The changes aren't big at first, but they will add up and become more. I have a great side plot for just Tenzin set up... I am pretty pleased with this story.
Tenzin and Inuyasha were returning to the village, crossing through the forest at speeds that would rival the fastest horse. It was exhilarating for Tenzin, to see how fast he could move now, the power that now pumped through his veins. He was a monster, a beast and he loved every moment of it... well most of the moments of it. The possibility of losing his humanity was scary, but the rest of it was cool.
It took about five minutes to enter the village once more, both men took a single leap to leave the forest proper... only to see a strange sight. Several village women, floating in the air, all armed with one weapon or another, all unconscious. Not a one radiating a single emotion, thought, or anything. Each one wrapped in countless threads of what looked like hair, holding them up like puppets.
Inuyasha asked. " What's with you all?" One by one the women raised their weapons.
"Don't hurt them Inuyasha, can't you see it... the hair? It's clearly demonic, their puppets."
"What hair?"
"You can't see it... doesn't matter, just don't hurt them." He growled out, giving Inuyasha a look that had the boy shivering.
The women started to float towards them, their weapons menacingly raised.
The stench of blood, which Tenzin somehow knew, filled the air. He turned and saw Kaede crawling from a hut, a horrible wound on her shoulder. " Inuyasha, don't do it! Do not harm the girls!"
"Old Kaede!" Both boys leaped towards the woman. "Wow, look at you. You're a bloody mess."
Kaede frowned. " Have you nothing nicer to say?"
" So why shouldn't I hurt 'em, huh? They're sure tryin' to hurt me."
The floating girls started to close in. "
Kaede growned. " They're all under a spell. (looks around) Kagome? Where's Kagome?"
" She went back to her own land. Not that it matters or nothin'. I don't need her to handle this. Tenzin can see the hairs."
"You mustn't. Do not touch the village girls!"
"Will you quit flappin' your gums already? Or have you forgotten they're after you, too?"
"Don't you understand, Inuyasha? We must get to the one who is controlling them."
One of the girls flew at INU and attacked, which the dog boy dodged. Two more flew at Tenzin, who rolled under them, avoiding their strikes.
"Now you've completely lost it."
Kaede called out. "Then Inuyasha, please… Cut the hair! Just cut the hair and the trance will be broken!"
Tenzin saw his cue, and so he flew up and grabbed a girl, reaching up he grabbed a hair and squeezed till he started to bleed. "Inuyasha start here!" he ignored the pain, the cold demonic energy within the strands numbing him just enough that he was able to focus. Inuyasha obeyed Tenzin's words and jumped, slashing the girl's threads, knocking her to the ground. He reached for another girl, but she dodged and flew upwards raising her clever. Other girls also started to float higher up in the air.
Kaede called out. " No! Inuyasha, run!"
Several strands of hair coiled around INU, immobilizing him entirely. The girls started to float around Inuyasha, clearly seeing him as the greater threat, tangling him up in more hair.
Inuyasha wasn't impressed, he pulled the hair. " They're not too smart, whoever's behind this. I may be tangled up, but even if I can't see who's doing it, I can cut down whoever's in front of me!" The hairs suddenly went slack, and Inuyasha fell to the ground. Then, before Tenzin could so much as offer aid, the half-breed was lifted into the air and slammed into a tree making him struggle, something that doubled as the hair coiled around his throat.
Anger washed through Tenzin who shot towards the boy, his hands glowing purple. He reached the tree quickly and grabbed the coils of hair. The purple energy shot across the hairs, sizzling against them until they all started to snap.
Inuyasha fell to the ground, feeling around his neck, gasping for air. "Oh, man… I thought I was done for." He looked up. " Thanks, Tenzin."
Tenzin nodded. "Not a problem... your the only one who can show me how to use my powers and help me collect the jewel, I need you alive."
Kaede limped towards them. "If you'd been a mere human, your head would have come clean off."
Some metallic sounds rang behind them. They all looked up to find a few villager men, unconscious, floating towards them with weapons in their hands.
Kaede gasped. "The village men!"
"More human puppets? It's gettin' kinda old." Inuyasha snarled:
"Inuyasha, leave this to me and make your escape." Kaede groaned.
"Aw man, would you quit bein' such a martyr an'—" The woman then collapsed onto the ground, bloodloss clearly overpowering her strong will. "Old Kaede!"
Tenzin lifted her up, putting her on his back. "Let's go to safety. I'll take lead, I can see the hairs. Follow me." Inuyasha nodded and the three of them blasted off into the air, rushing by at blinding speeds. To Tenzin's shock, Kaede wasn't much of an impediment to him. She felt almost light, he really was getting stronger... it was kind of exciting really.
Inuyasha called out as they blasted away. "Hang in there, old woman!"
""""
Hours passed, the three of them were in a forest not far from the village but far from any trace of the hairs. Kaede was on a bed of leaves, with Tenzin patching her up. "I am glad that I took first aid classes, Kagome insisted when I started learning Kendo, she was afraid I would hurt myself. You're going to be okay, Kaede, your too strong for this flesh wound to be the death of you."
Kaede laughed little. "You're a good soul... but you will not be enough, you will need your sister if you are to succeed. I am not sure how you can see the threads, the sight is typically a demonic one... Her powers though will be of great aid if you are to dispatch this demon."
Inuyasha asked. " So she can see it, too?"
Kaede winced. "Yes. For this foe, Kagome… Kagome is necessary for victory…" The woman then closed her eyes, looking utterly serene. Tenzin leaned down and listened, hopeful that he could hear a heartbeat with his stronger body. "I can hear her heart, she's alive. We need to hide her if we are to get my sister."
