InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections In Your Tears ❯ Scroll Three - Endless Abyss ( Chapter 3 )

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

Scroll Three
Endless Abyss
Izayoi and Inu-Sesshou weren't home when Inuyasha arrived. They're with the police… Inuyasha thought suddenly, and his throat locked up. Well, Sesshoumaru cam handle himself…
He knew instinctively that he had to hide - that his house was the first place the police would look once they'd realised he'd run away. But where can I hide? It's not like we have a basement! Inuyasha turned every which way.
He faced the shed, the house, the Go-Shinboku God tree, the small annex building that was the old well house, and then he looked at the stairs. The stairs he hadn't had to amble up. He was part demon; he could jump up the hillside without breaking into a sweat. Easy - job done. Now where am I going to hide…
He turned back to the well house, a slow smile creeping across his face. “The old Bone Eaters well…” he said aloud, before making his way over. Like his house and the shed, the well house was made entirely of wood. Which, in other words, meant it was cold, damp and dark - unlike the Daioshuu household itself.
Inuyasha opened the door with ease, no sound marking his presence. But then his cat, Buyo, mewed on the floor - the sound almost resembling a foghorn. Inuyasha jumped in the air, terrified, then calmed. “Damn it, Buyo!” he snapped. “Shoo! I got police on my tail!”
Buyo seemed to narrow his eyes, almost saying `you don't have a tail'. Buyo always ran into the well house - it was as if the darkness was a comfort to him. And Sesshoumaru always said - I'm not going in there. You go in and get that stupid feline. Morbid places like thatare reserved for hanyous like you, little brother.
Inuyasha scowled in thought. He deserves to be arrested - not that he's done anything to Rin. He's just the most annoying son of a-
CREAK!
Inuyasha turned to face the door. Nope, he'd definitely slammed it shut behind him. Now that he'd begun making his way down the steps, he figured that it was just the old floorboards creaking.
He sighed, taking a deep breath, and glared at Buyo - who occupied the step beneath him. “Keep going, boy.” Inuyasha urged, waving a foot in the air - imitating kicking his cat.
Buyo mewed - a pitiful sound - then limped down the last few steps until he was circling the well.
Inuyasha let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He could feel the part-muddy, part-old concrete floor beneath his trainers. The well itself seemed to smell of rot and mould, and to Inuyasha the smell was maximised due to his sensitive nose.
He still found some humour. Making his way over, he tapped the top of the well - the part that was covered. “Hey, Samara, you in there?” he whispered sheepishly. When there was no reply, he laughed silently and sat on top of the well cover - in the centre, with his arms folded and his legs crossed.
Then he just turned his head and faced the door, waiting for the noise of footsteps. He took a deep breath. Buyo jumped up onto Inuyasha's lap and purred - his tail flicking back and forth while his front paws snagged on Inuyasha's red jacket.
Inuyasha sighed and bowed his head, then stroked his cat absently. Maybe if he could get a crowbar and tug off the top of the well… surely it couldn't be that far down…
If he just hid down there for a while then…
CREAK!
Inuyasha stiffened. He'd felt it, rather than heard it. A shuddering sound that pierced through his body and reverberated around in his mind. His bottom lip wobbled and all he thought was that:
the well cover's old, and damp, and… and old. Am I going to fall through?
Another creak. Inuyasha clamped his eyes shut as Buyo leapt off of his lap. Cats and dogs could sense danger. And Inuyasha was part dog-demon and he could sense it right now. RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! His instincts screamed.
But his human side wouldn't let him. He knew that if he moved, he'd fall in just the same - that a shift of weight would cause an avalanche of wood and result in him hitting the bottom of a well that was probably as deep as a house.
There's no way out… Inuyasha gulped. Buyo sat on the bottom step of the stairs, blinking and mewing at Inuyasha - sympathising. But he still turned and hopped up the stairs, leaving Inuyasha behind.
