Manipulated – Part Six: Blood on the Wind
Corisu Li:
*ahem* I’ve decided to move the disclaimer from ‘Protect Me’ to this fic,
because more people seem to like this one, ne? ^^;;
Kunoichi: *sings*
‘Twas brillig... and the slithy toves... did gyre and gimble in the wabe...
Corisu Li:
*rolls eyes* Remind me never to let her watch ‘Alice in Wonderland’ again...
Kunoichi: All
mimsy... were the borogoves... and the mome raths... outgrabe...
Corisu Li:
Yeah. Well. *points to Kunoichi* I made the mistake of giving her a weapon...
Kunoichi:
*while still humming ‘Jabberwocky’, holds up Whackin’ Stick of Disintegration*
Corisu Li: To
top it off, I kinda created a new universe when I gave her that. Quite the
situation, really...
Kunoichi:
*whacks Corisu’s mug of hot cocoa, which promptly disappears*
Corisu Li:
--;;; Not AGAIN...
Kunoichi:
^_____^
Disclaimer: I
don’t own Lay’s Potato Chips. *holds up a bag* Well... I own some... but
not the company.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome was
perched beside Inuyasha on top of Hiro’s home, her knees drawn up to her chest.
The building was beautiful, closely resembling the one where they had found
Princess Tsuyu. The village was nearly silent, swimming in darkness as they kept
up a quiet vigil, each in their own way. Inuyasha searched for intruders by
physical means: sight, smell, scent, and hearing. Kagome, whose senses were not
at all as sharp, forced herself to be aware of any abnormal power signatures.
The young miko
slanted a glance at Inuyasha. The moon was full overhead, and his silver hair
caught the moonlight, shimmering like silken strands of the same substance. He
appeared to be deep in thought; his intense golden eyes were fixed on some
point far away. A chilly night breeze ruffled the hair of the sentinels as they
sat on in slightly uncomfortable silence.
Finally,
Kagome spoke. "Ne, Inuyasha?" There was no reply. With a jolt, Kagome
made a quite painful realization. ‘He’s thinking about her... Kikyou...’ She
turned away from him then, setting her chin between her knees. After a few more
seconds, she tried again, a little louder. "Inuyasha?"
This time, the
hanyou’s ears twitched toward her. "What?" he asked gruffly, not even
turning to face her.
"Have
you... have you thought any more about that haiku that Sango told us
about?"
Inuyasha still
didn’t turn his head toward her. "No."
Seeing that
she wasn’t going to get anything out of him but one-word sentences for now, she
fell silent, trying not to look at the figure beside her. She occupied her mind
by thinking about Miroku and Sango’s slightly more eventful jobs. Sango was
supposed to be scouring the murder scene, hoping to use her tracking skills to
reveal the direction that the killer had come from, and possibly where he had
gone. Inuyasha had visited the scene before, but he found himself unable to
catch the scent of the attacker anywhere in the area, rendering his abilities
fairly useless. Miroku was busy placing ofuda at strategic points around the
village.
Kagome leaned
back on her hands, shifting her balance carefully to prevent a fall. "You
know what I think?"
"Feh."
Kagome sighed.
"Are you going to say more than one word at a time tonight?"
"Mm."
Kagome’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. She fell silent once more, staring
into the heavens as the stars blinked and winked overhead. They sat in silence
for several more minutes. The wind changed direction, blowing toward them from
the trees.
Then,
abruptly, Inuyasha stood, his clothing rustling gently.
"Inuyasha?
Daijoubu ka?"
"I smell
blood." His eyes strained to see, but whatever it was was hidden behind
the wall of foliage. "Come on." He knelt and she climbed onto his
back, clasping her bow tightly in her left hand.
"Do you
think it’s the Phoenix?" Kagome asked as they quickly closed the distance
to the edge of the forest. Suddenly, Inuyasha halted, foregoing a reply. He
didn’t need to answer her; she could see for herself.
The light of
the full moon gave them just enough light to make out something odd. One of the
trees in front of them was undeniably dimmed. Gray.
A dark form
was slumped against the ashen bark.
Inuyasha
quickly closed the remaining distance and let Kagome slide from his back. The
body was that of a young girl, no more than six. Her head was bowed over her
chest, still rising and falling with her breath, and proving that she still
lived.
The blood was
issuing from two identical gashes: One at the crook of each elbow. Though she
wasn’t dead, the wounds could prove fatal if she wasn’t tended to immediately.
"Inuyasha, we have to get her back to the village!"
The hanyou
quickly knelt and pulled the girl into his arms, trying not to disturb the cuts
on her arms too much. When he finally straightened, he just stood for a while,
looking off into the distance with an almost forlorn look on his face. He then
began the trek back to the village, going much slower to prevent injuring the
girl any further.
Kagome watched
him depart, wondering at his odd behavior... then, quite suddenly, she understood.
