Chapter Nine
Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to the creators of Inuyasha!
Thank you to: frustratedfox, RubyGemGreen, BirkenstockBilly, Swiggs, starrycalypso, Guest, Huggies90, JumbledThoughts, FearofFalling, and Tiggs90 for reviewing. I always look forward to hearing your thoughts! They are truly appreciated and definitely help me keep going!
To Guest: Since I could not thank you privately through a messages to your review, I'd like to do so here! Thank you for the time you took to write down your thoughts. I sense you are somewhat disenchanted with this story due to the fact you feel it will be another Kagome/Inuyasha-esque romance. I can understand where you are coming from, as on some levels it will probably seem that way since I intend to follow the plot line from the show. However, I am hoping to have Inuyasha and Yua's relationship develop much more differently that his had with Kagome. I also hope that her interactions with other characters might me a little different. I will leave it up to your opinion on whether or not I succeed in this as the story progresses.
Alright! Here we go!
It had been three days since both Kaede and I had convinced Inuyasha that if we left the village we may have more luck finding the lost jewel shards. Inuyasha had taken to the idea quickly, eager to get on with it.
That, however, was three days ago.
We had stopped in the late afternoon by a lake, the water looking too fresh and inviting to resist. I desperately needed a bath after three days of walking on the dusty road. The smell as starting to affect me, so I doubted Inuyasha wanted to be around it any longer either. He had agreed with minimal persuasion needed on my part, and after going over some important ground rules, I found myself lazily floating in the refreshing water.
"We've been away from the village for three days now." Inuyasha whines from the tree he's relaxing in nearby, his back towards me as I wash. I frown, glancing over towards him from over my shoulder as I work the oils Kaede had kindly given to me through my long hair. "You said if we left the village we'd find more jewels shards out here in Musashi." He complains, and I can't help the slight nab of annoyance that hits me.
"Quit being such a baby, Inuyasha! I'm sure we'll run into them, we've just got to keep looking." I insist with a frown, before tilting my head back to start washing the oils out. He makes an annoyed sound, but that's the last I hear from him as I continue to wash out my hair. Deciding I had chanced fate long enough with not being happened upon, I wade out from the lake, grabbing a piece of cloth that resembled a towel Kaede had also been kind enough to lend me. I wrap it around my body, surprised when it actually covers me.
'They actually make towels big enough in this era!' I think with a dry grin. 'That or maybe I'm losing weight?'
That probably wasn't the case.
I sigh, ruffling my wet hair with my fingers to try to help air it out, before jumping as Inuyasha suddenly comes soaring into the clearing.
"HEY!" I exclaim, a blush warming my cheeks as Inuyasha stops short, almost losing his balance on the rock he was currently standing on in the lake.
"What?! I'm not peeking, okay?!" He snaps irritably. "There was something that came flying down from where I was resting." Inuyasha frowns, his eyes alert as he stares around the lake.
'Well I guess he might not be lying. After all I'm covered by a towel, so there wouldn't be much point in him trying to look at something now.' I think reasonably, before turning to head towards my clothes.
Only they weren't there.
My mouth falls open in shock as I see my clothes darting off over the bank, some sort of white monkey looking thing carrying them.
"My clothes!" I exclaim, struck. What on earth was I going to do now?
"I hear a whistle." Inuyasha frowns as he jumps from the rock and over to me on the shore. Seemingly without a second thought he takes off the top of his kimono, laying it across my shoulders. "Let's go and check it out." Meanwhile, I'm caught up looking from him to his kimono in shock.
"Hurry up and cover up! We ain't got all day!" He snaps then, causing me to jump into action. I thread my arms through the sleeves, closing the top with with my own hand before he kneels in front of me.
'I hope this towel doesn't ride up too much.' I think meekly, before climbing onto his back. My one hand keeps a tight hold on the kimono around me, the other grabbing onto Inuyasha's white top for balance. Thankfully the towel curves under my lower half to cover those parts from touching him. 'How embarrassing would that have been?' I can't help but think, even as his hands come around to hook my legs in place. The kimono covers the skin of my one thigh, but as his right hand goes to wrap around the other I feel his skin against my own.
"Uh-" Inuyasha takes pause, stiffening up as I quickly scramble to pull his kimono down further on my right thigh. Once I did he more hesitantly brings his hand around again, this time grabbing a firm hold when he didn't feel my skin. Slight disappointment courses through me, having enjoyed the warm shock that had come from his hand brushing against my bare thigh.
'Fuck, how much more embarrassing could this get?!' I groan to myself as he starts to leap after the whistle he could apparently hear, yelling at Myoga to stay with our stuff. 'I'm not a horny little girl. I'm nearly a fully grown woman. I need to get a hold of myself!' I berate inwardly, Mayumi's laughter echoing through our connection. 'Stop!' I whine to her, knowing she thought this whole situation funny. It was like I was going through puberty again with all those damn hormones. We come over the crest of a hill, a boy's voice clearly heard.
"This isn't something to eat!" He exclaims, before Inuyasha jumps over the bush in front of him.
"Hey!" Inuyasha growls lowly.
"Give me back my clothes!" I exclaim, watching as he held my kimono top up as if he had been inspecting it. I slide carefully from Inuyash's back, holding his kimono tightly closed as I do. The boy scrambles backwards and draws his sword.
