~Ch. 5- The Truth About Kagome~
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Okami © Capcom
'Okay...one minute, I'm sitting in the forest, waiting for Inuyasha to come out of a glowing tree...and the next thing I know...I'm in this kind of mess!'
Kagome grumbled to herself as she found her wrists tied behind a support beam to an old, run-down mansion in the middle of the woods...surrounded by a gang of bandits. They all grinned as they leered at her, some of them licking their lips in a sick manner...and in the middle of them was a large, burly man with a pale complexion. He seemed to drool at Kagome while holding a cup of sake in his hand, but something was...a little off. His eyes seemed to be crossed a bit, one looking one direction and the other looking in another direction.
Something just wasn't quite right about this man.
'What's taking Shippo so long to find Inuyasha, already?!' she thought.
"Hey, sweet cheeks," said one of the bandits as he roughly grabbed at Kagome's face. "Lemme good look at yer pretty face."
"Hey, no fair!" shouted another one of the bandits. "I want to have a touch, too!"
"Let me smell her hair!" added a third.
Kagome shuddered as the brigands all clamored at once, trying to break free of her bonds.
"One at a time, boys!" said the bandit holding her face. "We'll all get a turn with her." He then slowly traced his hand down Kagome's neck...and preparing to slip it inside her suikan. "Isn't that right, dollface?"
Kagome growled before she raised her foot and thrust it into the bandit's groin, causing him to let out a high-pitched scream before he soon collapsed on the floor.
"Don't you even think about putting your filthy hands inside my clothes!" Kagome shouted.
"Well...looks like we got us a feisty one," said one of the bandits while brandishing a sword.
"Good," said one of his cohorts with a sick grin. "I like it when women struggle!"
'Uh-oh...!' thought Kagome.
"Step aside..."
The bandits turned to face their leader, who suddenly stood up while holding a sword of his own.
"I'll deal with her..." he said in a slurred voice.
"Oh, no...!" Kagome squeaked as she tried to shuffle back, but due to her wrists being tied together, she couldn't get very far. That's when something unexpected happened: as the bandit leader swung his sword down...he seemed to unknowingly cut down one of his own men!
"AAAGH!" he cried as a bloody gash appeared on his chest before he collapsed, causing the other bandits and Kagome to gasp.
"B-Boss, what are you doing?!" asked one of the bandits. "What's gotten into you?!"
"Ugggh..." the boss groaned as he tried to cut Kagome with his sword, again, but she ducked out of the way, causing another bandit's arm to get hacked off, which made him scream in pain as he stumbled back, blood spraying from his severed limb!
"It's like he's just swinging his sword, blindly!" cried one of the bandits.
"I thought something was off!" Kagome shouted. "This man's possessed!"
"Look out!" yelled another bandit in warning as the leader swung his sword, again, only this time, he managed to cut through Kagome's bonds, causing her to stumble forward as she and the other bandits scattered.
'Where is Shippo with Inuyasha, already?!' she thought as she ducked her head, narrowly avoiding her head getting cut off.
XXX
Inuyasha flew through the treetops while Shippo clung to his fur cape, the latter scanning the horizon nervously.
"Inuyasha, do you know where to find Kagome?!" he asked.
"Keep your tail on, short stuff," said Inuyasha as he stood on a tree branch. "I could smell the stench of bandits from miles away with this nose of mine."
"But what about Kagome?!" Shippo questioned.
"Relax," Inuyasha replied. "I can still smell her...she's...huh?"
"W-what is it?" Shippo asked while the Inugami took a few whiffs with his nose. "What's wrong?!"
"...Shit..." Inuyasha cursed. "We gotta move!"
With that, he quickly hopped from tree-to-tree, taking Shippo along with him.
XXX
"AAAH!" Kagome shrieked as she ducked down to avoid yet another swing from the bandit leader's sword, the blade cutting into the wall while the other bandits cowered.
"Hold...still..." the boss muttered.
"How long has your boss been acting like this?!" asked Kagome.
"W-we don't know!" answered one of the bandits. "He always gets drunk almost every day, so we figured this was normal!"
"It never occurred to you that he was possessed?!" Kagome questioned, but then she gasped as she saw their leader approaching her with his sword raised. She backed away, hoping to avoid him, only for her back to hit the wall...and it looked like all means of escape had been cut off. She looked up at the bandit leader, horror etched all over her face before she quickly closed her eyes and covered her head.
'Inuyasha!'
All of a sudden, the wall beside her shattered into splinters of wood. Kagome could hear startled gasps and shouts all around her...and when she opened her eyes, she soon saw why.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed.
