Scroll 7 – The Bone-Eater's Well
"Huh? Hair? I don't see any hair!" She landed gracefully next to the priestess. "Stop talking nonsense, hag, and tell me what the hell is going on!" She lashed out at a few of the villagers who kept pressing closer.
"Where is Inu Yasha?"
"Don't know, don't care!" Kagome hissed.
"Well, I thought you would care since he is carrying the Shikon Shard."
"DAMN IT! Stupid, filthy humans!" Kagome continued to mutter as she glared at the approaching villagers. She raised her claws to attack the villagers but Kaede stopped her.
"I said do not kill them, they are being controlled."
"Then how the hell am I supposed to fight them, hag?"
"Hurting or killing them will do no good. You will have to fight the demon that is controlling them."
Kagome growled in frustration. "This is ridiculous. That stupid, annoying, smelly human! I should have killed him when I had the chance."
"Cut the hair that is controlling them."
"And just where is this supposed hair?" Kagome growled sarcastically.
"Attack the air just above them," Kaede ordered.
Kagome swiped at the air around the villagers and felt her claws cut through something. She swiped again, but this time her hand got caught. She tried to y tol her hand free, but the invisible restraints only bit into her flesh harder. "Well, this is one way to get at the bastard behind all this," she commented as she jerked at the hair with all her strength. However, instead of the feel of something being pulled from the other end, Kagome ended up falling backwards as the hair suddenly became slack in her hands. Kagome sat dazedly for a moment before the hair tensed again and began to entangle her.
From her perch in a tree deep in the forest, Yura of the Hair began to giggle. "Nice try, pussy cat, but my hair can be as long as I wish. I think I want your head. Kitty hair is so soft and pretty," she murmured to herself.
Feeling the hair squeeze tighter around her neck, Kagome jerked her head to the side. The hair barely bit into her skin before snapping.
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Yura giggled and plucked the little bottle containing the shard out of his pocket. "I think I can make better use of this than you, pathetic human," she said as she hopped back up to her perch in the tree. She turned and looked at him with a grin. "I can't think of any uses for you so I might as well rid this place of one more annoying human."
She hefted her dagger and without any hesitation threw it directly at Inu Yasha. He let out a strangled scream and jerked backwards. Inu Yasha managed to dodge the flying blade but lost his balance in the process. He let out another strangled scream as he fell.
After a while, Inu Yasha finally hit the bottom of the well. He looked up and didn't see any sign of Yura of the Hair. He sighed. Yeah, that's the last time that's gonna happen, he thought to himself as he slowly climbed to his feet. I'll be covered in bruises by dinner. I hope that roof means that I'm back home. If I am home I'm gonna stay away from this fuckin' well, no more rabbit holes for me, he decided with a snarl.
He began to search for a way out of the well. He was just starting to get frustrated at the lack of footholds or roots or anything he could use to climb out with when he heard muffled voices. A moment later he heard the sound of a door sliding open.
"—ready told you, grandpa, I checked twice. He was there, then he wasn't! And his teacher said he never went to class today."
"SOTA YOU MISERABLE LITTLE TWERP! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!" Inu Yasha bellowed.
There was silence before two heads peered over the edge of the well down at him. Inu Yasha glared at them as they stared blankly at him. "Well? Get something for me to climb out of here with!"
They looked at each other and Gramps nodded at Sota, "There's some rope in the shed." Sota nodded and disappeared from Inu Yahsa's view. The two remaining people continued to stare, or glare in Inu Yasha's case, at each other. "Those are some interesting clothes you're wearing Inu-chan."
Inu Yasha glanced down at himself and grimaced. He was still wearing the strange clothes Kaede had given him. "Whatever, you old fart, just get me out of here. I'm cold, tired, and sore. And starving. I hope dinner is soon. Where is that annoying pest?" he growled.
"Well, it's definitely him," Gramps muttered to himself. "Just cool your feet for a bit, Inu-chan. Here, let me tell you of—"
"GAH! No more legends or myths or tales or anything! I don't want to hear about it! SOTA! GET YOUR MISERABLE ASS IN HERE AND GET ME OUT OF THIS WELL!"
The door slid open and Inu Yasha heard his younger brother's voice. "Coming, niisan. Gosh, you're so impatient!" Sota peered over the side of the well again and tossed the end of a rope down to him. Inu Yasha began to climb out, grumbling the whole time about senile old coots and psychotic idiots. Without a word to his brother and grandfather, Inu Yasha stomped out of the well-house and towards the main house. "I swear I checked the well-house this morning, Gramps," Sota repeated as they watched Inu Yasha storm away.
