Chapter Seven: Attack of the Ninja
Well….this chapter is not much of an expectation too. But just go through and read it at your own will.
Chapter Seven
The night had turned dark once again. It was indeed dark, literally. The new moon had risen over the black sky, and only stars seemed to be the only light for a walking Kikyo. Feeling guilty for taking away that inu-hanyou's hakui, she walked up to the frontier of the woods surrounding her petite village. Since the night was almost pitch-black, the priestess held a paper lantern as she walked up the hill.
I can't seem to sense Inuyasha around this area…
She looked at the darkness that gaped before her, the pitch-black that had surrounded the trees that stood near. Inuyasha's aura was not present, with only silence to accompany the miko. Having a gut feeling that he was in the woods, she decided to call for him.
"Inuyasha!" She shouted to the half-demon. "Are you there?" There was a silence for a while as her voice echoed through the forest.
"What do you want again, priestess?"
"I have your hakui here with me," she replied back to the echoing voice of the sharp sound that she had heard as a reply. "I've heard your voice. Where are you now?"
"Go away wench," came the rude response from the darkness.
"My name is not wench," Kikyo replied back calmly. "Come out of the trees for a while."
"Just get lost, bitch!" A sharp reply came down from the trees again. "Throw those clothes on the grass and get lost!" Kikyo knew that she was furious within herself, but continued to maintain her calm appearance.
"Very well," she replied back as a normal person would do. Kikyo placed down the folded red hakui and the white undershirt on the grass. "Come and get it yourself. I'm returning home, farewell."
Two brown irises watched Kikyo walk away from the spot. As she held her paper lantern, the priestess began her descend down from the hill. The light became fainter and fainter. Knowing that it was his time to take back his clothes, Inuyasha got down from the trees. He quickly slipped them on before he felt a presence behind him.
"Inuyasha?" The half-demon turned to his back to see that Kikyo had suddenly re-appeared behind him. For the first time, he saw the priestess give out a small gasp. "You're not Inuyasha, are you?"
"Yes I am him, and what's your problem?" The rude teenage demon replied back to her to reveal his appearance through the light of the paper lantern. His hair was the colour of ebony, and his mouth was full of normal-looking teeth instead of fangs. Human ears now stuck to the sides of his head, instead of the two usual ones sticking out of the top of his head.
He seems to exude a charm when looking human…
"Is this a disguise?" Kikyo interrogated the boy before her, picking some strands of his black, flowing hair. "Or are you really a human now?"
"Stop being ignorant, priestess!" He slapped her hand away quickly. "You know all about it."
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"So the curse of the new moon is real?" Kikyo questioned Inuyasha, who was seated beside her on the grass. "So it applies to all hanyous?"
"You're a good actress, aren't you?" He snapped back. "Snap out of it…already…." He stopped upon seeing that Kikyo had stopped listening to his nonsense. Instead, she was looking at the new moon, which although appeared dark, had a certain effect on her focus. Inuyasha saw a face on the priestess never seen much by others, a face of sorrow instead of an emotionless one. "Hey priestess, don't cry!" He stared to panic.
Kikyo blinked her eyes. "It's just that I missed my mother," she replied softly and audible enough for Inuyasha to hear. "She was my pillar of support. And now the moon is pitch-black. I can't see her."
"Your mother?" Inuyasha had suddenly turned into a serious mode of a concerned peer. "What has your mother got to do with the moon?"
"She died under a full moon night. And told me she would be there forever."
Inuyasha remained silent. Kikyo continued to look at the sky. So the priestess before him also had a bad childhood too. She was revered by the people, but deep down a scarred person. She was so much alike to him. Perhaps she and he were fated to meet.
"Inuyasha," Kikyo began to speak again; she had returned to her calm state. "Thank you for hearing me out." She got up, but before she could plan to return to the village, her sharp eyes caught a dark figure near the Shikon-Tama shrine. As quickly as she could, the priestess picked up her lantern and ran down the hill.
The masked figure made his entrance into the shine. In front of him was the precious jewel shining in its pinky glow. He tip-toed to the holder of the jewel. The masked ninja was about to touch the Shikon Jewel when the doors were forced open to find a displeased priestess with a bow and her arrow ready to be released.
"Identify yourself!" She spoke to the ninja. The masked man turned behind to reveal a dark spider shape on his front, shown brightly by the torches placed inside the shrine. As soon as he had identified himself, instant shuriken were thrown at the priestess. Sensing the danger, Kikyo dodged the attack by jumping away.
"Kuukuu KuuKuu…" came the sinister laughter of the ninja. "So the legend of the Shikon no Tama protector is true. She is truly beautiful and a formidable opponent as well." His voice rang through out the main room of the hall.
