InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blackout ❯ Side Effects ( Chapter 4 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Angst | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 01.25.2014 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.4K | Visits: 1.9K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Angst | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 01.25.2014 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.4K | Visits: 1.9K | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Side Effects
“Kagome, run!”
The voice was Inuyasha’s, his normally gruff tone inflected with desperation. She didn’t need to look at him to know that his eyes were wide with fear. But Kagome had no intention of obeying. This battle had seen too many close calls already. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango—all had come within a matter of centimeters of death in the past few minutes. She, Kagome, was the only one who had the luxury of staying back and out of danger.
But no longer. Their enemy was charging at her, its powerful arm prepared to smash her into pulp. It was underestimating her. For this mistake, it would pay with its life. She would end this battle with one shot, and the lives of her friends would no longer be in jeopardy.
Exhaling slowly and calmly, she readied her arrow.
Overall, things were going incredibly well. Too well, as it turned out. Periods of peace seldom lasted long, and they were often followed by times of turmoil. All of the tranquility came to an abrupt end one sunny afternoon, along a quiet country road running through a forested valley.
Inuyasha’s announcement that he smelled a foul scent on the breeze signaled the beginning of the trouble. At first Kagome thought he might have been referring to Kouga, but the hanyou’s grave expression quashed that idea. His hand came to rest on Tetsusaiga’s hilt as he turned to the north, a cold, sinister southerly wind whipping his hair.
“Get back, all of you,” he ordered, and everyone obeyed. They were not afraid to fight, but they would defer to Inuyasha’s judgment, at least until it became clear that the hanyou needed assistance. Shippou was already shaking like a leaf, and Kirara hissed furiously. Whatever scent Inuyasha had detected was spooking them as well.
Their enemy came into sight at a distance of several hundred meters, emerging from behind a small rise. At first glance, Kagome thought it looked like a run-of-the-mill oni, perhaps toward the larger end of the spectrum. But as it came closer, she began to second-guess her initial assessment. It was a huge creature, its shoulders swollen hideously with muscle to support two massively powerful arms. But the skin was a dark tan, and even at a distance the texture didn’t seem quite right—it looked softer, more like human skin. Coupled with the armour it was wearing, complete with massive chest plates and shoulder guards, this thing looked nothing like any oni Kagome had ever seen.
An opinion confirmed as it came to a halt a few dozen meters away, sizing them up with a fanged grin. In fact, the mouth seemed frozen in a perpetual sneer, baring interlocking rows of pointed teeth. Black pupils studied them, a certain level of intelligence reflected back. They were ridiculously small for a creature this size, practically drowning in bleach white, bloodshot sclera. Painted blue markings under the eyes and spiky green hair standing atop its head like writhing flames completed the maniacal look.
Kagome turned to Inuyasha to gauge his reaction, and found him gazing at her questioningly. Instantly she knew what he wanted to know. She shook her head, unable to detect even a trace of the Shikon no Tama on the creature’s body. Whatever this thing was, it was this large and powerful on its own.
“Hm, just as the kid said,” the creature declared smugly in a low, sinister voice, talking to itself. “A pathetic-looking hanyou, three humans, and a neko-youkai. The neko might be good roasting over a spit, the humans I’ll just eat raw. The hanyou looks bony and unappetizing, maybe I’ll just kill him. Or I could boil him in a pot with the humans. Hm…”
Kagome was not surprised that the creature could speak, given its vaguely humanoid appearance. It was, however, more than a little disturbing to hear it ponder aloud the most delicious way to devour her.
“Oi, oi, oi,” Inuyasha interjected, his voice fierce but calm. He slowly drew Tetsusaiga from its sheath, transformed it, and leaned it against his shoulder. “What the hell are you going on about, bastard? If you wanna fight, just say so.”
The creature glanced at Inuyasha and laughed, much to the hanyou’s ire. Then it focused its malevolent stare directly at Kagome, who shrank back under the malice in its gaze.
“A girl wearing clothes the likes of which you’ve never seen carries the shards of the Shikon no Tama,” it stated, as if quoting from memory. “That must be you, girl. Tell me, will you hand the shards over in exchange for a painless death, or do I have to make this messy?”
“Oi!” Inuyasha yelled, concealing none of his anger as he placed himself in front of Kagome, cutting off the creature’s line of sight. “Don’t fucking talk to her! You so much as look at her again, and I’ll rip those ugly-ass eyeballs of yours out of your skull!”
The creature chuckled again, as if genuinely amused by the threat. “You can’t beat me, hanyou. That sword of yours, help from your humans, none of it will make any difference. I’m invincible. If you don’t believe me, come at me and find out.”
Inuyasha looked like he wanted to do just that, but he held himself back. “Answer me one question before I slaughter you. You mentioned a kid before. Tell me, was this kid wearing taijiya armour?”
Kagome had wondered the same thing and was glad Inuyasha had asked about it before charging in. She glanced over at Sango; her friend was stone-faced, but her eyes gave away her emotions. If the child the creature had mentioned really was Kohaku, then they could be one step closer to finding Naraku and freeing the lad.
But their adversary only shrugged. “Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. Could be that he’s already in my belly.”
“Bastard!”
“You lie,” Sango accused quietly. The creature only looked at her and sneered. Growling to herself, Sango reared back and prepared to throw hiraikotsu. Inuyasha’s cutting voice stopped her.
“Wait, Sango! This thing…something’s not right. It doesn’t smell like a youkai or a human. Instead, it reeks of a corpse and graveyard soil!”
Kagome gasped. Not human or youkai, but dead? That means, this thing is like Kikyou? Only to a certain extent, she realized. Kikyou was cruel and bitter, but this creature was pure evil in a way the dead miko had never been.
“Just what the hell are you?” she heard Inuyasha demand.
Their enemy chuckled darkly. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m human.”
Kagome could only shake her head. But how can that be? How can this huge, hideous thing be human? And that wasn’t even considering Inuyasha’s claim that it smelled like a walking corpse. Just what was going on here? There was a piece missing, and for the life of her she couldn’t solve the puzzle.
Evidently, Inuyasha reached the same conclusion. “Kagome,” he asked her urgently, “are you sure this bastard doesn’t have a jewel shard?”
She looked for a second time, but once again could detect no telltale light from a piece of the Shikon no Tama. Whether pure or tainted black, she had always been able to see the subtle glow emitted by jewel shards. There just simply wasn’t any such indicator on this guy’s body.
“I’m positive, Inuyasha,” she told him confidently. He nodded once, then turned back to their opponent.
“All right, then. Prepare yourself, asshole. I’m gonna put you back in the ground where you belong!”
He charged forward, intending to close the distance and blow this abomination away with a Kaze no Kizu at point-blank range. At times, he would admit to purposely extending fights just to get some enjoyment out of them. But that was against weak opponents, when he knew exactly what he was facing. Not here; he didn’t know what this thing was capable of, or even what it was. Reanimated corpse or no, the mystery factor meant that he would not take this opponent lightly. Especially with Kagome and the others far closer to the combat zone that he would have liked.
The enemy lurched into motion, bringing its hand down in an open-hand smash. It moved quicker than Inuyasha would expect for a creature its size, and as a result the hanyou did not have enough time to unleash any of Tetsusaiga’s stronger attacks. Instead, he settled for dodging to the right, landing gracefully on the balls of his feet as the impact sent chunks of dirt and rock flying in all directions. Then he executed a swift change of direction and neatly severed the arm at the wrist with one swing of his sword.
Now normally, when a living being loses an appendage, the natural reaction is to recoil in shock. This enemy did no such thing. Instead, it suddenly swept the now hand-less arm laterally along the ground, catching Inuyasha by surprise. The hanyou managed to twist his body to avoid taking the impact directly in the chest, but it still threw him a fair distance and jarred Tetsusaiga from his grasp. He rolled as he hit the ground, until his momentum ceased and he was able to pick himself up, swearing and shaking his head to clear the dizziness. Again the creature behaved in an unexpected manner; instead of pursing him, it had retrieved its lost hand. The stump of its arm, Inuyasha observed, was not bleeding nearly as profusely as it should be. Then it held the two disparate parts together. A chorus of gasps rang out as hand and arm fused into one, flawlessly reconnecting skin, muscle, and bone. The arrogant sneer reappeared, and the creature turned to face the hanyou again, flexing its reattached fingers menacingly.
Inuyasha grimaced and scanned the area for his sword, spying it a fair distance away. His opponent also noticed the weapon, lying approximately halfway between them, perhaps slightly closer to the latter. Both combatants moved simultaneously, Inuyasha racing to reclaim his sword and the creature trying to prevent this. It became clear to the hanyou that he was going to lose this race, but he determined to slice his way through with his claws even if he got there last. If this thing could regenerate, he would need Tetsusaiga’s higher attacks in order to defeat it. Total obliteration was the only way to go in a situation like this.
