InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tsubaki's Revenge ❯ What Path Courage ( Chapter 32 )

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

 

Tsubaki's Revenge, Part XXXII: What Path Courage

 

 

Tsubaki stared at the tanuki, stunned. “Yukuuku! What are you doing here!?”

 

A baritone chuckle answered her, as the tanuki cringed. “Don't be angry at her, miko-dono. I told her that I had urgent business with you. Since you had so kindly left a protective barrier about me, it was not difficult to persuade her to help me find you.”

 

“M-mistress?” stuttered the tanuki, her eyes wide and her ears back. “Pl-please d-don't be angry? H-h-he said you would w-want to see him as quickly as possible, and that it was a matter of life and death?”

 

Tsubaki glared at the trembling youkai for a long moment, sorely tempted to punish the tanuki for her naïvity—or was it stupidity? She did not need yet another complication in her plans to destroy the hanyo, and punish the fools who had dared trust him. Even if the monk was no real threat to her, as the fight the night before had proven. Yukuuku should not be interfering in her affairs!

 

And yet—Tsubaki gave a long sigh. She didn't really want to hurt the tanuki. She wasn't sure why—it wasn't solely because Yukuuku had helped her after Kikyo had turned back her attack. Nor was it simply because Yukuuku was an excellent cook. It was only … she was—fond—of the tanuki.

 

A human, a dark miko, fond of a youkai.

 

Idiot.

 

Nevertheless…

 

She sighed again. “Yukuuku, go home.”

 

The small, dark ears swiveled forward. “Mistress?”

 

“Go home!” snapped Tsubaki. “I don't want you here!”

 

“But, but mistress—“

 

Tsubaki glared at her. “Just do what I say!” The tanuki flinched. The dark priestess found her gaze softening. “Yukuuku-chan, please. Just—go.”

 

“But, I-I—“ the tanuki stared at her pleadingly for a long moment, then wilted. “Yes, mistress.” She backed away, reaching into her yukata and removing a leaf. Holding it above her head, she transformed with a pop. Hovering above the ground, she stared at Tsubaki for a long moment, and then turned and fled.

 

Tsubaki watched her go, and then dropped her gaze to the monk. He was standing in a defensive posture, spell-charged papers fluttering in his right hand, ready to throw them at any moment. “You,” she said in a disgusted tone.

 

He gave her a smile. “My dear Tsubaki-sama, how could I ignore your plans to further darken your soul?” He made a gesture with his empty hand. “Come. Shall we not put our weapons down, and speak together? You are not entirely lost to evil—did you not refuse to kill me when I was helpless? Did you not even go so far, as to place a barrier around me, to protect me? And you refused to harm the tanuki, even though her gullibility allowed me to be in time to stop your creation from killing the miko Kikyo.”

 

Tsubaki gave him a rather nonplussed stare, then snorted. “Do you ever speak without flattery, monk? Yukuuku may be stupid, but she is useful to me. As for you—perhaps I was only making sure that you would be available to—play with later.”

 

“As you can see,” he responded, “there's no need to wait.” He lowered his hand a trifle. “What did you have in mind, oh loveliest of dark priestesses? May I entertain the hope that I will find cause to praise not only your beauty, but your new-found compassion?”

 

She snorted again. “Praise me all you want, monk. Just do it from beyond the grave.”

 

* * * * *

 

Miyatsu recognized her intent, and got his first attack off before she did. The ofudas flashed blue as they left his hand, but they were not aimed at the woman. Instead, three of the charms wrapped themselves around the cord holding the spell circle around the man and two children. The cord burst into flame for a moment, then crumpled into ash. The remainder flew past Tsubaki, heading towards the outer ring. Already committed to her attack, she had no chance to deflect the ofudas.

 

He staggered back and step and went to one knee as her attack slammed into his shield. Nevertheless, he managed a smile as he sensed the outer ring barrier go down. Tsubaki swore. “Curse you, houshi! You don't really think you can defeat me!”

 

“I never say `no' to a beautiful woman,” he replied with a chuckle. Then he grimaced, as her next attack nearly collapsed his shields. Concentrating, he kept his left hand in the prayer position, using it as his focus for the barrier, as his right hand groped for a fresh set of ofudas. He had no chance of defeating Tsubaki in a straight-up battle. Her youki-enhanced power was greater than his, even before last night's encounter. His only chance was going to be subterfuge—if he had a chance to put his idea into play.

 

Which seemed unlikely.

 

* * * * *

 

The pain of the breaking shape-shift spell was worse than the spell being cast, but much shorter in duration. Dazed, Inuyasha lay on the ground, panting, his shoulder, back and hip stinging. He didn't really want to move.

 

“Inuyasha.”

