Categories > Anime/Manga > Inuyasha > The Hidden Evil Design
Chapter 10: Hanyou in Hell
0 reviewsInuyasha and his friends have eluded Naraku's grip time and time again... but this time, the tides may turn on our group... in the form of a strange game... what is it? What exactly is that demon ...
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Note: Sorry for the lack of updates on my part, but I intend for this chapter to be a pivotal point (not to mention long...) in my story. I can guarantee that when you finish reading this part, you will not only be more confused (which you will be, but for a good reason) but you will also probably feel that you kind of have a better idea of what is going on. I'm not going to give too much away here, however! Just read it, though, you'll see what I mean...
Go on, read...
Read!
Read...!
(shakes fist)
One more thing: don't forget to review! Awesome writers love awesome feedback!
Chapter 10 - Hanyou in Hell
Sango heard Naraku's laughter, but as she looked around for him, her eyes did not pick him out.
"Come out, you coward!" she called, holding her katana in front of her, wavering with it slightly, as if she were a little tipsy. She was in this particular stance because who knew when he was going to suddenly strike?
"A coward, am I?" his voice echoed throughout the hallway, with its endless supply of candles and gloom. He chuckled some more. "If I am not mistaken, Sango, you are the one who is acting cowardly, standing there with that terrified look in your eyes, holding your weapon before you like so... I'm betting that you just can't wait to get Hiraikotsu back in your hands, so that you can be relieved of all of your current agony and suffering... am I not correct?"
Of course, he was. But she did not bother to enunciate that fact. Instead, she simply waved her sword around threateningly.
"I told you to come out, asshole!" she yelled, seemingly to empty air; but she could feel, even though she could not see, his presence, somewhere nearby. She lunged around, ready to strike behind her, but nothing appeared; in fact, what was behind her was no different than what was in front of her... empty hallway, going straight on until the eyes could no longer discern how long it really was... endless, in a word. The candles continued to flicker in their little holdings on the walls, and because it was now so quiet, apart from the slight breathing of the slayer, she could hear the slight popping they made as they burned.
She backed up a few steps, eyes searching the area, but still finding nothing. Naraku's laughter had died away, and it was now unnaturally eerie in the open space where she stood.
A few moments passed. And then...
"You said you were going to tell me where I was," she said suddenly, breaking the unnerving, oppressive silence; it was now starting to bug her.
Silence ensued again, but this time, only for a moment.
"Sango, you should know, by now, where you are... I am actually surprised that I even asked if you wanted to know where you stood."
The girl remained silent.
"Very well... I gather you are still confused... be that as it may." There was no annoyance in his voice; in fact, there hadn't been since this all began... at least, not that she could recall. He was always so patient, so confident, and so cool in his way of doing things that he was always, 100% sure that nothing could stop him. But, as mentioned before, that was almost always his downfall; too much pride is a bad thing... just look at Julius Caesar! (okay, off topic now).
"Before I tell you, Sango, let me show you something." That little statement was enough to get Sango moving, alert again, for any sign of something that might suddenly pop out.
Fwing!
With a little whizzing sound, something flashed in the air about five feet away. Instinctively, Sango ducked, barely avoiding what looked to be a small dagger, flying through the air, without any support at all.
She heard it ring down the hallway behind her, where it then disappeared into silence, as heavy as what had been before.
"What are you trying to pull?" she asked angrily, still in the down position, face beet-red, hair starting to come untangled from the ribbon she held it up with.
"Just seeing if you were paying attention, dear girl," Naraku said softly, still in the same calm tone.
"Whatever," Sango replied, straightening up again. "Now just tell me what you will so that I can get out of here and save my friends."
Unsurprisingly, Naraku laughed again.
"Save them? You wish to save your friends, when you do not even know they still live or not?"
For the first time, a trace of doubt crept into her mind. Maybe something did happen to them... if it did, it was all her fault; it had been her choice back then to leave the safety of her companions, ride Kirara and meet the source of the Shikon fragment, whose owner she had believed to be Kohaku. Her eyes welled up with tears.
Kohaku, she thought hopelessly, when will you ever find peace through your actions. When will you ever be free of that demon, Naraku?
"Sango," Naraku suddenly said, breaking into her mind, erasing the mental picture of her brother, and making her stiffen once again. "You are, simply enough, within one of my illusions." He said it so simply and plainly that it was as if it had been blatantly obvious from the start. But, of course this had been an illusion, though! The dead bodies of all of her friends, when she knew very well they were still alive and well (for the most part) were certainly not real. But then... what in this little situation was real? How did she even get here, first of all?
"You got here," the reply was, clearly from an intrusion into her thoughts, "by seduction." That served to confuse the girl even more. Seduction? What the hell was he rambling on about now? She waited for his response, which came soon enough.
