Hey guys! I am SO sorry about last week. I had most of this chapter done on time. There was a flashback that I was responsible for composing and I had writer's block. I also would have had this up earlier today but my computer is dumb so I couldn't enter the edit menu, that's why the formatting isn't right. Again: sorry.
To make up for all of that, this chapter is pretty long. It took up 7 PAGES on Word.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: ChibiBean does not own nor claim rights to InuYasha or Angelic Layer or any of its characters.
Remember: The formatting is messed up so please do the best you can reading it.
Bugs 'n' Babies 'n' Larvae, Oh My!
Chapter 12
"Yuto! Yuto, are you ok!" Sarah cried.
"Yeah," he called back, coughing, "but InuYasha's out. I think the smell was too much for him." He was still hard to see in all the dust.
A large, bug-like demon loomed over them all. It raised itself high before plunging down on Yuto.
"YUTO!" Sarah screamed. "Yuto, answer me!"
There was no answer.
Miroku shifted Azurine into one arm and placed his free hand on Sarah's shoulder. "I…I don't think he can, Sarah."
She pushed his hand away. "No! Don't touch me! Yuto! COME!" she cried at the top of her lungs.
There was a moment where nothing happened and she feared the worst. Then, suddenly through the dust, Yuto stumbled to her side. He was covered in blood: both the demon's and his own. There was a large gash across his back.
Azurine blinked awake. "Huh? What happened?" she asked sleepily.
Meanwhile, the demon had followed Yuto with its eyes and spotted Sarah, Azurine, and Miroku: A.K.A.: an easier meal. It lunged at Sarah.
Sarah's hands caught fire and she prepared to fight, but Yuto stepped in front of her. He pulled out his sword and slashed at the bug.
"Sarah," he growled, "stay behind me."
Miroku let Azurine stand on her own and stepped up beside Yuto. He grasped the prayer beads.
"No," Yuto muttered. "This fight is personal."
Yuto struck out at the beast. His blade sank deeply into the neck, but the demon clamped its jaws firmly over the man's chest.
He went limp.
"No," Sarah gasped, turning away.
Everything to Sarah dulled. Colors swam, noises hushed, and the ground beneath her seemed to disappear. The only thing she saw was Yuto's body, bleeding and torn. Voices from the past swam into perception as Sarah relived her first kiss.
Flashback…you know, Sarah. You're pretty when you smile." said Yuto in a hushed voice.
"Uh…um…thank you …I think." Sarah blushed. "W-why are you saying this?" she asked flustered.
"Because. Because you are. And because I want to do this."
He suddenly bent down and kissed her. They stood like that for a moment before Yuto pulled away, blushing. "Sorry. I guess that was a bit too forward of me."
Sarah stood there, her face stuck in a look of shock. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open a little. "Um," was all she could mutter. She whipped around so he couldn't see her. She placed her hands on her quickly warming cheeks. She was too embarrassed to even look at him. "Excuse me," she managed to squeak out. She took off, running, leaving Yuto standing looking after her.
As she ran, she knew he might follow her. She yelled, "stay!" over her shoulder and continued down the bank of the river. Once she was a good distance away and out of sight of the bridge, she stopped. She knelt on the river's edge and looked at her reflection in the slowly flowing water. She splashed her face with the cool water and sighed. "What was that all about?"
She stood and slowly moseyed further downstream until she came across a shallow pool bulging from the river created by a crumbling embankment. She stepped into the cool water, feeling it wash about her thighs and tug at the fringe of her shorts. She sighed again. "Why did he do that? Maybe Azurine put him up to it. She is always teasing me because I never date anyone. That must be it. There's no other explanation."
"Isn't there?"
Sarah's face, which had finally worked its way back to its pale complexion, flushed in seconds. She looked sideways at Yuto. He stood several yards away.
Shippo-less, she noted. He must have left him somewhere.
Yuto walked forward and sat behind her on the grass. He removed his boots and socks. "So, that's the only explanation, is there?" He commenced to roll his pant legs up and dip his legs in the water.
Sarah took a step forward into the river and away from the man, staring out at the far side. She thought for a minute before answering. "Well…I figure the only reason you'd…kiss me…is if Azure put you up to it."
"Is that so? What if I did it because I find you to be attractive?" He looked at Sarah in confusion as she smothered giggles with her hand. Once she settled down she looked at the sky.
