Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Nikanaru
By : Koday
Category: InuYasha > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Previous
Chapter Illustration:

www.deviantart.com/view/23680389/

I went with
graphite pencils this time as opposed to my usual inking. Not a bad effect, I
suppose.

I showed
this to my fucking roommate, and he told me it looked like Al was jerking Max
off. Now I see it too, dammit.

�and�uh,
now you do too�dammit.

Nikanaru

Chapter 8

A Split Second of
Hope

Or

Some Asshole
Author Suddenly Remembers that he�s Supposed to be Writing Something and
Shamefully Returns, Months Later with an Installment You Could Crush With Your
Pinky Toe.

???? Years Ago

How many
shoes had she ruined along this dirty path? Numberless times she�d had to
replace the footwear she�d worn out, even after she�d gotten into the habit of
buying so-called �quality� hiking shoes. Certainly, they were a radical
improvement over the school-uniform shoes she�d worn during the first year of
her quest, but even the modern world�s toughest industrial materials were no
match for the rigors this journey in the feudal era had been putting them through.
But, to be fair, no one in the modern world had demon-fighting in mind when
they designed these things.

�Hey!�

So far,
this latest pair had been holding out fairly well. She didn�t care for how
bulky they were, nor how they clashed with the school uniform she regularly
wore, but one of the many lessons she�d learned on her adventures was that
substance really did matter more than style. In the end, she valued not having
her shoes fall apart mid-journey (forcing her to pick up a pair of those God-awful
sandals everyone in this time wore) more so than she valued looking good.

�Would you
stop?!�

Another
thing she rather liked about them was how the outsoles� jagged treads dug
firmly into the ground, allowing her to storm off far more efficiently. Not
that it really made much of a difference at the moment, given that he�d leaped
right overhead and landed in front of her path, but it was, at the very least,
one positive thing for her to focus on.

�Now
look�!�

�I SAID
I�ll be back in the morning.� Her sharp return was noticeably without her usual
warmth as her pace refused to break and she simply moved around him. Exhaling a
sigh of frustration, he twisted his whole body and stubbornly followed.

�You don�t
even need to go!�

�I don�t
need to be here, either.�

�Well then
what�s the point of going anywhere??�

�I want
to be there.�

�What the
hell for?!��

�So I can
rest.�

�So? There
are beds right in the village! They�re just as good as the ones at your house!�

�S�not a
matter of what I�m sleeping on. It�s just less noisy at home. I can rest better
there.�

�What? Are
you fucking crazy? There�s all that goddamned machinery and� and cars and shit!
How can any sane person possibly relax there?!�

�By knowing
that there�s something even worse they could be forced to deal with back here.�
He paused, only briefly, growling at the blow to his ego, but did not yet
relent.

�So you�re
just blowing off that whole training regiment you were on?� He sneered,
adopting a harsher, condescending tone. �Decided that you�re too lazy to
exercise and work on your aim, huh?�

�I�m in
better shape than I�ve ever been, and my aim is fine. I can afford to have one
night to myself.�

�Oh? If
you�re in such great shape, then how come I still carry you around everywhere?�
��
�Because
you grab me and sling me over your back whenever you get impatient� which, by
the way, is pretty often.�

�I am NOT
impatient! I carry you because you�re too fucking slow!�

�Yeah,
we�ve been over that.� She sighed. �I�m slow. Slow, slow, slow. I�ve got these
damn human legs that can�t exceed forty clicks.�

�� exceed
forty whats?�

�And, God
help me, but I�ve also got this stupid human flesh that actually requires that
I� stop and dress whenever I get a
scrape or gash, seeing as how I don�t heal from chest impalements overnight.�

�Well, it�s
sure as hell not helping that wound that you�re out here frolicking around!�

�And it�s
my fault, of course�� She continued, monotone and bored-sounding. ��because I
was born human. And it�s a good thing I�ve got someone around to remind of that
that�s my fault. Otherwise I might start to have these crazy thoughts, like
that I didn�t ask to be born this way.�

�As opposed
to what?!� He snarled back. �It�s not like anything useful ever goes on in that
head of yours!�

Regret
immediately struck him when she spun around and he got a real good look at her
face making the transition from sullen to angered. It was the beginnings of a
familiar routine� when this expression and those fiery eyes made their grand
appearance, a single word would be spoken� and he�d promptly eat dirt.