Upturning her face, she watched a lone shinidamachuu soar overhead, clutching a
iridescent orb.
A single tear
fell from her eye.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It knelt over
the moonlit water, practically leering at his reflection. How weak this form
looked! Soft violet eyes, short, smooth black hair pulled back into a
ponytail... pathetic. They would have to be altered, and soon. But... not just
yet.
One of the
group seemed to be catching on. The taijiya... she seemed to notice that the
monk was acting differently. ‘How is he acting differently?’ it mused, absently
loosening the ponytail at the nape of its neck.
Ah. Better.
Not much, but an improvement.
It dipped the
blade of its beloved knife into the small stream, allowing the flowing current
to remove the stains from it.
A beautiful
blade. Nothing of the ningen world could match its power. It was a spectral
knife, and Phoenix was the only being who knew how to summon it. Pure evil,
solidified.... Its cut would leave no scent of the attacker, making it the perfect
weapon. The blade would hide from those who were not its master. Also, it
shared the desire of the wielder, and one never lived when it decided to kill.
Tonight...
tonight was entertainment. The girl would live. It was well fed, and didn’t
need her. Perhaps later.
The cold metal
gleamed as it was dried on the hem of Phoenix’s robes. Smiling maliciously, he
tucked it back into his robes and stood.
Strength
flowed through it. It wouldn’t be long before it took control... but until
then, the houshi needed to be supplied with false memories, false alibis... It
smirked, then faded.
Miroku
blinked. ‘What am I-’ But before he could even finish the thought, he caught
sight of an ofuda plastered to a nearby tree. Relaxing when he remembered his
mission, he continued laying an aura of protection around the city.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Sakai-san!"
Kagome began calling for the man as she rushed toward his home, well ahead of
Inuyasha and the child. "Sakai-san!"
Finally, a
familiar brown-haired head poked out of the front door. "Kagome-miko-sama?
What is troubling you?"
"There
has been another attack! I need my bag!" Hiro had to swiftly step aside as
Kagome rushed past him, heading for the room that had been set aside for her
and Sango.
As soon as she
entered, Shippou snuffled in his sleep and awoke. Kagome realized that he was
wrapped in one of her shirts and snuggled in the covers of her futon.
"Kagome?"
"Go back
to sleep, Shippou-chan," she said firmly, pulling her first-aid kit from
her bag.
The kit fully
awakened at the sight of the ‘healing box’, as he sometimes called it. Now he
wasn’t going back to sleep for sure! He scurried after Kagome as she strode
back down the hall towards the entrance.
Hiro had
instructed Inuyasha to lay the girl on a futon in a guest room that was close
to the door, trying to avoid moving her unnecessarily. Her skin was already
paling, and her breaths were becoming ragged. Kagome entered the room, not
sparing a glance to any of the male occupants as she knelt beside the prone
child.
The wounds
were already beginning to close, but Kagome needed to clean them - very
carefully. Hiro had obviously had a bit of training as a healer, because he had
a pot of water ready for her, sitting beside the futon. She spared him a
grateful smile before dipping a piece of cloth into the water and beginning to
bathe the girl’s cuts.
Shippou
watched, wide-eyed, from the door as Kagome tended the cuts with some
foul-smelling substance that she called ‘rubbing alcohol’ and wrapped the
girl’s wounds securely.
When the task
was done, she turned to Hiro, a troubled look on her face. "I think it
would be best if we tried to locate Sango and Miroku now... Maybe they saw
something."
Hiro nodded.
"I understand. After I tell this girl’s parents of what has happened, I
shall inform everyone that no person is to venture out alone, under any
circumstances."
"Especially
the girls," she added, standing and glancing back at the young child.
Already, she had fallen into a natural sleep; color was steadily returning to
her face. "Inuyasha, can you find the others?" Kagome put the
first-aid kit in the corner of the room and stepped to the door, bending down
and picking up Shippou. She didn’t look back at the hanyou.
"Feh. Of
course I can. Sango’s not far, and Miroku-" he frowned. In the short time
that they had been in the forest, he should have caught some hint of the
monk... but he hadn’t. "-should be close by, too," he finished.
"Shippou,
stay here. Inuyasha?" Kagome set the squirming and protesting kitsune down
and stepped outside, turning to Inuyasha to urge him to hurry. He flinched
slightly at the look on her face. She was angry about something... or hurt.
Instead of
acting on this knowledge, he snorted and followed her out of the house,
frowning when she made no move to climb onto his back once more. "Oi,
wench! What’s your problem?"
Kagome turned
her head to the east, away from the woods where they had found the child. It
had been nagging vaguely at her mind all day, but now she was sure. It had been
faint, so faint, in fact, that she had thought that it was too far away to
bother about at the moment. But now, it was being used.
"I sense
a jewel shard..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Corisu Li:
^___^ Wicked place to end a chapter... and NOW what are they going to do? They
can’t chase a jewel shard AND protect Sakai-san’s village at the same time, ne?
