InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Mysterious Little Visitor ❯ Scroll Sixteen: Twist of Fate ( Chapter 16 )

Scroll Sixteen: Twist of Fate

Inu-Yasha held Kagome's body flush with his own with his 'free' arm. By this point, it had begun to twinge with every circulation of his blood, but not as terrible as the one suspending he and the girl. The sweat that continually rolled off his brow slicked his silver hair to his head and his ears felt extremely leathery. Due to gravity yanking on his jaded body, it was sucking the energy out of the hanyou. Even so, he mentally pledged to keep hanging on as long as he had Kagome with him.

She was all that really mattered to him.

"You ok, Kagome?" he asked softly.

The girl-from-the-future nodded her head once. Her arms were wrapped from around his shoulder to his upper torso, making a band around him; she clutched each of her wrists behind his back in the opposite hand to ensure her grip remained strong. Her back brushed the jagged crater's side as they swung to and fro.

Silence passed for a moment before she said, "Yes, because I'm with you, Inu-Yasha."

The hanyou half-smiled, despite their predicament and nuzzled her hair gently. Bringing his lips to her ear, Inu-Yasha whispered through the damp strands of ebony, "I'll always be with you…." He felt her give him a squeeze. In response, the half-dog-demon laid his head atop hers for a bit, before it pulled the muscles of his neck at an uncomfortable angle, making him cut their nestling short.

It was all he could do give her any assurance.

Kagome sighed, only contented by the fact of her beloved hanyou's protective, stalwart embrace. Right now, she wished to just cry. She wasn't too sure why, but she did. Maybe because the fright she'd first experienced was an afterthought, or maybe because of what Inu-Yasha had told her.

Or maybe because she wasn't absolutely sure how long the chaotic serenity would last until their string of fate broke.

Closing her tired cobalt eyes, Kagome buried her face in Inu-Yasha's haori as tears started to overwhelm her lashes. It was like a weight had been lifted off her heart as they swayed above certain death, strangely enough, and her teardrops appeared to be a form of release.

Alarmed at the scent of salty water, Inu-Yasha queried, "Kagome…?"

She didn't answer, merely buried her nose into his cloak, immersing her olfactory with the wild, rugged smell that was the boy she loved. It was soothing, making everything seem so unreal, so dreamlike. "I-I'm alright," she murmured in return. She gave him a squeeze. "I'm alright…."

~*~*~*~*

"I know it's just a bit further…" grunted Little Inu, yanking the vines as he scaled the wall. He'd slipped a few times on the juice that the plants would secrete as the protective skin was frayed and ripped when grated against the rough rock. Now, the small dog-demon was the closest to the ceiling as he had ever been.

Reaching up, the boy's claws met with a thick collection of vines. Cool air wafted from the gaps between his fingers as he gained a better hold. Little Inu worked his feet onto a ledge that raised him up enough to shred the creepers. "Looks like I didn't do this for nothing."

From behind the vines was a narrow tunnel.

Scrambling up, Little Inu got inside. The side walls were a bit closer than he would have liked, but the ceiling was more than high up enough for him to rise; the boy managed to hustle through, moving at a careful pace nonetheless. It was darker than pitch, the deeper he got, and his eyes had yet to adjust to the lessening of light; even if he had such noble dog-demon blood, Little Inu could scarcely see a yard ahead of him.

He felt around the inside of his haori for a moment, jostling the various items stowed away in there. With a little 'click', he'd turned on the mini flashlight his mother had given him before he left.

The small yellow beam played over the dirt and rock, revealing a hole only a few strides ahead. Leaping across it, Little Inu continued on.

For a ways, the tunnel was easy enough to travel, with a hole or dip here or there; however, it suddenly gained an upward slant, and the footing became much slicker. The feel of cold water snaked over his bare toes and beneath his heels, and the air grew so thin his lungs burned, begging for air-for him to stop and rest a while. The boy refused his body's desperate, agonizing pleas.

Just a bit further…I know it's just a bit further, he chanted tirelessly in his head.