Her mouth
opened, and he instinctively flinched. Yet, something different happened this
time. Though her lips contorted in such a way to mouth the first syllable, she
stopped just short of actually saying it. Like a soldier in battle who�d
suddenly given up, her fiery expression held for a moment longer before finally
crumpling into a bitter scowl. She was usually so expressive, either in anger
or happiness, but now, she just seemed� resigned. As if she was tired� as if
she�d surrendered out of exasperation. Closing her eyes tightly, mouth pursed,
she said nothing as she turned back around and resumed her pace.

The ears
atop his head drooped at the sight of this. Getting slammed into the ground by
the cursed necklace was something he always despised but� oddly, not getting
slammed into the ground at this moment felt even worse. The rosary had always
acted as a means of absolvent, in a weird sort of way� he�d do or say something
to upset her, she�d punish him for it, and through that act, he�d be
exonerated. They�d be even. Even though there were times he thought she used
the damn thing recklessly and unfairly, he was often glad she was there to keep
him in line. He knew he was often times too brash and impulsive, and having her
there to act as a buffer to his tactlessness was, he had to confess, handy.

Now, he�d
just done something stupid� really stupid� and she was too hurt� too resigned
to even care anymore.

�I just
don�t see why you have to make such a big, fucking deal out of every stupid
little thing I say!� He cried out of frustration. Why the hell did she have to
be like this?? He was almost glad when she turned around to respond, but
disenhearted with her answer.

�Maybe it�s
because the things that you say actually mean something for some people.� She
said quietly before resuming her path, leaving the half-breed there to stare
after, crestfallen.

She was
always there. She was always at his side, tempering his crude, morose attitude
and actually smiling kindly in the face of it� or giving some of it right back,
depending on her mood at the time. He was like this with everybody, as he�d
never given two shits about what anyone ever thought of him� he�d had to be
that way. He was a half-breed. That had always been how he dealt with his life.

But her�
she was the first person who�d ever deflected this attitude. It at first
confused and frustrated him that she wouldn�t be driven away like everyone
else, but then� as the weeks together went by, in the back of his mind, he
began to think that she somehow �got� him. That she understood that it was a
conditioned reflex, and that there wasn�t always a correlation between his
mouth and his brain.

He kind of
liked that idea. Even though he just didn�t have to vocabulary to describe why,
he just liked that she put up with him. He liked that she always stuck around,
no matter what came out of his mouth. Maybe he�d taken that assumption for
granted.

Because�
and even if he didn�t have to vocabulary to express why� she was the one person
in the world whom he didn�t want believing he was an unfeeling, selfish jerk.
The rest of the mankind could go hang itself for all he cared, but her�

She�d
assumed that when she didn�t him coming up behind her that he was going to
leave her alone now� usually, he stomped around everywhere, but she was
surprised when his hand suddenly came down on her shoulder. And with a
surprising gentleness, at that.

�Okay.�
Turning back to face him, she saw that he was looking away, head and eyes
wandering off the left, unable to face her. It was as if he was about to do
something that made him terribly uncomfortable� nervous, even. �Look� I� I say
stupid things. That� whatever it is that most people have that makes them think
before they talk� I just don�t have that, okay?� There was something in his
voice� something� careful. As if, despite what he had just claimed, he was
trying very cautiously to choose his words right now.

�And I�ve
never needed that... I�ve never had to be careful about what I say. I�ve never
wanted to. That�s how I�ve been since I was a kid, and that�s probably how I�ll
always be.� Pausing, he took another deep breath. �I say stupid shit. Even if I
don�t really mean it. It�s not the first time it�s happened, and it sure as
hell won�t be the last time. That�s just how I am. But�� He paused again, this
time releasing her and turning his back to her, arms rigidly crossed around his
chest. He took a deep breath and, despite all of his inner inhibitions, said
it.

