Chapter 28: Saving Aoshi, Part II
"Your first task will be to hunt down your friend and kill her."
Aoshi found himself running through the castle, powerless to stop himself. He despaired with each step that took him closer to Misao. Even though he had no idea where the girl had gone, he knew it didn't matter. Naraku had ordered him to kill her. So he would.
He heard Naraku laughing in his mind. Not only had the demonseed taken away his freedom of movement, but it also apparently allowed the youkai to speak directly into his mind. It was as if the spider had created some invisible link between he and Naraku.
A numb Aoshi dimly heard the soft chirping of cicadas as he lept out of a tall window. His eyes were focused straight ahead on a tiny speck in the distance. The large youkai had apparently dumped Misao off near a small forest.
"Kill the wench." Damn, Naraku was speaking to him again.
I won't! he wanted to yell. Soft chuckles echoed in his mind as Naraku replied.
"You don't have a choice."
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"Oh no! Kagome! Something's wrong!"
"Something's already wrong Sango!"
Shouts of 'Kill the intruder!' echoed down the corridor as they raced down it.
Kagome wished more than ever that she had a good bow. The whole castle had become alerted to their presence. Every turn she took seemed to bring her face to face with another angry youkai.
"I think it has to do with Aoshi! We have to find him!"
"I'm trying Sango!" Kagome yelled. Dammit. She really needed a weapon! Something...anything! The dead priestess nearly skidded to a halt as she passed an armory. Without stopping to hesitate, she dove into the room.
Which was also unfortunately inhabitated by several youkai.
As her eyes darted around the room, they fell upon a familiar and welcome site. She smiled happily as she eyed several sets of bows and arrows on the far side of the room.
"Something good just happened Sango," she said.
"Yes, I see."
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Naraku chuckled darkly as looked up at the giant spider on the ceiling. The female spider was his only surviving incarnation, having survived the past three centuries without being discovered by Inuyasha and his pitiful friends.
"Come down Sabra," he ordered. Sabra's fangs twitched wordlessly before she dropped down onto the hard floor. Naraku smirked as he reached out a hand and petted the grotesque head of his creature.
"Father perzzon givezz Sabra warm meatzz yesss yessss?" The spider asked hopefully.
"Soon Sabra dear, very soon. I may even let you feast on the flesh of a pesky hanyou. But for now, tend to your children."
"Yessssss father perzzon, yesss yesss."
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Misao sat down heavily. She knew that Aoshi was following her, but he wouldn't really hurt her. would he? A strong sob suddenly choked her and she fought the urge to lay down and cry. Why? Why? Why did this have to happen?
The young Obiwaban staggered to her feet as she stared at the white trenchcoat in the distance. Her teeth gritted together in determination as she balled her fists. She would help Aoshi, she had to! She had to get through to him!
Even if it killed her.
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Misao, what are you doing? Run! Aoshi threw all of his willpower against the creature in his chest, but to no avail. He could feel it inside of him, twitching and squirming. Worse even was the ever present voice of Naraku.
"She means to help you," he heard Naraku whisper. "Foolish child." Aoshi strained again at the spider, but Naraku only laughed at him.
"Foolish mortal, there is nothing you can do. You belong to me."
I don't belong to anyone! Aoshi silently yelled. He was only answered by fading laughter. How could he have been so stupid? He hadn't trusted Gojin from the start, so why had he followed him?
Aoshi knew why. It had been an innocent pair of a child's green eyes. Kaia. Aoshi's heart hurt deeply at the thought of her and he knew it wasn't the spider that was causing it. She had tried to warn him. She had tried to tell him about Naraku.
"Bad people make me do bad things!" she had wailed. Kia. He understood now. Naraku had used her, like he was using him. She must have had one of those spiders inside of her. But that still didn't explain the demonic face on the other side of her head.
Naraku. He had used a child to bait him, but why? Why? What was he after? Whatever it was, Aoshi was sure of one thing. Naraku would die by his hand and his hand alone.