 

His name, whispered, caused his ears to twitch. Kikyo. Remembering that he had been trying to get to her, the hanyo rolled over onto his stomach, and then pushed himself onto hands and knees with a groan. One part of his mind noticed the movement of a youkai, but it was in the sky and away from him, so he ignored it. Lifting one hand, he looked at it, noticing that the damaged claws had straightened and lengthened. A touch on his face confirmed that he no longer had the muzzle of a dog. He started to sigh in relief, then felt his tail wag. A moment later, he realized the collar was still around his neck as well, heavy with untapped spells.

 

Looking up, he considered the barrier between him and Kikyo. It felt like an invisible fence, several times his height. Normally, he would have skipped over it with a sneer. But at the moment, he didn't know if he had the strength to make that jump. He felt so tired—

 

Tsubaki's voice, raised in anger, caused him to tense, his breath catching in his throat with a sudden surge of fear. He cringed, and then started as the thin cord spat sparks, smoke, flame, and then fell apart. With it, fell the barrier. He stared at the smoldering remains, eyes wide and astonished, for a long moment, before the whisper came to his ears.

 

“Inuyasha. Come here.”

 

He looked at Kikyo. She was still half-bound to the tree, her scent laced with pain and exhaustion, her hair straggling out of the hair ribbon, her face pale and drawn. But her dark eyes were steady as she beckoned to him with a free hand, the other holding the glowing arrow to her side.

 

With a three-limbed takeoff and a single bound, he was at the tree, catching and steadying himself on the trunk. Catching his balance, he slashed through the remaining ropes, and then placed his hand back against the tree, turning his head to look back at the meadow. “Miyatsu can't stand up to her in a straight fight,” murmured Kikyo. “We need to do something.”

 

He could see that the man was already down on one knee, hiding behind his barrier. Yasuo was holding Korana with one arm, and had his other hand holding Kaede's wrist as he backed away from the arcane duel. The rest of the villagers looked and smelled like frightened rabbits—too afraid to move. “Wh-what do you think we can do?” he asked, his voice stumbling a little as he realized his own body reeked of fear. Shame rose, but it wasn't enough to cover up the growing pit of terror in his stomach, at the thought of trying to challenge that dark priestess yet again. He had tried so many times! She had tortured him, raped him, broken him, then forced him into a monster's form and nearly made him kill two little girls who had been kind to him. He had tried to get his courage back, he tried to attack the night before, for Kikyo, and he had failed, again. He couldn't fight her again, he couldn't!

 

“'Yasha…” The hand touched his fingers, not his face, but he nevertheless flinched, snatching his hand away, whipping his head back to look at her. A moment later, he looked away, shamed by expression on her face. He didn't want to be pitied! He didn't want someone feeling sorry for him! And what she must think of him, so weak, so afraid—

 

“Go.”

 

The whispered word made him look back at Kikyo, startled. She met his gaze, unshed tears glimmering on her lashes. “It's all right,” she said. “You've done more than enough for the village. And it's really more my fight than yours, anyway—I think Tsubaki and I would have been foes, even without the Shikon No Tama. Just go. And be safe.”

 

Inuyasha stared at Kikyo, the meaning of her words only slowly coming through the whirl of fear and confusion. “You—you want me, to run—away?”

 

She reached out, slowly, and touched his cheek with her fingertips. “I saw what you went through last night,” she whispered. “I saw what she was doing, trying to shatter your soul, so that not even death would bring you peace. I can't ask you to try again.” She stroked his cheek, then let her hand fall. “You've done enough, Inuyasha. Be free. Go.”

 

He wanted to escape. He wanted to run away from the woman who had broken his body and his courage, and had shattered his pride. He wanted to run away and hide, and forget—

 

“But, but what about—you?” he asked, knowing what the answer would be, no matter how much one part of him wished that they could just both escape, and leave behind the past and just be together.

 

She smiled wanly. “I know I wanted to stop being a miko, but I haven't. I can't. It's my responsibility to protect these people. Even though it kills me.”

 

Protect. Inuyasha forced his head to turn back around. The monk was still surrounded by his barrier. The headman had joined the other villages, but Kaede had pulled away and was standing a length away, hands clenched, glaring at the battle. He remembered hearing how Kaede had lost her eye, stubbornly trying to fight the youkai swarm with her bow and arrows, even though her aim was poor and her physical and miko powers weak. He had protected her once, killing the centipede youkai that threatened her.

 

Older brother.

 

Someone who wanted him for a brother.

 

And little hands fearlessly petting his ears.

 

And the trust and love and serenity in a dying miko's eyes, as they exchanged glances before facing the final battle with the merge-demon Naraku.

 

“I-I can't,” he whispered, even as he felt sweat rolling down his forehead. “I-I—I won't.”

 

“'Yasha?”

 

He looked back at her. “I-won't—leave you.” Starting to pant, he made himself turn around and set his back to the tree. “What—do you—want me to do?”

 

Inuyasha heard her startled intake of breath. “I,” she hesitated. “We need to distract her, give Miyatsu a chance to take her by surprise.” She hesitated, then added under her breath, “I wish she hadn't broken my bow.”

 

A piece of knowledge slid into his mind, that his sense of smell had picked up. “Kaede's bow and arrows are behind the tree.”