Damn cat…
Inuyasha could feel the wood soften and break beneath him. He swallowed thickly and dared himself to look down. The wood was splitting, but bending upwards not downwards. Inuyasha realised, then. It wasn't because he was sat on it… someone was forcing it open beneath him.
He could hear something - a muffled kind of roar of… of pure longing.
Give it to me… The Jewel of Four Souls…”
Then I'm not making it cave in? I can run away?
Inuyasha began to sit up slowly, not risking it.
And when he thought he was free, he began to make his way to the edge of the well. That was when whatever was pounding on the bottom of the well cover came pulsating out with a deafening shriek.
Hanyou!” the creature wailed. Inuyasha cried out in confusion and then everything was a blur. He was falling through the well and whatever had appeared was a vague silhouette in the shadows, towering above him.
And, Inuyasha realised, the creature was female. He'd heard as much when she'd spoken. She had oily black hair and pale skin - her upper body resembling a human. But the rest of her…
S-Samara? Inuyasha thought wildly. No. This creature had a centipede's body and six arms that flailed back and forth like fins or tentacles. Her lower body reminded him of a mermaid as it flowed like silk - but then it seemed to glow ivory in some unknown light source. Her lower body… it was just bones
Inuyasha was somersaulting through the well and everything was going black…
Surely I'm going to hit the bottom soon, Inuyasha thought. Where the hell is the ground?
His eyes widened suddenly as he saw that the centipede monster was doing a U-turn, following him down.
Give me the Jewel of Four Souls…”
“The
what?” Inuyasha cried. His open jacket fluttered loosely around him. His bandana was flying off. His FCUK shirt was billowing around him and his legs were kicking uselessly in his jeans.
The centipede monster grabbed him with four of her arms, wrapping them around him. The other two flailed around her. She was laughing. Her face was grotesque - like a snake and a human all in one. Inuyasha pulled away, bile rising in his throat.
I know you have it, hanyou. Give it to me…
How does she know I'm a half-demon? Inuyasha puzzled at the same instant he was trying to tug out of her grasp.
And then he noticed… he noticed that her body was regenerating. What had been bones and cartilage was now conjuring up flesh, muscle and skin.
Inuyasha looked up, terrified, and then saw the look of pleasure on the demon's face. Hey, I hope you don't think you're going to win this…
Snarling in anticipation, Inuyasha watched as claws grew on his fingers, then he desperately swiped out at her.
Demon BEGONE!” he cried, slashing her.
There was a flash, a tearing sound, and then Inuyasha blinked away the light - after-images imprinted on his vision…. And what he saw. He saw that he was no longer in a vertical well with an end - he was in some kind of atmosphere
It was like space. Inuyasha couldn't describe it, he was surrounded by pink lights, blue lights and purple lights. He blinked in curiosity, and then turned to look back at the demon holding him.
She'd been unaffected by his swipes. She was chuckling.
Inuyasha gaped. “What? How? My claws should have-!”
Foolish child!” the centipede demon shrieked, before lunging in. A slithery tongue zipped out of her mouth and tasted Inuyasha's cheek. Inuyasha growled in detest.
“Get off me, you freak!” he roared, holding out a hand in her direction as he pushed her away. “Leave me ALONE!” And then there was another flash of light, but unlike the bright white light his claws had made when they'd struck, this was a new colour.
A bright, ruby red light. Inuyasha's eyes flew open in shock.
The centipede demon screamed and began falling - the arms that had been holding Inuyasha disconnected from the rest of her body and lost their grip. Soon the appendages fell down with the demon, and there was silence as her figure faded in the endless abyss of rainbow colours.
Inuyasha was panting. He stared at his hand in wonder, pretty sure that what had happened wasn't something a regular demon could do, let alone a hanyou. He gulped and flexed his hand in front of him. It looked ordinary to him.
That was when he stumbled - falling flat on his face. The world around him dissolved and he was spread-eagled on the bottom of the well. What the-? He looked up, blinking dust out of his eyes. He rubbed mud off of his face using his jacket sleeve and frowned, looking around.
