His Last Words
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the manga or anime show InuYasha.
Chapter 4: A Hissing Whisper
Five days passed as the group remained at the small abandoned hut. Five days of constant practicing as Kohaku struggled to regain his full strength. It returned somewhat swiftly, to the group's satisfaction. Each morning, Kohaku would work for an hour at a time trying to hold himself up and take a few steps. At first he needed Sango to balance, but by the second day he was considerably healthier. The colour returned to his cheeks and the dread that surrounded him lifted somewhat. By the third day, he could walk confidently on his own, if only for a few steps. On the fourth he grew stronger yet and by the fifth he was well enough to join the group in their travels. If truth were told it was a miracle how quickly he had healed, yet it was a burden to Kohaku since every minute was one in fear of Naraku's return.
Still, the others were unaffected by the fear Kohaku kept secret. Sango was all smiles every time she helped or watched Kohaku walk. It was a proud grin, like a mother deer nudging her young as they tested their wobbly legs.
In those five days, Miroku had also managed to heal. Kagome's remedies had worked wonderfully and he was strong enough to move about as usual. The only flaw was a scar on his side from the chain-sickle that refused to fade. One morning Sango saw it while Kagome was exchanging bandages and she grew mellow. She recognized the same scar from her own back when Kohaku had first been taken under Naraku's control.
Relieved that Kohaku and Miroku were both able to continue their travels at last, the group prepared to leave. InuYasha and Shippou had determined smiles, but Sango still held a face of worry.
"Are you sure you're ready to travel, Kohaku?" Sango asked. It was a few hours past noon, but if they started now then there was a chance of finding a village before nightfall.
Kohaku nodded with a slight frown. Despite his wonderful progress, he had barely cracked a single smile in the past few days. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Well let's get going then," InuYasha said with crossed arms in front of his chest. His golden eyes were focused on the north and west where they had originally been heading. "We've wasted too much time staying here."
"InuYasha!" Kagome hissed dangerously. The hanyou flinched as if expecting to be sat at any moment, but nothing came.
Kohaku didn't seem to have noticed anything. Instead, he was studying his feet as if trying to find certain words to speak. Finally he looked up at Sango. "Sister, could...could we go to our old village? Just for a visit?" 'Old' came out in a small croak. Clearly it was still a little hard for Kohaku to speak of his previous home in that way.
InuYasha frowned and opened his mouth to argue, but Kagome elbowed him in the ribs. He glared at her, which she returned in cold defiance and succeeded in making his ear twitch uncomfortably and turn away.
"Of course," Sango answered warmly. "It's in our direction anyway," she added, more so to InuYasha than anyone else, though she didn't look at him.
Miroku had tried contacting Hatchi a few days ago, but the tanuki was nowhere to be found. Without his help, the group was forced to rely on Kirara for transportation. Sango and Kohaku and Shippou would go first followed by InuYasha, Kagome, and Miroku. Quickly Sango and Kohaku grabbed their packs and mounted the transformed neko youkai. After a few quick farewells, Kirara tore into the sky and sped towards the direction of the demon slayer's village.
"They better hurry up," InuYasha growled, not a minute after the others left. "I want to cover some good ground before it gets too dark." The hanyou retook his favourite seat in the tree beside the hut.
"There will be no chance for that, InuYasha," Kagome said casually as she sat down on a step to the hut porch. InuYasha jumped up into a sitting position to stare down at her. On the other hand, Miroku seemed completely at peace with whatever Kagome was saying.
"And why the Hell not?"
Kagome looked at him calmly. "They need some time alone, obviously."
"Time alone! They got enough of that when they were here!" he objected with a frown.
Finally her calm gaze slipped into a glare. "Don't tell me you're that stupid, InuYasha! What do you think Kohaku wanted to go to their old village for! He wants to visit his family's graves! He'll need time to get used to the memory that Naraku forced him to kill his own father!"
"He should be used to it already! Didn't Sango talk to him about that stuff?"
"Obviously she told him! It would be too cruel not to, especially now that his memory's returned. But Kohaku still hasn't accepted it yet," she answered stiffly.
InuYasha fell silent with a sigh. Arguing with Kagome was like trying to move a mountain with your bare hands. The hanyou lay back against the tree trunk once more.