Just before they clashed, a swirl of motion soared in from Inuyasha’s left and took out a chunk of his opponent’s shoulder. It was hiraikotsu, now coming back around to return to its wielder. He heard the sound Kirara always made when she transformed, and knew that his taijiya backup would soon be airborne. The creature, however, was barely fazed by this turn of events; indeed, the wound in its shoulder started to heal almost instantly. Then it was upon him, one clawed hand swiping at him from the side and the other raised to strike from above. Inuyasha somersaulted over the former and sidestepped the latter, always cognizant of where the prize lay less than a dozen meters away. But his enemy was aware of this as well, and was careful not to overextend itself. It was clearly not swinging as hard as it could, but one hit would stun well enough, allowing a death blow to follow immediately thereafter.
Still Inuyasha continued to dodge, not wanting to risk counterattacking with his claws now that he knew this bastard could regenerate. One misstep now could mean the end of him. But after a minute or two of this monotony, he decided to try something different. He leapt back out of range, then turned and bolted in the opposite direction, encouraging the creature to follow him, which it did. After a few long strides, Inuyasha leapt and planted his feet against a tree, intending to launch himself off of it and use the sudden change of direction to surprise his enemy and get past it to Tetsusaiga. It probably would have worked too, if the damn tree had not been so weak. Oh, it seemed perfectly normal on the outside, a young tree growing toward maturity. But on the inside, it had been eaten away by insects of some kind, deteriorating its structural integrity. Thus, when a hanyou moving at great speed tried to use it as a springboard, said hanyou’s momentum cracked the trunk near the base. As a result, the springboard gave way, and the hanyou’s powerful leap was reduced to a feeble flop.
As soon as Inuyasha heard that snap and felt the tree give way under his feet, he knew he was in trouble. Much of the mighty thrust of his legs was spent in pushing the tree over, rather than launching himself off of a stable platform. As he plummeted to the ground in a short arc, he saw his enemy closing in. He dove to the side as soon as his toes touched the ground, but the massive hand still caught him with a glancing blow, one of the claws raking a deep gouge in his back. He flew through the air until he struck another tree, this one unfortunately much sturdier than the last. He sank to the ground on unsteady feet, supporting himself against the trunk and shaking his head to clear it. Through blurred vision he saw the creature’s closed fist approaching impossibly fast, obviously intended to leave him as nothing more than a dark red stain on the bark. Inuyasha gritted his teeth and raised his claws. It was time to see which was stronger—this creature’s flesh and bone, or Sankon Tetsusou.
Perhaps fortunately, the opportunity to find out was averted at the last moment. The creature suddenly cried out in agony, and its fist vanished from view. Now seeing the world clearly again, Inuyasha once more glimpsed hiraikotsu returning to its owner, now soaring above on her fire-cat companion. Their enemy was crouched on one knee, facing away from the taijiya and perpendicularly to Inuyasha, holding its hand over its eye. The hanyou was simultaneously grateful and impressed. To hit a moving target in a very small vulnerable area required an excellent shot. The eye itself would probably regenerate, but striking it there might have been the only way to get this thing to actually react to an injury. It didn’t even seem to feel attacks directed at the rest of its body.
“Inuyasha, are you okay?!” Sango called down to him. He started to wave to her in the affirmative, but movement off to his right drew his attention. The creature had wrapped both enormous hands around the tree he had cracked earlier. From her vantage point, Sango could not possibly see what it was doing, which Inuyasha knew was extremely dangerous as soon as he deduced his opponent’s intentions.
“Sango, look o—”
But it was too late to warn her, as the creature spun and flung the tree through the air with all of its considerable might. Kirara’s quick reflexes allowed her to dodge the trunk, but she could not completely avoid all of the smaller branches and leaves, which tore at her fur and tangled around her. Sango, already thrown off balance by her companion’s sudden dodge, could not hold on as the passing tree pulled Kirara back. The fire-cat freed herself, leaving chunks of skin and fur behind, but not in time to save Sango as she plummeted toward the ground. Fortunately, Inuyasha had already set himself in motion, anticipating that something like this might happen. He caught Sango easily and set her on her feet.
“Go!” he told her, shoving her toward where hiraikotsu lay in the grass several meters away. Mostly he just wanted her away from the battlefield. She could reenter the fray if she wanted to, after she had recollected hiraikotsu and checked on Kirara. A quick glance assured him that Miroku, Shippou, and Kagome had also managed to escape the careening piece of timber. The twigs and leaves stuck to the monk’s clothing indicated that it had been a close shave for him. He had probably rushed in when he saw Sango in peril, and been left directly in the tree’s path once its trajectory descended. Kagome and Shippou had been far enough back so that getting out of the way was relatively easy for them.
Even so, the two near misses pissed Inuyasha off. He rounded on the enemy, glaring and growling. The creature did not seem pleased either, probably from having its eye pulverized by hiraikotsu. It had indeed healed, but it still must have hurt like a son of a bitch. Both antagonists comprehended the situation at the same time. Their positions had shifted during the battle, taking them away from Tetsusaiga and leaving both at approximately equal distances from it. Their eyes met once, and then the race was on. Inuyasha was just a fraction of a second quicker on the takeoff this time. But that advantage did not guarantee that he would win the prize. His opponent’s attack range was obviously much greater than his own. And as they converged inexorably to a single point, he prepared himself for a strike.
His foresight was rewarded; for once, the creature behaved exactly as predicted, sending a backhand swipe his way as soon as he was within range. Inuyasha planted his foot and leapt inside the radius of the swing, once again severing hand from arm, this time with Sankon Tetsusou. Continuing on his course, he did the same to a massive leg, leaving his enemy stumbling to a halt. Yes, it could reattach the limb, but it would be hobbled for a few crucial moments. That was all the time Inuyasha needed to reach Tetsusaiga. With a mighty cry he spun and unleased the Kaze no Kizu. At such short distance, the result was never in doubt. Blades of youki tore through muscle and bone, rending flesh and scattering the creature into hundreds of bloody pieces.
But Inuyasha did not allow himself to enjoy his victory just yet. He watched and waited to see if this thing could still pull itself back together from such a dismembered state. The first sign of movement was a twitch by the left half of the lower jaw, which had been separated from the rest of the face. The face…most of the head was still intact, Inuyasha saw. And those eyes were far from lifeless. Sure enough, the disparate pieces of the creature’s body began to converge with an ominous radiance, pulled inexorably toward the head. So that was the focal point of this thing’s regeneration ability, rather than the heart. That was useful information, but Inuyasha still found himself stumped by this turn of events. Everything about this thing screamed corpse reanimated by a shard of the Shikon no Tama. He trusted Kagome when she said there was no jewel shard involved, but everyone made mistakes sometimes.
And how would they destroy it, with Tetsusaiga ineffective? The obvious answer was Miroku’s kazaana, but that course posed dangers as well. If Kagome was wrong, and there really was a jewel shard inside this youkai’s head, what would happen if the monk tried to suck it up? He doubted a piece of the Shikon no Tama would simply fall quietly into the void. Something would happen, and it would not be good for Miroku. And even if Miroku could suck in a shard, how would they ever accomplish their mission of completing the Shikon no Tama then? Still, there had to be a way to use the kazaana to defeat this bastard. Inuyasha grinned as the answer came to him.
“Miroku!” he called. “When I tell you to, open your kazaana.” He heard footsteps coming closer, meaning the monk was getting into position.
By this time, the creature had nearly fully reformed. It saw Inuyasha raise his sword, and knew what was about to happen. In desperation it flung its left hand, which had yet to reattach, toward the hanyou. The tactic worked, as Inuyasha was forced to sidestep before he could launch another Kaze no Kizu. In the single second it took him to set his feet again, the creature was on the move. Inuyasha paused mid-swing as his opponent placed itself between him and Sango and Miroku, knowing that the hanyou would not use that attack again with his friends in the line of fire. But the monk and taijiya were not the creature’s targets this time. When Inuyasha saw who its fury was focused upon now, he felt his blood run cold.
“Kagome, run!”
But she was not running. Instead, he watched in horror as she drew an arrow from her quiver. Dammit, wench! How could she even be sure that her arrow would stop this bastard? If it was really a reanimated corpse, it stood to reason that a surge of pure energy would do something. But would the arrow purify it like a youkai? If not, would the resulting damage be enough to stop the creature in its tracks? The uncertainty caused Inuyasha to slide into a state of near panic. But there was nothing he could do; he clearly was not going to make it to Kagome in time to save her, and he could not use the Kaze no Kizu for fear of accidentally hitting her. His mad dash to reach her was further slowed when the creature’s left hand nearly took his head off returning to its body. All he could do was resume his desperate sprint, careful to give Kagome a clear shot with her arrow. That, and pray.