�� I just
hope that you to know that� even when I�m really pissed, no matter what I ever
say, I never� I never say it because I want to hurt you.�

Silence
ensued. She stood there, staring wordlessly at his back, effectively stunned.

�I�� She
really didn�t really know what to say. What could she say? Words� sincere
words� she knew those didn�t come very easily for him, if at all. The fact that
he could make a gesture like this toward her was just� overwhelming. It took
her completely off guard, and she suddenly forgot her anger. And her ability to
respond. If those words had come from anyone else, it wouldn�t have been that
big a deal. But from him?

��I do� I
do know that.� She admitted, a little shyly herself, deciding to offer him an
equally sincere response. � And� I�m� really happy to hear you say that. So�
thank you.�

�Keh.�

Despite it
all, she managed to smile. His head turned over his shoulder slightly,
glimpsing quickly at her and finding the fact that she was smiling again to be
to this satisfaction. Inhaling again, his voice once again found it�s usual,
gruff demeanor.

�Anyway��
He spoke, taking a few slow steps back to the village, trying to sound aloof.
��if you wanted to� stay here for another night� well, that wouldn�t suck.� He
was a bit surprised, but not at all unhappy, that she suddenly giggled. It was
a mirthful little laugh, one which seemed to erase all of the depression, anger
and sadness from her.

It did the
same for him.

�Yeah. I
suppose I will, then.� She finally acquiesced, making to follow him. The pace they took was
quiet and leisurely, despite that the boy generally favored running around. Yet
he wordlessly took measured strides, designed to remain at her pace. He even
slowed down enough to let her catch up to him, but said nothing of it. And she
didn�t press him about it.

In this
moment, she was reminded of something� one of the first things she�d learned
about him. When it came to him, it was the actions, always the actions that
spoke louder than any words. When that was taken into account� then he could be
considered the kindest person she had ever met.

*************

�Holy
fuck!!� His hands clamped down against his ears so hard, they nearly melded
into the top of his skull. The fact that the monster they�d been facing had
been completely reduced to ashes thanks to that shot was completely lost on him
as his eardrums rang painfully and thunderously. �What the hell did you DO?!�

�I just
pulled the trigger.� She explained.

��Just�?
You didn�t �just� anything! �

�Well, I
TOLD you this was going to be loud.� She muttered, lowering the weapon.

�That�s not
�loud�! That�s like fucking dynamite going off right in front of us!�

�Well,
sorry.� She huffed, putting it back into its holster. �But it killed the demon,
didn�t it?�

�AND my
fucking lobes!� He berated. �I thought you said that you wanted to be quiet
about having that thing!�

�I do. I
mean� I just don�t want mom to know I have it.�

�Why?�

�She
doesn�t like guns.�

�Yeah, well
now neither do I!� Glaring at the strange, modern weapon she�d brought back
with her from her home, he nearly growled at it in anger. She�d previously
explained to him that it sort of worked like a little miniature canon. An
excellent analogy, seeing as how it was nearly as loud as one. �What�s wrong with
the bow and arrows you�ve been using before now??�

�This is
more effective.�

�It�s more
deafening! That noise�ll attract every demon miles from here! You may as well
be throwing thunderbolts at �em!�

�I just
thought I�d� y�know, try it and see.� She shrugged, examining the firearm,
making sure the put the safety back on. �I mean, the miko energy went into the
bullet just as easily as it does for the arrows.�

�Yeah, but�
isn�t there some way you can quiet that thing down?�

�Well�
there are these things called silencers that can reduce the noise� but getting
one isn�t going to be easy. It�s not quite legal for me to have one.� She
paused briefly. �Then again, it�s not really legal for me to have this,
either.�

�So can you
get one, or not?�

�I can, but�
it�s gonna take a few days. And I have to do it without my mom finding out.�

�Oh,
great.� He sighed, still whittling away at his hurt ear with his pinky finger.
�So, uh� until then, could you, like, not fucking use that thing�please?�
Sighing at his muddled attempts at being polite, she nevertheless found herself
grateful that he was at least making the effort.