"That's not possible. No one is attracted to 'Sarah Atherton, that nice girl from class'. It's the way it's always been. I have lots of guy friends but they all think of me as their little sister, not someone mature enough to date." She chuckled slightly.
"That's not true."
"Then why are you the only one who thinks so? Why, if I'm so pretty and mature, has no one asked me out or even complimented me? I know that sounds conceited but…"
"Maybe I just happen to have more courage than anyone else or, perhaps, your friends are just blind."
Sarah blushed and shook her head. "Guys don't like me. I've been shot down and rejected enough times to know that. Half the school doesn't even realize how old I am; they think I'm fourteen instead of seventeen. 'I act too spacey, I'm too short, so on and so forth.' The worst part is, it's true. How could anyone like such an immature person?"
"Stop being so self-deprecating. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met."
"No, I…I…" Yuto noticed her body was shaking slightly and saw the water ripple from the splash of an escaped tear.
Evenly, he spoke to her. "Hey, whoa. Calm down."
She sniffled. "I'm sorry," she said in a trembling voice. "I don't know why I'm letting this get to me. It's never really bothered me before. I decided years ago that I should just wait for that special someone just for me to come along and I also realized that he might never come. I've learned to live with that."
"You realized all of this when?"
"Years ago, when I was eleven or twelve."
"I think that's very mature. To be able to face reality like that at such a young age is no small feat. Most people don't realize it even in old age. You're wise beyond your years, my dear." He smiled when he heard a small sigh of contentment.
Sarah kept staring ahead, not wanting to show her face to Yuto just yet. Minutes went by in silence. She felt something tickle her arm, realizing moments later that it was an arm wrapping itself around her arms and chest. She felt another arm go around her waist. They pulled her backwards until she felt a firm torso stop her movement as it pressed against her back. She could feel Yuto's heartbeat quicken slightly. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as he whispered in her ear.
"Don't worry, you'll find your special someone. You never know. He may be very close even now."
She grabbed one of his arms with both hands for support as she turned her head to look up at him. Just as he was in her view, he gently grabbed her chin with his free hand and guided her up to meet him in a kiss. After a moment, he let go and smiled down at her.
Sarah had, once again, gone back to staring out at the river. He felt water splash on his arm. She was crying. But through her silent tears he knew without having to look that she was smiling.
"Very close indeed," he whispered, hugging her closer.
After a moment, she asked hesitantly, "Promise this isn't a joke?"
"Promise."
"Why…?
"Because of who you are. Sarah is Sarah and no one else. I wouldn't want you to be anybody else."
She turned around and buried her face in his shirt. "Thank you," she barely managed to whisper.
He rubbed her head. "No problem."
There were voices in the distance: Azurine, Miroku, and Shippo's.
"Sarah! Where are you? Sarah…"
End FlashbackThe memory faded and Yuto's lifeless body was in Sarah's vision.
"No…" she gasped again.
Being too weak to fight, Azurine embraced her friend tightly. She pulled her to her knees as the bug dropped Yuto and came back after them. Miroku stood over them both.
"Kazana!" he yelled (wind tunnel) and the demon was sucked into his hand along with most of the dust.
Yukito and Kagome were both at InuYasha's side and looked in horror at Yuto's bloody body.
"Sarah," whispered Azurine, "stay here." She went to him and saw his eyelids flutter.
"Azure? Is Sarah okay?" he managed.
"She's fine. You, however, are not. Don't move," she commanded laying her hand on the worst of his wounds. "Don't you dare die. Sarah can't stand to lose you so this had better work."
Her sparks turned lavender and Yuto's body went limp, absorbing the sparks as they danced along the edges of ragged, bloodied skin. Once the wound finally began to heal, a lone silver spark jumped across Azurine's hands.
Yuto let out a low moan while Azurine crawled away and collapsed against a tree. She found her pack near her and laid her head on it. "I'm…okay…" she mumbled before she passed out. Yay, blackness, zzzzz…
Miroku surveyed their condition. Azurine was too worn to fight; Yuto and InuYasha were both out for the count; Sarah seemed to be okay if not a bit distraught; Shippo was missing; Kagome and Yukito seemed to be the only ones unscathed. "Not good," he said to the others. "That was just the mother. Here come the babies!"
