Chapter 3
Shura stood for a long while still and silent as her gaze swept over and over again the charred remains of her once peaceful community. There were no more recognizable landmarks, only piles of ash and rubble, scorched cropland and the scattered remains of farming tools, and household items. In truth these shattered fragments were the only evidence that people had lived there at all, for not a living soul remained. Tremors ran through the demonesse's muscles as she finally gathered enough sense to move. Her entire body was numb and heavy; it felt as though her insides were made of lead as she took painstakingly slow steps in the direction of her house. With each pawstroke, Shura's padded feet stirred up soft ash from the ground. The powder carried with it the ripe scent of scorched earth and human blood, and it seared deep into the demonesse's canid sinuses. Every step brought a flurry of blood signatures Shura had long since memorized, and as each one registered in her olfactory center, a painfully clear image of each individual's death cascaded in front of her eyes.
This mind-numbing gauntlet continued for hours until the demoness reached her destination at the very far corner of the village closest to the lake. There she found the torched remains of her home, now nothing more then a dark patch of seared earth and a few scattered pieces of wood and rock. Sticking out from the ground were the shattered remains of a samuri sword, the blade of which was stained red with demon blood.
Taking in a staggered breath Shura raised a paw to take another step forward. She froze when the tip of her foot nudged something hard under the ash. Bending down, Shura picked up the slender object with one hand, and gently brushed it off with the other. It was Soma's dragoncreast dagger. The weapon was soaked in blood and as the familiar signature of its young owner drifted into Shura's nose the demoness saw another scene dart before her eyes. It was a vision that would be forever burned into her psyche.
In her mind, Shura saw the glint of her mother's sword as she lashed out at the demon intruder, heard the snap as the blade split into tiny pieces across the creatures face…it was Mia's last act of courage before the demon took hold of her… Then came Soma's voice. She was screaming in the background, but not in fear, in anger. "Mia I'll save you!" the little girl howled as she charged from her parents grip, dagger in hand. Her cry was abruptly silenced as the vision faded in a haze of red. Then from the blinding veil of crimson Shura heard a new voice. It was deep and gruff…and it was laughing evilly.
Shura lost sensation in her paws and came slumping to the ground, the dagger still clutched in her palms. She didn't know what to do, what to think. Everything she had ever known, the people she had grown up with, her closest human ties…all of it, everyone…was gone…forever. Shura's jaw dropped open slightly as her throat suddenly constricted. Tears pulsed at the back of her eyes with each failed attempt she made to sob. Finally after nearly half an hour of uncoordinated, half choked gasps for air, Shura's throbbing chest heaved out her pent grief and she screamed up at an uncaring sky.
Shura woke around nightfall to a gentle muzzling on her tearstained cheek. Ukuri had finally caught up and was now trying his best to comfort her. Pulling herself into a half sit, Shura forced out the few remaining sobs that were still trapped inside her before turning her attention to the dagger she still held in her hands. The pale green dragoncreast was flickering ever so slightly, but for what reason she didn't know or care. After forcing herself to her feet and placing the weapon on her belt, Shura once again caught sight of the sword fragments littering the ground. Glittering in the moonlight, the piece's bloodstained edges shone even brighter then before. As she stared hypnotically at the metal shards a familiar anger started to grow inside her. It came from the deepest recess of her demon nature, and with each passing second it burned stronger. This rage extended beyond her acquired human range of emotions, and even further past her inherent demon refinements, for it carried with it no form of restraint or control. She had had such a feeling twice now: in her youth it had spurred her to slaughter demon trappers out of cold vengeance, and a month ago, given her an unnatural fighting zeal against Naraku. Both times, her conscience had proven to be the decisive factor in taming this wild half of her temper…but now…something was different.
Shura walked forward until she reached the greatest concentration of sword shards. Then she bent down and took a scoop of earth in her hands. it reeked of mixed blood signatures, but one above all kept her interest, for it was the only one that wasn't human. Shura inhaled deeply, saturating her nasal passages with the murderous demon's scent. It's pungent aroma above all made the fury inside her burn even harder. She no longer felt grief, or even the desire for revenge. All she wanted was to hunt whatever creature was unfortunate to have the matching scent…and tear it apart.
Growling deeply in her throat Shura ignored the faint discomfort that followed the shift to a semi-powered state and took off into the night. Her prey's scent trail was still lingering faintly and Shura followed it like a homing beckon. The trail led through thick, dark forest, the perfect territory for stealth ambushes. But still Shura charged on, oblivious to her instincts and common sense. With each rapid stride her demonic impulses quickened blotting out logic and landscapes. As she surged forward, all Shura felt was a primitive, uncontrolled, wickedness boiling in her blood, and the irresistible desire that throbbed over and over in her head. Kill…kill…kill!