�Okay�� She
acquiesced, despite her
better judgement, putting the gun in her backpack and picking up the quiver of
arrows she�d previously set down. �I�ll stick to the arrows until then.�

�Yeah�
thanks.�

**********

�Hey� hey,
wench, you tired?�

�Mmm? No,
no, m�fine.�

�We can
stop here for the night, you know.�

�Too
early.�

�Naw. The
sun�s been down for hours. We can make camp.�

�I thought
you wanted to get there early.�

�Yeah, but�
I guess there�s no sense in doing it if the rest of you are all going to be
fucking zombies by the time we get there.�

�Hmmm��

�What?�

�What?�

�What�s so
funny?�

�I�m not
laughing.�

�You�re
smirking...�

�I�m just
smiling.�

�Well, fine
then, what the hell are you smiling about?�

�� I dunno.
I guess it�s just been a good day?�

�Keh.
You�re so fucking weird sometimes, I swear.�

�Really?
I�m only weird �sometimes� now?�

�Yeah� I
guess you�re making progress. Or� maybe I�m just around you so much that I�m
used to what a crazy wench you are.�

��and this
coming from a guy who eats processed shrimp noodle like it�s some kind of
medical necessity?�

�Some kind
of what?�

�Medical
ness� aww, forget it.�

�No! Why do
you always do that?�

�Do what?�

�You say
something that has something to do with your world, and then you never fucking
explain it to me! What you think I�m too dumb to understand?�

�Uh� it�s
not that I think you�re dumb� which I don�t. But it�s probably because whenever
I tried to explain some of this stuff to you in the past, you kept griping
about how annoying and useless it is.�

�Well, now
I wanna know!�

�Really?�

�Yeah,
really!

�Why the
sudden change?�

�I dunno�
maybe I�m making progress, too.�

��yeah. I
guess we both...�

�GUYS!!�
The sharp voice of their friend alerting them very suddenly, both spun around
as the older demon slayer came rushing up to them.

�What?
What�s wrong?�

�We have to
go back.� She explained.

�What?!
Why??�

�A�� She
heaved. �A messenger from the� the Wolf Tribe caught up with us back in the
village.�

�Yeah�
and?�

�We have a
BIG problem.�

***********

Her own
scream barely registered in her ears� they were still ringing from all the
violent explosions of energy that had ripped the landscape apart all around
them. But she screamed out nonetheless, for even if she couldn�t hear it, she
prayed desperately that he could� that he would show some sign that he could
still hear her. But as she limped toward him, she heard none. He lay there,
motionless�

Never
before in her life had she experienced this kind of sheer exhaustion� all of
her energy, both physical and spiritual, had been utterly depleted. Everything
she had left in her, she�d put into that final eruption of energy. Even now,
with the charred landscape around them smoking still, she could see his toppled
body off in the distance. Every facet of her being was fighting to not collapse
down and succumb to unconsciousness. How she was succeeding at this moment completely
eluded her. It physically hurt to keep her eyes open. She was injured and
tired, her vision hazed, and every step she took felt like a hurdle. And yet,
she continued on, nonetheless. She had to get to him.

When
finally she�d limped over to where he was, she collapsed just next to him,
reaching out with her hand, still screaming� still crying. Hoping to God that
he�d respond somehow. With her hand clutching his robes, she was able to detect
the shallowest of breaths as his chest barely rose and fell. Even with her body
screaming out in protest, she forced herself to crawl over to where his face
was� she had to look at him� had to see him. Had to see his eyes.