"Who are you?! You look suspicious." Even as he says this his eyes trail over me, clearly thinking that I was all but naked underneath Inuyasha's kimono. I blush, quickly double checking to make sure I wasn't accidentally flashing anything, before I hear a low growl vibrate from beside me. Blinking in surprise I watch as Inuyasha quickly steps forward and promptly pushing his foot into the boy's face.
"Eyes off her." Inuyasha growls out, and I'm slightly taken aback by the possessive fury in his voice.
Why was that causing me to tingle?
'Tingle, hm?' Mayumi's voice giggles in the background, and I know for sure I'm blushing a million shades of red right now.
'Shut up, shut up, shut up!' I squeal in horror, wishing there was a way I could hide from her.
"Besides, we could say the same thing about you!" Inuyasha goes on, the boy's little white monkey going crazy at Inuyasha's feet. It was running circles, arms in the air and clearly at a loss of what to do for it's owner.
"Can I have my clothes now?" I ask with a sigh, the boy nodding from under Inuyasha's foot. I frown, going over and gathering them up, before stepping behind a bush that I was confident would cover me. 'The poor kid is hungry. We should share some food with him.' I frown as I think of his earlier comment about eating. Once fully dressed and secure I step out from behind the bush.
"Why don't you come with us back to our camp? We've got plenty of food." I offer, Inuyasha looking at me shocked.
"Say what?!" He snaps, a frown in place. "This pervert took your clothes!"
"Actually, his little monkey friend took them." I point out, placing my hands on my hips. "Besides, he gave them back with no fuss. The least we can do is give him and his buddy some food to eat." I sigh, nodding for the kid to follow us. "Come on." I turn, making my way back down the short distance over the ridge and to the lake. The boy cautiously follows me, Inuyasha trailing suspiciously behind. Once I give him and his pet monkey a few pears, they sit back, scarfing it down.
"Wow…you both really were hungry." I comment lightly, the duo barely taking time to breathe. Inuyasha had taken to laying up in a bend in the trunk of the tree above us, clearly still a little put off by the strangers. I dig into my bag, grabbing a peach then and tossing it up to him. He catches it without a word, biting into it.
"I give you thanks, woman." The boy claps his hands together in a show of respect, his monkey doing the same. Oh right, during all this we hadn't even had a chance to introduce ourselves. I stand along with the boy as he observes me closely, Inuyasha leaping down from the tree as he finished his own food to stand behind me.
"I'm Yua." I introduce, before pointing my thumb behind me over my shoulder. "And this is Inuyasha."
The boy suddenly slaps at his cheek.
"Really, Myoga? We don't even know his name yet!" I frown as the flea drifts by, before recovering and landing on my shoulder.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist. I was hungry too." Myoga replies bashfully, looking towards the young man. "My apologies, young sir. I am Myoga the Flea." He bows respectfully.
The boy still doesn't look impressed. In fact, he looks even more suspicious.
"Soooo…" I tilt my head then, frowning when he didn't introduce himself. "Who are you?" I finally ask, figuring that beating around the bush wouldn't work for this guy.
"I'm not at liberty to reveal my family." He replies, turning away haughtily and crossing his arms. I lift an eyebrow in slightly surprise, looking over my shoulder towards Inuyasha. He looks less than impressed himself, but clearly not as invested as I was to find out this guy's situation.
What? It's been a boring three days. This was the first action we had really seen since Sesshomaru.
The boy suddenly turns, smiling kindly at us. "But my name is Nobunaga."
'Huh…I've heard that name before. I swear I have.' I frown in thought, trying to think of where I had heard it before. My eyes widen as it clicks.
This was the guy that would come to unify Japan!
"Are you Oda Nobunaga?" I ask, feeling like I was having a head rush. This was the first time I had actually run into someone significant from the country's past. It was so strange! I was staring at the person who would make Japan…well, Japan!
Although he looked rather insulted at the moment.
"No, my name is Amari Nobunaga." He replies, nose turned up slightly as he frowns and crosses his arms. "I belong to the Takeda Clan in the land of Kai. Please do not confuse me with him." My shoulders slump, feeling deflated.
That would be my luck.
"Sorry. It's just that where I am from he's kinda famous." I reply, but this only seems to insult Amari Nobunaga further.
"He's a big idiot!" Nobunaga argues, frowning at me.
'Yeah, the big idiot that unites all of Japan.' I think to myself dryly. I watch as Nobunaga seems to gather himself, clearing his throat then as he turns away.
"You will have to excuse me. An important mission requires my immediate attention." Nobunaga goes on, his voice taking on a tone of superiority. "Farewell." He dismisses us politely, before walking forward. It was clear he wasn't looking where he was going, as the land dropped off right in front of him. I turn to Inuyasha then with a frown.
"Should I or you?" I ask in reference to warning the kid. Inuyasha folds his arms across his chest, smirking.
"Let's watch and see what happens." He replies easily. I roll my eyes, but turn back to watch the boy silently.
I mean, it wasn't that big of a drop anyways.
We both watch in amusement as the boy falls gracelessly over the ridge's edge, sliding down the ten foot slope. Walking to the edge I lean over, the boy having landed feet up. Inuyasha scoffs, before wrapping his arm around my middle and leaping down to the boy. As Nobunaga rearranges himself and stands, clearly not too badly injured, I decide now is as good a time as any.
