InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tree Messaging ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

 

A/N: I'm sorry about the `once a month updates', but with finals coming up, I need to focus my energy on my school work. I hope not to be as busy during the summer, so updates might occur at a pace greater than that of a snail's.

 

I'd like to thank my beta, kokoronagomu, for doing a wonderful job of reading over my work. It'd never be as readable without her help.

 

And thanks for the reviews. As always, please review, I really do appreciate them.

 

Chapter 14

 

 

 

“They already left?!” Moriko asked Mrs. Higurashi who was standing at the back door of the shrine residence.

 

“Yes, about an hour ago actually. Are you a friend of Kagome's?” the woman asked.

 

“Uh…sorta. We talk a bit at school.” Well, it wasn't a complete lie. “Thank you, Higurashi-san. Could you tell Kagome-san I came by?”

 

The woman nodded and Moriko bowed and left. Once out of sight from the house, she bolted for the stairs and a parked car on the street.

 

“Otou-san, they left already, about an hour ago,” she said as she got into the car.

 

“Damn! Sesshomaru-sama said they haven't arrived yet. They should be there by now.” Shippou put the car into gear and drove off at a speed much greater than the legal limit.

 

“…What do we do?” the young kitsune asked timidly.

 

The older kitsune had a look of deep concentration on his face as he swerved the car in and out of traffic, “Call Sesshomaru-sama on the cell. We'll go from there.”

 

Moriko opened the glove compartment and dug around until she found the bulky object (remember that this is just a few months after Kagome would have fallen down the well, placing the story in the summer of '96). She turned it on, but found no dial tone, “It looks like we don't have a signal…”

 

“Damn it all. These are supposed to be the phones of the future? They'll never catch on!” His daughter shrugged and tossed the phone back into the small compartment.

 

“So…?”

 

“Looks like we have to go after them ourselves,” he growled.

 

“Shouldn't we wait for backup?”

 

He thought for a moment, “You're right. You go to the school and get Sesshomaru-sama; tell him what's going on then wait for me to get back. I'll go see if I can get a trail here in the city, though frankly, they could be anywhere in the prefecture by now.” The kitsune cut a path through traffic and parked on the curb. Moriko opened her door to get out, but then looked back to her father.

 

“What if the Underground…?”

 

Shippou's eyes darkened, “We'll deal with it. The best you can do right now is go get Sesshomaru-sama.”

 

She nodded, “Alright, be careful Otou-san. I worry about you, especially while driving.”

 

He sighed, “I get the hint; I'll go for my license soon.”

 

~*~

 

“Mitsu-chan, get back here!” Taiko cried out as she ran after the cat down the street. For the fifth time within a week, the schoolgirl cursed her brother.

 

All I ask is for him to lock the windows. Does he listen? No!

 

The small cat rounded the corner and a loud yowl was suddenly heard. Running around the corner herself, Taiko bumped into a familiar face.

 

“Yasuo-kun!”

 

“Ah, so good to see you on such a fine day, Taiko-san,” the young monk said as he struggled to hold the hissing cat in his hands. Instead of his usual black robes, he wore a plain white shirt and jeans, “I see Mitsu got out again.”

 

“Little sneak she snuck out right under my nose,” the girl grumbled as she took the feline into her arms, “thank you again for finding her.”

 

“It is always a pleasure to help a lovely lady,” the monk said as a cocky grin grew across his face, “For my good deed, would you by chance find time to go to the movies Friday night with me?”

 

“Keep dreaming…” Taiko was cut off as Mitsu liberated herself from her arms and continued down the street. “Can't I have one moment of peace?!” she said with frustration as she ran after the cat.

 

“The Great Buddha teaches patience,” Yasuo reminded her as he matched her strides.

 

“I'm not a Buddhist.”

 

He chuckled, “So I guess you'll want a Western style wedding?” He ducked as she tried to hit him, “My dear Taiko-san, I'm only asking for future reference.”

 

“Well, I won't have much of a future if I can't find that cat. My dad will kill me if he finds she got out again.”

 

As the two got closer to the downtown area, more and more people crowded together on the sidewalk, making it very difficult to follow the elusive cat.

 

“There,” Yasuo said suddenly, “she went down that alley way.” Taiko nodded and ran ahead of him, getting into the alley first. When she got there, it was completely deserted, not even a stray rat could be heard.

 

“I'm dead!”

 

~*~

 

“This is just like my dream,” Kagome realized. The hair youkai loomed above them as more hair fell, surrounding them. The strands squeaked as they rubbed against each other and moved closer.

 

“Inuyasha, avoid the hair at all costs!” she warned as the strange locks closed in around them.

 

“What hair? What the hell are you talking about?!”

 

That's right, only I could see the hair, the miko recalled from her dream. “Just move when I say so,” she told him then squeaked, “Left, go left!!”

