InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tsubaki's Revenge ❯ The Night With No Moon ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.

 

 

Tsubaki's Revenge, Part VI: The Night With No Moon

 

 

 

“No!”

 

Tsubaki flinched backwards as the scroll representing her link to the shikigami burst into black flames. Pain slammed into her thigh as the broken spells backlashed, and she cried out again as she crumpled onto her side, clutching her leg. For long time, she could only shiver as the ashes sifted down to dust her dark robes.

 

Finally, she managed to push herself up. Disbelieving, she stared at the smoldering altar. “How?” she demanded aloud. “How could a brat and a dirt-encrusted farmer destroy my shikigami? How!” Her hands clenched into fists. “How dare they?” she spat, as her anger rose. “I'll tear their village down around their ears! How dare they destroy my creation! How could they have detected it—it was perfect! Perfect! Not even Kikyo—“

 

The mention of her enemy stopped her tirade cold. Closing her eyes, the dark priestess exerted herself to control her anger. Breathing deeply, she reminded herself once again of the day when her ill-considered attack had backfired. Willing herself to calmness, she pulled back from the rage.

 

Her face relaxing back into its cool, beautiful mask, Tsubaki stood. Two quick spells, muttered under her breath, stopped the low fire in the altar and dissipated the ash. Walking to the side of the room opposite of the shelves, she slid back the screen and stepped into her living quarters. Uncovering the embers in the fire-pit, she built the flame back up, and then set a pot of water over it to simmer. While the water heated, she tidied the room, doing the little chores that could not be done by magic, save by the use of far too much power, which was much better turned to other uses. Stripping down her simple, un-dyed, under kimono, Tsubaki brewed a cup of her favorite tea, then set down cross-legged to think.

 

Setting aside the question of the shikigami's destruction, the dark priestess concentrated on what she had learned. Three of the farmers working the fields had been quick to abandon their work when the `monk' called to them, asking if there was an inn in the village. They had been quick to answer that he did not need to worry about a place to stay, that the headman always welcomed visitors to his home. It had taken little effort to encourage them to talk about the events of the quarter-moon turn previous. The youngest of the trio had been particularly voluble, describing how `Inuyasha' had brought his sister and cousin and others back to life, including the miko, nearly at the cost of his own existence. “Don't know how he's still alive,” the young man had said. “Though they say hanyos are tough beasts to kill—not that he's a beast, please your reverence. I saw that youkai claw in him before it disappeared—as wide as my hand it was, where it came out his back, and wider still where it went in his belly. Not to count the burns, or the cuts and bites from what Kikyo said was a demon swarm. Practically the entire front of his scalp chewed off, including his dog-ears. Little sister loved those dog-ears; prays every night that they'll grow back. He's promised to let her pet them if they do…”

 

What they hadn't told `him' was who had destroyed the Shikon no Tama. Tsubaki sipped her tea, thinking. Reluctantly, she concluded that the being responsible for its loss was none other than the hanyo itself. Where else could a mere hanyo have gotten the power to bring people back to life? Kikyo had been dead, a mere villager would have even less power than a hanyo, and the last time she had sensed the presence of the jewel, it had been under the hanyo's body.

 

So. The hanyo was responsible for her loss. It had wasted the jewel's enormous power on a handful of insignificant villagers. She might never understand the how, let alone understand why a being, outcast on all sides, would choose to use the Shikon No Tama for others and not for itself. But that really didn't matter. What mattered was that she now had her target.

 

A hanyo. Her lip curled in disgust. The only thing that really made it a worthwhile target, besides the fact that it deserved punishment for its actions, was that destroying it would also be the first step in revenge against Kikyo. It meant that she would have to reveal herself to Kikyo sooner, rather than later, in order to fully savor the two-for-one revenge, but such was fate.

 

She drained the last of her tea, and stood up. The sun was nearly gone, and she had a long night ahead of her. A night with no moon; a night of deepest darkness, given the clouds gathering just below the western horizon. An excellent night for such as she.

 

Tsubaki smiled.

 

 

He refused to die lying down. He refused to face his human night cowering on a futon. Inuyasha sat cross-legged in the corner of the hut; arms across his chest, with the left supported by his right, and watched the last red rays filtering through the bars on the high window. Panting shallowly against the burning in the middle of his torso, the hanyo waited for night.

 

The bamboo curtain rattled. Moving only his eyes, he say Kaede enter the hut. “Inuyasha?” she queried, not immediately seeing him as she toed off her sandals. “Inuyasha!” she exclaimed as she spotted him. “What are you doing in the corner?”

 

He gave her the shortest possible answer, in a voice barely above a whisper. “Waiting.”

 

“Waiting?” she repeated. “For what?”

 

“Night.”

 

“What for? Oh, I know you told me about the change, but you ought to be lying down, conserving your strength!”

 

He ignored her, returning his gaze to the dying light. He heard her sigh in exasperation, then step up onto the floor. “You were half right,” she said after a few moments, as she moved the stinking pot of scorched rice porridge off the fire. “About the monk.”

 

His ears would have tilted in her direction. “Half?”

