InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Feudal Weather Witch ❯ Twin Cyclones ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Twin Cyclones

Mesmero followed the young boy through the forest. Chronos, as always, was quietly by his side. He felt uneasy about his inability to affect the boy with his powers. Kohaku walked quietly through the foliage. He would bring this man to his master, Naraku. Something in the back of Kohaku's mind tugged at him. He felt confused and small flashes of something kept plaguing him. Unknown to both Mesmero and Kohaku, Mesmero's attempts to gain access to Kohaku's mind were dislodging the barriers that Naraku had instilled to wipe Kohaku's memory clean.
Naraku waited in his castle. It would only be a few moments before Kohaku arrived with Mesmero. He turned and smirked coldly at Kikyo. The priestess glared in return, once again clothed in her robes. He walked up to her and took her chin in his fingers, tilting her head up to face him. Kikyo glared at him, unblinkingly. He laughed at her expense.
"What seems to be the matter, Kikyo? Did you not enjoy the pleasure I provided?" he asked patronizingly.
"I will kill you, Naraku," she whispered heatedly, "I will dispose of you in such a way that you will be begging for me to end it."
"I look forward to the challenge, my dear Kikyo," he purred, giving her a bruising kiss.
Kikyo began to struggle but the piece of jewel in her breast glowed crimson and she halted, giving into the kiss.
Kohaku stopped before a large stone castle that had been overgrown with vines and mold on the exterior. Mesmero and Chronos also stopped behind him.
"We are here," Kohaku spoke.
Before Mesmero or Chronos could process what had been spoken, a dark miasma surrounded them. All but Kohaku began to cough violently. Mesmero covered his nose with his sleeve. Chronos tried to cover his own nose, but he fell prey to the thick vapors.
The miasma soon dispelled to reveal they had been transported into the castle. Mesmero's eyes traveled around the dimly lit room. He took notice of the unconscious Chronos near him and frowned. He heard footsteps to his left and turned sharply to look in that direction. From the shadows, a man with wavy black hair and glowing red eyes emerged. He took in the man's appearance, he looked very much human save for the piercing color of his eyes. Mesmero was not fooled for an instant, however. This could be no ordinary human.
"I have brought him, Master Naraku," Kohaku spoke.
"Good. Now leave us," Naraku said.
"Yes, Master Naraku."
"Mesmero, I have heard much about you and your methods of collecting the pieces of the Shikkon jewel."
"I have heard of you as well. Naraku, the demon that also seeks the jewel," Mesmero replied.
"Tell me, Mesmero. What reason do you have for collecting the shards?"
"My reasons are mine alone to know."
"I see. Perhaps you would consider working together to piece together the jewel?" Naraku offered.
Mesmero narrowed his eyes, concentrating on getting a hold on Naraku. Naraku frowned and forcefully pushed Mesmero out of his mind.
"I don't take kindly to those who try to manipulate me," Naraku growled.
"I have no time for demons who want the jewel for power. If you must know why I seek it, it is because it will free my master from his eternal imprisonment."
"Interesting," Naraku replied, "Now we are getting somewhere."
Kaede walked calmly up to the group that was just coming back from their day long training. She had just finished training Kagome and had left to talk briefly with some of the villagers. Knowing that the group would be busy with their training, she had sent out a few men to listen for rumors about shards. One of the men had come back with very pertinent news.
"Everyone, I have important news regarding the Shikkon jewel. Come and let us build a fire before I relay it to you," she called out.
Everyone sat before the fire that Miroku had built. The moon glowed high in the sky, a waning orb. All eyes were on Kaede. She frowned and sighed before she began to speak.
"The one called Mesmero has gained all of the free jewel shards."
"What?!" InuYasha roared.
"This is not possible," Miroku whispered.
"What will we do?" Sango asked.
"There are only a few options open to us," Storm spoke up, "We can either find Mesmero and take possession of his shards..."
"Or get the shards from Naraku," Logan finished.
"There is more," Kaede continued, "Naraku has also gained a few more shards in addition to the half that my sister handed over to him. He holds more of the jewel than anyone."
"We have 9 shards now," Kagome said, "5 from Kagura, and 4 that we gained since Kikyo stole what we had."
"So if either of them wants more shards, they'll come to us first," Rogue said.
"So what's the plan?" Logan asked.
"Yeah. What are we gonna do?" Shippo asked.
"We have a large enough group to fend off any attacks at this point," Miroku voiced, "It would be unwise not to attempt to retrieve shards. We can ask Kagura where Naraku's castle is and go after his shards."
"Agreed. However, I suggest only a few of us attempt to do so," Storm added.
"Right. The kid and I 'ill go," Logan replied.
"Me and you, huh?" InuYasha said, "Alright. Let's go then."
"Find Kagura first and have her tell you where the castle is," Kagome advised, "Be careful, you two."
"Is two enough? Shouldn't someone else accompany them?" Miroku asked.
"Feh! We'll be fine, bouzo. You just stay here and worry about defending yourself and the group when the attack comes."
Miroku frowned, but nodded.
InuYasha and Logan left that night to sniff out Kagura. They found her in a small cabin in the forest. She was a bit nervous, but let them in.