Several miniature bug demons sprouted from the ground and headed straight for the three incapacitated friends: Yuto, Azurine, and InuYasha. However, Sarah, Miroku, Yukito, and Kagome intervened with their respective skills. Sarah, fueled by anger and despair, fried the flipping bug-thinger to a barbeque-flavored crisp. Kagome, a completely normal kid without a bow in hand, tried to stomp on one, which in turn chomped down on the offending appendage. Yukito, not knowing what to do, contended himself with chucking rocks at the nearest bug. Miroku, quite effectively, sucked all of the bugs into his Kazana. He was on clean up duty.
(Chibi: Hey guys. Right about here is where Bean started randomly ranting in the story. She wants you to read it so I put it at the bottom. Read if you dare.)
Kagome, feeling quite useless from her foot wound, sat and began nursing InuYasha back to health. She did this by shaking him and 'sitting' him until he finally woke up.
"What…was that for?" he grunted, getting up.
While they argued, Yuto began to twitch and struggle when Sarah held his shoulders.
"STAY, YUTO!" she yelled. Once frozen, she began dressing his wounds.
Several yards away, Miroku gently kneeled beside Azurine. It was at that moment that Shippo showed up beside them. He had a small bucket of water, a bunch of cloths, and bandages.
"She's used too much of her energy. She's sick again," Miroku muttered as he felt her forehead, "fever and all."
Shippo handed him a wet cloth. "We should bring them back to the village, shouldn't we?"
"We should, but we've got no way to get them there unless InuYasha helps to carry the others. We could do that, but I doubt InuYasha has the strength currently."
InuYasha stood behind him glaring with full intensity. "Are you calling me weak, monk?"
"No, no. Just thought you might want some rest," he explained nervously. "Obviously you're fine."
The trip to the village was pretty uneventful. Sarah fretted over Yuto. InuYasha almost dropped him, which made Sarah fuss even more causing InuYasha to become angrier. Eventually he learned to ignore her. Miroku carried Azurine while enduring Shippo's watchful glare all the way back. Yukito and Kagome brought up the rear walking in an awkward silence.
LaterAzurine woke up once again in Kaede's hut. Looking about she spotted Yuto's body several feet away. He was covered in bandages patching all his various, assorted wounds. Azurine sat up and risked a glance at her hands.
Thankfully, she saw the sparks had regenerated to their normal quantity and brightness.
"Yay!" she squeaked and lightly clapped her hands. As she did, the sparks shifted from silver to blue. The sound of raindrops began to patter merrily outside. As the young witch paused at this change, her sparks turned silver and the pit-pat of water halted.
"Odd," she muttered. "Was I actually happy to have these things back?" She pondered a moment before shrugging. "Whatever."
"Go back to bed," said Yuto in a hoarse voice. "Or at least stop talking to yourself," he grumbled.
"Sorry," Azurine replied. "I thought you were out cold."
"It's kind of hard when half your back is ripped open and some girl keeps mumbling to herself. Now go back to bed," he whispered cracking his eyes open to give a harmless glare at his roommate.
Azurine, however, was feeling quite restless. She exited the hut and surveyed her companions. InuYasha was bothering Priestess Kaede, Yukito was trying to access the internet with his Kaede, (which wasn't very effective), Miroku was chatting with Kagome and Sarah, and Shippo was…jumping right at her! He landed on her head and peeked down at her.
"Hey!" she laughed.
"Are you still sick?" Shippo asked, slightly worried.
"No!" She flashed a big smile up at him. "I'm better." She then yelled over to Sarah. "Hey Tanpopo! Yuto woke up. Just thought you might want to know." She smiled at her friend.
Sarah blushed and walked past her. "I…I'm going to go see him." She entered the hut. There was a moment of silence after her entrance. The only sound was the small sniffles that Sarah made. Then…
"You idiot!" Sarah yelled. "You nearly got yourself killed all because of your stupid pride! How could you?" From outside, a sudden burst of orange could be seen exploding within the hut. A small plume of smoke threaded its way out of the door. "What do you mean 'ow'? I'm not half-way through with you yet!" There was a pause in which Yuto's voice could be heard quietly before Sarah erupted again. "I don't CARE if I set you on FIRE!"
"Sarah!" Azurine called, not bothering to hide a smile. "Don't kill him! Remember, he's wearing those prayer beads that work to your advantage so well."
