Yay! A night when I am unencumbered by swimming injuries and I actually have time to update! Let's get the disclaimer out of the way so ya'll can read –
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I'd be rich. That's all the proof you need.
Chapter 18 – Secrets, Lies and Truths
The metal of Kohaku's katana sliced into the thick skin on the bear's thigh like it was nothing, and as he roared and howled, I grinned easily. Battle felt so good. I'd missed fighting. His blood was already staining my hands and my yukata, which was by now repulsive. You couldn't even see the pattern on it anymore, it was that dirty. I didn't care. I pulled out the sword, straining my muscles, and then ran around to his belly and stabbed that. He started to thrash, and smacked me right in the gut. I stammered back, gasping, as Kohaku grabbed me and supported me. Kouga and Kagura were already swooping back in to battle him.
"I should never have lent you that sword." Kohaku said, short of breath, as he helped me to my feet. "You're a maniac with that thing."
I smiled evilly. "Ahh, I love it when people find out for the first time that I'm a psycho. It makes for a great conversation."
He cocked an eyebrow at me, and then wiped the blood off the blade of his sickle. "Well, if you're so psycho, would you like to go in for another round against this bear demon?"
"I most certainly would." I sprinted back into the battle. While Kohaku went down to distract him, I screamed up at Kagura,
"Give me a lift! I want to get to his head!"
She looked offended as she flew down on the feather to get me, but all the same she gave me her hand and jerked me up onto the feather. I didn't know where Kanna was, but she wasn't there anymore. We flew quickly over the demon, and nodding my thanks, I leapt down, the wind streaming through my hair.
He had thick fur, so I was able to grab a tuft of it and hold on as I stabbed random places. It seriously ticked him off, as he snapped and roared. You see the damage a fifteen-year-old girl with a sword can do? I guess this was why my mom never really let me play with sharp objects when I was a baby.
All in all, it was a good fight. I loved the thrill of battle, I loved feeling his blood over my skin, I was enthralled with being able to stab and cut with a sword again. Kohaku and Kagura were sending each other weird looks throughout the whole battle, but I wasn't worried about it. Kohaku, Kouga and Kagura were the best allies a girl could have, and it looked like we were going to beat him when –
My parents came back.
Sound familiar, those of you who go to late-night parties? Yeah, I thought so.
The bear had managed to knock me off his back when I saw Kirara flying towards me faster than I'd ever seen her go. As I quickly got to my feet, I could hear my mom screaming my name as loud as she could, and before I could even think about it, she was off Kirara and running towards me, and I was half-laughing, half-crying when she finally hugged me. She was rocking me back and forth, stroking my hair like she always did, and she said,
"I'm never going to lose you again, baby."
"I'm okay." I whispered, laughing. "I'm okay, I promise. Just a little hungry."
My dad came up next, and he didn't even say anything, just folded me in his arms. I sighed. It was okay. Everything was going to be okay.
God, I was a Royal Dumbass.
Because as I pulled myself apart from my dad, I saw my mom staring at Kohaku, and she whispered, "Oh, my God, Kohaku."
"You know him?" I said indignantly. Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippou had come up and were watching the conversation intently, all of us oblivious to the battle Kouga and Kagura were still fighting.
"You know him?" She asked me. But all I saw was that Kohaku had turned to me with surprise and sadness written all over his face, and he said softly,
"Kaza, I knew your father was Miroku…but I didn't know Sango was your mother."
"Yeah, and?" I pouted. Why were they beating around the bush?
"Kaza," Kohaku said, "Sango's my sister. We were the only two Taijiyas to survive."
It felt like my whole body had frozen. I realized in an instant what an idiot I was. Why didn't I see it? The similarities between the two of them…but all the same, I felt so miserably betrayed. I turned to my mom and snarled,
"You had a brother and you never told me? You were one of only two Taijiyas in all of Japan to survive and you never told me? What the hell, Mama?"
"Yes, well, there's a different side of the story." She snapped, turning to her brother. "When did you get out from under Naraku's control? Or was this just another plot, and this time it was to steal my daughter?"
Holy shit.
"Oh my God." I looked at both of them. "What the hell is up with this? You've been under Naraku's control? So he was the one that put the Jewel Shard in your back?" Then I got it. "You served under him, didn't you? You were one of his minions, just like Kagura and Kanna, weren't you?"
