Insert Standard Disclaimer here
A/N: As opposed to the previous stories, which were all told in third-person omniscient POV, this one is narrated by Inuyasha himself. Yay! I decided to do this for two reasons: first, because he is now older – maybe not wiser, but older – and more able to speak for himself. Second, the previous stories contained several details that would obviously not have been known to Inuyasha himself, but needed to be included nonetheless; these were supplied to yours truly by his loyal-but-cowardly retainer, Myoga, or second-hand from Izayoi through him. As Myoga did not bear witness to the events of this story, he had nothing significant to add.
"Blood"
When I was twelve, I discovered how we had been able to survive for so long without either my mother or myself working. It seems my father had secretly hidden a small stash of human money that he had earned in the guise of a soldier in my human grandfather's employ, and he had told my mother where to find it should anything happen to him. My mother explained that he refused to steal anything from humans, though such a thing would have been effortless for him. He also refused to endanger us by leaving any of his demon wealth to us; we would have become a target. My father planned to leave enough money to last us for about twenty years, but things didn't work out like he'd planned.
While my father was alive, he made it a practice to "attack" a castle every now and then. He would never hurt or kill anyone intentionally, though he might cause some damage to the structure itself. But as a result of his harassment, the local human lords feared to enter into full-blown war against each other – they banded together to fight against my father, instead – though minor skirmishes always cropped up here and there. But now my father was out of the picture, and his heir, my half-brother Sesshomaru, was uninterested in human affairs.
No humans save my mother knew my father was actually dead; he simply vanished from human history. Eventually, the memory of the great dog demon faded, and with it, the local lords' reluctance to enter into full-scale conflict with each other.
The fires of war spread across the countryside. And our town was not spared.
xxxxx
"Man, what a mess…" I shook my head and surveyed the damage from my vantage high point up in a tree. The hailstorm the night before had wrecked every single roof in town. All day long, I'd watched from a distance while the townsfolk made repairs. There were a few roofs that stayed holed as the day wore on. Did all the people inside those homes die?
Dropping lightly to the ground, I made my way back home. My mother was waiting for me… with a job to do.
"Tonight? But I was going hunting, and I…"
"We need the money, Inuyasha."
"Yeah, yeah… I know."
Our money wasn't entirely gone. But with the local lords gearing up for war, snatching up supplies wherever they could, even basic necessities had become much more expensive. Mother had already sold off half of her best kimonos just to keep us fed; thankfully, she'd had the foresight to buy our home, rather than renting it… most renters in the area were turned out for failing to make payments. To keep our family going as long as possible, Mother expanded her garden behind the house while I hunted. I didn't mind, to be honest; not that I enjoyed the killing aspect… I loved the thrill of the chase!
"Inuyasha, are you listening to me?"
"Sigh. Yes, Mother." I thrust my hands onto my hips and slouched into the doorway. Might as well get it over with, whatever it is…
"Old Lady Murakami needs her roof repaired… you remember her, right?"
"How could I forget… she pinches my cheek every year." She was a widow, and her children had all preceded her in death. Mother kept her company some days, and invited her along to celebrate my birthday. Apparently it wasn't a party with only two people. I didn't mind her all that much, cheek-pinching aside. She had some pretty good stories to tell, having lived for longer than anyone I knew except Myoga.
Nodding at appropriate moments, I let my mother finish her overly detailed instructions. Oop, she's wrapping up. "Yes, Mother, I'll make sure to seal the cracks and everything."
She made the smile that made my heart warmer than the brightest summer day. "That's my boy." As much as my mother annoyed me some days, I always loved her more than anything; I'd do anything for her, when it came right down to it.
xxxxx
So that night, I headed for the old woman's place, hopping from roof to roof to avoid the night watchmen. I paused when I heard muted voices coming from below my feet. Who's up this late in town? I pressed my ear to the planking.
"… so much misfortune these past years…" That's the headman.
"… made all the usual sacrifices at the shrine, and more…" The priest.
"Why is all this… … at fault?" Mr. Tanaka.
"… Lady Izayoi and her half-breed?" WHAT?
I clung to the roof as my head spun. They think Mother and I caused the hailstorm? I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop listening to their wild theories and lies. The drought five years ago… last year's poor soybean harvest… utter nonsense, of course. I'd never done a darn thing to hurt them, but I was a half-breed – so it was always, always my fault.