Kunoichi:
*whacks Inu’s ears with the Whackin’ Stick of Disintegration (WSOD)*
Corisu Li:
O.O;;; What have you DONE!?!!
Fangirls:
*appear out of nowhere* NUUUU!!!! The object of my affections! MUTILATED!
Inuyasha:
WHAAAAT? *blinks around in confusion*
Fangirl # 49:
How DARE you! You have insulted his bishiness by removing a lust factor!
Kunoichi: Uh.
Oops?
Corisu Li:
Calm down, girls. We just have to retrieve them from Choco-space...
Fangirls:
WHAT??!?!?!
Inu: WHAAAAT?
Corisu Li:
It’s where things that get hit with the WSOD go. *whips out the Scythe of
Inter-Dimensional Travel* And this will get us there! *blinks around at
fangirls, drops scythe, pegs them all with the dart gun in 0.0004 seconds, and
picks scythe back up* There. Now, I need reinforcements. No way I’m going in
alone!
Kunoichi: But
who? Who?
Corisu Li: I
know! *snaps fingers and Aamalie appears*
Aamalie: What
have you done now? *glares at Kunoichi*
Corisu Li:
--;;; She whacked Inu’s ears.
Aamalie:
*gasps* Oh, the horror!
Inu: WHAAAAT?
Corisu Li:
*sighs and pegs him with the tranq gun* I was getting sick of that.
Aamalie:
Well... *looks around at KO’ed fangirls and sighs* Should we get going? We have
to find those ears!
Corisu Li:
*raises Scythe and cuts a rip in the air* Go on!
Kunoichi:
WHEEE! Field trip! *goes into Chocospace*
Aamalie: *does
a back handspring through the rip*
Corisu Li:
--;;;; Show-off. *blinks at reader* >Well? Aren’t you going, too? After
all, we must see how this turns out... You may want to check the bottom of my
bio for facts on my various weapons... And don’t forget to review! *leaps
through rip, beckoning for you to follow*
~*~*~*~*~*
Review
Responses:
Nishigirl: I’m
so glad that you enjoyed my fics! I agree, the killing can be sort of extreme
at times, but I don’t think I’ll go into such detail again... well, maybe...
^^;
David: Thank
you! I’m glad you liked Protect Me (indeed, one of the few who did), but I
couldn’t write for it anymore. I was drawing a complete blank and I didn’t want
to write a half-hearted fic, so I had to let it go.
Kyoko Kasshu
Minamino: WAAH! No more MALLETS! I’m updating as fast as I can! Weeell... maybe
not as fast as I can... *runs from UPDATE FASTER!!!! mallet*
Kitsune Bi 123:
Wheee! Yes, torture is quite fun! And you’ll never be able to steal the plans
for the story! I have hidden them in the most secret of places! Mwaha- Miroku:
You mean in the- Corisu: *covers his mouth* Eheh. That was the Phoenix
talking... Ignore Houshi-sama here...
HJO: I see
that it’s up... and there was something about an illegal lemon that got it
deleted? *raises eyebrow* Hmm... BAD Heather! *cracks whip and throws mallets*
^______^ I always wanted to do that...
SM Together:
Hmm... I’m not quite sure. I think I can wrap it up in 12-14 chapters, but I’m
not sure yet. Hopefully, you’ll stick with me though, ne?
Kei: o.O;;;
So...many...emotions... ^___^ You’re weird! You remind me of Kuno-chan!
Kunoichi: -.-; What’s that supposed to mean? Corisu: ^^ *looks over her
shoulder and screams* Samara, NUUUUUUU!!!! *runs around screaming her head off*
Aamalie: *nods
sagely* That she must! And she will... mwaha... *pokes thrice* I wanna update
to ST! Gimmeeeeee... *begins to whine and tug at your sleeve like an annoying
little sister... who is older than you... ^_^*
Wakadori
Ramen: Whew... *wipes brow* I was afraid of you for a moment there! Thanks for
the kindness!
Lily Thorne:
ACK! Nu! No... glomping... authoress... WAH! Inu-chan, get her off me! Inu:
^___^ Nope! Corisu: *sweatdrops* You don’t know HOW weird it is for Inu-chan to
go "^___^" *blinks in amazement for a few more seconds* Thanks for
the review!
Kin103: Here’s
your update! Hope you liked!
Shateiel:
Thank you! And as for Sakai-san, yes, he does kick butt! I’ve never seen him
beaten! Or... maybe I’m having mental blackouts... it’s one of the two. ^_____^
~*~*~*~*~*
Preview of Chapter
7: The Tachi Splits
The youkai
whirled around, bearing its large fangs and snarling...... In its clutches, it
held a girl, not much younger than Kagome.
Inuyasha
blinked in recognition. "It’s that wench who wanted to bear the bouzu’s
child..."
"Koharu..."
Kagome breathed.
~*Please
Review!*~