"You, Sango, are the only one to pass the individual tests I have set for you and your friends... tests that make you think about your actions, your past, future and whatever else you must ponder... I have tested you on all of those accounts. Take the illusions, for example, of the bodies of your friends. You knew them to be fake, of course, because they appeared from seemingly nowhere, did they not? But, did you not think that they could have been there the whole time, just waiting for the right time to be revealed to your unbelieving eyes? Now that you know they are obviously not real, considering that they are now gone, disappeared into that realm we call 'the vanished,' the term used to describe things that are no longer upon this earth.
"Also, take note of where you now are, Sango. You believed this to be a real place, when you suddenly awoke here, did you not? Well, as a matter of fact, it is a real place... or, to be more direct, was a real place. It has since fallen into disuse and ruin, and I thought I would liven it back up to how it used to be, in the form of an illusion. This long hallway, which seems to your eyes to go on forever, is called the 'Corridor of Perplexity', which also means 'confusion.' This place used to exist in the town of Kudon, a hidden village deep in Japan (note from the author: if I butcher names of Japanese cities, pending I do come up with names, please either correct me or know that I am merely making them up.).
"And, as I am sure you are still wondering, about the term 'seduction' I gave to you a few moments ago? Ah, yes. A wonderful cohort of mine was steadily guiding you onward, speaking into your mind, a being called the Mind Wraith. I won't go into it here, but you were riding on Kirara, your neko youkai (cat demon), when you detected something upon the ground. The voice lured you... if you thought I did, you are mistaken."
Sango stared off into space, openmouthed, shocked by the stunning revelations of what she had just heard.
What voice is he talking about? And just what is this Mind Wraith?
She knew, even as she pondered them, that these questions would take a while to answer.
_-_-_
"Dammit!"
The word was a cry that echoed throughout the cavernous forest that the hanyou called Inuyasha found himself in.
How in the hell did he get here? He still did not know. And what had he been doing before he got here? He didn't know that, either. All he could seem to recall was that he had been standing in a great clearing where debris was flying all around him. Then the whole world had went black... oh... there had also been the sensation of moving around in a great arc very fast... as if he had been spinning in or on something.
But the question was what it was.
"Shit..." he muttered, presently leaning against a large oak tree, which seemed unnaturally tall to him, for some reason; in fact, all of the trees in this strange forest seemed a little out of place... as if they did not belong. "I can't believe that damned Yura got away..."
It had been about half an hour since the girl with the hair had managed to escape, (afraid?) driven away by the power of his mysterious sword. He, even now, was still marveling at it, examining its long blade when it was pulled free of its sheathe... the way it transformed from a rusted piece of shit to a gleaming, gigantic fang-like weapon... but how could that be?
He corrected himself about a second later.
Magic, of course... but of what sort was it? He could, very faintly, remember, as if it had occurred a hundred years ago, magic, of some sort...
"What are you doing, fool?! Hurry up and shoot it!" a boy cries up to a girl riding on his back. The girl looks sternly at him and replies, "Hey, don't yell at me like that! I'm not exactly a marksman, you know! But still... Kikyou, give me what power you may have possessed to help us through this!"
The girl readies a bow she is carrying, aims it up at a strange black bird that is flapping its wings, and nocks an arrow, preparing to fire.
"Hurry up, girl!" the boy yells impatiently, and the girl fires an arrow up at the (crow?) black bird... but misses.
_-_-_
"Hey, can I borrow your bow?" the girl asks a man who is standing with a large group of people, who in turn were staring up at the sky, where a large black bird was taking flight.
The man did not reply.
"Hey, listen to me!" the girl snaps, and the man starts and turns toward her. "Can I borrow your bow?" she repeats.
"Sure," the man replies, and hands her one... it's a little worn, but it would have to do. One arrow was all she would need for this...
About a hundred yards away, across a river, the boy with the white hair screams at the girl. "What are you doing, stupid?! Get the Jewel, idiot, the Jewel!" The girl ignores him, and instead pulls the crow's foot off a boy, where it had attacked him earlier...
Come on, I only have one chance to do this right, the girl prays. She attaches the foot of the crow to her single arrow with a piece of ribbon she borrowed from another villager and aims the bow at the crow, who was steadily vanishing into the sun.
"Hurry!" the boy shouts, cupping his hands over his mouth for resonance. If the girl heard him, she gave no sign. Instead, she readied her bow.
"What's she doing with that bow?!" the boy asks himself in disbelief. "My ass she's gonna shoot it!"
But, on this day, the girl named Kagome shocked everyone in that village.
With a sound like a twang! the arrow flew with lightning speed, from the bow string, into the sky, somehow angling up into the air toward the crow, who was still far away, and gaining the advantage of escape.
Yes! Do it! the girl prays, as the arrow launched itself at the bird.
With his eyes, the boy could determine that the arrow had what appeared to be the foot of the crow attached to it. He gasped, in spite of himself.
I don't believe it! She's shooting the foot! he thought, amazed.
The foot can't help but be drawn by the power of the Jewel, which almost guarantees it'll reach its mark! the girl thinks, knowing that her feeling was right... and it was.
With a blinding flash, the arrow reached the crow with the speed and accuracy of an experienced archer, and with just as much speed and force, exploded into the body, causing it to explode into numerous fleshy pieces, but this time... the pieces did not come back together.