Before long, the headman dismissed the meeting, having ultimately decided on nothing at all. I almost didn't go to finish the job, but we needed the money. I quietly placed the fresh boards across the remains of the old ones, smeared tar between the cracks, and weighted them down with the rocks from the sack slung over my shoulder.
I stood up and admired my handiwork, but my thoughts slipped back to earlier. "I can't tell Mother… but from now on, she never goes into town alone!" I vowed. As I slipped off into the night, I wondered whether the old lady would even pay us for the job.
Fortunately, Old Lady Murakami had been around long enough that she knew the difference between a half-breed's curse and natural events, so she didn't hate me like everyone else "suddenly" did. They all acted like it was something new, and only barely hid it in my mother's presence. The promised string of money lay on the doorstep the two mornings later. But it was now far too dangerous for her to be seen associating with us; she didn't come for my thirteenth birthday. I actually kind of missed her, though I'd never admit it to Mother.
xxxxx
"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"
My golden claws sliced cleanly through the weasel demon even as it pounced, and it disappeared into a fine mist.
"Heh. Just more vermin…" Not that it did anything in particular to deserve such a fate…
I'd spent less than twenty minutes tracking it down and killing it… a new record for me! Slaying minor demons like the weasel was now a part of my daily routine. I figured that if I kept the demons from causing trouble, there wouldn't be any to be pinned on me. And I didn't mind the chance to practice fighting. My mother knew nothing about all this, of course.
I continued my circuitous path around the outskirts of town, always sniffing the hot, dry air for traces of demons. I stopped for a drink in a clear, still pool at the next stream I came across. I stared at my reflection in the water for a long time… my wavy white hair, my robe hanging loosely on my lean frame… my canine ears. Mother says I'll fill it out eventually. I'd almost rather have clothes that fit, but I gotta admit it sure is handy.
As I lay there, my nose picked up something else entirely. "Horses?"
I stood up, and dashed to the crest of the valley through which the stream ran. From here, I had a clear view of the road that led away from the village to the east. Often, I would see a cart laden with goods come down that road. Sometimes a messenger on horseback with an urgent message. But never before had I seen what I saw that afternoon.
xxxxx
"Mother! Come quick, something's going on!" I gasped for breath, clutching the stitch in my side as I stood in the doorway.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" She dusted the flour off her hands and came to the door.
"I saw several armed men riding towards town from the east. They had big red banners, and hundreds of armed men marching behind them." I held my skinny arms wide apart to indicate the size of the banners. "We've got a lot of bandits to drive off this time!" I grinned up at her, and was shocked by the alarmed look on her face.
"Banners mean they are samurai warriors, not thieves. The town might not be able to just drive them off, Inuyasha. What color were the banners?"
"Most of them were red," I told her. "What does that matter?"
"The lord to whom this town swears allegiance marches under a blue banner… and his castle is also to the east!" She strode to the edge of the woods and gazed off into the distance. I strained my own eyes next to her, unsure of what to look for. As the sun dipped lower behind us, the eastern sky did not dim; rather, the blue turned a sickening orange.
"The castle is burning," she murmured. "Just like last time."
"Mother?" What does she mean, last time?
"Inuyasha, you must run to the headman and warn him that the enemy is coming. I will stay here and make preparations to fight them. But you must come back before sundown!"
"Why? Oh!" Tonight is the New Moon! "I'm on it… I'll be back before you know it!"
xxxxx
I really don't know why I should do this for them, I thought as I sped down the shallow incline that led from home to the town. I raced through the open gate and down the streets to the headman's home, where I'd heard them talking about Mother and I months earlier.
"Headman! Headman!" I pounded on the doorjamb.
"Yes, yes, what is… you!"
"Yes, sir! My mother sent me to warn you that an army is…"
"Get away, demon child!" The back of his meaty hand abruptly slammed into the side of my head, and I flew into a stack of salt barrels across the street. His haughty "Hmph!" was the last thing I heard before I passed out, buried beneath the heavy barrels.
xxxxx
When I awoke, the air was filled with smoke and screams. Still under a barrel, eh? Groggily, I tried to push myself up off the ground, but couldn't. "What the… crap!" I stared at my hands splayed out before me… no claws. Duh, it's nighttime now. My demon blood has left me. I tried to free myself again, focusing on rolling the barrel off my back before standing up again. This time it worked.