 

The hanyou seemed to have turned in midair, at least that's what it felt like to Kagome, and dodged the incoming columns of hair.

 

“Right, no left!”

 

“Would you make up your mind?!” Inuyasha retorted as he tried to follow the miko's confusing instructions.

 

“Right in front of you!!” A lock of hair wrapped around the hanyou's wrist and pulled him up into the air while another wrapped around Kagome's waist and dragged her to the ground.

 

“What a cute puppy following his mistress' orders,” Yura cooed as she balanced on thin strands of hair in front of the hanyou.

 

“Settle down, Yura,” another voice came from further down the alley, “we still have a job to do.” The voice held a kind of malevolent mirth to it. A laugh that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard chimed out as the hooded figure slowly walked out into the little light there was. All Kagome and Inuyasha could see were the cold blue eyes staring at them.

 

“But…”

 

“You can play with the hanyou later. We're here for the girl.”

 

The youkai pouted, “Of course my master.” She turned to Inuyasha and ran a hand along his cheek, “Don't move, I'll come back and play with you later.”

 

“Witch, get your hands off of me!” he growled.

 

“Oh, I always love it when they're feisty!” she squealed before jumping down next to Kagome. “Now what are we to do with you…?”

 

“We bring her in of course, it is the Master's orders,” the figure said as he stepped closer to the young miko, drawing a small pistol from its holder, “though it doesn't matter if she's alive or not…” The miko's eyes widened as she tried to move back, but froze when Yura's katana pieced the cement next to her.

 

“Don't you dare touch her!” Inuyasha snarled from above, trying to free himself. He wasn't sure what that small black object was; but from the scent of gun powder, he knew it wasn't something he would like. The malicious figure only laughed.

 

“Or what? You're just a hanyou, what could you possibly do?”

 

“You'll regret asking that,” he growled as he ripped himself free and swung down on top of the man. The figure growled as his face was full of a snarling hanyou and the gun was knocked from his hands.

 

“Get off me you filth!” A purple light flashed and Inuyasha was thrown back from him and collided with a concrete wall.

 

“Inuyasha!” Kagome tried to move to help him, but the hair around her waist kept her put.

 

Yura sneered and took a red comb out of her outfit, “It appears our doggie doesn't like to obey. He must be punished!” As the comb moved through the air, more and more hair wrapped itself around the hanyou.

 

“Hmm…You don't seem to want to bleed… then let's try this!” The sword next to Kagome was pulled out of the ground and accelerated towards Inuyasha. The blade cut across his chest, then settled down next to its wielder.

 

“So you aren't that strong…Good thing too, I don't know what I would've done if my `Crimson Mist' couldn't touch you,” Yura said happily as she looked on at her `work'.

 

“D…damn it!” the hanyou growled as blood began seep into his school uniform. He glared up at the hair youkai who laughed merrily.

 

“My, my; this is fun! Maybe I should cut you up now and take care of the miko later.”

 

“Yura; now is not the time,” the figure warned as he stood back up and walked back over to Kagome, “remember what we're here for.” The miko looked over near a pile of boxes where the gun had landed. Maybe if she could reach it…

 

Yura looked back to her master, “The miko is weak; she won't be much of a problem. Besides, this won't take much time.”

 

“Yura, as your superior, I…”

 

The youkai blocked him out and turned back to Inuyasha, “My master seems to be in a hurry, so I'll have to make this fast…” The katana repositioned itself at the hanyou's throat, “Now don't move or your pretty hair will be stained by your blood.”

 

“Don't touch him!” Kagome shrieked, her previous plan completely forgotten. The miko pulled her hands out of her restraint and threw them up in Yura's direction. A pink light surrounded them and shot out towards the youkai, sending her and her hair away from the hanyou.

 

“Impossible!” the hooded figure shrieked as he was thrown into the pile of boxes, “She is untrained, yet…” A reflection of light caught his eye as he looked down and found his lost weapon.

 

Inuyasha's restraints had dissolved in the blast, so he jumped over toKagome, “Don't just stand there move!” He glanced over to a very pissed Yura who was climbing out of an opened dumpster.

 

“Witch, how dare you!” the youkai seethed as she whipped her comb back out, “You'll pay for that!”

 

“Grab on!” Inuyasha growled as he got ready to dodge the in-coming hair. Kagome obeyed and held on tight as the hanyou became airborne. “Get ready to do that again, Kagome!”

 

“H-how?”

 

He growled, “What do you mean `how'? Just do what you did before!”

 

“Easy for you to say,” she mumbled, “I'm still new at this, remember?”

 

“Well you'd better learn quick if you want to get outta here…” A loud bang interrupted Inuyasha as he fell back to the ground. Kagome shrieked as they collided with the concrete. She looked back up and saw the youkai and the figure (still holding the gun) advance towards her.

