A/N: Okay guys, here's the next update. I think you'll like it, it was one of my favorite chapter's to write.
.:Curse of Dragons:.
.:By: Darkwolfgal:.
.:Chapter 9: By Sun's Lost Light:.
"So we're fighting Lord Naraku again now— Porridge?"
She nodded and gratefully accepted the proffered bowl of steaming porridge, gulping it down carefully, but still nearly scalding her tongue. She slowed down; it wasn't as if Miroku didn't have time to answer her questions. She had been placed in his 'care', though Sango had warned her about his lecherous ways.
She sighed and downed another spoonful, thinking about what he had already told her about the Taijiya. They were an ancient band of warriors, committed to fighting demons. When the demons had settled down though, they had been left without a purpose and many of them had moved on.
That was when the dragons appeared, and soon after the overlord of the beasts, Naraku. The Taijiya had been immediately suspicious, the dragons had the destructive potential of demons, and with Naraku in control of them the world would fall to its knees before him. Even worse, though, was the fact that the dragons were not normal creatures. They were creations, and creations had to be made from something. Considering how powerful the dragons were, that something they had been made from couldn't simply be herbs and spells. There had to be something more.
So the Taijiya had sent scouts into Naraku's dragon compounds, but they were soon caught. The Taijiya were revealed, and Naraku swore war against the rebelling band. Sango's father had led those battles, and on one particularly successful battle they discovered a sword. It was in horrible shape, but there was power in it.
Soon after, Inuyasha had appeared and had taken his sword back. He had been a valuable ally, strong and a born leader, but he most certainly hadn't been a dragon then. No, he had been a half demon, with a mane of silver hair and two pointed dog-ears. According to Miroku, his eyes had never changed.
Then, Inuyasha had fallen in love with a wayfaring priestess who had helped defend a Taijiya stronghold. She traveled across the countryside, but it seemed clear the times they spent together had been filled with love, and victory, for with her aid Naraku was always beaten back and much lost land was regained.
She had sent a letter once, asking Inuyasha to meet her at the main town, Naraku's headquarters. She apparently 'needed to get something of value from a friend' but needed Inuyasha's protection. He had set off and he was never seen again. Only his sword, Tetsusaiga, floating down the river and the scrap of white cloth that served as a note stuck in its sheath. It had only said one word, in messy scrawl that seemed to have been hurriedly written, written in blood. 'Betrayal.'
Both Sango and Miroku's fathers had died in a great battle, forcing the Taijiya to scatter, but Sango, as the leader now, had been regrouping whatever Taijiya she could find and massed them in the fortress, which, Miroku now confirmed, was more of a fortified palace. The spies at the compound had found out about the shattered jewel, but since she and Inuyasha had killed them no one knew where the shards were.
"But what happened between them? Surely you had heard something?" She persisted, her bowl of porridge nearly done, and she shifted on the cushioned mats next to the table. It was a week since she had gotten out of bed, and she had recovered well from the soul draining.
Miroku shook his head, as if he didn't know anything, but his words denied that.
"As I said before, it is not my tale to tell." He said solemnly. "You'll have to ask Inuyasha himself."
"Speaking of Inuyasha, where is he?" She asked, seizing the subject.
"I haven't seen him." The monk replied nonchalantly.
"Come on, he's go to be somewhere!" She groaned, more to herself than to Miroku, but surprisingly she got an answer.
"I swore I wouldn't tell anyone, but…" He said something more, but it was incoherent with the sounds of the other Taijiya getting breakfast around them.
"What did you say?" She asked, and Miroku looked around, and then beckoned her closer. She leaned around the table, rising on her knees until her ear was almost an inch from his mouth—
And she felt a hand groping at her behind.
- - -
The messenger boy outside looked up, puzzled, at a scream of feminine rage and the clash of flesh against flesh. A moment later several dishes shattered, one, flying through the window, shattered not far from his feet. He quickly went back to work.