She
screamed more� she couldn�t even be sure if any sound was coming from her lungs
at this moment, her throat was so raw, but she still would not stop crying out
his name� over and over. Only when she saw his head move slightly did she stop.
Slowly, his neck craned over to meet her face. There was only a little blood
trickling down from the side of his mouth, but his heavy lidded eyes made clear
the serious extent of his injuries.

Still, her
ears rang. Still, she couldn�t hear anything. But still she asked him� was he
going to be okay? Though she couldn�t listen to her own voice, she was certain
that�s what she asked him.

His lips
moved� only with extreme slightness, as he barely had enough strength left to
even speak. What was he saying�? She couldn�t hear him. She couldn�t read the
minimal movements of his mouth.

But no
matter how hard she held on, the darkness swept in� her head fell, right next
to his as her eyes were forcibly shut. A moment later, his did too.

*********

She found
her voice again� only in the last place she wanted to have it. She had it back,
but only so she could uselessly beg for mercy from a creature that possessed
absolutely none.

�No�
please��

Her life
ended yesterday. She wanted to resist more� she wanted put up more of a fight.
Yet she couldn�t. She had neither the strength, nor the will. This was
doubtlessly why he was doing this now� taking her during her single greatest
moment of weakness.

��stop��

If had had
any kind of sense of humor at the moment, she might have observed how he went
about his task with the same kind of cold, ruthless efficiency he showed in
battle. He did nothing more than he had to� he did not touch her breasts, nor
any other part of her body� they was useless toward the task he had at hand.
With his tail, he had pinned her down, making it impossible for her to move.
With his one hand, he�d quickly stroked himself into a sufficient erection.

��I�I
can�t��

And without
a single break in stride, he�d forcibly plunged it into her. When her hymen had
shattered, she�d barely had enough left in her to scream.

Even now,
it all felt surreal. She wanted to believe that this couldn�t be happening,
that none of the things that had happened in the last 24 hours could have� but
the feeling of him unsympathetically pumping himself into her body was far too
real� too harshly real to be disbelieved.

��begging
you��

He stopped,
but only for the few seconds it took to release her hip and backhand her across
the face with a warning growl.

�Shut� up�
bitch!� The blow had been hard enough to knock her out, but she wasn�t that
lucky. Still, her conscious mind lingered, forcing her to feel, with
excruciating vividness, his member warping her virgin insides as he resumed his
pitiless thrusting.

His face�
even his face hadn�t changed. Even in this act, still that stony expression
remained, with only a slight frown being of any noticeable difference. None of
this horrible experience was being made in hatred, lust or vice. It was nothing
personal, or against her. No, this was all strictly business to him. But
perhaps that�s what made it even more terrifying. He didn�t want her, but he
wanted something from her. And this was the only way in which it could be
gotten.

This was
the price she paid� for merging her being with the Shikon. For becoming
something powerful enough to become desirable, even to him.

Hopelessly,
tears streamed down her face, thankful that her exhausted body was slow to
respond to this invasion� at least he would not have that satisfaction that she
had showed any sign that she had enjoyed it. Not that she suspected that he
cared whether or not she did. He sought only his end, as quickly and
effectively as possible. Anything else was just noise.

In truth,
it didn�t last that long� though to her, each passing second was scarred into
her memory in agonizing detail. But after what had felt like forever, he
finally gripped at her hip harshly and, with one single thrust, impaled her all
the way in. A hissing groan was the only sign he gave of having achieved his
climax. And though it was the end, it was still the hardest part� she felt him�
she felt the essence that was him slip past even the furthest depths that had
been safe from the length of his manhood up to this point. There was the
horrible feeling of his seed surging into her. It made her realize� it made her
realize that this was not the end� this was only the beginning.

�My child��
He hissed.

**********

This was
heaven?!

From his
vantage point, he saw everything� every single last horrible, abhorrent thing
that his brother was doing to her. He saw clearly the pain in her face� he
heard her soft, whispering voice begging for mercy. He watched him beat her
into submission� and he saw how heartlessly he took her.

This was
heaven?!