Within the crow, the Jewel that it had digested to make it stronger began to crack visibly into many smaller pieces... and then...
With another blinding flash of light, this one even more powerful than before, the scattered shards of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls separated and flew in opposite directions...
_-_-_
What the hell was that? Inuyasha thought dazedly. He had practically fallen asleep against the huge oak, and did not realize, until this moment, that he had slid down its rough, thick bark to the ground below, where he lay curled up like a dog. He quickly sat up.
That dream... it seemed so real! Was it a dream, though? It was more like a memory...
Then, it occurred to him that the girl who had been in the dream had been in another of his (visions) dreams... the one he had utilized to help himself defeat Yura... the one where there had been a huge tower of hair, covered with skulls, and the girl (what was her name?) had been climbing across the hair, toward a strange red skull.
"That skull, Inuyasha! There is something in it!" Those had been her words... that girl's words... and she had said a name... Inuyasha? Was that his name? If Yura had said it, then he did not remember. In fact, everything that had happened to him in this space of just mere (minutes) hours was slowly losing context in his mind; it was like trying to keep water cupped in your hand... the details were leaving him as fast as he could hold on to them.
"Who am I, really?" the boy thought, and suddenly his mind went utterably blank, and he lay down on the ground to sleep.
_-_-_
"Heh... very interesting."
Far away, in their mountainside cave, Naraku was watching Inuyasha's progress through Kanna's mirror.
"Very good, Kanna... it would appear that Inuyasha is also persistent... my plan is falling apart already, is it not? Well, I think that one more dose of 'magic' is in order... to make them truly forget who they are... especially that Inuyasha."
On the opposite side of the cave, Kagura was still wondering what was going on.
What is Naraku thinking? she wondered, staring at a place on the wall for no particular reason; it was mainly to refrain from looking at either Naraku or Hakudoushi, who was presently floating in his barrier next to Naraku, apparently asleep. Not too far away, Kohaku sat dismally against another part of the same wall, head down between his legs. He appeared to be sleeping, but Kagura was not so sure. As far as the two of them knew, Kagura was the only one that knew Kohaku had his mind returned to him. For the moment, it appeared Naraku did not suspect. But, eventually, he probably would... for he would need Kohaku's shard of the Jewel to make it whole again. But why was he wasting his time, when he could he searching for the remaining shards? Why was he playing this game with his most hated enemies, if he could just pick them off easily one by one, instead of slowly torturing them?
Kagura still did not know, and probably never would know, her master's true motives.
My master! she scoffed silently. If I had my way, I would make sure he or no one else would be my master!
With his back to her, Naraku suddenly said, "Kagura, if you think anything like that again, I will have to kill you."
Kagura froze. How long had he been reading her mind? He must have just intruded, because she did not feel any feeling until now...
"I'm sorry," she admonished, keeping her eyes on the wall, which were shining with hate and malice.
Back still facing her, Naraku smirked. He peered into Kanna's mirror again, controlling his puppet as he did so. It was so easy to play with Sango... so incredibly easy. Causing her to believe that she had already passed his little test was nearly laughable. In fact... she hardly has scratched the surface of what would eventually come.
Naraku began to laugh softly, using the puppet to pull at Sango's restraints further, while now, all the while, his eyes were settled on something which was resting in the far corner of the cave...
He continued to laugh as he played with the demon slayer's mind, taunting her with assurances of giving her weapon back to her, when it was in fact with him here... in the cave.
_-_-_
Miroku was confused.
That was not really all that shocking, however... he had been in a sort of daze ever since Kagome-sama had done that weird action by the stream... had been tense, and seemingly not that awake.
The monk sighed.
Everything was spiraling out of control very fast, and he did not know how to stop it from becoming something that could not be reversed.
"Hoy, Miroku..." someone said, almost directly into his ear. He jumped, startled.
It was Shippou.
"Hoy," the little fox-tyke said again, "are you okay?"
Silence between them for a moment.
"I'm okay, Shippou... you don't need to worry about me." But in his mind, he was feeling that something was very wrong with Kagome-sama... something he could not quite put his finger on... but it was definitely something.
"I think you're lying, Miroku," Shippou pressed, leaning up against the monk, as if in fear; perhaps he sensed something different with Kagome-sama, as well.
Leaning over, so he would not be heard by anyone but the boy, Miroku whispered, "I think there's something up with Kagome-sama... don't you feel it?" When he finished asking his question, his eyes moved over to the stream, where the girl in question was presently washing her arms, sleeves of her uniform rolled up.
Too bad, Miroku thought suddenly, dismally. Too bad her ass is not as fun as Sango's to look at... and... He cut himself off right there, giggling softly to himself. Shippou's face broke into a smile, evidently pleased that the monk was in a better mood. He laughed in spite of himself.
"That's the spirit, Miroku!" Shippou exclaimed, bounding away from the lecher and landing on a nearby fallen tree, which looked as if it had recently toppled to the earth.
Miroku was staring at him, still grinning, when he realized that the young miko was standing right behind him. He gave an involuntary leap of shock.