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The little boy looked up at the sound of footsteps, suddenly on edge. His two silver dog-ears pinned, hiding in his mane of silver hair, and he lifted his head, his nose twitching delicately for a moment. Suddenly, he broke into a grin, lowering into a crouch and bounding down the path on all fours.
"Father!" The boy cried in delight, stopping at the human shaped demon and hugging its leg.
"Inuyasha," The demon boomed pleasantly, bending to tousle the boy's hair, and the little half-demon pouted.
"I'm not a pup anymore!" He cried, but the demon only smiled.
"You've been good for your mother, haven't you?" He asked, and the boy bobbed his head.
"I was very good, I didn't even chase the squirrels! Well… while she wasn't looking-"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." A serene voice said from behind the two demons and a woman stepped from the mist, her lavish kimono draped around her. Invisible to the boy, her eyes were filled with worry.
"Inuyasha, I brought you something." The dog demon said with a forced smile, pulling out a red ball from his yukata and offering it to the young half-demon, who cried out in delight and took it, bouncing it along the road.
Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…
The silver stone shifted, revealing it wasn't really a stone but scales, and further scrutiny revealed a draconic head, which tossed slightly in its sleep.
"Not again…" He moaned, before his dream—or was it a nightmare? — claimed him.
"Please, do not go!" Pleaded the woman's voice, she was on her knees, begging.
"Think of Inuyasha!" She cried.
"I must fight, my reputation demands it. I will lose my title as the Lord of the West." The demon argued, his voice rising as the woman began to plead again.
In the hall the little half-demon boy shivered, his ears pinned. In his hands he clutched the red ball, the gift from his father. He knew he shouldn't be there, listening, and he started to walk away, sniffing as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"What was that?" The demon behind the door demanded, suddenly protective, and he threw open the door, only to reveal the tearing boy.
"Father, don't go." The boy begged, his lip quivering. "I don't want you to leave again!" The half-demon pleaded, bursting into tears. The elder demon scooped him up in strong arms, cradling the boy at his chest.
"Alright then Inuyasha, shush, I'm not going to go." The demon murmured softly, starting to walk down the hall, his wife at his heels.
"You won't?" The boy asked, tearfully, but with undisguised hope.
"I won't." His father repeated, sliding open the door to the boy's bedroom and setting the boy on the cushions that served as his bed, but the boy hung on to his long sleeves, staring tearfully into his father's amber eyes.
"Promise you won't go?" He asked, and the demon looked over his shoulder at his wife, who narrowed her eyes before casting her gaze to the floor.
"I promise Inuyasha, I won't go, now go to sleep." The demon ordered, tucking the boy into his bed and handing him the red ball. A moment later the peaceful rise and fall of the half demon's chest revealed he was asleep.
When the boy woke the next morning, his father was gone.
The dragon stirred again, thrashing, across the ground. A nearby rabbit lifted its head from the grass before bounding off, afraid. The dragon grumbled, his head turning in his forepaws, his claws shredding at the ground.
"Go away…" He rumbled, "Leave me alone…"
Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…
The red ball bounded along the cobblestone path.
The boy chased after it, his bare feet hardly making a sound as he ran.
Two hands closed on the ball, long before he did, and the stranger appraised the ball.
"Let us play catch." He said and the boy nodded, eagerly, but the stranger was talking to the humans behind him, and he ignored the little boy, tossing the ball over his shoulder.
A woman caught it, tossing it to a man. The man returned it to the stranger; the woman caught the ball again. She tossed it, the man missed, and the ball went bouncing down the bridge. The boy bounded after it, snatching it up and turning back to the humans.
"Lets play!" He cried happily, but the humans eyed him with scorn and left, without another word.
"Worthless halfbreed." Said a voice to his left. He turned, scared, to see a large demon sitting in a tree overhead.
"You're a fool, trying to play with the humans." The demon hissed. He looked so much like the other one, the one the boy had called father.
He chucked the ball at the demon with sudden anger. It glanced off a barrier and went plopping into the rushing waters below the bridge.