 

“He wasn't human. He also wasn't youkai.”

 

Inuyasha blinked. “The smell…”

 

He heard her get up and walk over to the storage area. “You'll have to ask Kikyo about that, but it turned out to be a shikigami—well, at least, that's what I think it was. It turned into bits of paper when I pierced it with the arrow.”

 

He blinked again, remembering how quickly the monk had moved to counter his attack. “How did you…?”

 

She appeared in his view, holding the pole of an oil lamp. “I'm just a kid, remember?” she said, as she set up the lamp. “I don't think whoever was controlling it thought I would attack.”

 

Inuyasha thought about that. It was annoying to think that a little girl had succeeded where he had failed. Embarrassing, even. But he felt something else, too. He wasn't sure what it was, but—

 

His world dropped out from under him. A choked gasp escaped him as dizziness swirled his vision. While he was distracted, the sun had set. Night had begun.

 

Change. The world grew muffled; it had already become odorless. Eyes clenched tight against the change, he knew from experience how he would be left almost blind in the dark, instead of able to see the slightest variation of gray. Claws and fangs withdrew, uncomfortable, yet no different than usual. But he couldn't stop the whimper as half-healed skin on his skull split and bled as muscle and cartilage and bone moved and reshaped themselves.

 

The pain of his burns deepened. But it was nothing compared to the pain of the unhealed wound through his torso as the last of his youkai power vanished. Between one moment and the next, the pain seared, almost is if someone had thrust the claw back in. The diagonal blow from hoe burned afresh, spreading outward. He tried to fight the pain, tried to keep the screams behind his lips. But human panic shredded his thoughts and will. He was dying! He didn't want to die! Not now, not when he finally had a chance to not be alone; to have someone who cared for him, loved him, whom he could love back, care for, and protect—

 

A spasm sent him gagging, which triggered a fresh explosion of pain. He cried out, voice strangling as his throat muscles locked. He fought to breathe, the clawless fingers of his right hand digging deep into the muscles of his bad arm, but every muscle in his body seemed to be freezing, turning him into a statue that knew nothing but pain.

 

“Inuyasha!” Small hands pressed hard against the sides of his face. “Inuyasha, listen to me. Don't fight it. Don't be stone. Be water. Let it flow, let it take you.” Fingers started to massage his temples. “You can do it, Inuyasha. I know you can. Just let it flow.”

 

Her fingers somehow got through the nightmare. He tried to concentrate on her words, on her touch. He somehow managed to get a breath through his locked throat. “That's it,” she encouraged him. “Try to relax your throat. Breathe with me. Breathe out. Breathe in.” Her fingers moved with her voice, imparting a slow rhythm. He tried to follow her words, follow her fingers. Slowly, he found his neck and throat muscles relaxing, enough at least to let air in and out. He tried not to think, not to feel, anything but the act of breathing, the feel of air through his raw throat, and the soothing touch of her fingers.

 

After some unknown time, she sighed. “You scared me, Inuyasha. I know you told me you were going to turn human, but is it always this bad?”

 

“Youkai blood—blocks pain,” he managed to tell her.

 

“Oh.” Her voice was very small. Her fingers stopped moving. “Inuyasha…”

 

He managed to open his eyes. The light was behind her, from two sides, but he could see well enough to detect the fear in her expression. “I'm scared,” she told him. “I can re-bandage your wound—I was supposed to anyway—b-but if you're bleeding inside, th-there's nothing I can do, and—and I-I don't want you to die.”

 

Tears spangled in the fire- and lamp-light. He wanted to shrug off his fear. He wanted to be able to ignore her tears, wanted to pretend he didn't care. But he couldn't. He was nothing but human at this night, with no youkai blood to suppress the intensity of feelings as well as pain. He couldn't deny the fondness for the girl that had somehow crept into his heart, any more than he could deny any other emotion.

 

“Kaede,” he managed to whisper. Persuading his fingers to release their grip on his bad arm, Inuyasha raised his hand, wavering, to her face. “I—I'm afraid—too,” he admitted. “I—I don't—want to die. I—but I—don't think—I can make it.”

 

“But you've got to try!” She grabbed his hand with both of hers. “Please, Inuyasha, f-for Kikyo, for me—you've got to try!”

 

He returned her grasp with what little strength he had. “I'll - try.” His eyes slid shut as he felt the first faint whisper of a beckoning darkness. “Little sister…”

 

 

Thunder rumbled as Kaede dropped her thoroughly soiled kimono into the tub of water along with the bloodied bandages. The bottom of the bamboo curtain cracked against the entrance as a gust of wind caught it. From behind her came a muffled yelp. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Inuyasha straining to sit away from the wall, eyes wide and staring. “It's just the wind, Inuyasha,” she said, pulling on her older kimono that she'd almost outgrown. “I'll tie down the curtain and put up the screen for the firepit.”

 

He made an obvious effort to settle his shoulders back against the wall. “Won't stop - enemy,” he muttered.