"Kagome-sama!" he cried, seriously taken aback by her sudden appearance; she had appeared so suddenly... the last time he seen her, she had been over by the water... had she even been there at all...?
"What's wrong, Miroku-sama?" she asked, looking pretty much normal... at least as normal as her type could go. In other words, he corrected himself, she was as normal as Kagome-sama could be... she was... oh screw it! He didn't know how to describe her!
"You look as if you just seen a ghost, you silly monk," she continued, smiling at him; even though he did not want to... he wanted to look away, but her gaze held his gaze.
"It's just that I'm really tired, that's all," Miroku lied quickly... well, it was a half-lie, if there can even be such a thing... he was tired. But his other emotion, the one that was most yearning to escape him and render him a little chaotic, for lack of a better word, barely remained contained.
Kagome-sama's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she knew he was not telling the truth... but then her face took on its usual gait once more.
"Well, Miroku-sama," she started, running a hand distractedly through her long black hair, "I just wanted you and Shippou-chan, if he's able, to know that I sense the presence of the Sacred Jewel... and it's not far away." She said that with such calm and without any trace of panic, excitement or anything related to it at all that the monk just stared at her, unbelieving.
"Are you sure you are okay to move, Kagome-sama?" he asked, uncertain as to what her motives were... if she indeed had any, that is. She had mentioned her sensing the Jewel so casually; it was as if they were simply discussing the weather, which promised to be a good day, not a cloud in sight... no worries. Miroku had nothing but worries!
"Where is it? Can you tell?" he demanded of her. She sat, staring at him for a few moments, before she replied.
"It's about a mile or so to the north... it feels like the whole Jewel, not just a single shard... or as whole as it is right now... Naraku has nearly the whole thing."
Miroku stared at her anew. Naraku? Why was he suddenly so interested in him and his friends? What is exactly going on here?
"Are you sure it's Naraku?" he urged, grabbing her by the front of her uniform almost without thought, disregarding the way her eyes widened in shock. "If it is... if you are sure... then we must be off at once."
She nodded... seemingly certain. And without another word on the matter, she got up and walked away from him.
She only went a short distance, where she knelt behind a huge elm tree, disappeared for a few seconds, and then emerged, pulling behind her one of her "bicycle" contraptions.
After getting on and steadying herself, she turned to him.
"Miroku-sama... what are you doing? It's time to be off!" And without another word (again), she started to pedal away.
The monk watched her for a while, even after she was out of sight. He was confused as hell. Before all this had happened, before all hell had broken loose and half of their company scattered, they had all been running (with the exception of Sango, who was flying on Kirara) toward where Kagome-sama had first sensed the presence of the Jewel shard... and she was riding on Inuyasha's back.
After some watching of this, Miroku had asked her where her bicycle contraption was... the one she always brought over from her world on the other side of the Bone-Eater's Well... she had said that she left it in her world, and had none others around here in this era... something about one being broken.
Then what in the world did he just see now?
Where did this other bicycle come from?
_-_-_
Inuyasha.
The voice was so sudden and alarming that he leapt up from the ground, almost drawing his sword, having been woken from a very light doze.
Inuyasha... what are you doing? You know what you have to do, so go ahead and do it!
The voice was not familiar to him, although he could sense that it was a girl's voice.
"Who is it?" he called, to the forest surrounding him.
No reply.
He tried again.
"Hey, is anyone there?"
Still no reply.
He began to think he was losing it... that he was hearing things... but he was sure he heard a voice.
Then, when a few minutes passed, and it was so quiet he could hear a cricket chirp in the distance, it came again.
Wake up, stupid! What are you doing, laying on the ground like that? You have a job to do, so go ahead and get it done!
He was starting to get angry.
"Hey! Who the hell are you to order me around like this?! I don't even know where I am!" He waited, but there was no immediate response.
When he did hear it again, it sounded faint, as if its owner were getting farther away.
Inuyasha... I'm so frightened... please help me, Inuyasha! If you don't, we'll all die!
Now he was confused.
"Who is that? Identify yourself now!" His ears perked up for a reaction to his demand, but there was none. When it came again a minute later, the voice was angry again.
Hey, I told you to get your ass moving! Now do it! Do I have to tell you twice?! Wait, I already did... dammit!
Suddenly, the voice sounded clearer, as if he had been hearing it from his head, and it now was actually in the world of the living, around him, in this strange forest. He looked around, saw nothing, and yelled, "If you're here, come out! Don't make me force you to!" He hoped his threat would amount to something, but it did not.
"Draw your sword, Inuyasha."
Now the voice sounded like it was directly behind him; he jumped a mile.
He whirled around.
And gasped.
_-_-_
"Who is this, Naraku?" Hakudoushi asked, floating disdainfully inside his barrier, staring at the cave ceiling.
Staring through Kanna's mirror, which had now showed him Inuyasha's progress, Naraku wondered, also, who this newcomer was.
He had been distracted from Sango, to be lured by this... but what was it?
"I don't know, Hakudoushi," he answered, "but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough..."
