InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Miko Bride ❯ The Miko Bride-The Fire Swamp ( Chapter 7 )

(Cut to the bottom of the ravine. The camera pans slowly in on the bodies of Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha has lost his mask in the fall. Just as we begin to think they might really be dead, Inuyasha stirs and sits up. He rouses Kagome.)

Inuyasha: Kagome! Can you move?

Kagome: Move? You're alive! If you want, I can fly!

Inuyasha: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn't you wait?

Kagome: (Matter-of-factly.) You were dead.

Inuyasha: Death cannot stop true love-only delay it for a while.

Kagome: I will never doubt again.

Inuyasha: There will never be a need.

(They begin to kiss. It is tender, loving…)

Shippo: Oh no! Please.

(With those words, we're back in the bedroom.)

Grandpa: What's the matter now?

Shippo: They're kissing again! Do we have to hear this part?

Grandpa: You know, whelp, someday you might not mind so much.

Shippo: Just skip to the fire swamp. That sounded interesting

Grandpa: Okay, you're sick, I'll humor you. Now let's see…here we are. `Inuyasha and Kagome raced across the ravine floor.'

(And we're back in Japan, as Inuyasha and Kagome race across the ravine floor. Inuyasha glances up to see Naraku's men riding alongside the ravine. He grins.)

Inuyasha: Your baboon of a fiancée is too late; another few steps and we'll be safe in the Fire Swamp.

Kagome: The Fire Swamp? We'll never survive!

Inuyasha: (Snorts.) You're just saying that because no one ever has.

(And before she can protest, he drags her into the Fire Swamp. Inside we see that it really isn't any worse than any other sulfurous, infernal horror you could come across. Kagome is scared out of her wits, but Inuyasha steps along jauntily, sword in hand.)

Inuyasha: Not bad. I mean, I don't want to build a summer home here, but the trees re actually quite nice.

(The trees are massive, dark, foreboding things that block the sun.)

Nobunaga: I agree.

Inuyasha: What in Seven Hells…where did you come from?

(Before Nobunaga can reply, there is a popping noise, and he is consumed by a spurt of flame. A spark leaps onto Kagome's dress, and she's suddenly on fire. Inuyasha calmly suffocates it.)

Inuyasha: Well, that was an adventure. Did you get singed?

Kagome: No. You?

Inuyasha: No.

(There's another popping sound. Inuyasha moves her calmly out of the way.)

Inuyasha: One thing I'll say, the Fire Swamp certainly keeps you on your toes.

(They continue on through the Fire Swamp, Inuyasha using his blade to cut a path for them.)

Inuyasha: Soon this will all be a happy memory. Kouga's ship, the `Shikon,' is anchored on the far side of the swamp. And I, as you know, am Kouga.

Kagome: But how is that possible? He has been marauding for over twenty years, and you left me merely five years past!

Inuyasha: I am often myself surprised at life's little quirks. The story I told you about saying `please' to Kouga was true.

(Another pop. Inuyasha moves Kagome to safety and goes on without missing a beat.)

Inuyasha: That intrigued him, as did my descriptions of your beauty. Finally, he decided something. He said, "All right, Inuyasha, I've never had a valet. You can try it for tonight. I'll most likely kill you in the morning." Three years he said that. "Goodnight, Inuyasha. Good work. Rest Well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning." It was a fine time for me. I learned to fence, to fight, anything anyone would teach me. Eventually, Kouga and I became friends. And then it happened.

Kagome: What?

(Inuyasha picks her up and carries her across a rickety tree branch bridge over murky swamp water. He never stops talking.)

Inuyasha: Kouga had grown so rich that he wanted to retire. So he took me to his cabin and told me his secret. "I am not the Dread Pirate Kouga. My name is Manten. I inherited the ship and the name from the previous Dread Pirate Kouga, just as you shall inherit them from me. He wasn't the real Dread Pirate Kouga either; his name was Onigumo. The first Dread Pirate Kouga has been retired fifteen years, living like a king in China." He then explained that the name was the important thing for inspiring the necessary fear. No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Inuyasha. So we sailed ashore and took on an entirely new crew. He stayed aboard for a while as first mate, calling me Kouga the whole time. Once they believed, he was put ashore, and I have been Kouga ever since. But now that we're together, I shall retire and pass the name on to someone else. Is everything clear?

(They have crossed the pond. Kagome is about to reply, but they are distracted by the screams of Nobunaga, who is now sinking into quicksand. He flails around and grabs Kagome's foot and drags her in after him. In a second, Inuyasha has chopped through a U-shaped vine. Hanging onto it, he dives in after Kagome. For a moment, nothing happens. An incredibly large weasel wanders by. As soon as it is out of sight, Inuyasha bursts out of the quicksand, pulling Kagome up with him. Both of them are caked in sand. Inuyasha begins to wipe it off Kagome.)

Kagome: We will never survive. We might as well die here.

Inuyasha: Nonsense-we have already succeeded! What are the three dangers of the Fire Swamp? First the flame spurt. No problem-a popping sound precedes it, so we can easily avoid it. Second the Lightning Sand. Thanks to you, we know what that looks like, so it, too, can be avoided.

Kagome: What about the W.O.U.S.'s?

Inuyasha: The Weasels Of Unusual Size? I don't believe in them.

(At that second the W.O.U.S. we saw before lunges out and tackles Inuyasha to the ground. Kagome screams. Inuyasha is pinned beneath the massive weasel. His attempts to fend it off are futile. It's sharp little teeth sink deeply into his arm. He screams, punches it in the face, and reaches for his sword. The W.O.U.S. is back atop him before he can retrieve it. Somehow, he manages to flip it off. He scrambles for his blade, but the weasel charges at Kagome. He abandons the sword and begins wrestling with the W.O.U.S. Kagome grabs a branch and begins whacking the weasel over the head. It grabs the hem of her dress with its teeth and pulls her to the ground. Inuyasha leaps onto its back. It nips at his shoulder. Hearing a popping noise, he rolls the W.O.U.S. into the flame spurt. It releases him to try to put itself out. Inuyasha grabs his sword, and stabs the thing through the heart. He grins at Kagome, jaunty, despite the fact that he is bleeding all over.)