees bent into his chest, his arms resting on them, and his head turned to look at them bleakly.
"What the hell are we going to do, Hoshi-sama! You saw how he killed those bandits the one time! Think of all the people that are going to die!" Sango sobbed. Miroku wrapped his arms around her, for the first time, without doing anything perverted. Her tears ceased for a moment in her shock.
"Sango-sama... Tell me what you and Kohaku-kun are..." He said quietly.
"We are... Youkai Taijiya.." She pulled away and gave him a look of pure regret combined with a slight, sad smile.
"Tell me what you do.."
"We slay demons..." She looked at him hopefully, like a small child who had found new faith.
"Exactly.. We will do just that if it comes to such brutality. He struck out at us, Sango-sama. He isn't our friend anymore. As much as it kills me to admit it..." Miroku gave her a look of pure remorse.
"He is no longer our ally. He will kill us if he gets the chance," Kaede put in bluntly, "You must recruit the help of Myoga-jii the flea, first of all. Perhaps he may be able to help you."
"Yes, Kaede-sama's right..." Kohaku looked at them all again, "That's what we have to do.."
"You're right..." Sango said, "We may even need to find Sesshomaru-sama, and see if he will help us. And Totosai-jii, to repair our weapons when broken." Her eyes trailed back to the now-frail Hiraikotsu in the corner.
"And, we must keep a constant look out for Kikyo-sama. Perhaps, since Kagome-sama is no longer available, Kikyo-sama will assist us.." Miroku said in an eerily calm tone.
"She most definately will not allow Inu-Yasha to destroy himself this way," Sango put in.
"Forget Kikyo and Inu-Yasha! Who's going to protect us!" Shippo asked frantically.
"He will not come for us at first.." Kaede stated darkly, "He will conquer all those who get in his way. He looks for his rivals now, but he will not cease to destroy the innocents who stand in his path. He will hunt, first, for Sesshomaru-sama and, most likely, Koga-kun."
"Poor Koga.." Shippo said. Sure, the wolf-demon wasn't his best friend, but that didn't mean he'd wish anything such as murder on him; and the group had become much closer to the young prince since he'd helped them destroy Naraku.
"Hell, with how Inu-Yasha's acting, I'd also say 'Poor Sesshomaru-sama..'" Sango muttered in a hopeless tone.
"Indeed..." Miroku mumbled gloomily (is that a word? it is now...).
"We won't give up, though, will we, Onee-San?" Kohaku looked up again, and stared expectantly at Sango.
The older Taijiya sighed sadly in response, "I don't know, Kohaku-kun.. But, we cannot let him run wild like that..."
"We must first try to repair Hiraikotsu," Miroku piped up again authoritively, "Then we must recover from our minor injuries and pray that it doesn't become much more violent."
Author's Notes:
first of all, Translations:
Youkai Taijiya-Demon Slayer
Hiraikotsu-Sango's weapon, meaning "Boomerang Bone"
sama-Lord, or Lady.. it's a helluva time to be using such formalities, but they still do, such as Lady Kaede, Lady Sango and Lord Monk
hoshi-sama-Lord Monk.. What Sango calls Miroku
kun-What I'm having Sango call Kohaku. It means that this person is a small boy, or a co-worker.. in this case, both. Sango could also call Kohaku oni-chan, which means 'little brother'
Onee-san-What Sota calls Kagome and what Kohaku calls Sango. meaning "Big Sister'
Tetsusaiga-Inu-Yasha's weapon... if you didn't know that then you have to leave. Now. I'm serious. the word means 'Steel cleaving fang'. again, if you didn't know that, then you have to leave. Now. I'm serious. Really.
Kaze No Kizu- literally 'Wound of Wind'
chan- a term of endearment in a romantic relationship or between two close female friends, like Sango and Kagome
Kami-sama- God.. yeah. i said it... lemme alone...
Neko-a demon cat, like Kirara
jii or jii-chan- Grandpa or elder. Myoga the elder or Grandpa Myoga is what the flea is called... let's stick to that... still following me? Totosai is everyone's elder. thus, he is also dubbed '-jii'. Got it? good.
Hanyou-Half-demon.. if you don't know that, leave
youkai- demon.. if you don't know that, LEAVE
Shikon Jewel- Four Souls' Jewel.. if you don't know that, LEAVE RIGHT NOW AND NEVER CALL YOURSELF AN INU-YASHA OTAKU EVER AGAIN!
anyhoo, regular Author's Notes now: yes, I know the word 'naive' is spelled with a thingy over the 'i' guess what? my computer doesn't have a setting for exceptions in words, so deal with it... well, I was listenin' to Mudvayne's "Happy?" when i wrote Kagome's arguement with Inu-Yasha... hardly noticeable, right? I luv that song... anyhoo... everything important happens in this chapter.. sorry it was kinda cliff-hangy... oh well... I'll end with a quote from the aforementioned song:
'Peel me from the skin/ Tear me from the rind/ Does it make you happy now/ Tear me from the bone/ Tear me from myself/ Are you feeling happy/...Does it make you happy/ Are you feeling happy/ Are you fucking happy/ Another time lost, spent with nothing'
oh... and I also don't own Mudvayne... god that'd be effin' awesome... well... TTYL peeps... seeya nxt chappie...no what's weird tho'? "Happy?" was on when I started this chapter and now it's on again, as I'm finishing it... heh heh.. awesome..and now... with my fitfth day of typing and correcting this one chapter before publication, as of April 23rd, I HAVE Mudvayne's CD "Lost and Found" which has "Happy?" on it.. so i'm good now... booyah...