He chuckled.
_-_-_
"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked, hand still resting on the scabbard that held his sword.
The girl, who was now standing behind him, gave a wide smile, showing off a neat row of white, even teeth.
"I'm Ibeka Yurianna," she replied, "but you can call me Yuri. I live here."
_-_-_
TBC
Go on, read...
Read!
Read...!
(shakes fist)
One more thing: don't forget to review! Awesome writers love awesome feedback!
Chapter 10 - Hanyou in Hell
Sango heard Naraku's laughter, but as she looked around for him, her eyes did not pick him out.
"Come out, you coward!" she called, holding her katana in front of her, wavering with it slightly, as if she were a little tipsy. She was in this particular stance because who knew when he was going to suddenly strike?
"A coward, am I?" his voice echoed throughout the hallway, with its endless supply of candles and gloom. He chuckled some more. "If I am not mistaken, Sango, you are the one who is acting cowardly, standing there with that terrified look in your eyes, holding your weapon before you like so... I'm betting that you just can't wait to get Hiraikotsu back in your hands, so that you can be relieved of all of your current agony and suffering... am I not correct?"
Of course, he was. But she did not bother to enunciate that fact. Instead, she simply waved her sword around threateningly.
"I told you to come out, asshole!" she yelled, seemingly to empty air; but she could feel, even though she could not see, his presence, somewhere nearby. She lunged around, ready to strike behind her, but nothing appeared; in fact, what was behind her was no different than what was in front of her... empty hallway, going straight on until the eyes could no longer discern how long it really was... endless, in a word. The candles continued to flicker in their little holdings on the walls, and because it was now so quiet, apart from the slight breathing of the slayer, she could hear the slight popping they made as they burned.
She backed up a few steps, eyes searching the area, but still finding nothing. Naraku's laughter had died away, and it was now unnaturally eerie in the open space where she stood.
A few moments passed. And then...
"You said you were going to tell me where I was," she said suddenly, breaking the unnerving, oppressive silence; it was now starting to bug her.
Silence ensued again, but this time, only for a moment.
"Sango, you should know, by now, where you are... I am actually surprised that I even asked if you wanted to know where you stood."
The girl remained silent.
"Very well... I gather you are still confused... be that as it may." There was no annoyance in his voice; in fact, there hadn't been since this all began... at least, not that she could recall. He was always so patient, so confident, and so cool in his way of doing things that he was always, 100% sure that nothing could stop him. But, as mentioned before, that was almost always his downfall; too much pride is a bad thing... just look at Julius Caesar! (okay, off topic now).
"Before I tell you, Sango, let me show you something." That little statement was enough to get Sango moving, alert again, for any sign of something that might suddenly pop out.
Fwing!
With a little whizzing sound, something flashed in the air about five feet away. Instinctively, Sango ducked, barely avoiding what looked to be a small dagger, flying through the air, without any support at all.
She heard it ring down the hallway behind her, where it then disappeared into silence, as heavy as what had been before.
"What are you trying to pull?" she asked angrily, still in the down position, face beet-red, hair starting to come untangled from the ribbon she held it up with.
"Just seeing if you were paying attention, dear girl," Naraku said softly, still in the same calm tone.
"Whatever," Sango replied, straightening up again. "Now just tell me what you will so that I can get out of here and save my friends."
Unsurprisingly, Naraku laughed again.
"Save them? You wish to save your friends, when you do not even know they still live or not?"
For the first time, a trace of doubt crept into her mind. Maybe something did happen to them... if it did, it was all her fault; it had been her choice back then to leave the safety of her companions, ride Kirara and meet the source of the Shikon fragment, whose owner she had believed to be Kohaku. Her eyes welled up with tears.
Kohaku, she thought hopelessly, when will you ever find peace through your actions. When will you ever be free of that demon, Naraku?
"Sango," Naraku suddenly said, breaking into her mind, erasing the mental picture of her brother, and making her stiffen once again. "You are, simply enough, within one of my illusions." He said it so simply and plainly that it was as if it had been blatantly obvious from the start. But, of course this had been an illusion, though! The dead bodies of all of her friends, when she knew very well they were still alive and well (for the most part) were certainly not real. But then... what in this little situation was real? How did she even get here, first of all?
"You got here," the reply was, clearly from an intrusion into her thoughts, "by seduction." That served to confuse the girl even more. Seduction? What the hell was he rambling on about now? She waited for his response, which came soon enough.
"You, Sango, are the only one to pass the individual tests I have set for you and your friends... tests that make you think about your actions, your past, future and whatever else you must ponder... I have tested you on all of those accounts. Take the illusions, for example, of the bodies of your friends. You knew them to be fake, of course, because they appeared from seemingly nowhere, did they not? But, did you not think that they could have been there the whole time, just waiting for the right time to be revealed to your unbelieving eyes? Now that you know they are obviously not real, considering that they are now gone, disappeared into that realm we call 'the vanished,' the term used to describe things that are no longer upon this earth.