"Listen, can we help you?" I ask, ignoring Inuyasha's whine from behind me about needing to find the jewel shards. "Don't be offended, but you look like you could use it." I frown. Nobunaga dusts his pants off, sending me a narrowed eyed look.
"Thank you, but no thank you. This is a mission I must complete on my own!" He exclaims righteously, before turning and heading deeper into the forest. I look to Inuyasha.
"Seriously though, can we at least make sure he doesn't get himself killed?" I ask him, and Inuyasha sighs heavily.
"But the jewel shards…"
"Clearly we aren't near any right now. What could this really hurt?" I ask, before deciding to appeal to Inuyasha's slightly sadistic side. "Besides, don't you want to see how badly this kid screws whatever he's doing up?"
Inuyasha's eyes light up at that.
"I suppose it has been boring the past couple of days…" Inuyasha replies.
After picking up our supplies, including my bow and newly made arrows, Inuyasha quickly finds Nobunaga's trail. We follow it to the outskirts of a village, Nobunaga hiding in the bushes. Inuyasha and I quietly crawl up to where he is, my eyes widening in surprise as I see a half a dozen young women with their hands tied, all being led away from the village by a rope.
'Why only the woman?' I frown deeply. Nobunaga looks over his shoulder at us, placing his finger to his lips to signal for us to be quiet as all three of us rise above the bushes.
"So the rumors are true!" He says in a soft voice.
"What rumors?" I ask with a frown, watching the scene unfold. The woman were all looking down, shoulders slumped. If the rope tied around their hands wasn't enough to see this wasn't voluntary, their body language was.
"I wouldn't want it repeated, but they say the Lord has been possessed by some kind of demon." A man nearby talks just loud enough for us to hear. This instantly perks Inuyasha up, his sullen mood changing drastically.
"Demon?" He questions, leaning more forward to try and hear.
Unfortunately for Nobunaga this also meant that Inuyasha's foot was on his head again.
"Inuyasha!" I hiss out, frowning at him. Inuyasha looks to me, blinking innocently.
"What?" He questions, but I can tell he knows exactly what I'm talking about. I frown, summoning a small amount of my energy to push his foot off of the poor kid's head. I kneel down then as Nobunaga sits back up, looking him in the eyes.
"What is going on here?" I demand, frowning. "And don't give me that crap about it being your mission. Those girls lives are obviously on the line." Nobunaga clearly hesitates, before slumping and giving in.
"It's been rumored that the Prince has been taken over by a demon." Nobunaga begins, and I nod.
"Yeah, we just heard that. What else? What does he do with those girls?" I press, and Nobunaga shakes his head helplessly.
"No one really knows. All that is said is that he takes them from the villages, and they never return." He frowns. I lean back, frowning as well as I look up to Inuyasha. I can already tell he is in, even if just to have a go at this demon.
"How far away is his castle?" I ask as I turn back to Nobunaga.
"A few hours to the North. If we leave now we can make it by nightfall." Nobunaga answers, and I nod, thankful he was now being more straightforward.
"Alright, we best get a move on then." I stand, making sure my bow was secured on my shoulder. I look back out towards the village, the imprisoned girls slowly disappearing from sight.
I just hoped we could make it there in time to help them.
We come to to a cliff side, the night so dark that it's hard to see the castle that hovered above on the ridge. Wolves howled in the distance, giving a chilling feel about this whole situation.
"That's the place." Nobunaga hisses out as we stare up at the foreboding structure.
"I smell the demon stink from here." Inuyasha replies with a scoff. "There is a piece of the Sacred Jewel there for sure." He states confidently, before kneeling down with his back to me. "Hop on, Yua, we better go and have a closer look." I nod, grabbing onto his shoulder as I lean into his back.
Before someone shoves me over slightly.
I frown, looking to Nobunaga as he slides in next to me, gripping onto Inuyasha's other shoulder.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Inuyasha gripes then, glaring at Nobunaga..
"I've got business up there!" Nobunaga proclaims, his eyes trained on the buildings above. I blink, frowning.
"So what? I'm not a free ride in! Get off!" Inuyasha carries on, but Nobunaga hardly looks like he's about to move.
What was so important up there that he was ready to face a demon?
"Come on, Inuyasha, we're just wasting time." I pat his shoulder. Begrudgingly Inuyasha agrees, muttering something about being too nice, before leaping up with the both of us and landing on the other side of the fence. When we land we see a small fire lit, with a man snoring beside it against a tree.
'One of the guards?' I think, nose wrinkling. 'Some security service.'
Okay, so there were two sleeping guards. We found the second one snoring away right on the steps heading up into one of the outbuildings.
"Why are they all asleep?" I frown as I look back to Inuyasha, seeing if he had some idea. His face is solemn, his eyes carrying the same concern I felt.
"Don't be fooled, Lord Inuyasha." Myoga speaks up as he hops onto Inuyasha's shoulder. "Their sleep is hypnotic, not natural. Possibly it may even be castle-wide." I look towards the largest building, no doubt where the noble family lived.
"Lets get a move on." Inuyasha states, coming over towards me and pressing his hand to my lower back gently to urge me forward. As soon as I move his hand drops away, the warmth the touch had caused quickly receding back to the damp cold surrounding us.
"Princess! Princess Tsuyu!" Nobunaga marches ahead of us, calling out for the Princess loudly. Clearly he was panicking after seeing the sleeping guards.