Little Inu's foot struck a piece of loose rock. His legs flew backwards from underneath him, and he thudded heavily on his stomach. Gravity brought him rushing back towards the bottom of the steep incline, scraping his yelping, small form on the hard minerals. His minute fingers lashed out blindly, until the dog-child grabbed hold of a jut of rock that protruded from the sidewall.

Panting, he waited for the frightened tremors to stop wracking his frame so violently. Tears of pain came to his eyes when the throbbing started in his hands, knees, and chin, all of which had suffered the worse during the unrelenting fall; he was sure to have a bruise the size of two fists on his torso. Little Inu groaned as his head recovered from the blood-rush.

"This isn't going to work…" he whispered, little eyes glimpsing around whilst scrubbing away the blood on his chin and hands with a sleeve. He'd lost a fourth of the ground he had covered. "There has to be a better way to get out of this rat hole…. Think…think…." The walls were still as narrow as they had been before, if not more so, and that gave the young half-demon an idea. Lifting one leg, his placed it on the farthest wall, nearer to the base; bracing, he did the same with his other leg on the side nearest him.

Snatching a spring of Hakushinmu to quickly cure his wounds, and end their hindrance, Little Inu chewed it and placed his hands on the slippery surface, digging his claws in slightly for grip, and scampered upwards, moving swifter than he had before.

Just hang, please, hang on… he wished wordlessly, the fresh scent of snow-kissed wind rustled his silvery locks while the darkness emaciated. Please…

~*~*~*~*

For the past several minutes, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had been circling higher and higher up the summit on board Kirara, searching for the flat land Shiokki had spoken of. So far, the only thing they found was the thinning, blustery air was making it harder to breathe; the frost besieged their visages, at times bits of ice would cling to hair or clothes, and they had yet to find the auxiliary entrance to the Chamber of Spirits.

The mountain, Fire Soul, itself had gained a patina of lustrous azure; Miroku had suggested that it was the affect of Jumiyo's barrier within the mount, which was holding the fire ball at bay….

Or they hoped it still was.

"It seems like we're nevergoing to find it," Shippo said, a crying lilt in his voice. He frenetically fingered the double chains Miroku had snagged from Tsaku. The frigid metal links seemed to be one way to keep him from going into a full-out wail.

"Don't say things like that, Shippo," rebuked Sango. "If you say things like that, they could come true."

The young fox shook his noggin vigorously. "No! I don't want Inu-Yasha and Kagome to die! We will find it, we will find it, we will find it…" he repeated as his mantra, trying balance his karma.

"Houshi-sama, how large do you think the explosion from fireball would be if it really did strike the depths of Fire Soul?" The demon exterminator scanned the expanse of white below them, the clouds filtering in and out of her vision. "Isn't there some waterway that leads beneath the mountain?"

Miroku nodded. "Yes. According to Shiokki, there is a channel that flows beneath the mountain's foot, quite a bit below sea level. Apparently, it is because the water is from the sacred lake he showed us, it also helps those sakura trees we saw on our way up to grow so healthily."

"So, it seeps into the ground."

"More or less." He glanced down at the hallowed pool as the circled over it once more. "If the fireball Tsaku released is able to make it that far down, it retains enough heat to evaporate the water beneath Fire Soul as well as enough mass to send tremors strong enough to wreck devastating damage upon the entire place. There would be no way for the Hakushinmu herbs to survive….

"In addition to that, the tremors could, quite possibly, affect the sacred water pool and create something of a Tsunami of the remaining water."

Without warning, Kirara suddenly pitched downwards, swooping towards the flat plane of ice and snow.

"Kirara!" gasped Sango, holding tightly onto the cat-demon's mane (the same way Shippo was clutching onto Miroku's staff around her waist). "Whoa! Kirara, what are you doing?!"

The fire-cat only replied with a quiet growl as they dove.

"I think she sees something," the young fox said as they grew closer to the ground.

The three watched intently as Kirara continued to circle about one spot in the snow, her nose lifted into the air, sniffing for something. Gradually, they watched the snow buckle and sink.