I staggered through the empty streets, trying to remember which way led home. "O ho, what have we here? I told you boys to gather all the young men together!" boomed a voice to my left.
I turned to see a squad of soldiers led by a mounted samurai. "We must have missed this one, sir!" one soldier apologized.
"Well, don't just stand there, get him!"
"Yes, sir!"
I tried to make a break for it, but I didn't get far. Must've sprained my ankle, I thought as the soldiers manhandled me to the town square. At least they didn't kill me…
Looking about the square, I saw soldiers sorting the townspeople into various groups. They split up almost every single family. The older men and women were herded into one of the two teahouses; the children into the other. The young women were clustered in the center of the square, their wrists bound. I was unceremoniously dumped with the rest of the younger men and boys, trussed up hand and foot. I was suddenly grateful of the darkness; it helped hide my identity from my fellow captors. Would they even recognize me as a human? I wondered.
The soldiers all around the square dropped to one knee as the door to the inn opened. "All hail Lord Kagewaki!" they chorused.
Waving his hands to quiet his army, Kagewaki strode towards us. "Rejoice, young men!" he bellowed. "You should be honored to have the distinction of such a choice: join my army, all of you, or I shall burn your families to ashes!" He gestured to the teahouses, where soldiers stood ready with torches.
Cries of dismay rose up all around. Damn him! That's a filthy way to get new recruits! I tried to wriggle my hands free of the coarse rope with which they had bound me.
"Now, now, just come along quietly and no one has to die." Grinning savagely, Kagewaki indicated a table set up in on the inn's front porch, where a clerk with ink, brush, and scroll waited to take down names. "Just give my man your name, and when the war is over, you can come back home in peace."
One by one, the men of the town began to get in line. Only a coward would give up this easily… I guess the headman didn't pass on my warning. Idiot. Still, they're actually willing to sacrifice themselves to save someone else. There's something to be said for that, I suppose. Damn… if only I had my claws, I could get out of this rope!
"Get a move on, boy!" I stared at the guard, who began poking me with the haft of his spear.
"I'd love to, but I'm tied up, you moron!"
He finally noticed my bound ankles. Motioning for me to spread my legs, he sliced the rope in between. "Now move it!" I reluctantly filed in with the rest of the men.
Come on, think of something! It wasn't like I owed these people anything, but they didn't deserve to be treated like slaves… livestock, even! It was finally my turn in line. The clerk asked me my name, and I caught myself just in time. What sort of human has a name like Inuyasha? "Err… it's got weird kanji… I can write it myself," I offered. He handed me the brush, and I took my time writing out 'Usotsuki Nisemono' – I had to, as my wrists were still tightly bound. Despite the dire situation, I couldn't help but laugh at my own joke. The clerk gave me an odd look as I was shoved aside to make room for the next man.
I slumped to the ground next to the other registered men and watched Kagewaki circling the young women like a hungry wolf. I didn't yet understand exactly what he was planning to do with them, but from the evil glint in his eyes I knew it was definitely nothing good. He bent over next to one poor girl – probably younger than me – and said something to her that made her start bawling.
While I watched him, I too was being watched. One of the guards had noticed that my rich red robe was hardly the garb of a village boy. He leveled a spear at me and demanded that I hand it over to him. I considered his request, but I had a much better idea: I caught the flat blade of the spear with the backs of my wrists and drove the butt end of the weapon into his midsection. I used the spear blade to free my hands and was about to gut him with his own weapon when the village men dog-piled on top of me.
"Fool!"
"Idiot!"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Do you want to get us all killed?"
"… Hey, who are you anyway?"
Uh-oh… the jig is up! Kagewaki's men actually came to my rescue, or so I thought, pulling the village men back off.
"What's all this ruckuss?"
"A new recruit tried to harm one of your loyal soldiers, Lord Kagewaki!" a captain reported. The soldier who I'd tried to spear kneeled before his lord and explained what had happened.
"I see… I have no use for such trash." Without another word, Kagewaki drew his sword and slit the soldier from groin to throat in one swift movement. He raised the dripping sword. "Thus to all who fail in my service!" he roared. "As for you," he said, turning to me, "you've got spirit. Tell me, how does a strong boy with your filthy feet and hands come to wear a robe worthy of a young lord? Did you steal it? Did you kill for it?"