'Princess? Is that why he is here?' I think bewildered. Regardless it probably wasn't the best idea for him to go on shouting and giving away our position. He quiets as we enter into the main building, starting to slide open any doorway he could find in the expansive hallway.
"Princess Tsuyu?" He calls into one room, before quickly finding no Princess there and moving to the next. "Princess Tsuyu, where are you?!" Concern for the Princess was clear in his voice, all but solidifying my thoughts from earlier.
He was here to save the Princess.
'Did I just wander into a fairy tale?' I ask dryly to Mayumi.
'More like a nightmare, if you ask me.' She responds, having obviously having seen everything through me so far. 'Something isn't right here. These people have all been put to sleep by some spell.'
'Do you have any idea of who could do this?' I ask then, waiting intently for her answer.
'There are too many demons who are capable of this sort of thing. It will be hard to narrow down without more clues.' Mayumi replies, obviously frustrated. 'Be on your guard, Yua.'
'Right.' I mentally nod, taking my bow from my shoulder into my hand at the ready.
"It is I, Nobunaga, come to save you!" Nobunaga proclaims after checking yet another room, and I feel a little uncomfortable as I watch him go on dramatically. "Princess Tsuyu!"
"Hey, kid?" I speak up, walking over to him and placing my hand on his shoulder. "It's probably not the best idea to go screaming for this Princess. It could bring some unwanted attention our way." I advise.
"Let him keep carrying on." Inuyasha contradicts, amusement clear in his voice. "We can use him as bait to find the demon."
Nobunaga looks at Inuyasha horrified, clearly not a fan of the idea.
Instead he opens the final door quietly, the light from the torches in the hallway shinning into the big room beyond it. I step into the doorway, my heart stopping as I see a woman in a red kimono laying on the ground, absolutely still.
"Princess Tsuyu!" Nobunaga calls out in distress, rushing towards the woman on the floor. "Princess, be brave!" He exclaims.
'So dramatic.' I inwardly groan, almost embarrassed to watch as he turns the sleeping Princess over onto her back gently.
Only to promptly drop her when he's instead staring down at the face of an old woman.
"Hey!" I frown deeply, thinking of that poor woman's head hitting the floor.
"What has happened?!" He cries out, tears streaming down his face as he tilts his head back.
"Yo." Inuyasha cuts in, and I look over to where he is now standing over a younger looking girl with jet black hair. "Is this your stupid Princess?" Inuyasha asks, clearing sounding unimpressed as I was with Nobunaga's over dramatic behavior. Nobunaga looks over, before gasping and crawling away from the poor old woman towards the pretty girl. I look to the older woman on the floor with sympathy.
'I know exactly how you feel.' I think dryly to her, before turning to watch as Myoga jumps down on the Princess's cheek.
"Been so long since I've had royal blood!" He exclaims greedily. "Let me wake her." He adds, before digging in. No sooner had he bit the girl and started to suck away at her blood, then the Princess's hand comes up to splat him against her cheek.
"Serves you right you little vampire." I frown at the flea as he recovers once more, jumping up onto my shoulder. He laughs sheepishly, giving an innocent shrug. I look to Inuyasha, frowning.
"How is she awake, and no one else is?" I ask him quietly as Nobunaga fawns over the poor girl while she tries to fully wake.
"I don't know." Inuyasha answers honestly, eyes trained on the two young adults. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough what's going on here, though."
"Nobunaga? Why are you here?" The Princess asks in astonished confusion, Nobunaga kneeling before her as she sat on her futon.
"Princess Tsuyu, you recognize me?" Nobunaga asks in awe, his eyes trained solely on the Princess.
'He's in love with her!' I realize with wide eyes. I should have seen that sooner. Who would risk their life for something they didn't love?
"Of course I do, I'll never forget." Princess Tsuyu replies kindly, a soft look on her face. "You and I were friends as children, and you were always so very kind." Nobunaga looks taken aback, blushing as he shyly looks down at his hands.
'Okay, that is kinda cute.' I have to reluctantly admit. The scoff of disgust I hear Inuyasha give quietly behind me tells me he's not as enthralled.
"Oh, I-I don't know what to say. I just thought you wouldn't remember a lowly vassal like me." He replies bashfully, and even his monkey friend scratching at the fur on his head shyly as well.
The Princess smiles softly at him. "I remember everything! How you would slip and fall in the pond…" I blink. Okay, that's not too bad, it's actually almost endearing. He can recover from this.
"…and how we'd laugh and laugh when you fell in horse dung." I wince as she finishes; well shit.
Literally.
'There is no recovering from that.' I think regrettably, and even Nobunaga seems to know this as he looks absolutely horrified.
"He's definitely in love with her." I murmur quietly to Inuyasha, and he makes another noise of disgust.
"Pathetic." He replies shortly with conviction, and I can't help a flash of hurt at how dismissive he was on the subject. Then again, he had been hurt more than anyone I could think of by love before. After all, the woman that he had used to love before Mayumi hadn't really loved him in return, and then she had killed the woman that had.
'Yeah…if I was Inuyasha I would be skeptical of love too.' I reason, my hands tightening on the material of my pants as we wait by the wall patiently.
"How I wish I could go home." Princess Tsuyu cries softly, tears starting to stream down her face from her pretty brown eyes. I actually felt my heart ache a little hearing her, for the first time in over a week thinking of my own home.