The demon's scent was closer now, so close she could practically taste it in her throat. Then suddenly, the forest parted before her and standing just within striking range was her crimson-eyed quarry, a shimmering red object concealed in the flesh just above his heart. Shura readied her claws, despite every protective instinct warning her to stop, and without even breaking stride, lept for the demon's throat….
Wack! Something sickeningly sharp hit Shura hard in the chest and slammed her into a large, sturdy tree. It was in the next agonizing instant that the demoness realized just what that object was. In her own blind fury, Shura had effectively stumbled strait into her enemies trap, and he had taken full advantage of his seamless strike opportunity. With one well-aimed swing, the demon had stabbed her clean through with one of his claws, and pinned her now useless body to a tree for good measure. Though incapacitated and seconds away from unconsciousness, the dark fury within her was still blazing. It was that reflex which allowed her a final countermove, which she made by cleaving off the arm that pinned her.
Goshuri looked on with satisfaction at his accomplishment and let out an evil cackle. His plan had gone flawlessly; first destroying that village to drive up her fury, then waiting in ambush at night when his vision was best. In truth the only mishap that had occurred was due entirely to his rusty aim. Though he had only missed his target's heart by mere centimeters, it had still given her the time to take his arm. Even so, seeing the western heiress's lifeless body strung up on his claws like a decoration made the loss bearable, if not enjoyable.
Snorting proudly Goshuri turned and prepared to track his second victim when suddenly a snarling, slender something bit him hard on the back of the neck. Letting out a roar of his own, Goshuri dashed the creature to the ground with a hard push from his mind, and then struck him hard with a clawed hand, rendering the assailant motionless. As Goahuri started to leave once again, he didn't even bother to see what other creature he had just walloped, or even if it was still alive. Nothing mattered past the search for Inuyasha and his desire for vengeance upon the half demon who slaughtered his twin.
"Hello! Earth to Inuyasha!" Kagome hollered at her still unresponsive half demon companion.
"Huh what?" Inuyasha replied with a little jump of surprise.
"Grilled fish, you want some?" Inuyasha reached out and took the skewered meat his friend was offering, though it was not with his usual enthusiasm. Kagome took a seat on the ground next to the half demon and shot him a concerned stare. "Is there something wrong Inuyasha, you've been acting really weird lately." This time Inuyasha did react with his usual stubborn sarcasm but as Kagome was quick to note, it was obviously a forced effort.
"Of course not! The only thing wrong is that we still haven't found where Naraku escaped to!" with that Inuyasha took a huge bite out of the fish he held and chewed it noisily. Only after Kagome had averted her gaze did he lower the half eaten food to the ground and let out an uneasy sigh. In truth something was bothering him, though he didn't know just what. His demon instincts had become unusually keen over the past two days, and they warned of something terrible.
Inuyasha glanced up when he heard Shippo's shrill voice call out from across the grassy river bank they had camped near.
"Hey guys! Come quick! You have to see this!" grunting in annoyance the half demon rose from his slouch and traveled to where Shippo was now standing. He was quick to notice that the gentle flowing river water had become tainted with red.
"There must have been a battle near here," Miroku commented as he too cast a gaze on the crimson water.
"I don't think so," Inuyasha cut in "I only smell one type of blood and it belongs to a demon."
"Hey," now Sango added her voice to the crowd. experience had granted her keen eyes for hunting demons, and this time was no exception. "Is that it over there?" All eyes followed Sango's gaze and fell on a pink, waterlogged lump barely clinging to a fallen tree limb as it drifted steadily downstream.
"What is that?" inquired Kagome as the creature came closer into view.
"Whatever it is," came Inuyasha's observant reply "it's not going to live much longer." As the log was twirled in the water's currents it rotated to allow the group a better view of its passenger. The demon was a young wolf-dragon cross with pale pink and white markings. Kagome let out a little gasp, having suddenly recognized the beast as belonging to Inuyasha's niece.
"Guys its Ukuri!" the girl exclaimed as she darted towards the riverbank's edge. Inuyasha followed after her, the dragon's scent just now registering in his mind.
"Yeah you're right," the half demon confirmed. As Kagome reached out and guided the floating driftwood closer to the steep riverbank, Inuyasha lifted the sopping wet dragon kit from his makeshift raft. The creature was barely alive, his body dangerously weak thanks to three deep, ragged claw wounds across belly and back.
"What could have done this to him?" asked Shippo innocently as Inuyasha carried the dragon back over to their campsite.
"A really pissed off demon," came Inuyasha's obvious reply, though in truth he wished he could elaborate more on the topic. If Ukuri was by himself than that meant his niece was also all alone in the wild, and as much as he wanted to believe she was safe, Inuyasha had an unnerving feeling in his gut that told him such was not the case.