His prayers were answered. Kagome notched the arrow, drew and aimed all without the slightest falter. She had ample time to charge the projectile and release it before the creature was upon her. But from this moment of optimism, things went horribly wrong. Kagome’s eyes widened, as if she was some virgin to combat losing her nerve completely. The arrow slipped from her grasp, the bow lowering to her side. She stared at her right hand, her gaze unfocused, as if she was not even aware of the towering mass of muscle and savagery bearing down on her. The creature’s hand reached for her; no doubt its intention was to devour her and her jewel shards whole, in one massive bite. Inuyasha’s heart stopped, his own arms reaching out for her helplessly. If there was anything he could have done to save her life, including sacrificing his own, he would have done it. In that moment when it appeared he was going to lose the one person who made his life worth living, he knew true despair.
Salvation came in an unexpected form. A large, googly-eyed pink balloon appeared in a puff of smoke, a child’s high-pitched cry emanating as it smashed into the huge outstretched arm. The force of the impact was just enough to knock the appendage off of its intended course. Instead of grabbing Kagome, the questing digits just barely missed her, the pressure wave ruffling her clothing like the passage of a high-speed train. In frustration, the creature swatted the balloon away. Fortunately for Shippou, he was still viewed as more of an annoyance than a threat. But the kit’s bravery had bought Inuyasha the time he needed to catch up. The hanyou did not even have to alter his course to snatch the fox out of mid-air. And by the time the creature made another grab for Kagome, she was no longer there, borne away instead to safety.
Inuyasha set her down a hundred yards away from the spot where her life had almost ended. She still looked like she had no idea what was going on, but he would deal with that later. Right now, he had a battle to finish. The enemy was charging toward them, its massive footfalls sending vibrations through the earth. Sango and Miroku were hot on its heels atop Kirara. As for Shippou, Inuyasha deposited him atop his own shoulder. The dizzy fox kit had earned the right to be a part of this. Satisfied that Shippou had a good grip on his haori, he turned to face the enemy.
“Nice work, Shippou,” he declared sincerely. “But we’ll take it from here!”
The Kaze no Kizu Inuyasha unleased was larger and more ferocious than the first, and it sliced the creature into twice as many pieces. But even so, it refused to die; already the head was reforming. Inuyasha leapt into the midst of the carnage, snatching the severed head with one hand and carrying it away from the rest of the body. The bloody pieces started to pursue him, but it was too late.
“Now, Miroku!” he yelled as he passed under Kirara. The monk did not need to be told twice. Within a matter of moments, nothing remained of the creature’s once formidable body, courtesy of the kazaana. And that infuriating sneer finally vanished for good.
“No, my body!” it cried pitifully. “My body! Give it back, give it back, give it ba—”
“Shut up!”
Inuyasha punctuated his demand by smashing the head against the ground, feeling a perverse satisfaction at the telltale snapping of its mandible. No doubt that would heal, but at least it would buy them a few moments of peace. At the very least, it should not be able to recall its body back from the abyss. Now, they could get to the bottom of this bothersome regeneration ability. But first, he had something important to check on.
He approached Kagome intending to first inquire as to her well-being, before reaming her out for nearly getting herself killed. But the faint smell of her blood blew away any self-restraint he might have possessed. He could see the cut from here, just a small scratch on her forearm from where the creature’s claw had grazed her. But it really brought home the reality of how close he had come to losing her. A few centimeters deeper, and they would be scrambling to try to prevent her from bleeding to death right now. A fraction of a meter deeper still, and she would already be dead. And all because she been so fucking stupid. All because she hadn’t fucking listened to him.
“What the hell were you thinking, Kagome!” he bellowed harshly. Finally she started, emerging from her stupor and meeting his irate gaze with wide, shocked eyes. If anything, this only made him angrier.
“Dammit, wench! You’re fucking helpless enough when you’re actually paying attention. Don’t try to fight if you can’t even keep your head on straight!”
Now, there were several ways in which Kagome could react to this. She could get pissed at him, and the resulting massive argument would likely end with him eating dirt. She could try to calmly explain why she had frozen up, attempting to keep her cool because she knew he was in the right. Least likely of all, she could apologize and take his criticism contritely. He did not, however, expect her eyes to suddenly tear up. The hardening of her gaze caught him completely by surprise, despair swirling with righteous fury in her chocolate pools. The anger he expected, but not this sort of raw, unfettered rage, fueled by desperation. It caused him to recoil, to open his mouth to attempt to retract some of his harsher words. But it was far too late for that.
“Well, Inuyasha, I’m sorry I’m so helpless and useless and every other insult you’ve ever thrown my way! I’m sorry I’m not perfect like Kikyou!”
“Kag—” he tried, but she cut him off.
“No, you know what? I’m done!” She sobbed and shook her head, her tears spilling onto her clothes. “I’m done,” she repeated quietly, gritting her teeth.
“K-Kagome, I didn’t—”
“Osuwari!”
*Thud*
“Osuwari! Osuwari! OSUWARI!!!”
*Thud Thud THUD*
Moments later, Inuyasha sat up with a groan, holding his aching head. His ears told him that Kagome was already gone. Sango had chased after her, so at least her epic storm-off hadn’t left her completely unprotected. He was now even more concerned about her state of mind than he had been after her colossal slip-up. Just what the hell was all that about? Maybe his words had been crueler than they needed to be, but his anger was fully justified. He would dare anyone to say otherwise. And why the hell did she bring up Kikyou’s name? She never brought up Kikyou, for anything. What the fuck did Kikyou have to do with this?! And what did she mean by ‘I’m done?’ Done with what? Done being a miko? Done shard hunting? Done…with him?
A soft moan from below him broke his gloomy train of thought. Inuyasha couldn’t help but crack a small grin at the sight. Shippou had clearly not managed to remove himself from the danger zone before Kagome said ‘the word.’ The kit had experienced the ‘osuwari’ command for the first time, and obviously not enjoyed it. Inuyasha had not landed on him, but his rapid descent to the dirt had propelled Shippou into a nice face-plant of his own.
“Ow…” came kit’s muffled voice.
“Heh. Hurts, don’t it, runt?” Nevertheless, Inuyasha gingerly peeled Shippou from his tiny crater and placed the kit on his shoulder once more.
“You okay?” he asked, more referring to the battle than the ‘osuwari.’ Shippou shook his head, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Well, is anything broken?”
Shippou flexed his arms and legs, then gave the answer Inuyasha already suspected. “I don’t think so.”
“Then you’ll be fine by morning,” he declared, reaching up and ruffling the kid’s hair affectionately. “You’re pretty tough, for a little squirt.”
Shippou could only sputter incoherently at the praise, and try not to let Inuyasha know how much it mean to him. The two of them often did not get along, but obviously the hanyou was seeing him in a new light. If this was the treatment he was going to get, he would have to save Kagome’s life more often. He did hope that she would not need saving in the future, but somehow that never seemed to be the case.
“Oi, Shippou,” the hanyou said suddenly, his tone serious. “You have any idea why Kagome got so pissed?”
“No,” was the kit’s immediate reply. “You were just being your usual self.”
In the past, Inuyasha might have taken offense to that statement, but it was completely true. Under normal circumstances, Kagome could see through at least some of his gruffness and insults, and not blow a stack when he called her helpless. She would understand that he was only mean to her because he had been worried about her. She would certainly not react in the way she had this afternoon, which was way over the top. It comforted him to know that Shippou felt the same way, but it also brought him no closer to solving the mystery. Fortunately, he had another friend who was more observant than both of them.
“I believe I may be able to provide some insight,” Miroku stated quietly. His tone immediately put Inuyasha on edge; more than anything, the monk seemed sad.
“Well, out with it!” the hanyou demanded impatiently.
Miroku sighed. “Did you see what happened, Inuyasha?”
“Of course I did. She went to fire an arrow, then totally spaced out and dropped it. The baka would’ve gotten herself killed if it wasn’t for Shippou.”
“That’s all elementary, Inuyasha. I mean, did you see why she ‘spaced out,’ as you put it?”
“Obviously, I didn’t. Can you just fucking spit it out, bouzu? I ain’t got all day.”
Miroku glared at him, but continued anyway. “Kagome-sama tried to charge the arrow with pure energy as she always does, but was unable to do so.”
Inuyasha’s lungs seized up, unable to draw breath. He gazed helplessly at Miroku, silently pleading for confirmation that he’d just misheard him. But the monk only regarded him calmly, with suddenly sympathetic eyes. Then he uttered the words Inuyasha least wanted to hear.
“She has lost her spiritual power, Inuyasha.”
The hanyou clenched his hand into a fist and pounded it into the dirt. It all made sense now—the shock on her face, the way she stared blankly at her empty hand, and her fierce response to his words.
“How?” he choked out through gritted teeth, though he already knew the answer.