Grandpa, Aunt Miyu, Kagome, Sota…
"It was shortly after I came here as his bride that my Lord husband began to act strangely." The Princess went on, bringing a welcome distraction from my thoughts about my family. "He had fallen into the garden pond, and ran a terrible fever. It was as though he had become a different person." The Princess explains, and I frown as I look to Inuyasha.
"Does that sound like a possession to you too?" I ask softly, knowing of the myths from my own time of demons that could possess people's bodies. Before this I never had put much stock into the thought, but now it didn't seem like it was out of the question.
"It sounds like it." Inuyasha agrees grimly, nodding as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. "The sooner we get to him, the better."
"Do you mean we'll have to kill him?" I ask wide eyed. Wasn't there some sort of exorcism or something we could perform? Like in the movies?
"Nobunaga, what am I going to do?" The Princess's voice sounds desperate.
"There seems to be no choice. You must return to Kai!" Nobunaga replies, his voice assured. "Even your Father, so far from here, has heard of the Lord's derangement. Indeed, it is his wish that I come so that you might be returned to him."
Woah, wasn't breaking a marriage in ancient Japan a huge sign of disrespect?
"You came on my Father's orders?" Princess Tsuyu asks, looking unsure. Clearly she hadn't expected Nobunaga of all men to come.
"Even if he hadn't of ordered it, I would still have come!" Nobunaga declares passionately as he leans in. His pet monkey, obviously wanting to see what was going on, jumps on his head and bounces with excitement.
"Nobunaga…" The Princess trails off softly.
"Yes, Princess?" Nobunaga asks eagerly, leaning in. A little presumptuous of him in my opinion.
"Nobunaga…there is a monkey on your head." She points out then in wonder, pointing towards the little fur ball currently creating a side-act on his head.
Where the hell had he gotten the chopstick and bowl?!
"Yes, Princess." He turns away, his voice sounding so dejected that I almost felt sorry for him.
"Hm." Inuyasha hums, before moving to stand. I look over to him curiously, before I can feel it. The aura of the demon washes over me, feeling slimy and sickly as it does. It wasn't strong, not like Sesshomaru's had been, but I could still feel it nonetheless. "Sounds like he's finally here." Inuyasha states as I stand as well, grabbing an arrow and notching it against the string of my bow. Without needing to ask me I follow him from the room, the pull of my energy is fluid as it rises and falls like waves at the ready. When Inuyasha wasn't continuing to train me in hand to hand combat, I had been practicing with Mayumi every day without his knowledge. I would make it seem like I was working on my powers on my own, along with my skills with my bow. Even I could tell my aura was much stronger than it had been when I had first arrived, and I had a lot more control over it. Drawing from it didn't require as much concentration as before.
As we step out of the room we see him in the dim light. He's dressed in a dark colored kimono that looked richly made, his face bandaged with white stripes of fabric. Even through the concealment I could see his head was really oddly shaped.
"I thought I heard something!" The Lord's voice sounded odd as he spoke. I step up beside Inuyasha, drawing my bow back at the ready.
"Yeah, and it took you long enough." Inuyasha replies sarcastically, cracking the knuckles of his right hand as he flashes his claws. "Let's go!" He exclaims, dashing towards the possessed Lord.
Only to have to dodge his twenty foot tongue!
'What is it with demons having long-ass, disgusting tongues?!' I cringe, my arrow beginning to glow the faint purple haze of my aura as I let my energy flow into it.
"Let's see your real face!" Inuyasha shouts, bringing his claws down onto the onto the Lord's bandaged head. They fly away like rice paper, and the Lord lands back on his butt on the floor with a cry.
'If Jaken looks like a toad, this thing looks like a damn bull frog!' I gape at the creature, his protruding eyes watching us with disdain. It had green skin that shined with a slimy film, with white skin just under where it's nose would be and over it's mouth, disappearing beneath his kimono at his chest. The next think I notice are the Lord's hands, webbed just like a frogs. The Princess lets out an exclamation of fright right behind us, promptly fainting into Nobunaga's arms.
The frog, toad, thing, let's out the creepiest chuckle I have heard to date as he sits there.
Turning my attention back to the frog I feel for the energy of the Shikon Jewel, a glow coming from his right shoulder quickly appearing.
"There! In his right shoulder!" I inform Inuyasha, never taking my eyes off of it as I continue to aim my arrow at him. I didn't want to shoot, not knowing if the Lord was still technically in there somewhere.
"A fat lot of good it's done him." He smirks, cracking his knuckles once more as he readies for another attack.
"Not so fast." Myoga suddenly appears on my shoulder, and I look to him in confusion. "He's the ninety-ninth toad of the ninety-ninth generation. He's stronger than he looks." The flea warns us, but honestly I couldn't get over how ridiculous this all sounded.
I used to run over toads by accident with the lawn mower for crying out loud!
"Then one good punch ought to make it a hundred!" Inuyasha proclaims, before rushing in once more. The toad takes a deep breath in, it's cheeks ballooning out, before letting loose a poisonous gas. It takes Inuyasha to the ground almost instantly, grabbing at his throat. I feel the same burning sensation.
"Toxic fumes, very dangerous!" Myoga exclaims, and I hold back a smart-ass retort.
I mean…no duh.