A few moments of waiting passed. Then Kagome began eyeing Miroku, who was strangely still and quiet. "Miroku, is everything okay? You've been very quiet these last few days," she commented with a curious blink at him.
Miroku looked up from the ground to her. "What? Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just thinking, I suppose." Kagome frowned, concern in her eyes. Sango had been so busy with Kohaku the past few days; Miroku had probably felt a little lonely. Though knowing that houshi, he would never say anything to Sango. He wanted her to enjoy her time with Kohaku and that meant keeping his feelings secret. He hadn't said a word of it to anyone, but to Kagome he might as well have come out and said it straight to her face.
With Sango...
The wind pushed at them fiercely as Kirara flew through the air, flames trailing at her paws. It nearly threatened to push Sango and Kohaku clear off their seats if Sango hadn't been so used to the struggle until she didn't even feel it. Shippou was asleep in Sango's lap, oblivious to the dark mood that was over them. The landscape shifted swiftly below them from the thick forest and the winding river to wide plains with small bushes to small hills with random groves of trees.
For what seemed like the tenth time, Sango opened her mouth to say something to her little brother, but closed it again. 'He's been troubled these past few days,' she thought. 'He's barely smiled or spoken at all. I hope he's all right.'
"Sango?" Kohaku murmured quietly. Sango snapped away from her thoughts to listen. "Sango, what happened to the village? Why did everyone else die?"
She blinked in surprise. She thought he had known, but slowly she realized that there was no way for him to have found out. Naraku wouldn't have told him and he didn't have any memories concerning it. She certainly had never said anything about it. "Well, when we were all called away that night," there was no need to explain which night, "Naraku told the demons of the mountains that we were gone. They came and attacked the village. All of the best demon slayers were with us, so they didn't have much protection and everyone died."
He nodded slowly, his face turned away from hers. "Why didn't Naraku do it himself? He's so powerful it would have been easy for him." It felt strange speaking so freely of the catastrophe.
Sango shared the same feeling, but she did better in masking it. "Naraku uses trickery to defeat his enemies. If there is a way to do that without him having to lift a finger, he would use it," she explained. "But even now that Naraku has recreated his body and has most of the jewel shards, he still uses trickery like this." She shifted her gaze to the sky, the faces of her friends momentarily in her mind's eye. "We've been fighting him for so long, trying to defeat him, but we still sometimes fall for his devious plots..." Her voice was distant like she was speaking more to herself than Kohaku.
Kohaku looked at her with a twinge of regret. "I wish I could help you find a way to destroy him, but I don't remember him saying anything to me that would help... All I know is that he absorbs demons into his body to gain their strength and uses his barrier to hide himself."
"Yes, he absorbs demons and remakes his body so it'll be stronger. It's because of that no matter how many times we try to destroy him, he'll just reform his flesh..." Sango muttered to herself. He absorbs demons...why did the thought make her shiver like that?
He nodded but didn't say another word. Silence swallowed them again for roughly an hour and a half. They stopped for a small break in a clearing below so Kirara could rest a bit. Shippou then woke up, but sensing the mood, stayed quiet. Soon they were in the sky once more. The following two hours were heavily filled with quiet, though the dark feel of it lifted a bit. Below them the plains suddenly became short jagged mountains, which steadily grew taller and bolder by the mile.
Finally Kirara began to descend towards a small village with destroyed houses and a wall circling it. The entrance was torn down, but had been repaired a little on one of the group's previous visits. Even from this height the small clearing of graves was visible.
Once they landed, they entered the grounds and took shelter in the hut the group had repaired beforehand. Leaving their packs there, Sango and Kohaku left the hut to go to the gravesite. Shippou remained behind to make a snack while Kirara took flight again back the way she came. Soon her large form was a speck in the distance.
Sango watched her little brother sadly as his eyes lay locked upon the distant graves. There were no tears, but the feel of sadness and regret was strong in his gaze. Once they stood at the foot of the first grave, Kohaku asked if she could name each person that lay there. She frowned sadly, but agreed. As they passed each, Sango gently said each name, watching Kohaku as he calmly nodded and gazed at it for a moment as if remembering the face of that person.
