Third Time's A Charm- Chapter 13
Inuyasha shot out of the hut, destroying the roof of it in his haste. It wasn't Akari's voice, he knew that instantly, but she could be nearby. Or already injured.
It didn't take long to find the source of the mayhem; a second scorpion demon nearly twice the size of the one he'd killed at the village. A group of men were clustered around the creature, trying to fend it away with weapons; makeshift or otherwise. He didn't see Akari anywhere in sight and that relived him.
Inuyasha grinned, cracking his knuckles. "So you must be the father."
"Keep that thin in the north side!" Joban's voice yelling to the assembled resistance.
"Yaeko." Keisuke's voice snapped out over the scorpion's grisly sounds of grunting and clicking claws.
Inuyasha turned. The kitsune hanyou's human wife had fallen beneath the demon's claws. He moved without thinking, standing over Yaeko, lifting an arm to block the pincer that came down towards them both. Claw pierced skin and blood ran down his arm.
"I don't think so!"
Growling and thrusting outward, gripping the appendage and lashed his arms sideways, breaking the claw off. He discarded it, hooked an arm around Yaeko then jumped back out of the way just as the demon's tail buried itself where they'd been standing. He felt dead weight in his arm and turned to find Yaeko had fainted. He dropped down next to Keisuke, passing the woman into her husband's arm.
Keisuke's smile was a mixture of relief and gratitude. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
His words were immediatly followed by the slow creak of falling tree. Inuyasha turned in time to see the scorpion's tail pull back from cleaving the trunk of an oak, tree tipping to crush a hut formerly beneath the shade of it's canopy.
"Riho and Mai are still in there!" Keisuke said worriedly.
Inuyasha growled his annoyance and again moved to intercept disaster. Moved his arm to the drape of the kimono shaded his face as he broke through the hut. Two children were inside, huddled in the corner and Inuyasha snatched them both up, bursting through the other side of the hut as it was destroyed. Both little girls clung to his neck and Inuyasha was forced to pry their hands from him and send then racing away from the disaster area.
"Is that it?" Inuaysha turned glancing back towards Keisuke.
The fox demon nodded. "I think so. Joban had most of the women and children evacuate this end of the village."
"Good!"
He launched upwards, avoided the streak of the tail, no way he'd get caught by that again.
"Get outta the way!" Words snapped towards the villagers below him.
Eyes were cast his way then, to his surprise, they obeyed, scrambling back out of the way of the monstrous demon—and the scorpian. Inuyasha dodged a claw, then the tail, then another claw, landing atop the roof of a half destroyed hut. He swung Tetsusaiga once then jumped free of the rumble that became of the hut, swinging downward sharply.
"Wind scar!"
Light erupted from the huge sword's blade, slashing outwards and encompassing the demon. Flesh and bone split in the wake of the attack and Inuyasha's feet touched grown as the scorpion was sliced in two. He heft Tetsusaiga over his shoulder and smirked. He was in his territory again and senseless violence managed to drive turmoiled thoughts about Akari out of his head. He's stay, he'd already decided that, and it wasn't simply because Akari might bear a child, his child.
"Inuaysha!" As if his thoughts summoned her, Akari's voice cut through the empty distance, screaming his name with a mixture of fear and warning.
Inuyasha turned to see the larger half of the scorpion demon loom up and lash out a claw. He choked, attempting to get the Tetsusaiga up but he knew he wouldn't be able to move it quick enough. And then Akari's voice cut through everything again.
"Inuyasha...SIT!"
And the prayer beads around his neck suddenly blossomed to life. Shock and confusion rose up in his throat as he felt the familiar old pull of the spell grip him, jerking him down into the dirt. There was the rush of air over him as the demon's claw missed. The humm of a bow as an arrow was released. The glow of light blossoming around the shaft as the sacred arrow pierced through the scorpion, turning it to ash.
But Inuyasha wasn't really thinking of any of that. Instead...instead he remained pressed against the dirt as his mind worked like broken clock work.
Kagome...only Kagome...only Kagome could...
His hand curled into a fist, claws piercing the earth and he growled against emotion and then his voice broke from him in a tortured yell.
"KAGOME!"