I relax my bow, quickly shoving the arrow back into the quiver and my bow over my shoulder. I bring my hands together in front of me, allowing some of my energy to build between my palms. I had gotten better at conserving my energy, and understanding how much I needed to do whatever task was necessary. A small orb begins to glow between my hands, before I throw my arms outward, like I was pressing against a wall to either side of me. The force of my energy clears the air around us, forcing the noxious gas through any nook, cranny, or window it could find.
'Well done, Yua!' Mayumi praises me, and I feel a sense of pride at my ingenuity. Taking a deep breath of clean air, I suddenly feel it.
That slimy, cold signature right behind me.
"No fair!" The toad seems to pout at me, before taking his arm and swiping me to the side. I hit the wall hard, knocking the breath out of me before I slide to the ground. The toad stomps past me and straight for Nobunaga as he holds the unconscious Princess protectively to his chest.
"Give me back my Princess!" The toad croaks out, reaching forward for her.
"Stay back monster!" He draws his sword in threat. I get up, wincing at the soreness.
"Very funny! As if you could stop me human scum!" The toad replies, leaning it's head back. My stomach drops, knowing instantly what he was going to do. Running forward I reach out with reflexes I didn't even know I had, grabbing the toad's tongue in my hand before it could connect with Nobunaga.
"Uh…whaaaa?" The toad looks to me, his bulbous eyes wide with surprise. If I hadn't been so disgusted that my hand was wrapped around his slimy tongue I might have actually found this whole situation a little funny.
Also, I was still pissed at being thrown against a wall.
I focus my energy into my hand, and in one forceful move I rip that section of the toad's tongue right off.
That's right. I was getting sick of disgusting tongues!
'Ew, ew, ew, ew!' I chant in my head as I throw the wiggling section of his tongue away from me, the toad falling back and crying in intense pain.
"So gross!" I groan, trying to wipe the slime from his tongue off of my hand on the wall. I turn, looking towards Inuyasha to find him staring straight at me, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. "What?" I ask, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He doesn't have a chance to answer me, however, before the toad Lord breaks through the wall beside us and races across the rooftop towards the other side of the villa. His attention is effectively diverted as he rushes over to the opening.
"Lousy, stinkin' toad!" He growls, glaring after it. "No way is he getting away! I'm going ahead!" With that he leaps down through the opening onto the rooftop below, racing after the possessed Lord.
'He left me? Why that arrogant ass!' I glare after him, before looking towards Nobunaga. "Hey, you going to be alright in here with her?" I ask, Nobunaga frowning and nodding in answer. I turn, looking to see Inuyasha dropping from the rooftop.
'Let's go and find him!' Mayumi urges. I turn, running back down the hallway and finding the entrance, before racing down towards the direction Inuyasha had taken off to. I come to a building with a busted door, Iniuyasha obviously inside. Stepping in I'm horrified at what I see.
Naked girls, hundreds of them, were trapped in what looked to be large toad eggs.
"What has he done to them?" I ask in disbelief, seeing the girls from the village that afternoon near the front of the batch.
"He's sealed them in like toad spawn." Myoga explains from his perch on my shoulder. "Just as the rumours said. Young woman, kept in egg sacks until their souls ripen and can be eaten."
"Eaten? He eats their souls?" I frown in disgust and worry as I look over the numerous pods.
"With the power of the jewel shard in the young Lord's possession, no one can oppose him." Myoga continues, ending on an ominous note. My eyes hone in on the glowing shard in his shoulder once more. The fog leaps his head back, his cheeks bubbling out.
"Poison gas! Watch out!" Inuyasha calls to me as he charges, and I quickly raise my hands forcing my energy outwards just as the toad opens it's mouth. The poison gas he would have enveloped us with is forced back into his mouth by my aura, and it is with sick enjoyment that I hold it there and watch as his face screws up in panic while he claws at his own neck.
"How do you like it, huh?!" I yell out, Inuyasha once again stopping short to turn and look at me in bewilderment.
What? Did he want to have to save me?
'Inuyasha isn't used to dealing with strong women.' Mayumi chimes in, giggle in amusement.
'But you're strong.' I reply with a confused frown.
'Not as strong as you.'
I let my hold on the poison gas go, seeing that most of it had diffused back into the toad's body. He was still breathing, but it was labored.
"How had that not killed him?" I ask Myoga, glancing at him as he still remarkably sat on my shoulder.
"It's his own poison. It doesn't affect him as severely as it does us." Myoga explains. "That was a good effort, though." I refrain from groaning and rolling my eyes.
He sounded like my gym teacher.
"I'm going to enjoy eating your soul!" The toad demon slurs out, obviously having trouble speaking with most of his tongue gone.
Yeah, I did that.
"Not if I dissect you with this first!" Inuyasha calls out, drawing Tessaiga from it's sheath on his hip. I watch with amazement as it actually transforms for him for the first time since the battle with his brother. He takes a protective stands a few feet in front of me, his gaze confident as he looks at the toad. "I'll cut out the jewel shard myself!" Inuyasha shouts in promise, and I can't help laughing dryly.
"I don't want to die!" The toad whimpers pathetically, before tilting his head back and crying out. "Come to me!" He shouts towards the pods behind him. He reaches his slimy, webbed hand upwards. "Souls! Souls! I need souls!" He calls out shakily, and the orbs behind him start to glow. The women's souls begin to emerge from the eggs, all floating towards the toad Lord as he opens his mouth wide to receive them. I feel horrified as he does, at a loss of what I could do to stop it. He stands with renewed energy, the poison obviously cleared from his system. "I live again." He chuckles lowly, looking happy as can be.