Out of the dip came a small hand-a clawed hand--, and then the appearance of a scarlet red cloth.

Immediately, the group landed on the iridescent azure ground and scuttled off Kirara. Sango was the first to make it to the emerging arm. She grasped onto it and hauled the body attached to it through the hoarfrost.

Little Inu.

The young dog-hanyou sat up with Sango's help. Shaking the snow from silvery tresses and ears, and wiping it from his face, he gazed up at the woman. At once he jumped to his feet and looked toward the pair of humans, as everything in his vision gained a heavy tint of sapphire. "You guys have to help me get to Inu-Yasha and Kagome."

"You mean they aren't with you, Little Inu?" asked Miroku, worry reflecting in his limitless mauve orbs.

"I wouldn't say otherwise if they were. They're still hanging in the pit, but only by Inu-Yasha's claws." Little Inu looked toward the ground for a moment before shooting his gaze, an intense ocher, at the monk. "We have to hurry. I have a terrible feeling and it's making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end."

Bobbing his head deeply, the monk queried after a brief silence, "Where you climbed out of-is it a passageway?"

The boy nodded in response. "It's kind of narrow, but you should still be able to stand up." Clearing the opening a bit more in a slapdash fashion, Little Inu slid his legs in. "You're going to have to slide along it part of the time; it's way too hard to climb up, and climbing down would probably be just as treacherous."

One by one, each member of the group disappeared after the young hanyou, praying for their friends' safety.

~*~*~*~*

"How much longer will this last, Jumiyo?" inquired Shiokki, rocking his love's weakened frame.

"I'm not sure…. I'm starting to grow weary."

"I'll add more of my energy to yours."

She turned her oceanic-green eyes to him. "Shiokki, I am dying. My body was not strong enough when I awoke, and going on like this could also be the end of me." She peered deeply into his ruby pools. "If you continue to donate as much as you do, you too may perish, love."

"I don't care," he whispered, kissing her lips softly for a moment. "I could never live without you. I knew for certain that we were destined to be ever since we met. I have waited so many centuries to be with you again, although I know I am unworthy, I needed to be beside you."

"I never thought you were unworthy…I always knew your purpose was to destroy me, but I could sense from everything about you, from your peevish words, to those caring embraces on starlight nights, that you were my other half. I love you, Shiokki."

The dragon-warrior smiled gently in return. "And I you, Jumiyo. I love you…. I give you all of my energy to you because of my love…."

Her eyes shimmered as a glistering tear slid over her rosy cheek. "Let us hope it is enough to protect those kindhearted souls. Their lives carry far more worth than they realize, and their compassionate love for each other is the rarest kind of treasure…."

~*~*~*~*

The heat continued to convexly radiate upwards and it was making Inu-Yasha and Kagome very sleepy. Everything was surreal, and they fought the urge to doze, to rejuvenate their exhausted bodies. The warmth wasn't severe like before, but more welcoming, like when they were at home in Kaede's hut, all seated around the cooking fire for the evening meal. And after some good eats, they'd talk a while, then curl up around the room and fall comfortably asleep in the small blaze's glow.

But as long as they reminded each other of the plunge, the young miko-in-training and the hanyou were prepared to hang on for eternity, if not to spite Tsaku for the most part of it. Even so, Fire Soul had begun to quake terribly, sending debris into their hole, varying from small shakes to ones that tested Inu-Yasha's hanyou strength to its fullest.

"Inu-Yasha," quietly started Kagome, breaking the quiet that had befallen them.

"Yeah. What is it?" He glanced towards her ebony-haired head.

She chewed her lips slightly. Should I tell him now…? I may never get another chance to…to tell him how I feel…. "Inu-Yasha, I…" She could feel his hot gold eyes boring into the top of her head expectantly. She opened her mouth to say what she meant to when something else entirely came out. "I sense something…. I sense…jewel shards…?"