 

“No, but it will protect the fire,” she said as she went to fasten the curtain. She thought she heard a growl, but there was no other response. The wind slapped the curtain about as she reached for the wooden bar at the bottom; the gust was not only cold; it smelled of rain. Lightning flickered as she dragged the screen into place. Adding a log to the fire, she extinguished and took down the oil lamp she'd used while attempting to re-dress Inuyasha's wound. Taking two covers from the stack next to the rolls of futons, she walked back to the corner where Inuyasha was sitting.

 

“Here,” she said, shaking it out. “Lean forward. You need to stay warm.”

 

He shifted his head just enough to eye her. With a bitten off groan, he complied with her request. Quickly, she unfolded the material and draped it over his back. Bringing it over his shoulders, she reached out and carefully pulled his long hair free, then brought it over his left shoulder. Helping him ease back against the wall, she tugged at the material until it covered most of his chest and legs, leaving his right arm free.

 

She wasn't surprised when he grumbled. “If I—trip—when I—get up—it's—your—fault.”

 

“Hah,” she scoffed, kneeling beside him. “If you try to get up before your powers come back, it's your fault.” A thought occurred to her. “Will the clouds interfere? I mean, if the sunrise can't be seen…”

 

“Doesn't—matter.” He gasped a little, grimacing, his free hand resting on his thigh clenching into a fist. Fresh sweat trickled down his face, spangled in the firelight. Hesitantly, Kaede reached out and placed her hand on top of his. It twitched, then opened up and grasped her fingers. He let out a groaning sigh as the spasm passed.

 

Silence fell between them, broken by another roll of thunder.

 

“Why?”

 

Kaede startled a little. “Why what, Inuyasha?”

 

“Big brother?”

 

“Oh.” Kaede blushed a little, and looked away. “I've—I've always wanted a big brother. Kikyo says mama had three boy babies between her and me, but they all died before they were one. After me, mama died while trying to give birth to another baby boy. I—I've just always wanted one—and you—well, you did save my life, and if you stay with Kikyo, it's almost like a big brother.” She hesitated. “Do you-do you have any sisters or brothers?”

 

His hand tightened. “Half brother,” he replied shortly. “Full youkai. Hates me.”

 

“Oh, Inuyasha!”

 

“Keh. Feeling's mutual.”

 

Kaede winced. She couldn't imagine hating a sibling. Hate Kikyo? Impossible. “What about—your parents?”

 

“Dead.”

 

“Family?”

 

“None.”

 

“Friends?”

 

He snorted. “Who makes friends—with a hanyo?”

 

“What about us?” she asked. “Kikyo made friends with you, didn't she? And Korana? And I bet Yasuo and Kenichi would be friends, too, if they had a chance.”

 

There was a long pause before he replied. “Stupid.”

 

That annoyed her. “It's not stupid! Why is it stupid!”

 

“Won't work. Tried.”

 

“And when was the last time you tried?”

 

The silence was so long that Kaede began to be afraid. “Could we—talk about—something else?” he asked, a clear edge of pain in his voice.

 

Kaede realized that talking about a painful topic was perhaps not the best way to pass time. “Sorry,” she said, contrite. “What do you want to talk about?”

 

This response was immediate. “Kikyo.”

 

“What about?”

 

“Everything.”

 

She should have known. Kaede shifted her position and took a fresh hold on his hand, thinking. “Okay. Ah, well, she thinks cooking is boring and likes looking for new plants and figuring out if they're useful. One time…”

 

 

The night deepened. The storm front passed over, trailing a steady, thrumming rain. Kaede talked until her throat was dry, remembered that she hadn't eaten, and that Satsuki had given her a small basket of food before she had left the headman's house. Receiving only a faint `keh' to her hesitant query, she left his side long enough to bolt down a rice ball and several fish rolls, washing it down with a long drink. Returning, she launched into yet another story.

 

But the food, and the rain, and her fatigue, were soporific. She found herself yawning, forgetting where she was in her story and stumbling over her words. Her eyes became heavier, and eventually—when, she never knew—slid completely shut.

 

The nightmare was extraordinarily vivid. She jumped to her feet as something shattered the entrance to the hut. A huge youkai, vaguely bearlike, with three eyes and pale fur, flicked a paw and sent her crashing into the opposite wall. Bouncing off that onto the floor, she struggled to her hands and knees. Looking up, she froze in horror as she saw Inuyasha staggering to his feet in a futile effort to confront the youkai. The demon glanced at her, smirked, then lashed out with a paw filled with a set of long, wicked claws. The thing that landed on the floor was no longer alive, a broken and bloody rag. Screaming in horror and denial, Kaede lurched to her feet and ran towards the youkai. It used another negligent swipe with the back of its paw to send her flying again. Pain slammed into her head, and she crumpled. Whimpering, she struggled to stay awake, but the darkness pulled her down. She had only a final glimpse of the demon lowering its head towards Inuyasha's shattered body, jaws opening to reveal their full contents of jagged teeth.

 

She knew nothing more until sunlight spilled over her face, and anxious voices roused her. Sitting up, holding her aching head, she took in first the jagged gap where the entrance had once been. Then she looked around. Blood painted the interior of the hut. Of Inuyasha, there was no sign.

 

Kaede remembered her nightmare.

 

She began to scream.