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The tables had turned on the many youkai in the castle. A now fully armed Kagome was racing through the castle with a good bow and two quivers full of arrows. Most of the youkai were now giving her a wider berth as she made her way within the castle. They had learned to be wary of her after the first few arrows had been fired.
"I would think that there would be more resistance Kagome," Sango remarked. Kagome was starting to agree when she saw a new figure emerge from the shadows. Wrinkled and dirty, this new youkai was none other than Binh, the sorceress that had resurrected her.
Kagome notched an arrow and pointed it at the dirty old hag. The ancient woman cackled in a dry, airy voice. Her yellowed teeth glistened menacingly at the dead priestess as she pressed her bony hands together.
"Escape, eh?" Binh cackled. "No escape for you, my dear, oh no."
"Where's Aoshi?" Kagome demanded.
"Gone, yes, gone. He's off to kill the ninja girl, just like Naraku ordered him. You won't catch him though. He's far outside the castle walls." What? That meant, that meant that it was too late. NO. Kagome refused to let it be. She could still help him...them. But she had to hurry.
"Hurry and fire Kagome, before she casts a spell!" Sango cried. Kagome let loose the arrow just as the old crone launched a spiraling mass of dark energy at them. The two energies collided for a few tense seconds before Kagome's arrow finally purified the hag's magic.
The witch gave a high pitched shriek as the arrow dispelled the evil aura and pierced her heart. Her flesh rotted away to nothingness and her bones turned to dust. Soon, all that remained of Binh the sorceress was the faint ash on the castle floor.
Kagome and Sango raced past the dead hag, determined to catch up to Aoshi.
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Naraku narrowed his eyes as he looked into a deep silver basin. He lightly touched the clear water and it reformed into another image. Useful, this mirror was. He had taken it from a water youkai a few months before he'd hidden himself inside Mount Hakurei. That had been before he died. He was surprised that it had survived the past three centuries.
He stared distastfully at the image in the water mirror. That damn wench. Binh had failed to stop the dead priestess and now Kagome was chasing after Aoshi. How had she known about him? It seemed as if Kagome had come back to his castle to retrieve the swordsman. No matter.
Aoshi and Misao were far ahead of her. She wouldn't reach them in time.
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Misao balled her fists as she watched Aoshi begin to pick up speed. He couldn't be more than a quarter of a mile away now. The young woman resisted the urge to dash into the forest. No, she couldn't hide. Not from him.
The youkai who had dumped her here had told her what Naraku had done. Naraku had enslaved Aoshi and now he was going to use him to murder her. Somehow she had to help him break free.
"Aoshi!" she yelled desperately. "Snap out of it!" She received no response as the man continued relentlessly up the final stretch to her. In almost slow motion she watched him withdraw the twin kodachis from their sheath. Cold metal gleamed brightly in the late afternoon sun as he quickly approached her.
"Aoshi!" she yelled again.
Aoshi bounded silently up to her and she stared wide eyed him. Her legs seemed to have frozen in place. He came closer, ever closer, and Misao began to panic. He was going to kill her! There was nothing she could do to stop him!
She watched as the tall swordsman raised his blades, only seconds from striking her down. The young woman watched in almost morbid fascination as they descended slowly upon her.
A flash of light blinded her and she heard Aoshi give a hiss as he jumped back. A sharp thunk reached her ears as a strange arrow settled deep into a nearby tree. Misao gaped at it before swiveling around to find her rescuer. It took her a moment before she saw a distant red and white figure running towards them.
She made that shot from that distance? Misao saw the figure point at her and she ducked just in time to avoid a strike from Aoshi. The young woman suddenly found that her legs were working again and she leaped back as far as she could go.
Misao looked up to see Aoshi running at her again, but there was another bright flash of light. She heard another loud thunk and saw yet another arrow jutting out of the tree.
The young Obiwaban saw Aoshi pause at that and stare at the new intruder. The woman was closer now and Misao could see that she was actually a priestess. What's a priestess doing way out here? Aoshi seemed to study the priestess cautiously before he turned back to her and smirked. Misao stared at him as he began to approach yet again.