"Jewel shards?" he echoed back. Inu-Yasha strained his hearing. The sound of voices, faint, and growing closer. Familiar voices. "Miroku has jewel shards-"
"-and Sango has one," the girl finished for him. "Then-"
"Hang on, Lady Kagome!"

"Miroku!" the pair shouted simultaneously.

At the edge of the cleft stood their 'savior' in all his purple-and-black-robed glory. He flashed a quick grin before Sango, Shippo, and a de-transformed Kirara (the only way she had been able to get through the tunnel) appeared beside him; Little Inu following not long after. "We're going to try and get you out of here…. Hang on for a while longer."

"Oh, sure, take your time," mumbled Inu-Yasha sarcastically, masking his immense relief. "Kagome and I are just hanging out."

"Nice to see you're not dispirited, Inu-Yasha," Miroku bantered back. He leaned away from the orifice and turned to the others with him. "We need something to throw down to them."

Shippo looked down in his tiny hands at the chains. "Maybe this'll work!" He held Tsaku's weapon out to the monk.

"It just might. Good thinking, Shippo." Taking the links from the fox, he yelled to the pair, "I'm going to toss a chain down. I need you two to scale up it."

"Ok!" Kagome's voice replied.

"Sango," he rounded to his fiancée, "get on Kirara. I'll hand you the end of it. Make sure you have it tightly around you and Kirara. You'll act as the anchor while I help you pull up front."

"I'm helping, too," Little Inu said, handing one end to the girl, and tossing the other to the couple in the fire void.

"Me too!" agreed the fox-demon, also grasping some chain.

Miroku nodded. "Inu-Yasha, do you and Kagome see the chain?"

"Yeah."

"Sango, are you ready?"

The woman bobbled her head from astride a large Kirara. "We are."

Wrapping some of the links around his cursed hand, the monk's other hand caught hold of it-the younger boys in the very front. "Do you have hold of it?"

"Kagome," the hanyou said, "wrap your arms around my neck and hang on tight."

"Ok."

The boy waited until she did so, her fingers curling securely on the cloth of his haori with her form pressed as close as it could go against his. Swiping outwards, Inu-Yasha snagged the links around his claws and maneuvered them into the center of his palm. He curled the chain around his wrist and gave it a slight tug. "Got it," he hollered up.

Bit by bit, the pair was hoisted to freedom. Finally, after much labor on the group-above-ground's part, Inu-Yasha and Kagome were lugged onto the scorched plants of the Chamber of Spirits.

"Kagome!" wailed Shippo, instantly releasing the chain and throwing himself onto the girl's chest as she sat up. "I was so scared you were gonna die!"

"Calm down, Shippo," she soothed, ruffling his hair before giving him a big hug. "We're ok."

"Unfortunately," Inu-Yasha interrupted, already on his feet, "we ain't out of the woods yet."

"We're going to have to go back in the tunnel again," Little Inu said, wincing slightly as the floor gave a violent shudder.

Rotating his right arm around a bit to knock out the kinks and get the blood flowing, Inu-Yasha stated boldly, "Not necessarily."

"What-are you nuts?" interrogated the dog-child, dubious. "Did you get whacked or something, 'cause I'm seriously doubting your sanity right now."

Drawing the Tetsusaiga from its sheath, the hanyou let it transform. "I can use the Kaze no Kizu to reopen the main doors. Any backlash Miroku can draw into his Kazaana."

"But, Inu-Yasha," started Kagome, rising with the fox-child in her arms, "that's not a sure thing. The integrity of the Chamber's doors might not be adequate."

He looked to her, katana in hand. "Got any better ideas?" The floor gave another balance-disrupting shiver. "We don't have many options right now. We're just gonna have to take a chance!"

"I'm right behind you, Inu-Yasha," said Miroku.

The hanyou bobbed his cranium once. Lifting the sword, friends to the rear of him, Inu-Yasha swung the blade down, cutting through the life energy that radiating from Fire Soul itself. "Kaze no Kizu!" The familiar arcs of wind energy, the one mixed with the Tetsusaiga's aura, smashed through the boulders and dust.