 

“You've tried my patience, girl. I was willing to let you live, but you've pushed too far.”

 

The miko looked at them with fearful but determined eyes. Inuyasha had been hit in the stomach and was bleeding heavily, but was still conscious. The situation seemed familiar to Kagome as images flashed before her mind's eye: a river of blood under a darkened sky, and an ominous black orb held between clawed hands.

 

The figure nodded towards Yura, and with a wave of her comb, Kagome was suspended just off of the ground as he pulled out a knife, “Now, I think Naraku told me it was above the left hip…”

 

“Kagome!” Yura had restrained Inuyasha again, but he easily ripped out of them. The youkai glared over at him as she pulled her katana towards her, “Dogs like you just don't know when to quite!”

 

The miko snapped back into reality at the sound of Inuyasha's cry just as the blade sunk into her skin. She winced in pain as the Shikon no Tama hit the pavement with a small `tink'. Blood was flowing freely down her leg as a feral growl started several feet away from her.

 

“I've had enough of you, witch!” With his claws, the hanyou sliced Yura's head off and without looking back, lunged towards the figure hovering in front of Kagome.

 

“Not so fast, hanyou,” he warned, “Take one step closer and this blade will go straight to her throat.” To make his point, he shifted the dagger slightly, and as it was still inside Kagome, she let out a short cry of pain.

 

At Inuyasha's hesitation, strands of hair wrapped around his limbs and he was slammed back into the concrete wall. Regaining his focus, he saw Yura's body slowly walk towards him; her head suspended a few feet from him.

 

“Fool, I am immortal! Nothing you do to my body can stop me.” The youkai's blade came whirling at Inuyasha again, but this time he wouldn't be able to evade it.

 

“Inuyasha!”

 

“Heh; scream all you want; no one can hear you here. It'll be weeks before they'll find your bodies.”

 

This can't be the end… Kagome thought as the figure before her withdrew his blade and aimed for her throat. No, I won't let him! Looking around, the miko found her enemy's gun just out of her reach. If only she could move her arm another foot or two. She saw her chance as he moved forward with his attack. If she timed it just right…

 

Her right hand glowed pink as the hair around it disintegrated. She reached out, grabbed the pistol, and fired.

 

~*~

 

As noted earlier, Yura liked to play with her prey, and Inuyasha was no exception. Her decapitated head laughed merrily as her katana took slash after slash at the hanyou.

 

“You see? No hanyou could ever beat a great youkai such as myself!”

 

Inuyasha cursed as the blade crossed over his arm again. A few more and he might even lose it. Again he tried to move, but with the support of the concrete wall behind him, Yura's hair had him locked in.

 

Suddenly, a bang resounded in the narrow alley. Inuyasha looked over to Kagome who had collapsed on the ground while the hooded figure had vanished.

 

Several more gun shots followed as the hair wall blocking their exit was breached and a familiar kitsune ran in.

 

“Ah, the `Dip' is back,” Yura sneered, “I was hoping for Sess-chan.”

 

“Release them,” Shippou growled, pointing his forty-four caliber at her, “NOW!”

 

“Why should I? I haven't even started having fun yet.” She taunted, and with a wave of her comb, she sent more hair at the kitsune.

 

“Witch!” seeing an opportunity he had been waiting for, he changed his target to the red comb in her hand and fired. His aim was right on and the object shattered.

 

Yura's eyes went blank as he body began to fade. The hair laying around the alley sizzled as it slowly disintegrated, setting Inuyasha free. The hanyou landed heavily on his feet and made his way over to Kagome.

 

She was face down, so he slowly turned her over. He saw a scratch or a bruise here and there, and then found the large red stain on her blouse and skirt.

 

“We better get her to Suki right away. There might have been poison on their weapons,” Shippou said bluntly, “And you look a little worse for wear.”

 

“Keh.”

 

“Kirara will take you to the school; I'll meet you there shortly.” Looking up, the hanyou saw the large nekomata next to him. “And you might want to take the Shikon no Tama with you.”

 

Turning around, Inuyasha saw the small ball glow a soft pink. He would had figured that the Underground had taken it, but there it was; right where it had landed after coming out of Kagome.

 

Shippou handed him a piece of cloth to use to pick up the jewel, explaining that it might affect them in some way if touched by naked skin. Inuyasha complied and handed it back to him, then gently picked Kagome up and set her on Kirara's back, then he climbed up behind her. The wounds on his arms and legs were already healing, but his stomach didn't feel quite right.

 

“You said their weapons may be poisoned, right?”

 

 

~*~

 

A/N: That was kinda like my first fight scene (another reason why this chapter took so long to write), so I'd like to know what you guys thought of it.

 

2nd A/N: Has anyone else noticed how often Inuyasha and Kagome call out to each other in the anime?