Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One for the Ages ❯ Chapter Eight: Sorrow and Solitude ( Chapter 8 )

One for the Ages

By Gan Xingba

Chapter Eight: Sorrow and Solitude

 

By noon the following day, Sango had managed to convince the others that she was well enough to travel, though it had been insisted on that she ride Kirara until her right leg had completely healed. Though they tried to depart with as little fanfare as possible, the majority of the villagers managed to learn of it and saw them off. The headman had tried to bestow them with gifts of silk and fine art, but they had declined them, much to Miroku's disappointment.

 

Kurama had decided that Naraku was most likely to the northwest, though how he could possibly figure this out from an attack on all sides was beyond anyone's comprehension. The trek through the mountains was arduous, and Yusuke made a point to keep everyone informed of this the whole way. At long last, they found their way out of the mountains and into a forest that was host to what seemed like an unlimited supply of small, irritating insects. With no more mountains to complain about, Yusuke now kept his commentary limited to the bugs.

 

“Damned pests! I swear, I'm gonna' blow up this whole damned forest if these things keep comin'!” he declared, swiping at the group of flies that were buzzing around his head.

 

“For cryin' out loud! Will you shut up already?” mandated Inuyasha over his shoulder in a futile attempt to stop the assault on his eardrums.

 

“Come over here and say that to my face, you ugly mutt!” challenged Yusuke back at him.

 

“That is enough from both of you,” interjected Kurama before the two broke into fisticuffs. “I sense we may have more pressing matters.”

 

“Kurama's right,” seconded Kuwabara as he slowed down and gazed about the surrounding area. “I've got a bad feeling…”

 

Inuyasha suddenly became serious and sniffed the air like hunting dog. After a moment, his expression turned grim.

 

“Human blood…and smoke…” he stated, and then leapt off in the direction of the smell.

 

The others quickly followed, and before long they had arrived at the source of the stench. A small village lay in ruin, with bloody corpses scattered on the road, and piles of charred timber lying where homes once stood.

 

“Damn! What in the hell did this?” roared Inuyasha furiously. “Even the women and children were slaughtered.”

 

The rest of the group looked grimly upon the scene. Though most of them had seen similar horrors before, Yusuke and Kuwabara had never borne witness to such savagery inflicted upon innocent people, and each one bore an expression of rage upon their face that looked even greater than Inuyasha's own fury. The others acted accordingly; Hiei showing no outward emotion whatsoever, Kurama and Miroku looking on with a grim pensiveness, and Shippou and Kagome shared a look of deep sadness. Sango however, differed completely. She had walked over to a nearby corpse and examined the wound. Upon learning of its nature, she rose and addressed the group.

 

“I know who did this…” she announced somberly. “It was Kohaku.”

 

“Are you sure?” queried Miroku.

 

“Yes, I'm sure of it,” she confirmed as she began to stare at the dirt road below her. “These wounds were caused by him. There is no question.”

 

“Who is this Kohaku guy? And where is he?” Yusuke demanded raising a clenched fist. “I'll beat the life out of him!”

 

Sango just continued to stare at the dirt, though it seemed as if she her boomerang was weighing down on her a little more. Before any of his companions could lambaste Yusuke for his offense, Miroku quickly informed the boy of the situation.

 

“Kohaku is Sango's younger brother. Naraku is using a Sacred Jewel shard to force Kohaku to be his minion,” the monk explained.

 

“Oh…” Yusuke said as his eyes suddenly doubled in radius at this bit of information. “I…didn't…I mean…”

 

“It's all right,” assured the demon slayer as she walked past him to resume the journey, though her tone was more depressed than comforting. “There's no way you could have known.”

 

Seeing as there was nothing more to be said, the rest of the troupe Followed Sango in continuing their trek. After about a minute, Hiei walked up next to Miroku.

 

“Lecher, tell me exactly how Narkau is controlling Kohaku,” he ordered without even looking at Miroku.

 

“He uses the Sacred Jewel shard imbedded in Kohaku's back to initiate some kind of mind control,” elaborated Miroku, though he was a slightly wary of Hiei's sudden interest in the topic. “However, if the shard is removed, Kohaku will die. It is a most tragic predicament.”

 

“Hn,” Hiei grunted in response, and then quickened his pace so as to leave the monk's company.