"Also, take note of where you now are, Sango. You believed this to be a real place, when you suddenly awoke here, did you not? Well, as a matter of fact, it is a real place... or, to be more direct, was a real place. It has since fallen into disuse and ruin, and I thought I would liven it back up to how it used to be, in the form of an illusion. This long hallway, which seems to your eyes to go on forever, is called the 'Corridor of Perplexity', which also means 'confusion.' This place used to exist in the town of Kudon, a hidden village deep in Japan (note from the author: if I butcher names of Japanese cities, pending I do come up with names, please either correct me or know that I am merely making them up.).
"And, as I am sure you are still wondering, about the term 'seduction' I gave to you a few moments ago? Ah, yes. A wonderful cohort of mine was steadily guiding you onward, speaking into your mind, a being called the Mind Wraith. I won't go into it here, but you were riding on Kirara, your neko youkai (cat demon), when you detected something upon the ground. The voice lured you... if you thought I did, you are mistaken."
Sango stared off into space, openmouthed, shocked by the stunning revelations of what she had just heard.
What voice is he talking about? And just what is this Mind Wraith?
She knew, even as she pondered them, that these questions would take a while to answer.
_-_-_
"Dammit!"
The word was a cry that echoed throughout the cavernous forest that the hanyou called Inuyasha found himself in.
How in the hell did he get here? He still did not know. And what had he been doing before he got here? He didn't know that, either. All he could seem to recall was that he had been standing in a great clearing where debris was flying all around him. Then the whole world had went black... oh... there had also been the sensation of moving around in a great arc very fast... as if he had been spinning in or on something.
But the question was what it was.
"Shit..." he muttered, presently leaning against a large oak tree, which seemed unnaturally tall to him, for some reason; in fact, all of the trees in this strange forest seemed a little out of place... as if they did not belong. "I can't believe that damned Yura got away..."
It had been about half an hour since the girl with the hair had managed to escape, (afraid?) driven away by the power of his mysterious sword. He, even now, was still marveling at it, examining its long blade when it was pulled free of its sheathe... the way it transformed from a rusted piece of shit to a gleaming, gigantic fang-like weapon... but how could that be?
He corrected himself about a second later.
Magic, of course... but of what sort was it? He could, very faintly, remember, as if it had occurred a hundred years ago, magic, of some sort...
"What are you doing, fool?! Hurry up and shoot it!" a boy cries up to a girl riding on his back. The girl looks sternly at him and replies, "Hey, don't yell at me like that! I'm not exactly a marksman, you know! But still... Kikyou, give me what power you may have possessed to help us through this!"
The girl readies a bow she is carrying, aims it up at a strange black bird that is flapping its wings, and nocks an arrow, preparing to fire.
"Hurry up, girl!" the boy yells impatiently, and the girl fires an arrow up at the (crow?) black bird... but misses.
_-_-_
"Hey, can I borrow your bow?" the girl asks a man who is standing with a large group of people, who in turn were staring up at the sky, where a large black bird was taking flight.
The man did not reply.
"Hey, listen to me!" the girl snaps, and the man starts and turns toward her. "Can I borrow your bow?" she repeats.
"Sure," the man replies, and hands her one... it's a little worn, but it would have to do. One arrow was all she would need for this...
About a hundred yards away, across a river, the boy with the white hair screams at the girl. "What are you doing, stupid?! Get the Jewel, idiot, the Jewel!" The girl ignores him, and instead pulls the crow's foot off a boy, where it had attacked him earlier...
Come on, I only have one chance to do this right, the girl prays. She attaches the foot of the crow to her single arrow with a piece of ribbon she borrowed from another villager and aims the bow at the crow, who was steadily vanishing into the sun.
"Hurry!" the boy shouts, cupping his hands over his mouth for resonance. If the girl heard him, she gave no sign. Instead, she readied her bow.
"What's she doing with that bow?!" the boy asks himself in disbelief. "My ass she's gonna shoot it!"
But, on this day, the girl named Kagome shocked everyone in that village.
With a sound like a twang! the arrow flew with lightning speed, from the bow string, into the sky, somehow angling up into the air toward the crow, who was still far away, and gaining the advantage of escape.
Yes! Do it! the girl prays, as the arrow launched itself at the bird.
With his eyes, the boy could determine that the arrow had what appeared to be the foot of the crow attached to it. He gasped, in spite of himself.
I don't believe it! She's shooting the foot! he thought, amazed.
The foot can't help but be drawn by the power of the Jewel, which almost guarantees it'll reach its mark! the girl thinks, knowing that her feeling was right... and it was.
With a blinding flash, the arrow reached the crow with the speed and accuracy of an experienced archer, and with just as much speed and force, exploded into the body, causing it to explode into numerous fleshy pieces, but this time... the pieces did not come back together.
Within the crow, the Jewel that it had digested to make it stronger began to crack visibly into many smaller pieces... and then...
With another blinding flash of light, this one even more powerful than before, the scattered shards of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls separated and flew in opposite directions...