"What is it you need?" Kagura asked.
"We wanna know where Naraku's castle is," InuYasha replied.
"If I tell you he may come after me and kill me," she said with a worried expression on her face.
"Look, lady, just tell us where he is. We'll take you back to Kaede's village. You'll be safe there," Logan replied.
Kagura looked from one to the other and sighed.
"If you go North from here..."
Hours later, found InuYasha and Wolverine on the path toward the castle. They had left Kagura with the rest of their group as promised. InuYasha was becoming irritated at the lack of speed Logan was exhibiting. He growled to himself and muttered at what he was about to do. But it was the only choice if they were to get there faster. He dropped down in front of Logan and glared at him.
"You're going too slow, old man! Look, I don't normally do this. But the faster we go the better, so get on," InuYasha commanded and pointed to his back.
"You gotta be kiddin' me," Logan muttered.
InuYasha growled.
"Feh! In the time it'll take you to get to his castle the regular way, he'll have time to prepare for us! So just get on my back already!"
"I can't believe I'm doing this. I'll kill anyone that sees this," Logan vows.
"Keh, same here," InuYasha grunts as Logan climbs on his back, "What the hell?! You weigh a ton!"
"Hey! I'm not the one that wanted to carry me on his back!"
"Feh!"
InuYasha leapt off into the trees, compensating for the added weight easily after a while. He had forgotten about the metal in Logan's body. He shook his head as he tore off at demon speed.
It was near morning at the village and Kagura was having a sinking feeling in her gut that had awoken her. While she was now a human, she still had a connection to Naraku. After all, while she now had a human heart, her demon heart was still held by him. Her eyes opened wide and she sat up from the futon. He was coming! She could feel it. He was coming after them! He would be there by morning. She looked around at her bed mates and shivered. These people, they had forgiven her. The girl had given her a second chance at life. She wouldn't be able to stand to see anything happen to them. A single tear escaped down her cheek.
Rogue sat up and walked over to Kagura, she placed a hand on Kagura's clothed shoulder and smiled encouragingly.
"What's wrong?"
Kagura looked up at the young goth and sighed.
"He's coming. Naraku is coming, I can still feel him," she whispered, "He'll be here by sunrise."
"We should tell the others," Rogue replied, "Ah..Ah know what it's like...ta feel someone in ya head."
Kagura smiled and wiped her tears.
"I heard about your powers. It must be terrible...never being able to touch another," Kagura sympathized.
Rogue nodded and turned away at the painful reminder.
"Yes, it is. Wait, you...can speak English?!"
"I was a detachment of Naraku. He told me about himself. He was made of many demons, but his core self was a thief named Onigumo. While Onigumo was a thief, he was a well traveled thief. He knew at least 3 different languages," Kagura explained, "English was one of them."
"Wow...," Rogue replied.
"Well, let's wake the others so we can be ready for Naraku," Kagura said, a determined look in her eyes.
"Right."
InuYasha opened his eyes and stretched. He and Logan had stopped to take a short nap. He, as usual, was sleeping on a high tree branch. Logan had opted to sleep on the ground. The two wasted no time and quickly caught their breakfast, a few fish, in the nearby stream. A quick broiling over an open flame and they were off again toward the castle. According to Kagura's directions, they would arrive at the castle in about an hour. The sun soon made its appearance in the horizon, announcing a new day.
Kikyo's robes billowed in the light breeze as she stood before Naraku's castle. Her two targets were rapidly approaching. The jewel allowed her to feel their approach; InuYasha and the reincarnation of her so-called father. They would soon know her wrath. And once she had disposed of them, she would then seek out Naraku and dispose of him as well. Her rage became visible as a swirl of purple black energy that glowed around her form. Beside her stood a puppet of Naraku's, dressed in a baboon pelt and beside it, stood Mesmero. Apparently, he and Naraku had come to an agreement.
Outside the village, Naraku and a hoard of lower demons made an appearance. He stood before the group, Kohaku at his side to taunt Sango. Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Storm, and Rogue stood ready. Shippo had been forced to stay inside Kaede's hut. And Kirara was transformed and by her mistress.
Naraku palmed the 3 pieces of the jewel he still had left, he was not stupid enough to leave them at his castle. He had seen their plans through Kanna's mirror and had left InuYasha and his partner to battle Kikyo, Mesmero, and a puppet of his. He would personally dispose of these nuisances first and then finish off InuYasha, if Kikyo had not already done so.
As he stood before them all, even Storm and Rogue could feel the evil rippling off of him. Storm's face showed no sign of her thoughts. Not far from the site where the battle would soon take place, a white clothed figure stood. He had come because he could smell Naraku near. His golden eyes roamed over the opponents that were in a face off. He wondered why the half demon was not with his group and who the new faces were.
All of them smelled human, although the girl and two others had a slight shift in their scents. He couldn't make out what it was exactly. But it intrigued him and he decided to remain hidden and watch the outcome of the battle. It would prove interesting. If these humans didn't prevail, he would step in and challenge Naraku himself. It was the perfect opportunity. Interestingly enough, he found his eyes drawn to the white haired woman with the ebony skin. She smelled of rain and wind. His own silver locks played in the light breeze as he waited for the battle to begin.