Chapter 3 A Strike to the Heart
"Took you quite a while, eh?" Suddenly a demon appeared before us. He was deathly pale—like chalk—with hair the color of the midnight sky braided down his back held together by a scarlet ribbon at the end. His eyes resembled the bold ribbon he wore in his hair—replicating the strange red color. His smug smile brought attention to anyone who laid eyes upon him and he oozed arrogance.
"Who in the hell are you?" This person had to be a demon, he didn't look human, far from it actually—besides he was floating in the middle of the air. He bowed slightly in the air before us in a mock sign of respect.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Sakurya." His smile remained in place but his eyes scanned over us once, sparkling each time his eyes roamed over one of us, before returning to their original position.
"I don't care who you are!" Inuyasha shouted his hands taking hold of his sword from his sheath that hung by his waist.
"Oh what are you going to do?" Sakurya mocked in a sing-song voice. "Draw your sword and use your windscar to blow me away?" Inuyasha froze, stunned not only with the fact he knew his name, but also the name of the technique of his sword.
"Who are you?" This time Miroku spoke up walking towards us. Sakurya faced him, his lips broadening as he glanced over him once.
"Miroku the monk. You're the one with the wind tunnel. Tell me, are you going to unleash it on me?" He stopped dead in his tracks as well taken by surprise, before glaring at him. His hand hadn't fully recovered from an overdose of poison from Naraku's insects and opening it now could be fatal for him.
His eyes wandered to Sango. "And Sango the demon slayer." He chuckled darkly finding something humorous every time he spoke. "It's an honor to meet you." He bowed towards her but warned her to refrain from using her Hiraikotsu seeing as it would be a wasted effort.
When his eyes moved to me, I nearly stumbled back on my feet. "You're Kagome." He didn't ask, he stated it as if he were sure. I don't understand how he knew us that well. I mean we were probably talked about around towns but not to this degree. "You're the reincarnation of that priestess." My body stilled and it felt as though my feet were nailed to the ground somehow not allowing me to respond. He descended near me, his eyes constantly looking from my face to down my body as if to inspect me. "Quite a resemblance if you ask me. I can see."
"Get away from her!" Inuyasha's blade came between us and missed him by mere inches. Sakurya stood straight, his face impassive—bordering boredom from the interaction. His lanky fingers touched his forehead while he shook his head.
"I was speaking and that was quite rude." He spoke firmly, narrowing his eyes. "I see you're insecure." His words were directed to me and if it were possible I remained even more unwilling to move. My body refused to respond to common sense.
His eyes flickered towards an angry Inuyasha who looked ready to pounce on him at any second. His fangs were exposed over his bottom lip in a feral snarl, growls emitting from his throat loudly in frustration.
"Inuyasha, you're the half-breed who fell in love with a human priestess. The same priestess this woman resembles." His lip curled up enjoying every second that he spoke. "You believed she betrayed you and you harbored ill feelings towards her, however, now that she is resurrected you've realized your love for her is still there, lingering in your heart." His tongue caressed every word softly making it sound like the feeling of velvet against skin. "It must be hard to travel with the woman who looks exactly like the first woman you nearly gave everything for."
I couldn't even turn to gauge how Inuyasha reacted to what he heard. I heard Sakurya's laugh but other than that I heard nothing else, the world tuned out and I was left alone to hear my own thoughts. Everything he voiced were the things I already knew but that hurt too much to be spoken about. Every time he stated another fact in relation to Inuyasha it was a strike to my heart.
"I told you your windscar wouldn't work." My mind managed to register that and when I looked over, I saw the windscar's trail on the ground but Sakurya remained standing. Inuyasha's breathing was becoming harsher since the windscar drained his energy whenever he used it at free will. That didn't stop him from cursing at the demon though while commanding that Sango and Miroku stay back.
"What the fuck do you want?" He probed. Anger was visible through his pores enveloping his whole body as his grip on the Tetsusaiga threateningly tightened causing the skin over his knuckles to strain viciously.
The guy dusted something off his kimono and shrugged. "To be entertained."
"How do you know about us?" Sango asked from behind, her hand on her weapon.
"I know about whoever I want. It's really that simple." It's almost as if he could know every detail about someone's life by staring intently at them. "Does she know?" He pointed his long finger at me but his attention was still on Inuyasha. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Know what?
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha let loose his windscar again but Sakurya merely dodged it without much effort. He was extraordinarily fast. His speed was definitely in comparison to that of Entei, Hakudoshi's horse.
"Now now no need to be shy." He warned childishly before continuing. "It's clear your heart wants her, but does she know who you love more?" Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, making no other attempt to move while he stuttered over his words. I on the other hand felt like cold water splashed onto me. Love more…? Inuyasha seemed cornered, his expression was a mixture of anxiety and trouble. Was he telling me that it wasn't me he loved more but Kikyo?
Suddenly, my fingertips went cold as all the rage and hurt I kept hidden away started to bubble up inside me, consuming my heart entirely. This unexplainable heat rose from the depths of my stomach taking a life of its own and crushing my insides. My fist shook as I squeezed it forcefully, nails digging into my flesh, leaving half-moon imprints into my palm. A single tear slipped from my eye without my consent, leaving a salty taste over my top lip.
"By the looks of your expression I'm going to take that as a no." He chuckled darkly turning his back to him. For a moment, it almost looked as if he pulsed. "Too bad, it could really change this girl's perspective."
I reacted harshly, snatching the bow from over my shoulder and reaching into my quiver to retrieve an arrow. As I aligned the arrow with the bow, I felt my ears burn with the rushing blood and my eyes sting with the salt water tears that tumbled down my face. I blinked away the obstruction and pulled the arrow back, perfecting my target.
"Kagome, no!" Inuyasha yelled jumping towards me once he saw my intentions, but Sakurya was able to knock him to the side with a swift movement of his arm.
"Inuyasha!" He got up slowly while Sango and Miroku raced over to him. When I turned back to him he was laughing loudly at me and I felt the blood continue to boil inside me to a dangerously hot degree.