_-_-_
What the hell was that? Inuyasha thought dazedly. He had practically fallen asleep against the huge oak, and did not realize, until this moment, that he had slid down its rough, thick bark to the ground below, where he lay curled up like a dog. He quickly sat up.
That dream... it seemed so real! Was it a dream, though? It was more like a memory...
Then, it occurred to him that the girl who had been in the dream had been in another of his (visions) dreams... the one he had utilized to help himself defeat Yura... the one where there had been a huge tower of hair, covered with skulls, and the girl (what was her name?) had been climbing across the hair, toward a strange red skull.
"That skull, Inuyasha! There is something in it!" Those had been her words... that girl's words... and she had said a name... Inuyasha? Was that his name? If Yura had said it, then he did not remember. In fact, everything that had happened to him in this space of just mere (minutes) hours was slowly losing context in his mind; it was like trying to keep water cupped in your hand... the details were leaving him as fast as he could hold on to them.
"Who am I, really?" the boy thought, and suddenly his mind went utterably blank, and he lay down on the ground to sleep.
_-_-_
"Heh... very interesting."
Far away, in their mountainside cave, Naraku was watching Inuyasha's progress through Kanna's mirror.
"Very good, Kanna... it would appear that Inuyasha is also persistent... my plan is falling apart already, is it not? Well, I think that one more dose of 'magic' is in order... to make them truly forget who they are... especially that Inuyasha."
On the opposite side of the cave, Kagura was still wondering what was going on.
What is Naraku thinking? she wondered, staring at a place on the wall for no particular reason; it was mainly to refrain from looking at either Naraku or Hakudoushi, who was presently floating in his barrier next to Naraku, apparently asleep. Not too far away, Kohaku sat dismally against another part of the same wall, head down between his legs. He appeared to be sleeping, but Kagura was not so sure. As far as the two of them knew, Kagura was the only one that knew Kohaku had his mind returned to him. For the moment, it appeared Naraku did not suspect. But, eventually, he probably would... for he would need Kohaku's shard of the Jewel to make it whole again. But why was he wasting his time, when he could he searching for the remaining shards? Why was he playing this game with his most hated enemies, if he could just pick them off easily one by one, instead of slowly torturing them?
Kagura still did not know, and probably never would know, her master's true motives.
My master! she scoffed silently. If I had my way, I would make sure he or no one else would be my master!
With his back to her, Naraku suddenly said, "Kagura, if you think anything like that again, I will have to kill you."
Kagura froze. How long had he been reading her mind? He must have just intruded, because she did not feel any feeling until now...
"I'm sorry," she admonished, keeping her eyes on the wall, which were shining with hate and malice.
Back still facing her, Naraku smirked. He peered into Kanna's mirror again, controlling his puppet as he did so. It was so easy to play with Sango... so incredibly easy. Causing her to believe that she had already passed his little test was nearly laughable. In fact... she hardly has scratched the surface of what would eventually come.
Naraku began to laugh softly, using the puppet to pull at Sango's restraints further, while now, all the while, his eyes were settled on something which was resting in the far corner of the cave...
He continued to laugh as he played with the demon slayer's mind, taunting her with assurances of giving her weapon back to her, when it was in fact with him here... in the cave.
_-_-_
Miroku was confused.
That was not really all that shocking, however... he had been in a sort of daze ever since Kagome-sama had done that weird action by the stream... had been tense, and seemingly not that awake.
The monk sighed.
Everything was spiraling out of control very fast, and he did not know how to stop it from becoming something that could not be reversed.
"Hoy, Miroku..." someone said, almost directly into his ear. He jumped, startled.
It was Shippou.
"Hoy," the little fox-tyke said again, "are you okay?"
Silence between them for a moment.
"I'm okay, Shippou... you don't need to worry about me." But in his mind, he was feeling that something was very wrong with Kagome-sama... something he could not quite put his finger on... but it was definitely something.
"I think you're lying, Miroku," Shippou pressed, leaning up against the monk, as if in fear; perhaps he sensed something different with Kagome-sama, as well.
Leaning over, so he would not be heard by anyone but the boy, Miroku whispered, "I think there's something up with Kagome-sama... don't you feel it?" When he finished asking his question, his eyes moved over to the stream, where the girl in question was presently washing her arms, sleeves of her uniform rolled up.
Too bad, Miroku thought suddenly, dismally. Too bad her ass is not as fun as Sango's to look at... and... He cut himself off right there, giggling softly to himself. Shippou's face broke into a smile, evidently pleased that the monk was in a better mood. He laughed in spite of himself.
"That's the spirit, Miroku!" Shippou exclaimed, bounding away from the lecher and landing on a nearby fallen tree, which looked as if it had recently toppled to the earth.
Miroku was staring at him, still grinning, when he realized that the young miko was standing right behind him. He gave an involuntary leap of shock.
"Kagome-sama!" he cried, seriously taken aback by her sudden appearance; she had appeared so suddenly... the last time he seen her, she had been over by the water... had she even been there at all...?
"What's wrong, Miroku-sama?" she asked, looking pretty much normal... at least as normal as her type could go. In other words, he corrected himself, she was as normal as Kagome-sama could be... she was... oh screw it! He didn't know how to describe her!