“From losing her virginity, I assume,” Miroku answered simply, though there was a hint of confusion in his tone. Inuyasha latched on to that, redirecting his fury. With all of the guilt and bewilderment and anger churning inside him, it was nice to have a convenient outlet.
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything before?!” he demanded, rising to his feet and pointing an accusing finger at Miroku. “You knew this could happen!”
“We all knew this could happen, Inuyasha,” Miroku responded firmly, unwilling to sit back and take the hanyou’s unjustified ire. “You were the one who spoke to her about that night, so I assumed that you discussed it with her.”
Seeing the hanyou’s ears droop, Miroku took a deep breath and composed himself. He knew where Inuyasha was coming from; if he had lain with a woman and made her lose part of herself, other than her physical virginity, then he was sure he would feel incredibly guilty as well. In this case, Inuyasha really didn’t deserve his own condemnation.
“I honestly never expected this to happen, Inuyasha,” he told the hanyou. “Before I met you and Kagome-sama, I too subscribed to the commonly-held belief that a miko must remain physically pure to maintain her spiritual power. But traveling with the two of you, and getting to know Kagome-sama, have enlightened me as to what I now believe to be the truth. Purity comes in many forms; the corporeal body can be but one vassal. But emotional and spiritual purity, I believe, are much more important indicators. Kagome-sama has always been the purest person I have ever met, in all three respects. Now, this is no longer the case for one of them. But her heart and soul have not changed. I cannot make sense of a world where a good, kind-hearted woman loses her spiritual power simply because she lies with a man.”
It occurred to Miroku that the words he had just uttered would be considered heresy by some, perhaps even a majority of the population. But the widely-accepted worldview was not logically sound. Why should monks be allowed to marry and have children, while miko must never know physical intimacy? Sex could in itself be an act of absolute purity when enjoyed by two people who loved each other, as Kagome and Inuyasha did. Miroku himself was no virgin, but his own spiritual power had never weakened even though he had slept with several women he had never seen afterwards. Surely the Kami would not condone such a perverse double standard.
The more he considered it, the more he thought that the common belief had originally arisen to prevent youkai-stricken human populations from losing invaluable miko. It was not the act of making love that could cause a miko to lose her abilities, but what could follow. Nothing could ruin a heart or blacken a soul like love gone bad. Even the untimely death of a husband or child could send a person spiraling into despair. And unlike loss of physical purity, such emotionally destructive changes would logically have in impact on spiritual power. Perhaps people thought that women of holy ability would be unable to handle all of the highs and lows which came with love and parenthood. Men, on the other hand, could weather stronger emotional storms because they were naturally more level-headed and intelligent. That was a load of rubbish, but then so were a lot of things people believed.
So things were relatively straight in Miroku’s head, though he hoped he would not have to explain his belief to Inuyasha in great detail. Fortunately, the hanyou seemed more interested in the implications rather than his reasoning.
“So then why did she lose her power?” he asked, his tone noticeably calmer than before.
“There must be some other explanation,” Miroku told him. “Unfortunately, I have no theories at this time.”
Inuyasha grimaced, but didn’t say anything in response. He stared off into space, clearly trying to come up with a theory of his own, one which would unquestionably relieve much of his guilt. But Miroku knew this was futile; emotions were too raw, anger and hurt too fresh. They needed time to calm down and think about this logically, detached from emotion. And that was not going to happen until Inuyasha and Kagome had once again talked things out. Now, how to convince the stubborn hanyou that such a discussion was necessary…
“It was not exactly the best time to call Kagome-sama ‘helpless,’ my friend,” Miroku observed, careful to keep his voice devoid of censure.
Inuyasha reacted defensively as anticipated. “W-w-well I didn’t fucking know!” he sputtered.
“I am aware of that, Inuyasha,” Miroku replied patiently. “But you still must make this right. You must apologize to Kagome-sama.”
“Why the hell should I? She’s the one who overreacted!”
“Perhaps that is true, but it makes no difference. She would not have ‘overreacted’ if you had not insulted her in the first place.”
Inuyasha grumbled, but he couldn’t really argue the point. He was about to mutter something petulant when shouting from across the battlefield drew everyone’s attention.
“Oi, what are you doing?! No! Don’t take—aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!”
“Shit!” Inuyasha cursed, sprinting toward where the forgotten creature’s severed head lay in the dirt. As he watched, the flesh disintegrated leaving nothing but bones. The reason for this was the saimyoushou rapidly gaining altitude overhead, carrying a tiny glimmering object which could only be a shard of the Shikon no Tama. He continued his pursuit until the insect rose above the tree line, painfully out of reach.
“Dammit!” he cried, furious that Naraku’s servant had gotten away with the prize. Kirara had gone after Kagome and Sango, and on foot he simply couldn’t keep up. The saimyoushou had waited until they were suitably distracted before making its move, reclaiming the jewel shard its master had obviously provided. Worse than that, it had eliminated their opportunity to question the creature and perhaps get some answers as to its identity and Naraku’s location. All they had to go by now was the fact that it had approached from out of the north.
“So it seems you were right to suspect that the creature we fought had a shard of the Shikon no Tama in its possession,” Miroku observed gravely as he approached. “Kagome-sama must have lost her ability to sense the jewel as well.”
“Great, just fucking great. This shit keeps getting better and better.”
Miroku sighed. “It would be wise to change your attitude before you talk to her.”
“Keh.”
“Oh, don’t be so negative, Inuyasha. Losing Kagome-sama’s spiritual power hurts us, but we will adjust. On the bright side, this is the first lead we’ve had on Naraku’s location since he disappeared. We shall simply have to travel north and see what we can find.”
Inuyasha felt his resolve returning, and pounded his fist into his palm. Miroku was right—they would adjust. Just as they would adjust if Tetsusaiga broke again or the bouzu found a way to cure his kazaana. Most importantly, they would stick together and continue on their mission.
“Yeah, and if there are any more of those undead bastards running around, I’ll wipe ‘em all out.”
“I would not be surprised if there were. Naraku seldom does things small.”
That comment reminded Inuyasha of one ‘small’ thing Naraku had done. “Oi, do you think that bastard really ate Kohaku?”
Miroku considered that for a moment. “The saimyoushou was only carrying one Shikon fragment, correct?”
“Yeah, just one.”
“Then I doubt Kohaku is dead. If the creature had eaten him, it would have had another shard, most likely in its belly. And if I had sucked in a piece of the Shikon no Tama, I would probably be dead right now.”
Inuyasha nodded, relieved that at least Sango would not have to deal with her brother’s death. They had enough problems at present, and he honestly hoped the boy could be saved in the end. Speaking of problems…
“So Inuyasha, shall we?” Miroku asked innocently, failing to hide his amusement. He motioned in the direction where Kagome and Sango had run off to.
Inuyasha glared at him. “You just don’t give up, do you?”
Miroku regarded him seriously. “No, not for something like this.”
“Keh.”
“Relax, my friend. I am sure Kagome-sama will not hold it against you. She probably feels badly for using the subduing spell so many times.”
“Keh, not fucking likely,” Inuyasha muttered, but his eyes spoke of cautious hope so Miroku let the remark go.
After a few more moments of hesitation, our reluctant hanyou set off. He was absolutely not looking forward to facing Kagome again, but the bouzu was right—it had to be done. He just hoped Miroku was also correct about there being another explanation for the loss of Kagome’s spiritual power. If this was not something they could remedy, then they were about to face a whole host of problems. Kagome’s miko abilities were a crucial part of their group’s offensive and defensive fighting strength, never mind the obvious emotional effects losing them was already having on her.
Who knew one night of drunken foolishness could have such severe consequences?
A/N – In case you haven’t guessed it, that creature was Kyoukotsu of the Band of Seven. A large portion of this story will revolve around a modified Band of Seven arc. Instead of creating my own villains, I decided to play with the ones that Rumiko Takahashi already created. They are freaking awesome, after all. The characters will be the same, but the plot will be significantly different, as we’ve already seen.
And I know that Kyoukotsu was a relative pushover in canon, but that’s only because he blabbed about the location of his jewel shard. So Kouga was able to yank the shard out and kill him just before being devoured. Without that knowledge, wolf-boy probably ends up as a furry turd-pile on the ground. Since the Inu-gang has no idea of the location of the shard (or even if Kyoukotsu has one), he’d naturally be a more difficult opponent for them.
Side Effects
“Kagome, run!”
The voice was Inuyasha’s, his normally gruff tone inflected with desperation. She didn’t need to look at him to know that his eyes were wide with fear. But Kagome had no intention of obeying. This battle had seen too many close calls already. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango—all had come within a matter of centimeters of death in the past few minutes. She, Kagome, was the only one who had the luxury of staying back and out of danger.