 

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It had been nearly an hour since the village, and aside from some comments every now and then, the group was without its usual back and forth. Sango still walked ahead of the rest, unable to avert her eyes from the road in front of her. Yusuke had given thought to apologizing for his earlier comment, but had dismissed the idea, since he really had no clue exactly what type of apology would be adequate. It was clear, however, that the group would continue in its current state until either something happened, or he apologized. Something happened.

 

Sudden screams of terror could be heard nearby, and all of them were soon cut short. Sango snapped back into reality and burst out running towards the sound of the screams.

 

“Sango!” cried out Miroku in an attempt to get her to think rationally, but Hiei acted first.

 

In a flash, Hiei had darted off in the direction Sango had left, and the others could tell from his pace that he would overtake her in a mere moment.

 

“Damn it, Hiei! Don't do anything stupid!” yelled Yusuke as he began to pursue his comrade.

 

Everyone followed Yusuke's lead, but Kagome was lagging behind. Even on her bicycle, she couldn't keep pace with the others when they ran full out. Unfortunately, this had been what a certain wind sorceress had been counting on.

 

“Dance of Blades!”

 

Kagome sensed the attack even as Kagura launched it, but she knew that she wasn't quick enough to avoid it. Fortunately for her, Inuyasha had realized that she was falling behind and had returned to give her a lift. Kagura grimaced as she witnessed the red streak that was Inuyasha dart in and remove Kagome from her blades' path just before they hit.

 

`I had hoped to avoid confronting Inuyasha, but no matter,' she mused as Inuyasha made sure that Kagome was unharmed. `I only have to keep Kagome out of the way until Naraku's ploy has succeeded. With any luck, I need only fight for a few minutes.'

 

“Let's see how you dance, Inuyasha!” she challenged downwards towards her foe, and loosed another attack from her fan.

 

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The scene that greeted Sango as she tore through the undergrowth and into the small village that was the source of the screams had been as she'd expected. Kohaku stood there, with his bloodied chained sickle in hand, and surrounded by the bodies of his latest victims.

 

“Kohaku…” she said painfully, now overcome with emotion.

 

Before anything else could be said, however, Hiei flew out of the brush behind her and landed in front of Kohaku like a lightning strike. Without pause, Hiei had batted aside the boy's weapon with his left hand and lifted Kohaku off the ground by his hair with his right hand.

 

“Wait! Don't kill him!” pleaded Sango desperately, her fear now overtaking her sadness.

 

“Hn, don't be foolish,” Hiei scoffed, and then undid his headband with free hand.

 

The Jagan shone with an intense blue light and bore down into Kohaku's eyes, which soon glazed over as the boy enter a state of comatose. By now, the others had arrived, though nobody seemed to notice Inuyasha and Kagome's absence. Kurama immediately recognized what Hiei was attempting.

 

“He is trying to use the power of his Jagan to free Kohaku from Naraku's mind control…” he observed and began to stroke his chin in thought. “A bold move…and it just may work.”

 

“Does the Jagan really have that kind of power?” exclaimed Miroku with shock.

 

“Well, Hiei did control a bunch of humans with it once,” Yusuke recalled. “But I dunno if he can do it to someone already controlled by another demon…”

 

“I'm uncertain as to the extent of Hiei's prowess in this area,” stated Kurama. “However, if he is to fail, Naraku may very well be able to enter his mind...”

 

“No…it's a trap!” exclaimed Sango, causing her emotions to spiral even further out of control. “Stop, Hiei!”

 

Her call of warning went unheard, for Hiei was already into Kohaku's mind, conducting a war of willpower with Naraku over control over the young boy's mind. Hiei was no amateur in the use of mind control, but Naraku was something of a master at it by this point in his life, even if he required a Sacred Jewel shard to help him do so. It was not long before Hiei realized he was being forced on the defensive. Desperately, he fought on, pushing the Jagan to its limit. Yet even the might of the Jagan Eye could not overcome the combined force of Naraku's will and the Sacred Jewel shard imbedded in Kohaku's back.

 

Finally, Hiei's defenses could no longer hold, and Narku moved the battle into the fire demon's mind. His left hand suddenly began tremble, and he let Kohaku fall to the ground. Struggle was written all over his face as he stumbled backward, bringing both of his hands up to grasp his head as if to simply keep it attached to his body. Finally, he let loose a horrible scream, but not of pain. It was of insanity.