"Foolish halfbreed." The demon remarked as the boy ran tearfully back to where his mother stood on the pagoda, bounding into her arms.
"Mama?" He asked tearfully. "What's a halfbreed?"
His mother only smiled sadly, and then saw the demon on the bridge.
"You." She said, and the boy turned.
"He's mean." The boy said, hiding behind his mother's kimono.
"What do you want?" His mother hissed, her face pale with fear.
"I want my half brother." The demon said, his voice cold. "I want his life, I want it snuffed out."
"I'll never let you!" His mother cried, and the demon chuckled.
"Leave him here, in one hour," The demon ordered, "Or I will have your head, and then his." And with that, the demon was gone.
"Inuyasha." The woman said, and the boy peered out from behind his mother's skirts.
"Is he gone-" The boy started, but his mother moved away.
"You have to go now." She said, sorrowfully, shoving the boy away from her. He stared back, confused.
"Mama? What do you mean?" He asked. "I don't want to leave!" He turned back towards her, but she shoved him away.
"Go, Inuyasha, you must!" She urged, but the half demon still turned back towards her.
"Mama, I don't want to go!" The boy cried, trying to turn back towards his mother, but she forced him away. When he tried to come back again, she hit him.
"Mama…?" He cried, tears pricking in his eyes as the pain from his cheek grew.
"Go!" She urged, but the half demon boy turned back, hugging her tight.
"Mama…" The boy cried, and tears fell from his mother's eyes as well.
She let her hands fall to his back, hugging her tightly to him.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, but he didn't hear as she swept him off his feet, throwing him over the bridge.
"Mama!" The boy cried, as he fell into the river.
"Ma…ma…" He gurgled weakly as his head appeared over the water.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha." His mother said again, but again he did not hear.
The sun fell beneath the horizon, but there was no moon in the sky that night.
Two gleaming amber eyes slid open, glazed, unfocused. They did not see the hillside around him, nor the clouded skies or the faintest lights of the Taijiya stronghold. The dragon still slept in his forced slumber, the dragon continued to dream.
Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…Clatter… Clatter… Clatter…
Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…Clatter… Clatter… Clatter…
The mist parted,
A figure stepped from the fog,
"InuYasha?"
That voice,
His name
Her face,
Pale as a ghost,
With hair of a raven-black hue,
And brown eyes,
Cold, deep, and buried in—Warmth?
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Here she was being stupid again, deciding to take a stroll in the fog, but ever since that perverted monk had tried to grope her that morning she had decided to stay well away from the Taijiya camp. She had healed well enough from the 'drainage' as Miroku constantly referred it, so she had decided to take a walk. Besides, they hadn't seen Inuyasha for days.
"Go away… Leave me alone."
She whipped around, stumbling over something and pivoting like a dancer to keep from falling, but the disembodied voice was silent, which only made her shiver even more.
"Who's there?" She called, turning this way and that. The voice had been so full of pain, like a spirit… could a spirit haunt the stronghold of the Taijiya?
She turned, feeling with her feet, turning and striking at the fog. Who had called out? Was it just a voice in her head? Was she going crazy, was this another effect of the drainage? No, something was stirring out in the fog, something large.
"Anyone there?" She called, making her way towards the sound. Her footsteps seemed so loud, her shoes clattering on the pebbles of the hillside. She waved her arms in front of her and the wind, as if summoned, began to pick up. She saw something then, in the last rays of the sun as it set, a flash of silver, and the gleam of golden eyes. Could it be?
The wind gusted again, determined to blow away the fog, and she stepped forwards.
"Inu…Yasha?" She asked softly, and the dragon's head turned her way, glazed amber eyes growing steadily clearer.
"You… You're not Kikyo." He said again, staring at her, and she shook her head, just as she had done the many times before.
"I'm Kagome."
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He stared as the visions of his dream slowly changed form, the brown eyes, chiseled of ice, began to melt. His mind fought at it, trying to bring him back into unconsciousness, but something forced him awake.
"Kagome?" He asked, shocked. What was she doing in his dreams? She wasn't supposed to be here, it was supposed to be Kikyo. Which could only mean one thing.