"Filthy, no-good…" Inuyasha trails off angrily as I grab onto my bow, swinging it back around and notching an arrow. The Prince be damned, I wasn't about to let the toad take more souls.
"What are you waiting for?" The toad opens his arms confidently, having seen me ready to shoot. "For every injury I get, I'll just eat another soul, and then replace it with yours!"
'No…' I think, hesitating then as I lower my bow and ease the tension on the drawstring as he moves towards me. How were we going to beat him without more souls being lost? Suddenly Tessaiga dropped on the toads head hard, causing him to lose balance with a pained grunt and fall to the ground.
Inuyasha, evidently, felt he could solve this problem.
The toad blinks blearily, and as he opens his eyes and speaks, there is definitely something different about him.
"P-princess Tsuyu?" I frown in confusion, before hearing a soft gasp coming from behind us at the doorway. Turning I see the Princess fully alert, leaning on Nobunaga for support. Looking back to the frog once more, he continues to look around confused. "What have I…where am…" As he looks around behind him his toad face shows disbelief. "Please, tell me this isn't my doing." He begs then, clearly horrified. Was this the Lord?
"Well, well, isn't that convenient." Inuyasha chimes in with a tone of sarcasm. Clearly he wasn't on the same page as me.
"That voice! It is the voice of my kind Lord husband!" Princess Tsuyu confirms then, her eyes wide.
"So the real Lord is still alive." I say out loud, looking to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, we have to help him!"
"After everything he's done?!" Inuyasha asks in disbelief, motioning towards the hundreds of souls behind the Lord. "After he tried to take your soul? You want him to just walk away from this?"
"He's clearly not in control of his own body!" I argue. Maybe if we made this right somehow those poor souls behind him would find peace. As for him attacking me, I'm not pissed about it now I see what's going on, so why is Inuyasha?
"It's like a nightmare, but I can't wake up." The Lord leans over on all fours, clearly sweating as he stares down at his webbed hands in horrified shock. "Somehow I knew, deep inside, I realized what was happening, and yet I was powerless to stop it. I-I wanted to, but I couldn't." He looks towards Inuyasha, and then next thing he says floors me.
"Kill me, please."
"What?" I gasp, looking at the Lord wide eyed.
"My Lord!" Princess Tsuyu whimpers in fear.
"I don't think I have the strength to stop myself!" He goes on, as if to explain. I forcefully push the arrow back into my quiver and hook my bow over my shoulder. "Do it now, please, before it's too late!" He cries, tears streaming down from his large eyes.
"Alright! Now you're finally making sense." Inuyasha smirks, agreeing. He holds up Tessaiga welding it threateningly overhead. "Do I go through the gut, or cut off the head?"
"No." I state firmly, narrowing my eyes at Inuyasha, before looking towards the Lord. "You don't get to give up, not that easily. Not after that demon has hurt so many young women."
"Are you not hearing him? He told me to kill him! This isn't the time to be going all mushy!" Inuyasha argues, glaring at me.
"STOP IT!" Nobunaga's voice rings out as he steps out in front of the Prince, his arms outstretched protectively. "Sheath your sword, Inuyasha, please! Inside this monster the real Lord's heart is still beating!" He insists passionately. I blink in surprise, glancing from him to the Princess, before looking back towards the boy.
'That is an incredibly selfless move.' I think to myself in admiration. If Nobunaga would have let Inuyasha just finish the Lord off, he might have had a chance with the Princess. Instead he was choosing to try and save the Lord's life for the Princess.
"Move it little man, or I'll kill you too." Inuyasha threatens, letting his sword drop so the point hovers just in front of Nobunaga's nose.
"Please don't!"
"Then move it!"
"I can't!" Nobunaga bravely denies. "I cannot let you kill him when the real Lord's heart is still in there! Besides, even if it wasn't in there I can't approve of you taking life. I know it's crazy to feel that way in the world today, but I can't help it, I can't." I frown deeply, wondering if there is a way out of this thing that wouldn't involve someone losing their life.
'You have my powers of purification. You could expose the demon, draw it like venom from a wound.' Mayumi speaks up, my eyes widening.
'How?' I ask urgently, moving to step forward. Inuyasha does something that shocks me to the core.
He actually backs down.
With an annoyed look he takes the sword, running the back of the large blade along the opening of his sheath, before sliding it back home. "Have it your way. I'll let you settle it yourself. The responsibility is your's now." He states, before turning away and taking a seat near the outskirts of the room. I blink in surprise, about to comment, but a chilling laughter fills the room.
'Oh no, he's back!' I think desperately to Mayumi, the toad slowly rising behind Nobunaga.
"Nobunaga, look out!" I exclaim, but it was too late. The toad Lord's tongue, now rejuvenated from his feast on souls, sticks straight through Nobunaga's shoulder from the back. With a cry of pain he stumbles forward, falling to the ground in a painful heap. The Princess runs to his aid.
'Are you ready?' Mayumi asks solemnly. 'This is going to be difficult. It's going to drain you, but this is the only way that I can see where he gets to live.'
'I'm ready.' I frown, before feeling energy pulsing forth like a tidal wave from deep inside of me. It was like the flood gates were open, the air around us picking up into a vortex and whipping my ponytail straight up.