"This is father's," she said simply, her voice almost a croak. The small bundle of flowers she had left on his grave was long dead, the yellow petals pushed away by the wind.
Kohaku slowly bent down on his knees beside the grave. Sango did the same. Placing a hand on the soil, Kohaku lowered his face so his bangs covered his eyes. "I'm sorry," Sango heard him whisper. Her sad frown deepened as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He cringed slightly at her touch, but relaxed after a moment. He had done the same when she had held him while he practiced walking. It was a question she wouldn't dare ask, in fear of the answer as well as his reaction.
"Sister?" he said softly. She looked up at him. "Could I be alone for a while?" His lips stayed parted for a moment longer as if he were about to say something else, but he changed his mind and closed it.
Leaving him alone wasn't something she was too thrilled about, but he deserved some time alone the same way she had when she had first visited her father's grave. She patted his back slightly, but then stood up once more and began making her way back to the hut. As soon as she was turned, Kohaku looked up at her and watched her leave, clueless to his true desire for being alone.
'Now's my chance to run away,' he thought bitterly. 'I don't want to do it, but if I don't, then Sango will be hurt and that would be even worse.' His eyes wandered around his father's grave and he unconsciously stroked the soil as if trying to comfort himself with his father's presence. 'Father, I'm no more alive than you are. If it weren't for the jewel shard, I'd be with you right now. I had another chance at life and I won't waste it. I was weak before and you died because of it. I'm stronger now and I'll make sure Sango is safe...'
A chill suddenly ran through his spine and made him look up from his father's grave. He turned slightly at the feeling of a presence behind him. His eyes widened in shock as a tall man wearing a white baboon suit sneered down at him.
With InuYasha...
Miroku paced back and forth in front of the old hut. Kagome still sat on the step, her eyes full of worry as she watched him. InuYasha had left his tree branch, but was sitting at the base of it instead. His arms were crossed and his face set at a frown, his eyes closed and his fingers tapping against his sleeve.
"Will you stop that already?" he growled at Miroku.
The houshi froze his walk in surprise and looked up at InuYasha. He raised a hand and ran his fingers through his short black hair nervously, which was strange for Miroku who was always the heart of calm and reserve. "I'm sorry, I've just been...thinking..." he said slowly.
"About what?" Kagome asked curiously.
"Well...about Kohaku mostly. Him and Naraku," he answered, lowering his hand. "Something's been on my mind the past few days and I just can't figure it out..." He turned away to look to the Northwest where Kirara had vanished into the sky. They had been gone for nearly four hours now.
"What do you mean?" Kagome said cautiously.
"Kohaku bond to Naraku was cut off, that we know, but I can't figure out how. I studied the nature of demons long ago, about how powerful demons are capable of some things like creating new demons or puppetry. According to that, for Naraku to control Kohaku, he must have had some kind of connection to him. It had to be physical because demon minds cannot tie such strings to human minds without feeling pain unless they had something to control them through."
"Where are you going with this, Miroku?" InuYasha said, his golden eyes open and carefully listening to the monk's words.
Miroku frowned and swung his eyes back to InuYasha and Kagome. "The sacred jewel shard in Kohaku's back. Naraku put it there, remember? That has to be how he was controlling Kohaku, it's the only physical connection to Naraku we know of."
"So Naraku controlled Kohaku through the jewel shard. What does that matter?" InuYasha argued.
"InuYasha," Miroku said slowly, pausing to let out a tense breath. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. "Naraku will want the jewel shard Kohaku has. He won't hesitate to harm Kohaku like we have just because he is Sango's brother. So if Naraku wants the jewel shard and that is how he was controlling Kohaku, then--"
"He will remake the bond between Kohaku and himself!" Kagome cut in, her eyes wide with fear.
"Yes," Miroku continued, "If Naraku gets hold of Kohaku, then he can take control of him again. Once that happens, who knows what he will do with Kohaku?"
Both InuYasha and Kagome were on their feet by this point, though they didn't remember standing. "We've got to reach them!" InuYasha said.