"I'll tell you," I said, "if you'll let everyone in the village go to bed for now and do nothing bad to anyone until morning." Will he buy it?
"Trying to bargain with your master, are you? Fool!" He cuffed me into the cobblestones. "Lord Kagewaki answers to no one! Besides," he added, "I'm planning on having too much fun tonight!" All around the square, his men added their mocking laughter to his. I was sick of getting knocked around, so I played dead even though my blood was boiling.
I was glad I had my eyes shut when a blinding glare filled the square a moment later. I opened them to see my mother kneeling in the exact spot where the young women had been… and no young women. She must have used that teleportation spell… which means she's exhausted!
"Mother!" I scrambled to my feet and ran to her while the soldiers and villagers rubbed their eyes.
"Inuyasha! I had no idea you were here! I thought you would be somewhere safe, so I came to rescue the women from…"
"What in the world?" Kagewaki was fuming. "Where are the…? My, my, what have we here?" He snapped his fingers, and a ring of soldiers surrounded us. My mother stood, shakily; I think she refused to do anything resembling bowing in front of him. As a pair of soldiers held my arms, Kagewaki grabbed her chin and spat in her face. "I don't know just what you did to spirit away my company for tonight, but it seems that you've volunteered to replace them!" He slapped her. Hard.
"That's enough, you bastard!" I charged him, neither knowing what I'd do or caring what would happen to me. I have to protect you… "Mother!"
As I drew close, he slashed at me like he'd done to the soldier earlier; his sword broke on my robe. It hurt like hell, but I wasn't cut in the least.
"What are you?" Kagewaki growled down at me, while his soldiers dragged my mother away. He kicked me, and I went tumbling. Myoga's lessons finally paid off; I'd remembered to roll right before the kick, so it wasn't as hard. But he came stomping after me. "Why don't you bleed?" He snatched a club from a soldier, and began beating me ferociously. It was a long time before I blacked out.
xxxxx
When I regained consciousness, I had a monstrous headache. And I was sore all over. And I was being bumped and jostled. I opened my eyes to see where I was. Damn… still dark? I tried to feel for my ears, but cold metal encircling my wrists prevented that. I tried my legs next… they were chained, too. When I tried to sit up, I realized a tight band around my neck restricted my breathing. That explains the headache. But I could still smell: horses, leather, and oiled metal… yep, I was a demon again. The jostling and the smells put together told me I was in a moving covered wagon.
I began straining my arms against the chains. I knew something had to give… the metal bands, a chain link, whatever the chains were attached to, my arms? The dull crack of splintering rotten wood and daylight pouring through a hole in the wall answered that question. I freed the left arm in the same manner… this time, a link snapped.
By that point I was dizzy from lack of air. I had to wait and catch my breath before trying to free my neck. I held my breath, dug the fingers of my right hand under the collar, and focused my demon energy. As my fingers slipped back out again, the golden blades cleaved through the iron, and it clanked to the floor in pieces. I used the same process to free my legs. Removing all five shackles probably only took a few minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. I peered out the hole in the wall, only one goal in mind: Save Mother.
The trouble was, I had no idea where she was. The passing landscape was completely unfamiliar terrain, for I'd never strayed far from the village – except for that time with the onis, of course. And never along the roads.
Damn… why did Mother tell me to never kill humans? I could get rid of all these wicked men right now! How can I fight them without killing them? I scratched my head, and the chain dangling from my wrist clanked against the wall. Forgot those. I slashed through the clasps, and almost tossed them aside. Duh!
I burst out of the wagon, chains whirling in both hands, and gave those soldiers a beating they would never forget. Mother would have been proud: I actually took the time to check if each man was from the village before smashing his face in or snapping his leg in two. I needn't have bothered, though: I didn't see a single one. The horses I just killed, poor dumb things. Better off dead than ridden by cruel men, I thought.
It took a while, since there were so many men. When there were none left standing, I dropped the chains and surveyed the area: no sign of Kagewaki. I returned to where I'd tossed aside the soldier who'd freed my legs last night. "Hey," I growled behind his back while twisting his arm. "Where's your vaunted lord?"
"I d-don't kn-know!" he stammered.
"Wrong answer." I snapped both forearm bones like twigs.