Another arrow zoomed by and Aoshi growled. This time he turned to face the new intruder, apparently deciding to deal with her first. The wind whipped violently at his white trenchcoat and the tattered remains of his shirt. The violet spider mark on his chest glistened sickenly against his exposed flesh.
"Leave us be wench!" Aoshi yelled. Misao gave a start at that. It was his voice, but yet, she knew that it wasn't him speaking. The young woman gave another start as the strange priestess finally yelled back.
"No! I won't let you kill your friend!"
The woman was now closing the distance between them, notching another arrow onto her bow as she ran.
"Don't kill him!" Misao pleaded suddenly. "It's not his fault!"
"I'm not!" The woman yelled back. "But you need to get away from him before he hurts you!"
She saw Aoshi smirk at that before lunging at her. Misao didn't even see the attack. She gave a gasp as a blade pierced through her side. The young woman barely heard the priestess shriek 'NO!' as she stared down at the kodachi.
The other kodachi seemed to move down in slow motion towards her. Unexpectantly however, the priestess knocked the blade out Aoshi's hand with one of her arrows. Misao would later remember distantly admiring the accuracy of the strange woman's aim. Misao would also later wonder at why Aoshi's first strike hadn't pierced her heart. Aoshi never missed a target.
"Get away from her!" the woman yelled.
Misao gave a gasp as Aoshi pulled the short sword out of her. She slumped to the ground and cradled her side as she stared up at the man she dearly loved. The priestess was close now, just meters away.
"Leave her alone! I know you don't want to hurt her!" The woman had another arrow pointed another arrow at Aoshi. "My name's Kagome and I'm here to help! Look, I know what Naraku did to you! I can help!"
Misao grunted in pain as she attempted to stop the bleeding. Aoshi's face seemed riveted on the priestess. A fleeting expression of pain crossed his face and his sword hand shook slightly. Misao watched as his lips slowly parted, as if even that very small movement took a great deal of effort.
"I...please...stop...me...before...Naraku..." he pleaded.
Large pools of sweat slowly dripped down his face. The woman wasted no time in rushing to the struggling Aoshi. She quickly dropped her bow and pulled an arrow from one of her quivers.
"This may hurt a little," the priestess said. A strained look from Aoshi was her only anwswer as the priestess brought the point of her arrow to the spider mark on his chest.
"Hurry...can't...hold..."
There was a bright glow as Kagome pushed the arrow into Aoshi's chest. His arms twitched as the demonseed inside of him attempted to regain control.
"Oh no you don't," Kagome muttered angrily. The point of her arrow finally made contact with the hidden spider and it gave a shrill shriek from within Aoshi's body. The dead priestess very carefully pulled the arrow out of the man's body.
There was a slight bulge in Aoshi's chest as the dying spider crawled weakly out and fell to the ground. Kagome stabbed it once more with her arrow and it died in a final burst of light. She gave a huge sigh of relief as Aoshi fell weakly to his knees.
At least that part was over. She had managed to purify the demonseed in Aoshi's chest.
"Kagome," Sango said. "I know they're both hurt, but we have to move. Naraku's sent out some of his youkai to hunt us down." Kagome looked back behind her to see that, indeed, there were several youkai heading their way.
"We have to get moving," Kagome ordered them. "I know you're both hurt, but we're all dead if we stay here." The two other humans struggled weakly to their feet. She noticed that Aoshi couldn't even bring himself to look at the other woman.
He must feel so bad, Kagome thought. Poor guy. He would have killed her. She realized that she had yet another reason to hate Naraku. Inuyasha and Kikyo, Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Kouga...and now these two. How many people did he have to hurt? This time she would make sure that Naraku stayed dead.
"Come on," she ordered. "This way."
The ragged group stumbled off into the forest. Weakened, injured, and disorientated, none of them had any choice but to move forward.
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Next chapter:
We move back to Kouga, Shippo, Saito and Sano. Can these four hooligans accomplish their goal without killing each other? Their searching leads them closer to Naraku and they come across some unexpected help in the forms of three familiar little faces.