"You idiot!" Inuyasha shouted as he held off the possessed leader's sword with the Celestial Blush. "What are you doing, getting yourself caught, you stupid wench?!"
"Pardon me?!" Kagome questioned. "It wasn't my idea!"
"Oh, just stop talking and run, already!" Inuyasha shouted as he pushed the bandit leader away.
"You heard him, Kagome!" Shippo called from outside. "Let's go!"
"I-I'm coming!" Kagome replied as she prepared to head out, but then she noticed one of the bandits lying on the floor, his leg bloodied from having gotten cut by his possessed boss's sword. She gasped silently before she went over and helped him up to his feet.
"You're...you're helping me?" asked the bandit.
"Hey, you may have kidnapped me," Kagome began, "but even I can't abandon someone who's injured!"
Inuyasha blinked at Kagome, seeming intrigued by her kindness toward the injured bandit...but then he quickly blocked another strike from the bandit leader with his brush.
"You're really persistent, aren't you?!" Inuyasha questioned as he raised the Celestial Brush to parry the sword strikes.
XXX
Meanwhile, Kagome, Shippo, and the bandits had gotten to a safer distance.
"Man...that was close," said one of the bandits. "Good thing that dog-eared guy came around!"
"What kind of guy is that, anyway?" asked another.
"That's no guy," Kagome answered while she tended to the injured bandit. "Inuyasha's a god!"
"Yeah!" Shippo added. "Can't you see his red markings?"
"What markings?" asked another bandit. "I just saw a guy with dog ears, fangs, and claws!"
"Wait...what?" Kagome asked in surprise.
XXX
"Ugh!" Inuyasha cried as he was slammed against the wall, but he quickly shook it off and got to his feet while the bandit leader approached him, holding his sword over his head, but then the Inugami growled as he stood up while holding the Celestial Brush. Then, as the tip of the brush dripped with ink, Inuyasha swung the brush across the bandit leader's chest, the ink forming a crescent-shaped blade. Not long after...the leader's body split completely in half before it collapsed on the floor.
"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed as he walked over to the man's corpse. "Why don't you come on outta there...crow?"
Suddenly, the leader's top half twitched...and a shadowy creature suddenly burst out from his armor.
"Very perceptive, dog boy..." the creature hissed as it glared at Inuyasha with three glowing red eyes. "Even the priestess had me figured out while those other fools didn't suspect a thing."
"Why did you kidnap the wench?" asked Inuyasha.
"She's a threat, that's why," said the crow, flapping its wings. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed, by now...she has the same spiritual powers as her."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at that.
"She's not just some girl that happened to be born with spiritual powers, you know," the crow drolled. "She is the reincarnation of that same woman you attempted to save from Orochi, 50 years ago...the girl is Kikyo...and I bet you knew that, didn't you?"
Inuyasha growled at that.
"How does it feel, dog?" asked the crow. "To again stand beside the woman who betrayed you? I bet you can't even stand to look at her, don't you?"
"Be quiet," Inuyasha growled.
"Why should I?" the crow inquired. "I'm only stating the truth. In fact...I wager that the girl will betray you, one day."
"I said BE QUIET!" Inuyasha yelled as he swiped his claws at the crow, causing to screech as it was soon rent to shreds, causing it to fall to the floor...only for it to smirk.
"You know...I'm right...!" the crow whispered before its body faded away into dust.
"...Damn bird..." Inuyasha cursed as he stood up and walked away.
XXX
Kagome stood near the forest, waiting for the Inugami to return. Shippo sat on her shoulder, just as anxious as the priestess. The bandits had since dispersed from the scene. Just then, they spotted Inuyasha approaching from the bandits' hideout.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Hey," Inuyasha said. "It was a crow demon that possessed the leader of the bandits...he ate out his heart and then took over his corpse."
"I thought so," Kagome muttered. "Carrion Crows...so disgusting."
"...Yeah, they sure are," Inuyasha snarled as he continued to walk away while Kagome and Shippo soon walked after him. "...Hey, wench."
"How long are you gonna keep calling me that?" Kagome asked in annoyance.
"How come you helped that bandit?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well...why not?" asked Kagome. "He was hurt and I wasn't gonna just leave him behind."
"Even though he helped kidnap you?" asked Shippo.
"Look, even he didn't deserve his boss suddenly turning on him, like that," said Kagome.
"...Hmph," Inuyasha scoffed. "You're soft, wench. There is such a thing as being too kind in this world, you know."
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