Quickly, Miroku shot ahead of Inu-Yasha and unleashed his Kazaana, sucking in the debris that came the group's way; there was their unblocked exit.

Another ferocious rumble arrested the mountain. Flotsam and jetsam began to shower in heavy deposits leaving a whitish-brown haze in the air. "Let's hurry," he called, sealing his cursed hand.

Inu-Yasha seized Kagome and Shippo while the remaining three hitched a ride with the fire-cat. They pounded out of the Chamber of Spirits, moving as swiftly as possible. Pebbles and powder filtered the air around them, making it heavy and ambiguous. Only the faint light of the early evening was visible through the haze.

"Look!" Shippo pointed to the walls as he and Kagome flew along, straddling Inu-Yasha's back. "Even the inside of the mountain is glowing blue!"

Kagome shielded her eyes. "It's getting really bright."

"That must mean Lady Jumiyo's barrier is nearing its end," Miroku called, abreast to the three.

"And that means we don't have a lot of time," Sango said quickly. "Kirara, go faster! The end of this tunnel is close."

Kirara roared in response before hastening her pace; Inu-Yasha did likewise. They broke through, into the fiery sunset-lit sky, above the sacred waters as Fire Soul grew to an unbearable, blue-white hue.

"The barrier must be ready to burst…" whispered the monk as the group flew higher.

A sudden shriek alerted everyone's attention to Inu-Yasha.

What appeared to be a long, soul of fire had wrapped around Kagome's ankle and was pulling her from the half-demon's back; it emerged from the very cave they had escaped from. She fought against it, hugging firmly to the boy. The fox-child hanging onto Inu-Yasha's haori and hair.

"You-are-not-leaving, girl," it hissed. "For fouling my great plans, I shall take your pitiful human body with me." With a mighty heave, it jerked the girl right from Inu-Yasha's grip, Shippo still clinging to the hanyou's long mane. "Kukuku…"

"INU-YASHA!" Kagome screamed rapidly flying away from him, her hands outstretched and desperately, wildly reaching out for him. A mask of sheer terror overcame her face.

"KAGOME!"

"Too-late-half-demon brat…kukuku…. I will not fail!" it echoingly chortled as it spiraled inside, the girl securely in his clutches.

Tossing Shippo to the monk and demon exterminator, Inu-Yasha dove after Tsaku's spirit. "Watch the brats!"

"Inu-Yasha!" cried Sango, catching the fox-child.

"It's suicide what he's doing!" Miroku ejaculated, astounded in horror.

Eyes caught in absolute fear, Little Inu's voice locked up, emitting only strange gurgles; it finally came back, erupting with, "NO! Mother! Father!"

~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: I am so evil. Or at least that's what my mother says. ^^; Well, I just got this in the mail today. *whips out a fire proof cloak* 100% fire rat fur, guaranteed by Inu-Yasha. Hmm. This should work. *throws it on* I am ready for the flames of "Evil cliffy!" I was really stumped on this chapter all week long then, BAM! My inspiration came on the weaning time of my Spring Break. I would answer questions and comments, but I can't remember them right now. Hope everything about Inu and Kag's position was clearer, I guess. *shrugs* I remember only one person didn't get it.

Inu-Yasha: I'm going to hurt you one day…

Nah. I have another muse who will get you if you do.

Inu-Yasha: Who's that?
Well, I can't use the other one on you, but I can use him. *points to a blond-haired boy sipping a diet Pepsi*

Sage: Yo. Whatcha need?
Well, if Inu hurts me, you protect me.

Sage: *sighs* It's tough being a muse…for 4 years now….

Oh, hush, you'll get a story with your pals. One that everyone will read on FF.net

Sage: Yeah, yeah. I know.

Inu-Yasha: Keh… I ain't scared of a human.

Sage: *rolls up his sleeves* And I'm not afraid of a hanyou, buddy.

*brings down curtain. Whispers* What Inu don't know is Sage is half-demon too. ^^

Ja ne,

~Moonlight Shadow