But no longer. Their enemy was charging at her, its powerful arm prepared to smash her into pulp. It was underestimating her. For this mistake, it would pay with its life. She would end this battle with one shot, and the lives of her friends would no longer be in jeopardy.
Exhaling slowly and calmly, she readied her arrow.
* * *
It had been a little over a week since Inuyasha and Kagome talked things out, and the Inu-gang had settled back into a routine. Wake up, eat, travel, eat, travel, make camp, eat, and sleep. Rinse and repeat. And if the hanyou and miko were acting slightly nicer to each other than usual, then that was most certainly a good thing. There had been no youkai attacks to speak of, and they had not come across another village to check for rumors of Naraku. Normally a stretch of boredom of this length would frustrate Inuyasha, but the hanyou showed no signs of grumpiness. Beyond his customarily gruff demeanor, of course. But even that had been noticeably softer as of late. He had more patience for everyone, particularly Shippou. At one point, the fox kit had commented that Inuyasha must be trying to set a new personal record for most days in between dirt tastings. The streak ended later that evening when the two of them squabbled over the last fish, but instead of letting Shippou have it as she normally would, Kagome gave it to Kirara. The message was clear: Inuyasha wasn’t allowed to bully Shippou, but the kit wasn’t allowed to instigate either. The next night the two of them silently agreed to split the last morsel. So Shippou avoided another lump on the head, and Inuyasha did not have to chase his meal down with dirt. Overall, things were going incredibly well. Too well, as it turned out. Periods of peace seldom lasted long, and they were often followed by times of turmoil. All of the tranquility came to an abrupt end one sunny afternoon, along a quiet country road running through a forested valley.
Inuyasha’s announcement that he smelled a foul scent on the breeze signaled the beginning of the trouble. At first Kagome thought he might have been referring to Kouga, but the hanyou’s grave expression quashed that idea. His hand came to rest on Tetsusaiga’s hilt as he turned to the north, a cold, sinister southerly wind whipping his hair.
“Get back, all of you,” he ordered, and everyone obeyed. They were not afraid to fight, but they would defer to Inuyasha’s judgment, at least until it became clear that the hanyou needed assistance. Shippou was already shaking like a leaf, and Kirara hissed furiously. Whatever scent Inuyasha had detected was spooking them as well.
Their enemy came into sight at a distance of several hundred meters, emerging from behind a small rise. At first glance, Kagome thought it looked like a run-of-the-mill oni, perhaps toward the larger end of the spectrum. But as it came closer, she began to second-guess her initial assessment. It was a huge creature, its shoulders swollen hideously with muscle to support two massively powerful arms. But the skin was a dark tan, and even at a distance the texture didn’t seem quite right—it looked softer, more like human skin. Coupled with the armour it was wearing, complete with massive chest plates and shoulder guards, this thing looked nothing like any oni Kagome had ever seen.
An opinion confirmed as it came to a halt a few dozen meters away, sizing them up with a fanged grin. In fact, the mouth seemed frozen in a perpetual sneer, baring interlocking rows of pointed teeth. Black pupils studied them, a certain level of intelligence reflected back. They were ridiculously small for a creature this size, practically drowning in bleach white, bloodshot sclera. Painted blue markings under the eyes and spiky green hair standing atop its head like writhing flames completed the maniacal look.
Kagome turned to Inuyasha to gauge his reaction, and found him gazing at her questioningly. Instantly she knew what he wanted to know. She shook her head, unable to detect even a trace of the Shikon no Tama on the creature’s body. Whatever this thing was, it was this large and powerful on its own.
“Hm, just as the kid said,” the creature declared smugly in a low, sinister voice, talking to itself. “A pathetic-looking hanyou, three humans, and a neko-youkai. The neko might be good roasting over a spit, the humans I’ll just eat raw. The hanyou looks bony and unappetizing, maybe I’ll just kill him. Or I could boil him in a pot with the humans. Hm…”
Kagome was not surprised that the creature could speak, given its vaguely humanoid appearance. It was, however, more than a little disturbing to hear it ponder aloud the most delicious way to devour her.
“Oi, oi, oi,” Inuyasha interjected, his voice fierce but calm. He slowly drew Tetsusaiga from its sheath, transformed it, and leaned it against his shoulder. “What the hell are you going on about, bastard? If you wanna fight, just say so.”
The creature glanced at Inuyasha and laughed, much to the hanyou’s ire. Then it focused its malevolent stare directly at Kagome, who shrank back under the malice in its gaze.
“A girl wearing clothes the likes of which you’ve never seen carries the shards of the Shikon no Tama,” it stated, as if quoting from memory. “That must be you, girl. Tell me, will you hand the shards over in exchange for a painless death, or do I have to make this messy?”
“Oi!” Inuyasha yelled, concealing none of his anger as he placed himself in front of Kagome, cutting off the creature’s line of sight. “Don’t fucking talk to her! You so much as look at her again, and I’ll rip those ugly-ass eyeballs of yours out of your skull!”
The creature chuckled again, as if genuinely amused by the threat. “You can’t beat me, hanyou. That sword of yours, help from your humans, none of it will make any difference. I’m invincible. If you don’t believe me, come at me and find out.”
Inuyasha looked like he wanted to do just that, but he held himself back. “Answer me one question before I slaughter you. You mentioned a kid before. Tell me, was this kid wearing taijiya armour?”
Kagome had wondered the same thing and was glad Inuyasha had asked about it before charging in. She glanced over at Sango; her friend was stone-faced, but her eyes gave away her emotions. If the child the creature had mentioned really was Kohaku, then they could be one step closer to finding Naraku and freeing the lad.
But their adversary only shrugged. “Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. Could be that he’s already in my belly.”
“Bastard!”
“You lie,” Sango accused quietly. The creature only looked at her and sneered. Growling to herself, Sango reared back and prepared to throw hiraikotsu. Inuyasha’s cutting voice stopped her.
“Wait, Sango! This thing…something’s not right. It doesn’t smell like a youkai or a human. Instead, it reeks of a corpse and graveyard soil!”
Kagome gasped. Not human or youkai, but dead? That means, this thing is like Kikyou? Only to a certain extent, she realized. Kikyou was cruel and bitter, but this creature was pure evil in a way the dead miko had never been.
“Just what the hell are you?” she heard Inuyasha demand.
Their enemy chuckled darkly. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m human.”
Kagome could only shake her head. But how can that be? How can this huge, hideous thing be human? And that wasn’t even considering Inuyasha’s claim that it smelled like a walking corpse. Just what was going on here? There was a piece missing, and for the life of her she couldn’t solve the puzzle.
Evidently, Inuyasha reached the same conclusion. “Kagome,” he asked her urgently, “are you sure this bastard doesn’t have a jewel shard?”
She looked for a second time, but once again could detect no telltale light from a piece of the Shikon no Tama. Whether pure or tainted black, she had always been able to see the subtle glow emitted by jewel shards. There just simply wasn’t any such indicator on this guy’s body.
“I’m positive, Inuyasha,” she told him confidently. He nodded once, then turned back to their opponent.
“All right, then. Prepare yourself, asshole. I’m gonna put you back in the ground where you belong!”
He charged forward, intending to close the distance and blow this abomination away with a Kaze no Kizu at point-blank range. At times, he would admit to purposely extending fights just to get some enjoyment out of them. But that was against weak opponents, when he knew exactly what he was facing. Not here; he didn’t know what this thing was capable of, or even what it was. Reanimated corpse or no, the mystery factor meant that he would not take this opponent lightly. Especially with Kagome and the others far closer to the combat zone that he would have liked.
The enemy lurched into motion, bringing its hand down in an open-hand smash. It moved quicker than Inuyasha would expect for a creature its size, and as a result the hanyou did not have enough time to unleash any of Tetsusaiga’s stronger attacks. Instead, he settled for dodging to the right, landing gracefully on the balls of his feet as the impact sent chunks of dirt and rock flying in all directions. Then he executed a swift change of direction and neatly severed the arm at the wrist with one swing of his sword.
Now normally, when a living being loses an appendage, the natural reaction is to recoil in shock. This enemy did no such thing. Instead, it suddenly swept the now hand-less arm laterally along the ground, catching Inuyasha by surprise. The hanyou managed to twist his body to avoid taking the impact directly in the chest, but it still threw him a fair distance and jarred Tetsusaiga from his grasp. He rolled as he hit the ground, until his momentum ceased and he was able to pick himself up, swearing and shaking his head to clear the dizziness. Again the creature behaved in an unexpected manner; instead of pursing him, it had retrieved its lost hand. The stump of its arm, Inuyasha observed, was not bleeding nearly as profusely as it should be. Then it held the two disparate parts together. A chorus of gasps rang out as hand and arm fused into one, flawlessly reconnecting skin, muscle, and bone. The arrogant sneer reappeared, and the creature turned to face the hanyou again, flexing its reattached fingers menacingly.