From here
in the afterworld, he was given the choice of watching� seeing what was
happening to her now. It pained him� more than he could conceivably dream, to
watch this happen, and to know that he was absolutely helpless to do anything
about it� and yet, he could not turn away from it� he could not stop watching�
no matter how unbelievably it hurt to see this happen, he could not turn his
back on her. Even in death.

This was
heaven?!

He would
easily trade an eternity in hell over what he was now witnessing. He would
suffer a thousand eternities if it meant stopping this from happening. But he
couldn�t. This was the living world, he was watching. He was no longer part of
it. He couldn�t do a damn thing� except�

You�ve
earned your place here. They told him. Though you�ve committed many sins in your time, the
changes you made� your actions leading up to the final days of your life were
of great virtue and courage. You have proven that your soul is indeed the one
that merits eternity in paradise. The changes he made? He only ever made
them on account of her. Thanks to her, he had found redemption� it was her who
saved him. Her who made his life something worth changing. And now here he was
in heaven� while on earth, the one who saved him was suffering� suffering
abhorrently. Watching this, he cried. Sorrow and misery, greater than any he
had ever known when he was alive, filled him as he wept helplessly.

This was
heaven.

This was
paradise� he was given so many choices� he could have simply erased his pain�
made himself forget it. But he refused. The very idea of it completely
disgusted him. And so he had begged them� begged them to let him do something.
Anything. Anything he conceivably could to help her. Just to be with her again.

Do you
have any idea what it is you ask? You have achieved heaven. You needn�t live
again. Should you do so, your slate will be cleaned. You may not achieve what
you have in this lifetime, and your soul may grow errant again. There is
absolutely no guarantee. You would risk this?

Without a
second�s hesitation.

Know
this� You can live again, but not as you are now. Your soul will return, but
your mind, your body, and your memories will be forever lost. You will remember
nothing. You will not even remember why it is that you have done this.

If that was
the only option, then so be it. There was no chance of the Tenseiga being used
to revive him� his brother would see to that. No other means of cheating death
were available to him. If he was to return, he had to do this through the
natural laws which the Gods had bestowed.

Very
well, then. We will honor your requisition.

This was
how much he loved her. This is how much he wanted to protect her. Even if it
meant losing the most cherished, precious memories he had of their time
together. Even if it meant never getting to hold her in his arms again as a
lover. But somehow, he was certain� certain that he could save her again.

Even if it
meant rebirth.

**********

�My child�
my Nikanaru��

***********

Two Years Later�

Early rays of reddened sun began to splay their way across
the green landscape, seeping through small cracks in the foliage that was the
roof of the forest. A time when days began anew, when creatures of all shapes
and walks of life awoke to continue their existence. The sun blazed into the
pink morning sky particularly brightly, as though inviting all life to the
awakening of a beautiful and enjoyable day.

But none answered that invitation. There was no life. Barely
were there the stirrings of any creatures. No howling of roosters from nearby
villages. No chirping or singing of any birds. Even the air itself was stilled,
as no branches swayed in the breeze. The spotty, shadowed canvas covering the
forest floor was unnaturally still. The dawn greeted the morning virtually
alone.

Perhaps they had known what was coming. Many held a belief
that nature itself could foretell the comings of misfortune in an environment,
and act accordingly. Rats would abandon a ship in anticipation of it sinking.
Birds would flee the trees moments before violence broke out in the grounds
below. And here, all forms of life had fled, if they were capable of it, from
something. If the degree of desertion in the forest was of any indication on
the severity of this danger, then it was something of truly fearful
proportions.

But the forest wasn�t deserted. Not completely. At least two
people were there, although not by choice. There were places far safer than
this, where they were far less likely to be hunted down and killed. But that
would have only delayed what he had already accepted as inevitable. His
exhaustion was evident, as from the torn, sweat-stained clothing and the heavy
bags under his eyes. This was not the result of merely running for hours, but
fleeing for days; Running, hiding, walking when possible, but never stopping.
Not once resting from his given task. It was the maddening kind of resolve that
could only come of one who had already accepted that his fate was sealed. There
was nothing he could do�nothing that would matter, nothing that would change
anything, nothing that would make a difference, except for one thing�and by the
Gods, he would do it.