In the hut, Sarah inhaled deeply and was about to shout a command when a hand clapped over her mouth. She looked up at Yukito. He dragged her out of the hut, hand still clasped firmly over mouth. "You'll kill him if you do anymore, so knock it off, squirt."
Azurine couldn't help but laugh at Sarah's guilty face. Yukito turned to smile at her when Miroku pulled one of his stupid stunts. While Azurine was busy smacking and scolding the monk, Yukito's face fell. It was obvious which one she would choose. Sarah looked at him solemnly. "You know she'll never have a choice if she doesn't know one exists. You have to let her know about your feelings if you expect to even have a chance." She walked away like nothing had happened.
After a while, Azurine slipped away from the group to go for a walk in the woods. She sighed, hating the need for choice. Shippo followed and, upon catching up to her, jumped on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said through a fake grin. "I'm fine."
"You're a liar," said a voice from behind her. "You haven't been fine since I showed up."
"Yukito?" Azurine asked as she turned to him. "It's not you, it's really not. It's just this whole world. It's not being able to go home, my mother, Mine. The team needs me to be here, but I just want to go home. Oh, Shippo! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! Oh, I feel stupid now…" she trailed off, face in her hands.
Shippo switched shoulders. "You can go home. You and Sarah and Yukito and Kagome; Kagome does it all the time. You can go now, just come back."
The young girl nodded. "I'll try." Hopefully I can return.
Shippo looked confused, but remained silent.
"Yukito, tell Sarah I'm going home, okay? I need new clothes and some food. Okay?"
Yukito nodded, though he looked preoccupied with his thoughts. Azurine ran to the well with Shippo still clinging to her.
"I can't go through, Azurine. You should know that. Kagome told you," the kitsune noted.
"Well, maybe it'll work this time. My magic may be stronger. So, why don't you try again?"
"Um…I don't know…" he glanced at the well. "Uh…okay!"
She wrapped her arms around him and climbed up onto the edge of the well. Just as she jumped she thought, this is gonna hurt, isn't it?
Please wait a few secondsHer feet thudded hard on the rocky bottom of the well sending a jolt through her body. When she looked up, she saw police caution tape stretched across the open mouth of the well. Azurine sighed and looked at Shippo. "Well, my little buddy, you made it."
Shippo's arms were thrown over his head protectively. The remains of a silvery shield clung to him; sparks danced throughout his clothes and hair. He looked up at his companion. "Huh? I did?"
She laughed. "Yup. Welcome to the future!"
"The future's dark and small…and wet."
"Oh," she began. "Yeah, let's get you out of the well." She climbed, surprisingly easily, out of the well. Near the top, she found the ragged end of a rope that had been cut by the sharp rocks. It seemed like so long ago that this rope had been used to lower Azurine down into the well. She smiled, remembering, and finished the climb.
At the top, Shippo jumped off her shoulder as the girl tumbled into the leaves laughing. Finally, she sat up and sighed. "I'm home."
Gathering Shippo in her arms, she began walking towards Cain's house and what she knew might be awaiting her.
Hey guys, here's that rant from Bean:
Three-miniature bug-like-thing-demon-monsters…yea…sprouted from the ground and headed straight for Yuto, Azure, and InuYasha. Why? Because they had the same brain type as their mommy and wanted the easiest meals. And these three just happened to be paralyzed, so you know, they ignored Miroku, Sarah, Kagome, and Shippo who had disappeared without a trace, as he often did, but he will reappear in a moment, because he really could do nothing but get in the way of this scene. Also because he was off doing something, like getting water or such like. Also, the others were the targets because I say so and I am the one writing this fan fic so I can do whatever I want. If I wanted, I could have the dead broad, A.K.A: Kikyo, be eaten by a demon possessed panda bear because I love to hate her. Perhaps I will. Now what was I saying? Oh dear me, I believe I've forgotten and the last page is in my binder…hmmm…what a pickle. I will have to be like Shigure from Fruits Basket and drive Chibi mad. Oh, hello Chibi, how are you? You look positively outraged. You want to know what happened to poor Yuto, don't you?
She wrote this while she was the one behind in writing. Now it's my fault that things are going so slowly. I again apologize for the formatting and the lateness. Gomen nasai.