"But how? Kirara's still with them! It'll take her at least two more hours to reach us and then another three for us to reach them!" Kagome put in. She darted her eyes to the Northwest as if hoping with all her might to see Kirara's form flying towards them. The sky was clear, not even a cloud in sight.
"Of all the days for Hatchi to disappear," Miroku hissed under his breath, his face was twisted in anger and his hand was shaking slightly as he grasped his staff.
With Sango...
"N-Naraku!" Kohaku breathed shakily as if he had been punched in the stomach. That sneering smile parted to into a toothed-snarl.
"Kohaku, I gave you the mercy of forgetting your terrible past and the first thing you do when your leash is cut is to run? I was under the impression that I had trained you to be a much more faithful dog." That voice was the same as he remembered, like a cold knife slowly sliding between your ribs.
"I remember now, Naraku! I know it was you that made me kill my father! You were the one that made everyone in my village die! You made me try to kill Sango!" Kohaku's voice was somewhat steadier now, the fury within his heart bubbling to the top.
Naraku's laugh was like a gust of sharp cold wind to Kohaku's mind. "Why put the blame on me, Kohaku? Will that revive your father or friends? You were too weak to fight me and you know it as the truth. Even now I can see your thoughts, even if your bond to me was temporarily cut."
Kohaku blinked. "Temporarily?" he said quietly.
The demon laughed again. "Do not tell me you did not expect me to try and take control of you again? You may be a disgusting human, but you were useful."
"I'm stronger now, Naraku! I'm stronger! I won't let you use me! I won't let you harm Sango!" he yelled, hands curling into fists. One hand slipped to handle of his kusari-gama. Before his fingers had even touched the bone, a leathery dark green vine lashed out from under the rim of the white baboon suit and ensnared Kohaku's throat.
"You still think you can withstand me? I, Naraku, who have nearly the whole jewel and power beyond anything you can imagine? You are nothing but a foolish boy, a tool for me to use. I will have you under my control!" he hissed and lifted Kohaku into the air.
Kohaku gasped for breath, but none came. He grabbed at the vine with his free hand as if trying to pull himself away. With his other, he pulled the kusari-gama free and stabbed the vine with its tip. The vine ripped apart and he fell to the ground. Immediately he tore the remainder of the vine around his neck off and tossed it aside. Naraku drew closer as he scrambled to his feet.
"You cannot run," he said coldly. Kohaku felt another vine ensnare his ankles and he fell to the ground. The vine grew and climbed up his body, forcing the kusari-gama out of his hand as Kohaku was raised into the air. The bone blade fell to the ground with a thump.
"You cannot run," he repeated, the sound of a grin in his voice. The vines had encircled his throat once more, making him unable to speak. From the corner of his eye, he saw a hand come out of the white suit and draw towards his back. Something gleamed in his fingers. It looked like the sacred jewel shard, yet had a darker colour to it. 'An imitation shard!' Kohaku thought.
Before Kohaku could form another thought, he felt the fake jewel shard touch the real one in his back. Unbelievable pain shot throughout his body and his limps jerked everyway, though the vines held him tight. What little breath he had wanted to race out in a blood-curdling scream, but the vines never let him.
Finally Naraku pulled the fake shard away. For a moment there seemed to be a tainted light stretching from one shard to the other, but it faded as Naraku enclosed the fake in his fist. He drew the vines away from Kohaku and let him fall down to the ground. Kohaku no longer wanted to scream. He hungrily sucked in air, but he made no motion to run or shout or fight. Once he no longer laboured for breath, Kohaku rose from the ground and turned to face Naraku. The light in his eyes was gone, replaced with a dull brown soulless gaze.
'Kill Sango,' came a voice in Kohaku's mind. There was struggle somewhere in its depths, like someone trying to fight the voice, but it was distant. It was almost as if it belonged to another being. 'Go, kill her,' the hissing whisper demanded. The distant struggle in his mind stopped.
In the hut...
Bent over a pot of stew she was making for a small meal, Sango barely heard the low rustle from behind her. She began to turn to see if it was Kohaku when the sound of a metal chain clinking met her ears. Almost immediately after her breath was forced out as the sharp edge of a chain-sickle dug into her shoulder.
That was fun. hehe Sorry it took so long to make, by the way. Thanks for reading and please review!