"You look as if you just seen a ghost, you silly monk," she continued, smiling at him; even though he did not want to... he wanted to look away, but her gaze held his gaze.
"It's just that I'm really tired, that's all," Miroku lied quickly... well, it was a half-lie, if there can even be such a thing... he was tired. But his other emotion, the one that was most yearning to escape him and render him a little chaotic, for lack of a better word, barely remained contained.
Kagome-sama's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she knew he was not telling the truth... but then her face took on its usual gait once more.
"Well, Miroku-sama," she started, running a hand distractedly through her long black hair, "I just wanted you and Shippou-chan, if he's able, to know that I sense the presence of the Sacred Jewel... and it's not far away." She said that with such calm and without any trace of panic, excitement or anything related to it at all that the monk just stared at her, unbelieving.
"Are you sure you are okay to move, Kagome-sama?" he asked, uncertain as to what her motives were... if she indeed had any, that is. She had mentioned her sensing the Jewel so casually; it was as if they were simply discussing the weather, which promised to be a good day, not a cloud in sight... no worries. Miroku had nothing but worries!
"Where is it? Can you tell?" he demanded of her. She sat, staring at him for a few moments, before she replied.
"It's about a mile or so to the north... it feels like the whole Jewel, not just a single shard... or as whole as it is right now... Naraku has nearly the whole thing."
Miroku stared at her anew. Naraku? Why was he suddenly so interested in him and his friends? What is exactly going on here?
"Are you sure it's Naraku?" he urged, grabbing her by the front of her uniform almost without thought, disregarding the way her eyes widened in shock. "If it is... if you are sure... then we must be off at once."
She nodded... seemingly certain. And without another word on the matter, she got up and walked away from him.
She only went a short distance, where she knelt behind a huge elm tree, disappeared for a few seconds, and then emerged, pulling behind her one of her "bicycle" contraptions.
After getting on and steadying herself, she turned to him.
"Miroku-sama... what are you doing? It's time to be off!" And without another word (again), she started to pedal away.
The monk watched her for a while, even after she was out of sight. He was confused as hell. Before all this had happened, before all hell had broken loose and half of their company scattered, they had all been running (with the exception of Sango, who was flying on Kirara) toward where Kagome-sama had first sensed the presence of the Jewel shard... and she was riding on Inuyasha's back.
After some watching of this, Miroku had asked her where her bicycle contraption was... the one she always brought over from her world on the other side of the Bone-Eater's Well... she had said that she left it in her world, and had none others around here in this era... something about one being broken.
Then what in the world did he just see now?
Where did this other bicycle come from?
_-_-_
Inuyasha.
The voice was so sudden and alarming that he leapt up from the ground, almost drawing his sword, having been woken from a very light doze.
Inuyasha... what are you doing? You know what you have to do, so go ahead and do it!
The voice was not familiar to him, although he could sense that it was a girl's voice.
"Who is it?" he called, to the forest surrounding him.
No reply.
He tried again.
"Hey, is anyone there?"
Still no reply.
He began to think he was losing it... that he was hearing things... but he was sure he heard a voice.
Then, when a few minutes passed, and it was so quiet he could hear a cricket chirp in the distance, it came again.
Wake up, stupid! What are you doing, laying on the ground like that? You have a job to do, so go ahead and get it done!
He was starting to get angry.
"Hey! Who the hell are you to order me around like this?! I don't even know where I am!" He waited, but there was no immediate response.
When he did hear it again, it sounded faint, as if its owner were getting farther away.
Inuyasha... I'm so frightened... please help me, Inuyasha! If you don't, we'll all die!
Now he was confused.
"Who is that? Identify yourself now!" His ears perked up for a reaction to his demand, but there was none. When it came again a minute later, the voice was angry again.
Hey, I told you to get your ass moving! Now do it! Do I have to tell you twice?! Wait, I already did... dammit!
Suddenly, the voice sounded clearer, as if he had been hearing it from his head, and it now was actually in the world of the living, around him, in this strange forest. He looked around, saw nothing, and yelled, "If you're here, come out! Don't make me force you to!" He hoped his threat would amount to something, but it did not.
"Draw your sword, Inuyasha."
Now the voice sounded like it was directly behind him; he jumped a mile.
He whirled around.
And gasped.
_-_-_
"Who is this, Naraku?" Hakudoushi asked, floating disdainfully inside his barrier, staring at the cave ceiling.
Staring through Kanna's mirror, which had now showed him Inuyasha's progress, Naraku wondered, also, who this newcomer was.
He had been distracted from Sango, to be lured by this... but what was it?
"I don't know, Hakudoushi," he answered, "but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough..."
He chuckled.
_-_-_
"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked, hand still resting on the scabbard that held his sword.
The girl, who was now standing behind him, gave a wide smile, showing off a neat row of white, even teeth.
"I'm Ibeka Yurianna," she replied, "but you can call me Yuri. I live here."
_-_-_
TBC
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