The centipede demon was gone - all except for one arm that lay twitching a few feet away from him.
Inuyasha flinched and looked up.
Light was washing through the well opening above. Inuyasha sat up, his heart heavy. Damn. The police are here. They've opened the well-house doors… they've found me… What else would explain the light?
He could hear birds whistling, the swish of trees in the breeze and… hey, where are the cars? Where's the sound of sirens? Where's the sound of footsteps - of talking?
Inuyasha stood up. He cocked his head on one side, squinting against the sunlight. Surely the well house would block out that amount of sunlight… that's too bright. Inuyasha decided that something was wrong. He frowned and shut his eyes, gathering up all his courage… and…
He jumped.
Landing beside the well, Inuyasha looked around for any sign of uniformed officers. He saw none. What he did see wasn't a shabby well house or a bemused cat. He saw a plush green forest that surrounded him on all sides.
The trees were tall around him - dwarfing him. Inuyasha had never felt dwarfed before by anyone but his father and Sesshoumaru. Birds flitted around him, whistling and dancing in pairs, rebounding off of each other as they courted.
Inuyasha looked around in a daze. “Where's this…?” he wondered aloud, making a circuit of the well. He'd fell through the well and jumped back up… but this wasn't home!
“Where the hell am I?”
And then, as if the right lens had been snapped in front of his eyes, a certain landmark held his gaze - trapping him. “Go-Shinboku!” he cried, relieved. So I mustbe home… The Go-Shinboku is right beside the house…
“Then where the hell is the house?” he cried aloud, making his way over to the large tree. He tapped it, which he often did for good luck and then ran his hand over it - taking his hand with him as he encircled the tree.
But he had to stop. There was a giant root in his way. “What the-?” he looked up, frowning - then froze. He couldn't see well from this angle, but it seemed… it seemed that someone was hanging there, attached to the tree.
Inuyasha stepped over the root, curious. He was right, there was a girl there. The girl was asleep - her dark lashes played against her tanned skin as she slept. Or… Or is she dead?
Inuyasha stepped forward, now directly in front of her. She had long dark hair and rose-coloured cheeks. She looked so peaceful… so perfect. Inuyasha frowned. So what? What do I care? I don't look at girls that way… but he had to admit. She was beautiful.
He made his way over until their faces were inches apart. She looked about fifteen/sixteen - practically Koga's age. Koga was only in Inuyasha's classes because he was smart, he was actually sixteen. This girl's hair was the same thick black colour as his.
“Uh, hello?” Inuyasha said meekly, not one to wake up girls who were sleeping upright against large trees. The girl didn't stir. Inuyasha stared at her critically, but then something struck him.
She's… she's not breathing… He realised. He couldn't see her chest rise and fall, or her lips part as she sucked in breaths. She was limp.
Inuyasha listened intently, trying to hear for her heartbeat. Nothing. Then she really is dead… He leant forward, brushing his hand against her cheek. She didn't wake. Her skin was cold at his touch.
Inuyasha had never seen a dead body before, let alone a body of someone almost his age - of someone so perfect… He took a deep breath, running a hand through her dark hair. “I'm… sorry,” Inuyasha stammered, unaware of what to say - what to do.
He stared at her. If she's dead, how can she be standing upright like that? Well, not standing, leaning. It's like there's something holding her there… something powerful…
And her clothes. She's wearing a red kimono - it's wrapped around her. The kimono looked like an oversized haori that someone had draped around her, tucked her into. It fitted her well. She was barefoot - no one went barefoot nowadays.
Then that means… Inuyasha thought, adding it all up in his head, I'm in the past…
He looked at the girl more closely and again he brushed her cheek with his hand. He was still frowning, overcome with sadness.
I wondered what happened to her…
“What the hell are you doing!”
Inuyasha turned in surprise. “W-What?” He came up short, his mouth hanging open. Someone had managed to sneak up on him - God knows how. And now they were holding a fist in his face. A fist that was encircled by masses of cyan-blue
fire.