Inuyasha grimaced and scanned the area for his sword, spying it a fair distance away. His opponent also noticed the weapon, lying approximately halfway between them, perhaps slightly closer to the latter. Both combatants moved simultaneously, Inuyasha racing to reclaim his sword and the creature trying to prevent this. It became clear to the hanyou that he was going to lose this race, but he determined to slice his way through with his claws even if he got there last. If this thing could regenerate, he would need Tetsusaiga’s higher attacks in order to defeat it. Total obliteration was the only way to go in a situation like this.
Just before they clashed, a swirl of motion soared in from Inuyasha’s left and took out a chunk of his opponent’s shoulder. It was hiraikotsu, now coming back around to return to its wielder. He heard the sound Kirara always made when she transformed, and knew that his taijiya backup would soon be airborne. The creature, however, was barely fazed by this turn of events; indeed, the wound in its shoulder started to heal almost instantly. Then it was upon him, one clawed hand swiping at him from the side and the other raised to strike from above. Inuyasha somersaulted over the former and sidestepped the latter, always cognizant of where the prize lay less than a dozen meters away. But his enemy was aware of this as well, and was careful not to overextend itself. It was clearly not swinging as hard as it could, but one hit would stun well enough, allowing a death blow to follow immediately thereafter.
Still Inuyasha continued to dodge, not wanting to risk counterattacking with his claws now that he knew this bastard could regenerate. One misstep now could mean the end of him. But after a minute or two of this monotony, he decided to try something different. He leapt back out of range, then turned and bolted in the opposite direction, encouraging the creature to follow him, which it did. After a few long strides, Inuyasha leapt and planted his feet against a tree, intending to launch himself off of it and use the sudden change of direction to surprise his enemy and get past it to Tetsusaiga. It probably would have worked too, if the damn tree had not been so weak. Oh, it seemed perfectly normal on the outside, a young tree growing toward maturity. But on the inside, it had been eaten away by insects of some kind, deteriorating its structural integrity. Thus, when a hanyou moving at great speed tried to use it as a springboard, said hanyou’s momentum cracked the trunk near the base. As a result, the springboard gave way, and the hanyou’s powerful leap was reduced to a feeble flop.
As soon as Inuyasha heard that snap and felt the tree give way under his feet, he knew he was in trouble. Much of the mighty thrust of his legs was spent in pushing the tree over, rather than launching himself off of a stable platform. As he plummeted to the ground in a short arc, he saw his enemy closing in. He dove to the side as soon as his toes touched the ground, but the massive hand still caught him with a glancing blow, one of the claws raking a deep gouge in his back. He flew through the air until he struck another tree, this one unfortunately much sturdier than the last. He sank to the ground on unsteady feet, supporting himself against the trunk and shaking his head to clear it. Through blurred vision he saw the creature’s closed fist approaching impossibly fast, obviously intended to leave him as nothing more than a dark red stain on the bark. Inuyasha gritted his teeth and raised his claws. It was time to see which was stronger—this creature’s flesh and bone, or Sankon Tetsusou.
Perhaps fortunately, the opportunity to find out was averted at the last moment. The creature suddenly cried out in agony, and its fist vanished from view. Now seeing the world clearly again, Inuyasha once more glimpsed hiraikotsu returning to its owner, now soaring above on her fire-cat companion. Their enemy was crouched on one knee, facing away from the taijiya and perpendicularly to Inuyasha, holding its hand over its eye. The hanyou was simultaneously grateful and impressed. To hit a moving target in a very small vulnerable area required an excellent shot. The eye itself would probably regenerate, but striking it there might have been the only way to get this thing to actually react to an injury. It didn’t even seem to feel attacks directed at the rest of its body.
“Inuyasha, are you okay?!” Sango called down to him. He started to wave to her in the affirmative, but movement off to his right drew his attention. The creature had wrapped both enormous hands around the tree he had cracked earlier. From her vantage point, Sango could not possibly see what it was doing, which Inuyasha knew was extremely dangerous as soon as he deduced his opponent’s intentions.
“Sango, look o—”
But it was too late to warn her, as the creature spun and flung the tree through the air with all of its considerable might. Kirara’s quick reflexes allowed her to dodge the trunk, but she could not completely avoid all of the smaller branches and leaves, which tore at her fur and tangled around her. Sango, already thrown off balance by her companion’s sudden dodge, could not hold on as the passing tree pulled Kirara back. The fire-cat freed herself, leaving chunks of skin and fur behind, but not in time to save Sango as she plummeted toward the ground. Fortunately, Inuyasha had already set himself in motion, anticipating that something like this might happen. He caught Sango easily and set her on her feet.
“Go!” he told her, shoving her toward where hiraikotsu lay in the grass several meters away. Mostly he just wanted her away from the battlefield. She could reenter the fray if she wanted to, after she had recollected hiraikotsu and checked on Kirara. A quick glance assured him that Miroku, Shippou, and Kagome had also managed to escape the careening piece of timber. The twigs and leaves stuck to the monk’s clothing indicated that it had been a close shave for him. He had probably rushed in when he saw Sango in peril, and been left directly in the tree’s path once its trajectory descended. Kagome and Shippou had been far enough back so that getting out of the way was relatively easy for them.
Even so, the two near misses pissed Inuyasha off. He rounded on the enemy, glaring and growling. The creature did not seem pleased either, probably from having its eye pulverized by hiraikotsu. It had indeed healed, but it still must have hurt like a son of a bitch. Both antagonists comprehended the situation at the same time. Their positions had shifted during the battle, taking them away from Tetsusaiga and leaving both at approximately equal distances from it. Their eyes met once, and then the race was on. Inuyasha was just a fraction of a second quicker on the takeoff this time. But that advantage did not guarantee that he would win the prize. His opponent’s attack range was obviously much greater than his own. And as they converged inexorably to a single point, he prepared himself for a strike.
His foresight was rewarded; for once, the creature behaved exactly as predicted, sending a backhand swipe his way as soon as he was within range. Inuyasha planted his foot and leapt inside the radius of the swing, once again severing hand from arm, this time with Sankon Tetsusou. Continuing on his course, he did the same to a massive leg, leaving his enemy stumbling to a halt. Yes, it could reattach the limb, but it would be hobbled for a few crucial moments. That was all the time Inuyasha needed to reach Tetsusaiga. With a mighty cry he spun and unleased the Kaze no Kizu. At such short distance, the result was never in doubt. Blades of youki tore through muscle and bone, rending flesh and scattering the creature into hundreds of bloody pieces.
But Inuyasha did not allow himself to enjoy his victory just yet. He watched and waited to see if this thing could still pull itself back together from such a dismembered state. The first sign of movement was a twitch by the left half of the lower jaw, which had been separated from the rest of the face. The face…most of the head was still intact, Inuyasha saw. And those eyes were far from lifeless. Sure enough, the disparate pieces of the creature’s body began to converge with an ominous radiance, pulled inexorably toward the head. So that was the focal point of this thing’s regeneration ability, rather than the heart. That was useful information, but Inuyasha still found himself stumped by this turn of events. Everything about this thing screamed corpse reanimated by a shard of the Shikon no Tama. He trusted Kagome when she said there was no jewel shard involved, but everyone made mistakes sometimes.
And how would they destroy it, with Tetsusaiga ineffective? The obvious answer was Miroku’s kazaana, but that course posed dangers as well. If Kagome was wrong, and there really was a jewel shard inside this youkai’s head, what would happen if the monk tried to suck it up? He doubted a piece of the Shikon no Tama would simply fall quietly into the void. Something would happen, and it would not be good for Miroku. And even if Miroku could suck in a shard, how would they ever accomplish their mission of completing the Shikon no Tama then? Still, there had to be a way to use the kazaana to defeat this bastard. Inuyasha grinned as the answer came to him.
“Miroku!” he called. “When I tell you to, open your kazaana.” He heard footsteps coming closer, meaning the monk was getting into position.
By this time, the creature had nearly fully reformed. It saw Inuyasha raise his sword, and knew what was about to happen. In desperation it flung its left hand, which had yet to reattach, toward the hanyou. The tactic worked, as Inuyasha was forced to sidestep before he could launch another Kaze no Kizu. In the single second it took him to set his feet again, the creature was on the move. Inuyasha paused mid-swing as his opponent placed itself between him and Sango and Miroku, knowing that the hanyou would not use that attack again with his friends in the line of fire. But the monk and taijiya were not the creature’s targets this time. When Inuyasha saw who its fury was focused upon now, he felt his blood run cold.
“Kagome, run!”