 

“What? Get them—no, wait! Take me to them—grab me and pretend to run away.”

 

Inuyasha blinked, and realized that was a very easy suggestion, compared to what he had feared. Pivoting on his good foot, he swept her up in his arms, and then leapt past the tree. Another leap past some brush, and then he turned around. Crouching, he limped back to the tree and stood Kikyo against the trunk, then reached down for the bow and arrows. He gave them to her, and was opening his mouth to speak when a silent thunderclap seemed to ripple through the air, and a male voice cried out in shock and pain, abruptly cut off.

 

They looked at each other, knowing what the sounds meant. Miyatsu had fallen. They would have no chance of taking Tsubaki by surprise while she was concentrating on her battle with him. Inuyasha met Kikyo's eyes, and saw pain and dismay, and even her own fear. Oddly, it did not increase his own. If anything, it decreased it. He was still sweating heavily with his terror, but now that he had made a decision, a small space in his mind was clear enough to think. It was enough, especially since there was only really one thing he could do.

 

He looked down at his hands, which had healed more than he would have expected, but not enough to use his usual attack. His leg still ached abominably, though he could stand on it. But he had to not think about that. Protect. He had to concentrate on what was important.

 

Protect Kikyo. Protect Kaede. Protect Korana. He couldn't let them die. He wouldn't let them die. He was stronger, faster; he had to protect them. He would do anything, to protect them.

 

He slashed his right claws through his left forearm, ignoring Kikyo's gasp, and then repeated the gesture with his left set of claws. He usually relied on just the one set of blood claws, but he needed every weapon possible. He let his claws soak in the blood, growling, trying to urge his youkai blood to rise. Fight. Whatever it took. He was going to fight.

 

Cries rose from beyond the tree. Beside him, Kikyo gasped, but Inuyasha's ears barely twitched. He concentrated on the blood soaking his claws and filling his hands, and he growled, willing every last measure of determination into that blood. Protect, protect, protect—!

 

He jumped past the tree, and began to run.

 

* * * * *

 

Kaede had pulled away from Yasuo's grasp, but once free, there was nothing she could do but watch the battle, hands curled in frustrated helplessness. If only she were older, if only she had her full miko powers! If only she wasn't just a kid!

 

Behind her, someone swore. “Look! They're escaping!” She looked over to the tree her sister was tied to, and saw that she and Inuyasha had disappeared. Voices started to murmur, then went silent as the dark priestess laughed.

 

“Fools!” She launched a new attack, hard and fast. The monk cried out as his barrier was shattered and he was blown backwards. He fell to the grass, and did not move. Smirking, she turned to look at the villages. “No one is escaping from me,” she stated.

 

Kaede's mind went into overdrive. She knew her sister, and was pretty sure she knew the hanyo, too. They wouldn't be trying to escape. They'd be planning an attack. But their chances, low already, were even less with the monk no longer fighting. With nobody to draw the attention of the dark priestess, they'd have no chance.

 

She whirled, jumped, and grabbed the nearest staff, which happened to actually be a spear. Kaede whirled and again and began to race forward, pointing the spear tip at Tsubaki, both hands on the shaft somehow managing to keep it level, even if ordinarily it would be too heavy. “Come on!” she yelled. “It's our only chance! Fight!”

 

Cries rose behind her, and feet pounded the ground. She saw Tsubaki's expression change to shock, then scorn. “Fools! You really think you can defeat me?!” She swept her hand holding the knife across her body. Kaede found herself flying through the air once again, the spear ripped out of her hands, her breath slammed out of her body as if she had been physically hit. She had just a moment to hope she had somehow helped, before she crashed to the ground, consciousness disappearing in a flare of black pain.

 

* * * * *

 

Inuyasha saw Kaede and the others flying away from their fruitless attack as he started his charge. He exploded forward, the flash of rage concentrating his mind and lending speed to his feet. Ears flat, eyes narrowed, he ran.

 

He saw Tsubaki sense his presence and start to turn. He lashed out with his left, then his right hand, yelling. “Hijinkessou!” His blood transformed into red, razor-edged, curving blades, and shot forward. They hissed against her barrier, eroding it. Inuyasha leapt, eyes fixed on the spot where most of the claws had landed, calling as much youki into his claws as his could, aiming for that slightly weakened spot, not letting himself think of failure. His claws flared with power. They reached the barrier, and instead of bouncing, sank through.

 

“No!” As he came down, she whipped the two-sided, power-soaked blade up, and sank it into his belly, ripping upward. “White Dog Die!”

 

There was pain, and pain. This was too terrible to even scream. Power and pain raked through him and tore him apart, and then more power pulsed, and sent a surge of energy towards the very core of his being. A small part of him, as he fell into darkness, realized that he had at least made the dark priestess kill him. A tiny part of him felt satisfied.

 

Another part screamed in rage and denial. No! He didn't want to die!

 

Something shattered.

 

His mind went dark.