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Kagome sat stunned for a moment. "That bastard tried to decapitate me…. That bastard tried to take my head!" she screamed. She jumped up and was about to attack the newest wave of villagers when something grabbed her leg. She growled as she glanced down to see Kaede grabbing her. "Release me, hag," she said in a quietly threatening tone.
"Killing the villagers will not lead you to the demon controlling them, Kagome," Kaede responded calmly. "We must get out of here and find my brother's reincarnation. He will be able to see the hair as well and lead you to the demon. Killing these villagers will not help you," she repeated.
Kagome ground her teeth together. "It will make me feel much better," she muttered. She let out a sigh and picked up the old priestess and jumped over the circle of villagers closing in. She took them deep into the forest and when she couldn't hear the villagers anymore, she landed, dropping Kaede unceremoniously on the ground by a tree. "Alright, old hag, we're away from those moronic villagers, take me to the demon."
Kaede rolled her eyes and barely repressed a sigh. "I have already told you, Kagome, I am old and I am injured. I cannot lead you to this demon. You must find Inu Yasha. He will be able to see the hair and lead you to the demon."
With a strangled scream and a flurry of hair and arms, Kagome began to throw dirt and leaves on the old woman. "What are you doing, Kagome? I am not dead yet!" Kaede cried indignantly as she spat out dirt and leaves. In a matter of moments, the old priestess was covered up to her neck in dirt and leaves. She glared at the young hanyou who was just placing a few leaves in her hair and arranging a fern to drape over her face.
"Why, obaasan, I am hiding you, of course," Kagome replied sweetly. "It would be a shame if those precious villagers of yours found you all hurt and unable to protect yourself, now wouldn't it?" Kagome stood up with a huge grin on her face. "Sit tight, obaasan!" she called out cheerfully. She began to laugh hysterically as she took off through the trees.
"You would regret not coming back for me, Kagome!" Kaede called out after her. Kagome only seemed to laugh harder.
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"And now I'm back here," Inu Yasha said moodily. "Now will you please let me go take a bath, Gramps? I already told you that I'm cold, sore, and starving."
"Yes, yes, go ahead, Inu-chan," Gramps told him absentmindedly as he began to leave the room.
"HEY! Wait! Get your old ass back in here and untie me! You got the whole story, now untie me!" Gramps had tied Inu Yasha to his desk chair in order to get the story of where he'd been all day and why he was dressed so strangely.
"Oh, yes. Sorry, I almost forgot, Inu-chan. I was just trying to remember which drawer I had put those protection scrolls in," he said untying Inu Yasha. "If your mother asks, I'll be in the well-house sealing up that thing so this won't happen again."
"Whatever, crazy old man," Inu Yasha muttered as he headed towards the bathroom to soak his sore body in hot water.
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Kagome's mirth lasted until she remembered that she had to find Inu Yasha in order to keep track of her Shikon Shard and find the demon controlling the hair. She started back at the stream and began to follow his scent from there. "I can't believe I have to track that smelly human like I'm some sort of mutt," she muttered in annoyance. Well, at least his stench is strong enough that I don't have to get down on all fours like a dog. Ugh, I can't believe that withered up old crone still thinks that he's Sesshomaru. He's not even the least bit attractive and he doesn't smell powerful at all and he can't fight and he's annoying and stupid…well, Sesshy was annoying and stupid, too, but that's a human trait. She continued to fume and mutter to herself as she followed Inu Yasha's wandering path through the forest until she reached the Bone-Eater's Well.
She sighed. "Damn that smelly human. Ready or not, here I come!" she called and she jumped into the well.
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AN: yay another chappy!! I'm going to try harder to expand these chapters so that they're longer because these just seem so short. So I'd like to take this moment to say thanx for the reviews & I tried to get this out as fast as I could. I'm currently in my junior year of college and I'm only taking one core class each semester this year while the rest are all generals with a shitload of readings so I haven't been able to work on this as much as I want to. I'm hoping to get another chapter done before spring break is over, but I have to babysit a rather annoying 7yr old so I can't get much done while I'm over there.
But enough of this, I'm thinking I'm going to have Inu Yasha use a bow and arrows like Kagome does in the original and Kagome use a sword like Inu does in the original, but Kagome's sword won't be a big clunky thing like Tetsusaiga, but something more along the lines of a sleek, fast katana like the samurais used. I think if I switched the weapons like I had initially wanted to it would make things even more complicated. Though I think I will keep that Sesshomaru was a master of all weapons, but mostly the bow and the spear so Inu will learn to use the bow and a spear.
I love reviews because they motivate me to keep writing and give me feedback on things that are working and stuff that I need to think through again. Like the weapons thing and how you guys think I'm doing with Inu & Kag's personalities. So R&R!!
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