Inuyasha nodded and started to bury a pit, eventually putting Kaede in the pit and covering her with dirt and leaves." I'll even come back an' dig her out if I don't forget."
Kaede's eyes opened. " Are you sure? You had better not forget. Tenzin, you'll make sure he comes back right?"
The boy laughed. "I'll gut him with my teeth if he forgets." He enjoyed the look of fear on Inuyasha's face. Together the two half-demons shot off, rushing to the well where they knew his sister had been likely to go to if she had been seriously trying to get home. Using his sight, Tenzin ensured they were free of hairs. Once they got to the well, however, he panicked for two reasons. First, there was a pile of his sister's clothes by the well, second, there was a hair leading into the well! He told this to Inuyasha who nodded, his eyes getting cold. "We have to go to my time, let's go."
Together they threw themselves into the well, and into the portal of light that consumed them both.
Not even a moment later, Tenzin saw little but darkness. Inuyasha grunted and shot upwards, breaking through what Tenzin now realized was the well door. Familiar sutras fell down the well.
"What are these?" Dog boy asked.
"Sutras, our grandpa fancies himself spiritually powerful. Now that I have seen Kagome and Kaede's powers, I know he's not..." In one leap, Tenzin hopped from the well, quite pleased with himself. "Be nice, my family has never seen a demon. Please?" It pained him to say that, but the Dog's care for Kaede and refusal to kill the woman attacking them had given him a touch of respect for him. "Follow me." Walking fast, they made their way away from the well and into the house itself, moving towards where Tenzin smelled dinner and heard his family's conversation. Taking a deep breath, he opened the sliding door. His heart stopped as he saw his beloved family, tears prickling in his eyes. " Hello." He whispered, breathless.
In an instant his mother was in his arms, holding him with warmth and love. "Oh my baby, your back!"
"I am... Mom... this is Inuyasha." He pulled away, but his mother's eyes were on him, or more specifically his eyes. "Yeah, they're red now."
His mom's eyes softened. "They're beautiful... just like the rest of you."
"I really miss you." He choked. " I thought I would never be able to return, my demonic soul might make me a monster one day and I... I'm sorry Mom."
"You were protecting us, your sister told us it all..." She turned and smiled at Inuyasha, her tone a touch meaner. " I was told my son cut your claws off, that's what you get for attacking my babies."
"Mom, he's not so bad, he's just desperate... I get that, besides we just fought side by side." He smiled at her, and she nodded. "Now, we need Kagome."
Kagome gaped. "Where'd you come from?
Inuyasha frowned. "The well! Where else?"
"The well? But it's…!"
Grandpa growled. " Do not lie! Those oracles have been used of this shrine since ancient times and cannot fail!"
Inuyasha held out a hand, but stopped his words when Tenzin looked at him. "Grandpa, you have no spiritual powers and even if you did have them you wouldn't be strong enough to hold out Inuyasha, he's really powerful. If Kagome did it, it might work. She's incredibly powerful, even untrained she can do amazing things. Her past life was a legendary Priestess. Now... enough of that, we need to go."
"Inuyasha… A strand of hair!" Kagome said, standing with horror.
Inuyasha looked where Kagome was pointed. "Hair? "
Tenzin gasped. " Only people like us can see it, Sis. I was in such a rush to get you I didn't notice. We need to hurry, less the other hairs come here. We saw them decimate the village, they easily overpowered even Inuyasha."
Kagome nodded and the three of them hurried away, back to the Dry Well. To their collective horror, hundreds of strands were dancing around the hut from the well, threateningly and with no purpose.
Kagome gasped. " More strands… are coming out!"
"Kagome! Tenzin!" Their family called out, approaching them, Kagome closed the doors to the well.
Kagome called out. "Don't enter!"
Bundles of hair lashed out, attacking the three of them, Kagome and Tenzin dodged the blow. The hair hit the door and deflected towards Inuyasha.
Kagome called out. " Inuyasha! In front of you!"
Dog boy's ears twitched, hearing the movement of the hair. He dodged but subsequent bundles of hair coiled around his wrists and ankles.
"Open the door" Grandpa called from outside.
Mama called out. "Kagome! Tenzin"
Inuyasha clawed at the bundles of hair, which broke and fell to the ground. They slithered like snakes towards each other and reformed as if nothing happened.
Kagome gasped. "It gathers together again, even when it's cut. There's no end to this!"
The bundles of hair coiled to form one thick pile which grabs Inuyasha's wrist. Another bundle twisted and wrapped around Tenzin's wrist, slamming him to the ground, his head slamming into the stairs, though oddly it barely hurt. A perk of his new powers it seemed.
Kagome's voice rang out. "Inuyasha! It's this one! Cut this strand!"
Inuyasha, struggling with the hair, called out. "This? Where? I see it!" Something happened then, Tenzin from his dazed spot on the ground felt the hairs slack and he managed to stand just in time to see hair retreating into the well. " It retreated."
Kagome rubbed her hands. "Inuyasha, Tenzin, let's return!"
"Wow… That was a quick change of mind."
" I don't really want to go."
"Huh?" Inuyasha pulled off his red robe and tossed it over Kagome. "This was woven with the fur of the Fire Rat. It's much stronger than any ordinary armor."
Kagome stuttered out. " Th-thank you."
"Well, 'cuz… You look like you have really weird skin."
KAG: You're the weird one!
"Oh well, whatever. Let's go!" He jumped onto the mouth of the well. Kagome joined him, and Tenzin waited for them to jump down before he followed suit. In a swirl of light, they vanished, ready to fight demons once more and keep their family safe.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was fun to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