He was running for salvation. Not for himself, but for the
wailing baby in his arms.

�Please, Nikanaru�� Stragled from the endless running as
those lungs were, the pleas he hopelessly laid upon the child were uselessly
hoarse. But he tried anyway. That�s what he�d always been taught, no matter
what the situation. He would not give up, not on this mission, nor the child.
��c�mon, quiet down. Please. They�ll hear you.� But the child wailed on, and no
one could blame him. Three days of suddenly being separated from the bosom of
his mother, three days of meals barely adequate for any healthy child, three
days of being harshly held in the arms of a caretaker constantly on the run,
and three days of barely any sleep. If the child were old enough to understand
what was going on, understand the danger they were in, then perhaps he would
have withheld voicing his displeasure with the current circumstances. But as it
was, he was an innocent baby deprived of everything he should have, and was
crying its lungs to pieces over it.

All that the child�s fox demon caretaker could hope to do at
this point was pump his already exhausted paws even harder against the ground.
Nikanaru would not appreciate the greater jolts in movement, but there could no
placating the infant now. They were too close now� but so was Naraku. To stop
now would be failure. It would be his life�and the baby�s.

�Easy�� The kitsune soothed, petting the child on the head.
It may have been fruitless to even bother to calm Nikanaru down at this point,
but what he did, he did out of love, not for the sake of survival tactics.
��we�re almost there. I promise you�ll be okay.� The more they raced on, the
more and more he was starting to recognize the territory he was in. It had been
almost two years since last he�d last been here, but it was all just as he�d
remembered it, save for the lack of any animal or insect life whatsoever.

Almost there.

An unnatural wail screeched across the landscape. It was
close, and the kitsune dared to look behind him. Thundering footfalls could now
be heard, and trees were being carelessly slammed off to the side by whatever
lunged through the forest canopy. It was coming for them, and coming fast. It
seemed impossible at the time, but he managed to push himself even further and
run even harder. It had barely made a difference, though, as the menace came
crashing through the trees at an unholy speed, and would easily overtake him.
Tactfully, he suddenly turned himself 90 degrees and leaped forth, barely
dodging the lunging behemoth.

All of his training this past year had clearly paid off, as
that lunge sent him flying several yards away from his pursuer, whose momentum
was still sending it off in the wrong direction. Soon, he found himself dashing
out from under the trees and into the clearing of a familiar village. He had
originally intended to go around it so as to not lose the stealthy cover that
the forest could provide, but seeing as how the enemy had already found him,
the best option available to him was a direct beeline for his final
destination.

The village
was abandoned. No doubt word had gotten to the people and they�d fled.
Mercifully, there were no stubborn stragglers vowing to defend their land at
all cost. Lady Kaede was a strong and respected leader, and had doubtlessly
convinced everyone that they had no choice but to leave. Dashing through the
fields and cutting around the huts, he once again heard the infuriated wail of
the creature behind them. Daring to look back once again, it crashed through
the trees and into the fields, and he was able at last to discern what infested
creature was perusing them.

Appropriately
enough, it was a massive, house-sized tarantula demon. Naraku had always had a
penchant for arachnids. Normally, despite their immense size, tarantula demons
were quiet and stealthy hunters. However, under Naraku�s infestation, it was
like a volatile bull, charging recklessly and unstoppably at its target. And
with those multiple legs pumping furiously, it was gaining on them fast.
Despite the distance that the kitsune had managed to put in between himself and
the monster, he could tell already that it would overtake them before he
reached their target.

This is
where the combat training would come in handy. No longer was he some childish
prankster who relied on illusions and tricks to confuse and distract opponents.
He had made a vow to protect her, and her child, and he had had to become
strong in order to fulfill it. And even if he had already failed to protect
her, he was sure as hell not going to give up on Nikanaru.