"You have to understand, Kaza," He said, "Naraku saved my life with the jewel shard. He erased my memory – I had to serve under him. I didn't remember anything. It's only recently, when he died, that I got my memories back and was able to get my freedom. It wasn't my choice."
"You have me to thank for that." I scowled. "I was the one that killed Naraku."
"You killed him?"
"Agghh!" I yelled, now whipping around to face my dad. "Do you have any hidden relatives you'd like to tell me about?" I went to Kagome. "Are you a half-demon, too? And are you really from another country? Damn it, who here is telling the truth! Please, I would really like to know! Give me my sword." I seized my sword from the ground and ran out to the battlefield, calling over my shoulder,
"I'm going to fight, cause that's the only thing in my life that I know is true right now!"
As I sprinted out to where Kagura and the bear were fighting, Kouga ran up alongside me and grunted, "Get on." Surprised, I jumped onto his back and he sped up as we ran.
"What the hell happened back there?" He said gruffly.
"Well apparently, like, my whole life has been one big lie. I had an uncle I didn't know about who was under Naraku's control and was probably planning a plot on my life, to boot. Oh, and my mom was only one of two Taijyas in the entire country who survived an attack from Naraku, and I never knew about it. I just wanna kill someone."
"You're in luck." He said, coming up to the battle, "cause here's a demon I would really like killed right now."
"Gladly." I said, wiping the blood off my sword. "Can you get me to his chest? I'll just stab him in the heart and we'll get this over with."
He didn't say anything, just kept going even faster. We were only about 50 yards away now, and as we got even closer, the wind whistled in my ears, and I drew back my katana, ready to kill.
"You've got one shot!" Kouga barked hoarsely, and then in one motion, he seized the front of my kimono, hauled me off his back, still running, and as he got so close that I could see the demon's belly, he roared, angled his body upward and CHUCKED me – I'm serious, he just threw me – straight at the demon's heart.
This time, I really did scream. What would any of you have done?
But my sword was steadfast, I was flying at a perfect angle, I could see the whites of his eyes.
I was right there, I could just feel his demon aura emanating off his thick fur.
Then he opened his mouth. I could see a strange glow in the back of his throat, and then it came.
A huge, blazing red fireball of energy shot itself out of his mouth, followed by a streaming tail, like a comet, and it smacked me with the force of a hammer.
My whole body went numb in an instant as it crashed into my entire body with a horrendous clap, and I couldn't feel my body anymore. The whole world came down to red, shades of red, that was all I saw, all I heard, all I smelt, and all I could feel. After the red came black, and that was even worse. There was nothing more – just thick, dark, depths of black, and I was drowning in them.
I don't know how long I was unconscious, how long I was just swimming in that sea of black, but eventually, there was grey. And from the grey I managed to peel open my eyes and find myself in brown. Sharp, crystal clear brown.
That brown was the brown of my mother's eyes, peering deep into my own.
"Kaza." She whispered. I saw that she was holding me, and we were still in the middle of the battle. "You okay, baby?"
"Black." I struggled to say. "Red. Grey. All that energy. I was drowning."
"I know, Kaza." She said tiredly. I saw that there was a line of blood trickling down her arm and she looked exhausted. "Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga were hit, too. Kagome, Kagura and I are still fighting. But we're losing pretty bad. We didn't know he had this ability, and it's all we can do just to dodge them."
"I'll help." I said immediately. I was still holding my sword, and I used it as stability as I levered myself to a sitting position. She looked worried.
"No way, Kaza, you can't fight like that!"
"Yes, I can!" I snapped. Something was building up inside me – a storm, a tempest, roiling and tumbling around in my soul. "I have to!" I looked at the bear demon, at Kagome, Kagura and Shippou still bravely resisting, and I said,
"You don't get it, Mama. I'm the Daughter of the Wind. The only one who even has a chance of defeating him is me."
Ha! I finally updated! Go, me! God, it takes me forever! But yes, I know you're probably tearing out your hair in frustration, but I promise that the climax is the next chapter. Promise. Seriously. Now, review and I promise to put up a good chapter very, very soon! 80 reviews! You guys rock hardcore! Arigatou!