"Augh! W-we were headed that way!" he added, pointing with his free arm before passing out from the pain.
"Thanks." I patted his head, none too gently, and took off in the direction he'd indicated.
xxxxx
I picked up Kagewaki's trail in no time, now that I knew the general direction. He may have been brave when surrounded by loyal soldiers, but now I could smell fear oozing from every pore on his body. It was clear that he had bolted when he saw I had escaped, but ordered his men to stay and fight. Typical human behavior, as I've learned since then.
He fled the battle on horseback, but I found his horse abandoned and foaming at the mouth, its left hind leg snapped in half; bone showed at the break – he'd been driving it way too hard. I ended its suffering and continued tracking the footloose scoundrel, who had abandoned the road and taken to the woods. I've never tracked easier prey: he left perfectly clear footprints and freshly broken branches in his wake. He was even so kind as to leave bits and pieces of his armor scattered along the way in an attempt to gain speed. I half expected to find him butt-naked when I found his clothes torn to shreds on briars.
My guess was not far off. When I finally cornered the coward in a thick bamboo grove, he was wearing only a fundoshi and carrying a naked sword. He spotted me coming, and frantically tried to hack through the tough shoots; I snatched the sword and cracked it in two across my knee.
His last hope of escape gone, Kagewaki turned to another human tradition: faking innocence while begging for his life. He stood and faced me with open palms and wearing the phoniest smile I've ever seen. "What do you want with me, demon? I've done you no wrong!" As I stared in cold silence, the smile changed. "Please… don't hurt me…"
I mirrored his earlier fake smile. Then I pinned him to the ground, my claws poised to rip his throat open. "What… did… you… do… to… my… mother?" I asked him, letting each word sink in.
"I've never done anything to any demon mother, honest!" The smell of something foul joined the smell of fear.
I carefully shifted myself further away from his formerly white fundoshi and rephrased the question: "What did you do to my mother, the woman you captured in the town square?"
"She was a demon?"
"No, you fool, she was more human than you!"
"You're a half-breed!"
"What of it?" I snarled in his face.
"Nothing, nothing!" He gulped and went silent. A series of thin but fresh parallel scratches on his cheek glowed red.
Mother always told me to never kill a human… she didn't say anything about permanently maiming them. "You get one more chance. What did you do to my mother?"
Kagewaki declined to answer. Maybe he thought that I was stupid enough to actually let him go.
xxxxx
Several minutes later, an incoherent babble flowed nonstop from his mouth, joining the flood of blood issuing from the same orifice. His teeth were gone, his nose smashed beyond recognition, and his ears stretched to twice their normal size. His pasty torso was well on its way to a lovely shade of violet, his arms hung limp from their sockets, and his legs were in a most admirable lotus position – I had to break both of his knees to do it.
I needed him to be awake for the finale, so I dunked his head in a nearby stream to bring him to full consciousness. "Now, listen, you bastard," I told the pitiful sack of meat, "the only reason I'm not going to kill you is because my mother wouldn't want me to, in spite of all the humiliation and pain you put her through." Oh, yes, I knew exactly what he'd done to her now. The nose knows things the eye can't see. "Don't worry – the pain part's pretty much over with; the humiliation is yet to come!"
With that, I scooped up the hilt of his shattered sword, and pinned him by his fundoshi to a bamboo shoot… fifty feet up. While he bawled as the cloth dug into his groin, I cleared out a good-sized patch around his perch, so his battered army would be sure to see their 'mighty' lord plain as day. My handiwork complete, I left him with a promise that if I should ever happen to hear of him raping another woman, the punishment would be… rather permanent.
And so I ran for home.
For Mother.
xxxxx
I knew exactly where home was, despite being hauled a ways in the wagon, but I was dead tired from tracking Kagewaki down and thrashing his army. I don't even remember lying down to rest – I think I just fell asleep on my feet and collapsed. I didn't reach the town until afternoon the next day, and went around instead of through – I'd had enough of those cowardly humans to last me a good long while.
It was clear that many, many people had been in our little house recently, from the smell of things. I found it odd that there were countless footprints heading out the door, but none headed in.
"Mother, I'm home!" I bounded in the door. "Mother?" She didn't answer. I could smell her flowery scent among the mishmash of other human odors, but her scent wasn't as fresh as the others: she wasn't here.