 

His companions could only look on in horror as Hiei continued to scream, each one fearing for both the safety of the demon and of themselves. Slowly, Hiei began to change. His hair began to appear wild, as if it had been let loose from a cage, and his skin was steadily turning green.

 

“He's transforming!” blurted out Shippou, with nothing but the utmost fear in his voice.

 

“Yes,” confirmed Kurama. “He is changing into his full demon form.”

 

“Can't we do something?” demanded Miroku, almost having to yell himself to be heard over Hiei's screaming.

 

“Kagome, can y-” began Kurama, but then stopped short when he realized that Kagome was not present. “Kagome and Inuyasha ar-”

 

“Don't worry! I'll find them!” declared Kuwabara before Kurama could finish, and began to sprint off in the direction they came from. “You guys look after the shrimp!”

 

By now, small slits had begun to form on Hiei's skin, with the iris of an eye just barely visible past a few of them. All that his comrades could do now was hope.

 

“Fight it…please…” whispered Sango as she witnessed Hiei's torment, not noticing that Kohaku had disappeared.

 

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Inuyasha and Kagome had their own troubles at the moment. Inuyasha was forced to carry Kagome and try and fight Kagura at the same time, seeing as the moment he set Kagome down she would be slain by Kagura's attacks. This was no easy task. He may be able to wield the Tetsusaiga one handed, but there was no way he could use a Wind Scar. On top of that, Kagome's bow and quiver lay where he had first scooped her off the ground, and Kagura was doing a careful job of herding Inuyasha away from that area. Out of options, Inuyasa plunged his right hand into his opposite shoulder, covering it with blood.

 

“Blades of Blood!” he roared, and flung the blood from his hand at the wind sorceress, which quickly formed a barrage of red energy blades.

 

The attack was easily dodged, however, and was returned in kind with Kagura's own energy blades. Inuyasha avoided the assault and returned fire, but again it was avoided.

 

“We need to get the others,” advised Kagome after Inuyasha saved them both from another attack.

 

“I can handle this!” denied Inuyasha before resuming his attack, to face the same result as his last two attempts.

 

“I'm going to kill you here and now, Inuyasha,” declared Kagura confidently, positive that she had the advantage.

 

“Not thinkin' so, feather lady!”

 

Kuwabara leapt into the fray and attempted to lay a right hook on Kagura, but the she increased her altitude and easily avoided the strike, counter attacking with her Dance of Blades. However, Kuwabara quickly activated his Spirit Sword, and used it to fend off the onslaught.

 

“Hey, dog face!” yelled Kuwabara over his shoulder as he stared down Kagura. “Get Kagome to the others! And don't forget her arrows!”

 

“Is something wrong?” asked Kagome as Inuyasha carried her to her bow and arrows.

 

“Hiei's in trouble and Kurama thinks you can do somethin',” replied the spirit detective. “I can't tell what's goin' on, but I know it's bad.”

 

“Ok, lets go, Inuyasha,” Kagome counseled the half-demon, and with a nod he quickly complied.

 

“You're not going anywhere!” yelled Kagura as she moved to intercept the duo from the air.

 

“No, you're not goin' anywhere!” shot back Kuwabara. “Spirit Sword, get long!”

 

On his command, the Spirit Sword shot upwards, increasing the length of the blade by at least tenfold. With a mighty swing, he attempted to slice Kagura right out of the air with the now massive weapon, and she was forced into evasive action.

 

“This is what you get when you mess with the great Kazuma Kuwabara!” yelled out the boy as he swung his weapon at the now thoroughly frustrated wind sorceress.

 

As Kuwabara continued his duel, Inuyasha and Kagome were within sight of Hiei and the others. Most of the slits on Hiei's skin had opened completely by now, even as he fought to regain control of himself. He was losing badly.

 

“What in the hell is going on?” demanded Inuyasha as Kagome climbed off of his back.

 

“No time to explain,” replied Kurama hurriedly. “Kagome, shoot an arrow towards Hiei.”

 

“Are you insane?” yelled Yusuke as Kagome notched an arrow into her bow. “What if she hits him?”