Within him,
he began charging up his energy, or as much of it he had left in him. Just as
he�d managed to clear the village and head for the forest path, the tarantula
had already started smashing through the huts between it and its prey as though
they were nothing. Only a few yards left to cover�he had to time this right if
he was going to succeed. He knew he wasn�t strong enough to destroy the
tarantula entirely, but he could wound it enough to give him the precious few
seconds he needed.

And
suddenly, off in the closing distance, there it was�the Bone-Eater�s Well.

�No sooner had he spotted it than the
tarantula unleashed a battle cry as it leaped into the air, lunging for them
again. Turning around fast, he took careful aim at the skyborn arachnid.

�FOXFIRE!!!�
Ages ago, it would have simmered forth from his fingers with barely enough
intensity to light a paper on fire. Now, however, it blasted out with a rush of
fierce concentration and power. The green fireball blazed across the morning
sky and struck true, managing to blast off one of the tarantula�s legs.
Screeching in pain, the beast lost its balance and came crashing clumsily down
into the ground a few meters behind them. Not hesitating for a second, he leapt
for the well, timing his jump perfectly to leap down into it.

Truth be
told, he hadn�t been entirely certain if this would work at all. He knew only
certain few people could travel through the well, and Nikanaru had never tried
before. But he was her son, so he prayed immensely that whatever it was about a
person that permitted them to use the well was hereditary. In any event, he had
to try. The child would be unquestionably doomed if it stayed in this world.

His faith,
his hopes, and his efforts were justified to him when a familiar blue light
began to shine as he descended a few feet into down into the wooden shaft.

And it was
all torn away when the leg he�d burnt off the tarantula fell in after them,
grazing the baby in the head. That brief, split-second touch was all that was
needed for the black tendrils in the decapitated leg to whip out and imbed
themselves into the child.

�NO!!!!�
His wail echoed against the right walls as he wanted to stop, wanted to do
something� but it was too late. Nikanaru was de-materializing in his arms, the
light of the well taking him. When the kitsune struck the bottom of the well,
and the light was gone�and so was Nikanaru.

�No�no, no,
no, no, no!� Desperate, beyond reason, he leapt back up and down into the well
again, logically knowing that it would not work for him. But he tried anyways,
and was predictably treated with nothing but gravity and a dirt-bottom. No blue
light. No warp.

No hope.

Clutching
his red hair, he fell to his knees in the agony of his own failure. Now things
were even worse than they might have been had he chosen to do nothing�not only
was the child he had sworn on an oath of honor and love to protect now
infested, but that infestation had been sent to the other world, where it could
once again begin to spread and conquer, just as it had here.

Looking up
out of the rim of the well, he saw that the infested tarantula had recovered,
staring down at him through the rim of the well with murder and rage in its
eyes. It was too big to fit down the narrow passage, and it wouldn�t dare try
to destroy it in order to get to its prey, but it had him hopelessly cornered.

�Kagome��
He murmured, clenching his watering eyes in defeat. ��I�m so sorry. I�m so
sorry��

End
Chapter 8

************

A/N: Okay, apologies all around for the ridiculous
waiting time between this update and the last. Aff.net was giving me a lot of
problems earlier, and I only came back after these few months. (Plus, I haven�t
exactly had a lot of what they like to call �Free-Time.�)
Enough people have been wondering about the back-story that
I figured that I�d devote a full chapter to making some annoying little hints
about it. This may have come off as dark, but I did warn you from the first
chapter on that this story was going to have some serious elements to it. I�m
trying to create a juxoposition here between the world Max grew up in, and the
world he�s going to discover when he begins to encounter elements of his
heritage.
And by the way, don�t go thinking that you�ve figured
everything out yet. I�m still holding a lot of mystery back. Because, see, I�m
an asshole.
So� next chapter, we�ll pick up where we left off!

Stay cool,
baby.
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Nikanaru	By : Koday Category: InuYasha > General Views: 3209 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Nikanaru