"Probably helping to rebuild down in the village…" I turned to go there myself, when I noticed two notes pinned on the doorframe. One was addressed, "To the Women", and the other was addressed to me.
My stomach growled, so I checked the pantry. All the dried and salted meats were gone; the fresh and pickled vegetables, too. All that remained was some of the dried rice and noodles. I set a pot of water to boil while I scanned over the letter for the women. It explained where they were, and that they had been removed from the village by a magic spell, and that they were safe as long as they didn't leave the house or draw any attention to it. It instructed them to keep an eye out on the town below, and to not return to it until the invading army was long gone, and invited them to eat and drink whatever they needed to survive.
The water began to boil, so I threw in some rice and took it off the fire to cook. I began reading the letter Mother had left for me. I only made it halfway down the page when I ripped it off the nail and ran for the town, the rice entirely forgotten. I finished the letter while I ran:
'My precious boy, I am sorry that I could not tell you my plans in person, but time is short and I must act quickly. I can only pray that you are safe. I do not know where you are; you know I would risk everything to come and help you if I knew. But I do know what that warlord will do when he captures the town: he will steal the food, conscript the men, abuse the women, and either kill the children and elderly or else leave them to die. I must do whatever I can to prevent this.
'In short, I will sneak down to the village and rescue as many people as I can using the same teleportation spell I used to save us from the onis. In doing so, I will be very weak, and might not make it back myself.' – this is where I took off running.
She continued, 'I never explained to you how I know magic. I am not a priestess, but my guardian during childhood, who once was, taught me some minor spells that I was to use in the event of an emergency; this is one of them. I have the directions for the spell hidden in a box beneath the southeast corner of the house, but I do not know whether you can use it.
'Night has fallen; I must go now and make full use of the moonless sky before more stars appear. If something should happen to me, know that I love you and would give anything to see you again… and know that I will be watching over you, as your father does, from the other world. May you grow up to be even stronger than him – Mother.'
xxxxx
I dashed into the square and slid to a halt. Signs of the nightmare that had taken place still lingered: splashes of blood, an overturned table on the teahouse's porch… scattered, broken tools. But the people were missing. I was about to search for corpses, afraid that the army had decided to massacre the whole town, when I heard the temple bell clanging. It's a funeral!
The whole town had gathered to bury their dead. From the top of the closest house, I watched the procession. There were a few old folks and young boys, but most of the bodies were those of hale and hearty men. It was clear that the conscripted men had revolted and driven the invaders out once they learned the women were safe, courtesy of my mother. Mother! I scanned the crowd for her familiar figure, but had no success. She must be up front.
I hopped down and joined the back of the crowd; still no luck. I began to edge my way further in, startling everyone I passed. I can understand why; I must have looked a fright, covered in sweat, grime, and splashes of blood. I soon found my way barred by a cluster of men clutching hammers, axes, and pitchforks. "What do you want, half-breed?" the headman demanded from behind the human wall.
"I'm looking for my mother, Izayoi," I announced. "Can you please tell me where she is?"
"We've got nothing to say to you. You took off just when your demon powers might have been useful to us."
"Headman, I tried to warn you that the army was coming!" I shouted. "And you just called me a liar and knocked me out!"
"You did no such thing, you filthy lying half-breed!" The crowd grumbled its agreement with the headman.
"Look, believe whatever you want about me… I just want to know where my mother is."
"Lady Izayoi is our town's hero. She rescued the women and children, enabling us to overthrow the invaders."
"Yeah, I gathered that much," I snapped back, quite irritated now. "So where is she?"
xxxxx
A/N: "Kanji" are Japanese letters/characters. Two different kanji can sound the same when spoken aloud; I don't know if that is the case for the false name Inuyasha wrote down, but the name (literally!) means "Liar, Liar". He he! Sorry, but that was a very dark point in the story – about to get still darker – and I needed a little humor to brighten myself up! A fundoshi is a traditional Japanese loincloth. If you've ever seen pictures of sumo wrestlers, a fundoshi is all they wear in the ring. Again, I apologize if this brings any disturbing mental pictures to mind… I couldn't help but make an Atomic Wedgie part of Kagewaki's punishment. If you ask me, he got off easy.
Normally I don't do cliff-hangers like this… but let's face it, this chapter was already way too long – over 10 pages in Word! I promise that the next chapter will be the very last one!