 

“Don't worry, I can do this,” Kagome assured him, though the sweat on her brow revealed some doubt.

 

Before Yusuke could continue in his protests, Kagome let the arrow fly. The arrow left a trail of sparkling energy as it flew through the air, and missed Hiei by only a foot. A bright flash of light followed as the projectile streaked past the fire demon, and almost instantly Hiei began to revert to his normal form. Panting and sweating, he turned sharply and looked towards his companions, suddenly realizing what had just taken place. Without so much as a word, he darted away, leaving everyone else standing there staring at the spot he had just occupied.

 

“Will someone please tell me what in the hell-” began Inuyasha, but was interrupted by a crashing sound from the forest.

 

Kagura could be seen racing towards them, followed by a pursuing Kuwabara, who was still swinging his over-sized Spirit Sword at her, though he was hitting nothing but trees. However, as Kagura caught sight of the others, she realized that she was too late to stop Kagome, and began a hasty retreat into the clouds above.

 

“Get back here!” roared Kuwabara, waving his Spirit Sword at the slowly disappearing dot in the sky. “Face me like a man!”

 

“She's not a man, blockhead,” corrected Yusuke, shaking his head.

 

“Oh…yeah…” realized Kuwabara, finally deactivating his Spirit Sword and taking his eyes off of the sky. “Hey, where's the shrimp?”

 

“He dashed off as soon as Kagome broke the spell,” Miroku explained. “No doubt this experience has left him a bit shaken.”

 

“Not shaken, no,” corrected Kurama. “I would say that he's simply taken a rather large blow to his pride. I do, however, doubt that we will be seeing him for some time. In the meantime, I suggest we resume our traveling, since it appears Kohaku has vanished as well.”

 

As the group made to leave, Miroku noticed that Sango hadn't said a word. Looking over his shoulder, he saw her glance back at the village one last time before hefting her boomerang and following the rest of the group. There was a heaviness in her steps, and her expression was even more woeful than before. Realizing she was unapproachable right now, he made a note to comfort her when they made camp.

 

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Hiei sat upon the bough of a large tree, and though his eyes looked outward, it was what was inwards that most concerned him.

 

`I have never lost control of my demonic power before. Not even for a moment. To have it happen like that…how disgusting,' he reprimanded himself, clenching his teeth in anger. `And what's worse, I had to be rescued, and by that weakling priestess, no less.Sickening. Absolutely sickening.'

 

In a burst of anger, he slammed his fist into a nearby branch, shattering it into dust.

 

`Clearly, my opinion of this was shared,' he thought as he recalled the looks on everyone's face after the incident. `Her expression was particularly telling. Was that horror? Disgust? Damn it all! Why do I care?'

 

He stood up from his position and looked at the horizon as the sun began to disappear behind it. It seemed like it was on fire.

 

`I don't care. I don't care about any of them,' he continued, though whether this was legitimate introspection or stubborn reassurance was debatable. `I don't care what they think, what they do, or how they feel. From this moment on, I shall be alone. Like the way it used to be; the way I want it to be.'

 

His solitude now affirmed in his mind, Hiei leapt from his perch and began to make his way across through the treetops.

 

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Again, Kagura stood before her master in the face of failure. She had been shown mercy the last time, but barring a small miracle, she was in for it this time.

 

“Lord Naraku…I-” she began but was cut off by sudden laughter.

 

“No need to explain your failure, Kagura,” began Naraku with a smirk. “Though I failed to gain control of that demon, I doubt he'll be interfering for some time after what I did to him. No doubt he realizes that his feelings towards Sango are what caused him to fall into that trap, and he'll stay as far from her as possible.

 

“How can you be so sure?” Kagura asked cautiously.

 

“Because all demons like him fear weakness,” explained her master with a sinister chuckle. “And since he likely sees her as a weakness, he will cower from her like the worm he is. However, I attained something even more valuable than this when I was inside his mind.”

 

“And what did you learn, Lord Naraku?”

 

“Usually, when one is trying to control the mind of another, the information is too scrambled, and one cannot piece it together,” began Naraku. “But this time I was fortunate enough to see a small portion of the fool's memories clearly, and from them I learned a most interesting fact. Within one of our enemies, there is sealed a potential ally. All that we need do is set him free…”