But she was not running. Instead, he watched in horror as she drew an arrow from her quiver. Dammit, wench! How could she even be sure that her arrow would stop this bastard? If it was really a reanimated corpse, it stood to reason that a surge of pure energy would do something. But would the arrow purify it like a youkai? If not, would the resulting damage be enough to stop the creature in its tracks? The uncertainty caused Inuyasha to slide into a state of near panic. But there was nothing he could do; he clearly was not going to make it to Kagome in time to save her, and he could not use the Kaze no Kizu for fear of accidentally hitting her. His mad dash to reach her was further slowed when the creature’s left hand nearly took his head off returning to its body. All he could do was resume his desperate sprint, careful to give Kagome a clear shot with her arrow. That, and pray.
His prayers were answered. Kagome notched the arrow, drew and aimed all without the slightest falter. She had ample time to charge the projectile and release it before the creature was upon her. But from this moment of optimism, things went horribly wrong. Kagome’s eyes widened, as if she was some virgin to combat losing her nerve completely. The arrow slipped from her grasp, the bow lowering to her side. She stared at her right hand, her gaze unfocused, as if she was not even aware of the towering mass of muscle and savagery bearing down on her. The creature’s hand reached for her; no doubt its intention was to devour her and her jewel shards whole, in one massive bite. Inuyasha’s heart stopped, his own arms reaching out for her helplessly. If there was anything he could have done to save her life, including sacrificing his own, he would have done it. In that moment when it appeared he was going to lose the one person who made his life worth living, he knew true despair.
Salvation came in an unexpected form. A large, googly-eyed pink balloon appeared in a puff of smoke, a child’s high-pitched cry emanating as it smashed into the huge outstretched arm. The force of the impact was just enough to knock the appendage off of its intended course. Instead of grabbing Kagome, the questing digits just barely missed her, the pressure wave ruffling her clothing like the passage of a high-speed train. In frustration, the creature swatted the balloon away. Fortunately for Shippou, he was still viewed as more of an annoyance than a threat. But the kit’s bravery had bought Inuyasha the time he needed to catch up. The hanyou did not even have to alter his course to snatch the fox out of mid-air. And by the time the creature made another grab for Kagome, she was no longer there, borne away instead to safety.
Inuyasha set her down a hundred yards away from the spot where her life had almost ended. She still looked like she had no idea what was going on, but he would deal with that later. Right now, he had a battle to finish. The enemy was charging toward them, its massive footfalls sending vibrations through the earth. Sango and Miroku were hot on its heels atop Kirara. As for Shippou, Inuyasha deposited him atop his own shoulder. The dizzy fox kit had earned the right to be a part of this. Satisfied that Shippou had a good grip on his haori, he turned to face the enemy.
“Nice work, Shippou,” he declared sincerely. “But we’ll take it from here!”
The Kaze no Kizu Inuyasha unleased was larger and more ferocious than the first, and it sliced the creature into twice as many pieces. But even so, it refused to die; already the head was reforming. Inuyasha leapt into the midst of the carnage, snatching the severed head with one hand and carrying it away from the rest of the body. The bloody pieces started to pursue him, but it was too late.
“Now, Miroku!” he yelled as he passed under Kirara. The monk did not need to be told twice. Within a matter of moments, nothing remained of the creature’s once formidable body, courtesy of the kazaana. And that infuriating sneer finally vanished for good.
“No, my body!” it cried pitifully. “My body! Give it back, give it back, give it ba—”
“Shut up!”
Inuyasha punctuated his demand by smashing the head against the ground, feeling a perverse satisfaction at the telltale snapping of its mandible. No doubt that would heal, but at least it would buy them a few moments of peace. At the very least, it should not be able to recall its body back from the abyss. Now, they could get to the bottom of this bothersome regeneration ability. But first, he had something important to check on.
He approached Kagome intending to first inquire as to her well-being, before reaming her out for nearly getting herself killed. But the faint smell of her blood blew away any self-restraint he might have possessed. He could see the cut from here, just a small scratch on her forearm from where the creature’s claw had grazed her. But it really brought home the reality of how close he had come to losing her. A few centimeters deeper, and they would be scrambling to try to prevent her from bleeding to death right now. A fraction of a meter deeper still, and she would already be dead. And all because she been so fucking stupid. All because she hadn’t fucking listened to him.
“What the hell were you thinking, Kagome!” he bellowed harshly. Finally she started, emerging from her stupor and meeting his irate gaze with wide, shocked eyes. If anything, this only made him angrier.
“Dammit, wench! You’re fucking helpless enough when you’re actually paying attention. Don’t try to fight if you can’t even keep your head on straight!”
Now, there were several ways in which Kagome could react to this. She could get pissed at him, and the resulting massive argument would likely end with him eating dirt. She could try to calmly explain why she had frozen up, attempting to keep her cool because she knew he was in the right. Least likely of all, she could apologize and take his criticism contritely. He did not, however, expect her eyes to suddenly tear up. The hardening of her gaze caught him completely by surprise, despair swirling with righteous fury in her chocolate pools. The anger he expected, but not this sort of raw, unfettered rage, fueled by desperation. It caused him to recoil, to open his mouth to attempt to retract some of his harsher words. But it was far too late for that.
“Well, Inuyasha, I’m sorry I’m so helpless and useless and every other insult you’ve ever thrown my way! I’m sorry I’m not perfect like Kikyou!”
“Kag—” he tried, but she cut him off.
“No, you know what? I’m done!” She sobbed and shook her head, her tears spilling onto her clothes. “I’m done,” she repeated quietly, gritting her teeth.
“K-Kagome, I didn’t—”
“Osuwari!”
*Thud*
“Osuwari! Osuwari! OSUWARI!!!”
*Thud Thud THUD*
Moments later, Inuyasha sat up with a groan, holding his aching head. His ears told him that Kagome was already gone. Sango had chased after her, so at least her epic storm-off hadn’t left her completely unprotected. He was now even more concerned about her state of mind than he had been after her colossal slip-up. Just what the hell was all that about? Maybe his words had been crueler than they needed to be, but his anger was fully justified. He would dare anyone to say otherwise. And why the hell did she bring up Kikyou’s name? She never brought up Kikyou, for anything. What the fuck did Kikyou have to do with this?! And what did she mean by ‘I’m done?’ Done with what? Done being a miko? Done shard hunting? Done…with him?
A soft moan from below him broke his gloomy train of thought. Inuyasha couldn’t help but crack a small grin at the sight. Shippou had clearly not managed to remove himself from the danger zone before Kagome said ‘the word.’ The kit had experienced the ‘osuwari’ command for the first time, and obviously not enjoyed it. Inuyasha had not landed on him, but his rapid descent to the dirt had propelled Shippou into a nice face-plant of his own.
“Ow…” came kit’s muffled voice.
“Heh. Hurts, don’t it, runt?” Nevertheless, Inuyasha gingerly peeled Shippou from his tiny crater and placed the kit on his shoulder once more.
“You okay?” he asked, more referring to the battle than the ‘osuwari.’ Shippou shook his head, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Well, is anything broken?”
Shippou flexed his arms and legs, then gave the answer Inuyasha already suspected. “I don’t think so.”
“Then you’ll be fine by morning,” he declared, reaching up and ruffling the kid’s hair affectionately. “You’re pretty tough, for a little squirt.”
Shippou could only sputter incoherently at the praise, and try not to let Inuyasha know how much it mean to him. The two of them often did not get along, but obviously the hanyou was seeing him in a new light. If this was the treatment he was going to get, he would have to save Kagome’s life more often. He did hope that she would not need saving in the future, but somehow that never seemed to be the case.
“Oi, Shippou,” the hanyou said suddenly, his tone serious. “You have any idea why Kagome got so pissed?”
“No,” was the kit’s immediate reply. “You were just being your usual self.”
In the past, Inuyasha might have taken offense to that statement, but it was completely true. Under normal circumstances, Kagome could see through at least some of his gruffness and insults, and not blow a stack when he called her helpless. She would understand that he was only mean to her because he had been worried about her. She would certainly not react in the way she had this afternoon, which was way over the top. It comforted him to know that Shippou felt the same way, but it also brought him no closer to solving the mystery. Fortunately, he had another friend who was more observant than both of them.
“I believe I may be able to provide some insight,” Miroku stated quietly. His tone immediately put Inuyasha on edge; more than anything, the monk seemed sad.
“Well, out with it!” the hanyou demanded impatiently.
Miroku sighed. “Did you see what happened, Inuyasha?”
“Of course I did. She went to fire an arrow, then totally spaced out and dropped it. The baka would’ve gotten herself killed if it wasn’t for Shippou.”
“That’s all elementary, Inuyasha. I mean, did you see why she ‘spaced out,’ as you put it?”
“Obviously, I didn’t. Can you just fucking spit it out, bouzu? I ain’t got all day.”
Miroku glared at him, but continued anyway. “Kagome-sama tried to charge the arrow with pure energy as she always does, but was unable to do so.”