'When you feel it, release your aura and it's energy with everything you have.'
'When I feel what?' I can't help thinking in confusion, everyone in the room seemingly frozen to the spot. I wait for what seems like minutes, even though it's only seconds.
Then I feel it.
A sense of weightlessness overcomes me, a cold brisk air filling my lungs as I gasp at the feeling. My entire body starts to tingle from my feet, working upwards towards my head.
Now, this was it.
With a yell I release it all, my aura bursting further as my energy hits the toad right on. With a scream he throws his head back, the toad demon slithering from the Lord's body like a ghost.
"Inuyasha!" I exclaim as I see the shard, pointing towards it.
"On it!" Inuyasha shouts, moving quickly and drawing Tessaiga, slicing straight through the demon's centre. I watch as the shard falls to the ground.
And darkness takes me.
"Yua? Hey, come on, wake up!" I groan softly, feeling my body being shaken as I slowly come back to consciousness. Opening my eyes I look up to meet amber ones as they stare down at me with concern. "There you are." He comments lightly, finally stopping with shaking me. I wince, feeling a pounding headache in my temples as I slowly sit up with his help.
"What happened?" I ask softly, my mind drawing a blank for a moment.
"Why don't you take a look?" Inuyasha replies, his hand resting on my back to help support me. He nods to my other side, and when I look I'm shocked at what I see.
"The Lord…he's back to normal." I gasp, looking at the very human Lord now. 'And he's not much of a looker.' I can't help but think, looking towards Nobunaga then, thinking him much more handsome. Even with the look of utter sadness on his face. 'Poor guy.'
"He is. What did you do back there?" Inuyasha asks with a frown, and I try to think of a way to explain it.
"I-I don't know. It was just gut instinct." I try to shrug off.
"Mayumi used to be capable of purification." Inuyasha frowns, leaning back away from me as he looks towards the couple as well. "You must have inherited that ability."
"Must have." I agree weakly, looking away from him as I could see that familiar look of sad longing in his eyes at the mention of Mayumi.
"Are you alright?" Inuyasha asks, snapping me back to reality. I look up to him, thankful that look from before was now gone.
"Yeah, just really drained." I reply softly, moving to try and stand. Inuyasha gets up before me, reaching down under my arms to help me up. I stumble, but he catches me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me. I feel my heart racing as the warmth from his body radiates through our clothes, and I can feel his strong chest through his kimono under my hands. The sleeves of his kimono covered me almost from shoulder to ankle, making me wish I could honestly just hide from the world in them.
"Uh, Yua?" Inuyasha asks nervously, and I lean back, instantly sensing the tenseness that now settles in his posture. "Come on, let's go and check on the kid." He lets go of me with one arm, the other staying wrapped around my middle to make sure I don't stumble again as we make our way over. The morning sun was starting to shine into the hut, signalling that the new day was here.
"Wait!" I stop him, stepping away from his arm and looking around frantically. "The jewel shard?!"
"It's right here." Inuyasha replies, pulling the silk sack that I used to possess from his pant pocket. He hands it over to me without hesitation, and I open it up to see two shards almost identical in shape and size resting inside. Breathing a sigh of relief I close the sack, holding it back out for him to take. Instead he shakes his head, gently pushing my hand holding it back towards me.
"Keep it." He murmurs, and I watch on wide eyed as he walks away on out the door. I bring the shards to my chest, feeling a blush work it's way onto my cheeks.
He trusted me.
"Hey, Nobunaga." I call to him gently, and he looks to me with sad eyes. 'Oh god, he looks like someone took his favorite toy. Or…I guess in this case his one true love.' I mentally smack myself for being so inconsiderate. "Let's go, yeah?" I ask, nodding towards the exit. He glances back towards the Princess one last time, before turning and leaving with me out the door. We exit the grounds without further notice, walking a good distance before thankfully stopping on a nearby ridge.
I still felt like the shit was kicked out of me!
"What happened to all the girls?" I ask as Inuyasha and I sit down under the tree. I figured I must have missed quite a bit when I was out.
"They were set free. The Lord is going to ensure their safe passage home." Inuyasha replies, sitting crossed legged with his arms folded. I nod, frowning a little as I look to Nobunaga's back as he stares at the castle.
"I honestly do feel sorry for him." I comment softly. "I know what it's like. To love someone who doesn't love you back." I swallow thickly, thinking of the first boy I had ever fallen in love with back home. I had been young, only fourteen at the time, but it still had hurt a great deal when that boy had turned around and made fun of me about it. 'At least this scenario wasn't as cruel. She cares for him, but she's bound to her marriage.'
"He'll get over it." Inuyasha replies, and those his words are blunt, they are said with an understanding as well.
"Well, I should be on my way." Nobunaga stands with a sigh, turning to face us and bowing his head. "I thank you both for your help in my mission, but now we must part ways. Hopefully we will see each other again sometime in the future."
"Uh, alright. Yeah, no problem. Glad we could help." I respond awkwardly as he holds his head high, grabbing his walking stick then and turning back around. He walks with an air of importance…even as he goes toppling over another ridge.
I'm sure that won't be the last we hear about that clumsy, love-sick boy.
Hey! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! I really wanted to be able to showcase Yua coming into her powers. Looking forward to hearing from you all soon!
Best,
T.O.T.