"You're not supposed to be Kagome! You're supposed to be Kikyo!" He cried, on his feet in an instant. What time was it? Where was the sun? It couldn't be too late, not now, not with the Taijiya so close!
"Inuyasha, calm down… I'm Kagome." The girl cried, but he wouldn't listen, his eyes had caught site of the bare gleam of orange of the sunset.
"No!" He roared, unfurling his wings and beating them rapidly, dispelling the fog so both of them could see the setting sun.
"It's too late!"
---------
She gasped in shock as the dragon roared, unable to find a reason why he was so panicked now.
"Inuya-" She began, but before she could even finish he had rounded on her, eyes blazing with anger mixed with fear.
"You! Why did you have to come and wake me? Get away, get away!" He roared, and she clapped her hands over her ears, but glared at him resolutely.
"What's going-" She tried to cry, but his roaring drowned her voice out.
"Get away from me!" He roared, diving at her with his muzzle. She backed away but his fangs appeared out of nowhere, ripping two long cuts through her kimono. Her chest was numb from the blow, and she could feel bruises forming, and the trickle of blood from two small cuts.
"Inuyasha! What's going on?" She cried, punctuating the word 'on' with a smack to the silver dragon's snout. Her chest was aching, and she felt winded, but she grabbed his muzzle anyways, her hands trying in vain to hold the mighty jaws shut. Still, something had hit Inuyasha and he stopped with his thrashing.
"You idiot, you're wasting my time!" He hissed, his eyes flicking to the sunset.
"Tell me… what's going on." She panted, meeting his eyes. She did not look away.
He glared at her, and then seemed to realize she wasn't going to leave.
"Listen then, but swear you'll tell no one!" He hissed, and she nodded.
"I… promise." She said, still gasping from his blow, he didn't seem to notice.
"Alright, the monk told you I was a half-demon, right?" He barely gave her time to nod before continuing. "Half-demons are despised by their demon brethren, but they also suffer from something else. Once a month we're forced to take human forms." His eyes leapt to the disappearing sun yet again.
"My time is the new moon, but it's different as a dragon." He hissed quickly, he didn't have much time.
"I can think for myself now because my demon blood resists this dragon form, but on the night of the new moon my human blood runs stronger." He broke eye contact with her; she lacked the strength to force him to meet her eyes.
"I can't control myself, I become like those normal dragons, and I'm powerless!" He cried suddenly, and her ears rang with the pain in his voice. She understood what he felt. Naraku's riders, which were all after the sacred jewel, had chased her through the streets but she couldn't have gotten rid of it.
"My only chance was to fall asleep, then through the night my dragon form would be unconscious, I would never be able to cause trouble, but look what you've done!" He hissed again, glaring at her.
"I don't know what chaos I could reek, I don't know what I'll be doing, and I might kill everyone within twelve hours flight distance! I might… I might…" And then his voice faltered, his pain eclipsed only by the prospect of the guilt he might have to deal with. He had already gone through so much, he couldn't go through more, and she felt tears prick at her eyes.
"You…" He started, as if to blame her, but he stopped and she knew why. The prospects were so great he couldn't even blame her, she whose fault this would be. Either way he would suffer.
Then he jerked his head away from her hands, glaring at the last rays of the sun.
"Go, leave me alone!" He grumbled towards her, his eyes narrowed and the glare of the sun hiding any emotions he might be feeling. She backed away, then stumbled, her chest still aching with the force of his blow, and then she collapsed, the wind knocked out of her. She gasped for breath, clutching at her chest, but her eyes watched as the dragon spread his wings and beat them angrily.
"Kikyo! I'll-" But whatever he was going to say after was lost in the incoherent roar of a dragon in pain as the sun finally set.
The orange ball of fire fell from the sky, revealing a moonless night.
A/N: Well? Hit the purple button and tell me! As a warning, this is summer vacation, I don't live in Australia, so I'm going on vacation for the next three weeks.