Inuyasha’s lungs seized up, unable to draw breath. He gazed helplessly at Miroku, silently pleading for confirmation that he’d just misheard him. But the monk only regarded him calmly, with suddenly sympathetic eyes. Then he uttered the words Inuyasha least wanted to hear.
“She has lost her spiritual power, Inuyasha.”
The hanyou clenched his hand into a fist and pounded it into the dirt. It all made sense now—the shock on her face, the way she stared blankly at her empty hand, and her fierce response to his words.
“How?” he choked out through gritted teeth, though he already knew the answer.
“From losing her virginity, I assume,” Miroku answered simply, though there was a hint of confusion in his tone. Inuyasha latched on to that, redirecting his fury. With all of the guilt and bewilderment and anger churning inside him, it was nice to have a convenient outlet.
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything before?!” he demanded, rising to his feet and pointing an accusing finger at Miroku. “You knew this could happen!”
“We all knew this could happen, Inuyasha,” Miroku responded firmly, unwilling to sit back and take the hanyou’s unjustified ire. “You were the one who spoke to her about that night, so I assumed that you discussed it with her.”
Seeing the hanyou’s ears droop, Miroku took a deep breath and composed himself. He knew where Inuyasha was coming from; if he had lain with a woman and made her lose part of herself, other than her physical virginity, then he was sure he would feel incredibly guilty as well. In this case, Inuyasha really didn’t deserve his own condemnation.
“I honestly never expected this to happen, Inuyasha,” he told the hanyou. “Before I met you and Kagome-sama, I too subscribed to the commonly-held belief that a miko must remain physically pure to maintain her spiritual power. But traveling with the two of you, and getting to know Kagome-sama, have enlightened me as to what I now believe to be the truth. Purity comes in many forms; the corporeal body can be but one vassal. But emotional and spiritual purity, I believe, are much more important indicators. Kagome-sama has always been the purest person I have ever met, in all three respects. Now, this is no longer the case for one of them. But her heart and soul have not changed. I cannot make sense of a world where a good, kind-hearted woman loses her spiritual power simply because she lies with a man.”
It occurred to Miroku that the words he had just uttered would be considered heresy by some, perhaps even a majority of the population. But the widely-accepted worldview was not logically sound. Why should monks be allowed to marry and have children, while miko must never know physical intimacy? Sex could in itself be an act of absolute purity when enjoyed by two people who loved each other, as Kagome and Inuyasha did. Miroku himself was no virgin, but his own spiritual power had never weakened even though he had slept with several women he had never seen afterwards. Surely the Kami would not condone such a perverse double standard.
The more he considered it, the more he thought that the common belief had originally arisen to prevent youkai-stricken human populations from losing invaluable miko. It was not the act of making love that could cause a miko to lose her abilities, but what could follow. Nothing could ruin a heart or blacken a soul like love gone bad. Even the untimely death of a husband or child could send a person spiraling into despair. And unlike loss of physical purity, such emotionally destructive changes would logically have in impact on spiritual power. Perhaps people thought that women of holy ability would be unable to handle all of the highs and lows which came with love and parenthood. Men, on the other hand, could weather stronger emotional storms because they were naturally more level-headed and intelligent. That was a load of rubbish, but then so were a lot of things people believed.
So things were relatively straight in Miroku’s head, though he hoped he would not have to explain his belief to Inuyasha in great detail. Fortunately, the hanyou seemed more interested in the implications rather than his reasoning.
“So then why did she lose her power?” he asked, his tone noticeably calmer than before.
“There must be some other explanation,” Miroku told him. “Unfortunately, I have no theories at this time.”
Inuyasha grimaced, but didn’t say anything in response. He stared off into space, clearly trying to come up with a theory of his own, one which would unquestionably relieve much of his guilt. But Miroku knew this was futile; emotions were too raw, anger and hurt too fresh. They needed time to calm down and think about this logically, detached from emotion. And that was not going to happen until Inuyasha and Kagome had once again talked things out. Now, how to convince the stubborn hanyou that such a discussion was necessary…
“It was not exactly the best time to call Kagome-sama ‘helpless,’ my friend,” Miroku observed, careful to keep his voice devoid of censure.
Inuyasha reacted defensively as anticipated. “W-w-well I didn’t fucking know!” he sputtered.
“I am aware of that, Inuyasha,” Miroku replied patiently. “But you still must make this right. You must apologize to Kagome-sama.”
“Why the hell should I? She’s the one who overreacted!”
“Perhaps that is true, but it makes no difference. She would not have ‘overreacted’ if you had not insulted her in the first place.”
Inuyasha grumbled, but he couldn’t really argue the point. He was about to mutter something petulant when shouting from across the battlefield drew everyone’s attention.
“Oi, what are you doing?! No! Don’t take—aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!”
“Shit!” Inuyasha cursed, sprinting toward where the forgotten creature’s severed head lay in the dirt. As he watched, the flesh disintegrated leaving nothing but bones. The reason for this was the saimyoushou rapidly gaining altitude overhead, carrying a tiny glimmering object which could only be a shard of the Shikon no Tama. He continued his pursuit until the insect rose above the tree line, painfully out of reach.
“Dammit!” he cried, furious that Naraku’s servant had gotten away with the prize. Kirara had gone after Kagome and Sango, and on foot he simply couldn’t keep up. The saimyoushou had waited until they were suitably distracted before making its move, reclaiming the jewel shard its master had obviously provided. Worse than that, it had eliminated their opportunity to question the creature and perhaps get some answers as to its identity and Naraku’s location. All they had to go by now was the fact that it had approached from out of the north.
“So it seems you were right to suspect that the creature we fought had a shard of the Shikon no Tama in its possession,” Miroku observed gravely as he approached. “Kagome-sama must have lost her ability to sense the jewel as well.”
“Great, just fucking great. This shit keeps getting better and better.”
Miroku sighed. “It would be wise to change your attitude before you talk to her.”
“Keh.”
“Oh, don’t be so negative, Inuyasha. Losing Kagome-sama’s spiritual power hurts us, but we will adjust. On the bright side, this is the first lead we’ve had on Naraku’s location since he disappeared. We shall simply have to travel north and see what we can find.”
Inuyasha felt his resolve returning, and pounded his fist into his palm. Miroku was right—they would adjust. Just as they would adjust if Tetsusaiga broke again or the bouzu found a way to cure his kazaana. Most importantly, they would stick together and continue on their mission.
“Yeah, and if there are any more of those undead bastards running around, I’ll wipe ‘em all out.”
“I would not be surprised if there were. Naraku seldom does things small.”
That comment reminded Inuyasha of one ‘small’ thing Naraku had done. “Oi, do you think that bastard really ate Kohaku?”
Miroku considered that for a moment. “The saimyoushou was only carrying one Shikon fragment, correct?”
“Yeah, just one.”
“Then I doubt Kohaku is dead. If the creature had eaten him, it would have had another shard, most likely in its belly. And if I had sucked in a piece of the Shikon no Tama, I would probably be dead right now.”
Inuyasha nodded, relieved that at least Sango would not have to deal with her brother’s death. They had enough problems at present, and he honestly hoped the boy could be saved in the end. Speaking of problems…
“So Inuyasha, shall we?” Miroku asked innocently, failing to hide his amusement. He motioned in the direction where Kagome and Sango had run off to.
Inuyasha glared at him. “You just don’t give up, do you?”
Miroku regarded him seriously. “No, not for something like this.”
“Keh.”
“Relax, my friend. I am sure Kagome-sama will not hold it against you. She probably feels badly for using the subduing spell so many times.”
“Keh, not fucking likely,” Inuyasha muttered, but his eyes spoke of cautious hope so Miroku let the remark go.
After a few more moments of hesitation, our reluctant hanyou set off. He was absolutely not looking forward to facing Kagome again, but the bouzu was right—it had to be done. He just hoped Miroku was also correct about there being another explanation for the loss of Kagome’s spiritual power. If this was not something they could remedy, then they were about to face a whole host of problems. Kagome’s miko abilities were a crucial part of their group’s offensive and defensive fighting strength, never mind the obvious emotional effects losing them was already having on her.
Who knew one night of drunken foolishness could have such severe consequences?
A/N – In case you haven’t guessed it, that creature was Kyoukotsu of the Band of Seven. A large portion of this story will revolve around a modified Band of Seven arc. Instead of creating my own villains, I decided to play with the ones that Rumiko Takahashi already created. They are freaking awesome, after all. The characters will be the same, but the plot will be significantly different, as we’ve already seen.
And I know that Kyoukotsu was a relative pushover in canon, but that’s only because he blabbed about the location of his jewel shard. So Kouga was able to yank the shard out and kill him just before being devoured. Without that knowledge, wolf-boy probably ends up as a furry turd-pile on the ground. Since the Inu-gang has no idea of the location of the shard (or even if Kyoukotsu has one), he’d naturally be a more difficult opponent for them.