"And you do not seem like an easy foe to me too," she praised with sarcasm, continuing to press the arrow against the bow string, causing the bow to bend back as well. "Let's see how you can take against my archery!" She released the arrow at the ninja. Unfortunately, he had dodged it too as the arrow hit the wall, whose purple glow diminished as soon as it hit its target.
Kikyo released another arrow. The ninja continued to dodge with his swiftness. In return,more shuriken continued to be thrown at the priestess, who avoided the blow too. The attacks continued one after another, with a draw between the foes. The priestess prepared to shoot another arrow, when another shuriken hit into her shoulder blade, making a bleeding wound in it.
Knowing that the priestess had been hit with one of his weapons, the ninja quickly took the glowing Shikon Jewel and ran to the exit. He turned behind to look at the injured priestess, holding the precious gem in one hand.
"Thank you for the jewel, miko-sama!" He spoke before exiting the door. "My name is Onigumo, for your information!" The ninja sped out of the shrine. (A/N: I don't care if Onigumo was a bandit in the manga; I decided to make him a ninja this time anyway!)
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Onigumo ran across the grass as he attempted to avoid much trouble from the village. As he ran across the grass, another arrow shot in front of him which hit a tree. The masked ninja turned behind to see that Kikyo had not given up the fight yet. In the distance from the shrine, she continued to hold the bow despite her shoulder injury which was continuing to bleed profusely.
"You'd better hand back that jewel," a voice from Onigumo's front alerted him. His eyes met with a human in a red kimono. "It belongs to me only."
"You're only a mere human," he replied sinisterly. "What can you do? Don't disturb me, I have a task to complete."
"Not anymore," Inuyasha replied discreetly, giving a small chuckle. He pointed to the sky, which had started to turn orange. The Sun rose as the first sunlight started to shine. The human in front of him was starting to mutate. His hair turned from ebony black to silvery white, the fingernails on his hands turning to claws, and the ears disappearing into his hair and re-appearing on top of his head in the shape of animalistic ears. "Now give me back the jewel, before my claws get them instead."
The half-demon was back to his original form. Onigumo trembled as he saw the half-demon raising his claws to attack him back.
"Sankon Tessou!" He shouted as he raised his claws to attack the ninja. As the blow rained on the ninja, his hand released the grip of the Shikon Jewel. Too stunned to take the jewel, the ninja quickly made his escape into the forest.
"You'll pay for this!" He stared back at Inuyasha as he made his run into the woods, with claw marks over his torn ninja clothing. "Something I'll get you!"
The hanyou picked up the dropped Shikon Jewel. He stared at it, while detecting for any moving sounds as his ears twitched. He looked up finally to see a priestess was aiming at him again. She had not completely fallen yet, for her will made her continue to protect the jewel.
Inuyasha, holding the jewel which dangled from his hand by its bird feathers string, paced over to Kikyo who had started to prepare releasing the arrow with her heart full of suspicion. Expected to turn himself into a youkai by the use of the Shikon no Tama, Kikyo braced herself as she continued to aim her sacred arrow at him. Instead, the inu-hanyou took her soft hand, in which she had released her grip on the boor, and placed the sacred item on her fair palm. With that the half-demon turned back to return to the woods.
"Wait," Kikyo spoke as he was a few metres from her. "Don't you want the jewel? This is your chance to change into a demon." She questioned as she placed her hand over her injured shoulder.
Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. He continued to show his back to her. "This isn't a fair fight," his tone softened into that of a serious one. "I'll get the jewel for myself one day, but not when my opponent has been injured previously." Following his words the boy with the dog ears walked into the woods, showing a silent bid of farewell and leaving the priestess with the Shikon Jewel. She gave a small smile in response, continuing to stare at the half-demon walking away in the distance.
So this Inuyasha isn't that heartless after all…his human goodness made him so…
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"You were supposed to lure the priestess, weren't you?" A man in official robes stared out of the window. An injured ninja stood a distance behind him. "So what happened?"
"I thought getting the Shikon Jewel will lure her here alone, milord," the ninja spoke with stammer. "But a demon came alone and attacked me."
The official turned to the ninja, with a piercing stare that would scare anyone. The ninja prostrated before his lord. "Get your band of ninjas for tomorrow," he ordered calmly too. "I have a different plan in mind."
Kikyo was not to expect another ordeal to come her way that soon again. A few watchful crows observed the priestess tending to her wound from the high branches of the trees nearby.
Well…it's done. This time, I don't really want to follow the manga/anime that strictly. This time, Onigumo's a ninja, not some bandit, and he doesn't really follow a chief around too. Anyway, see ya all soon!
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