Author's note: I was inspired yesterday. Make sure you review on this one (I love long reviews, though short ones are ok).
Enjoy!
A soothing breeze whipped through the air, cooling the three travelers as they passed under the hot sun. Kaijin's eyes focused on the mountains ahead, pleased with the speed they were approaching.
Slightly behind him, Inuyasha huffed as he took another strong leap.
"So, Cat Breath, how much longer will it take to make it to the Goddess' lair?"
The tiger turned to face him, smiling. "At the rate we're going, we should get there tomorrow. Sound good?"
"Hell yes." Inuyasha stifled a relieved sigh. It was about time he was able to get this damn doodle off his hand. He'd suffered enough embarrassment to last him a lifetime.
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the tiger demon. "But you know, we would have reached them a hell of a lot faster if you hadn't stopped every ten seconds along the way."
Kaijin rolled his eyes. "Oh, give me a break. First of all, we've been making fairly good time, thank you very much, and secondly, if we hadn't kept stopping, you would have passed out from heat exhaustion." He gave Inuyasha a sour look. "Don't you think it would make more sense to stop for a while often instead of having to wait a day or two for you to recover from heat stroke?"
Inuyasha scowled and opened his mouth to reply, but he paused when a scent passed his nose.
"Hey, do you smell that?" Sniffing, Inuyasha aimed his next leap higher to get a better look at the landscape. Kaijin followed suit, also sniffing discreetly at the air.
"Yes, I do." The tiger frowned. "Something's burning. And it's not far off."
Glancing at each other, they gave a grim nod and raced towards the source of the scent. Before long, a tower of smoke loomed above the trees, and the stench of burning matter clogged the air.
A rush of adrenaline surged through Inuyasha's veins. This fire didn't smell like a natural one. It carried the scent of demon, blood, and burning flesh, and it set Inuyasha's stomach churning. Ears twitching, he began to pick up the sound of human screams.
Immediately, anger began to beat heavily on his heart. Why the hell did so many villages always have to be attacked? It seemed like everywhere he went, more people had died and had to be buried, and it was always, always for no reason other than someone's sick amusement.
Abruptly, they broke out of the woods, and both demons came to a halt to stare at the chaos ensuing before them. An entire village was ablaze, horses whinnying and people running about, screaming. Beneath one burning building, a pair of dirty children huddled together and cried.
Growling, Inuyasha ran forward. "Hang on, Kagome!" He tried to sift scents out to determine what the demon was, but the scent was buried beneath the overwhelming stench of smoke and decay.
Kaijin watched Inuyasha dive into the village, Kagome wearing a grim expression on her face. He hesitated for a long moment before following. It's been a really long time since I ventured into a human village for any reason. Frowning, he steeled himself and raced forward. Who the hell cares? They need help! My problems can wait until later, dammit.
Inuyasha paused in one blazing street, crouching to let Kagome off his back. Ears tweaking, Inuyasha rested a hand on his sword hilt and glared at one running villager.
"Hey! What's going on here?" he demanded. The villager made to ignore him, but Inuyasha snatched him by the shirtfront. "I said, what's going on??"
"A demon!" the man sputtered. "He's going to destroy the entire village!" A nearby crash made the man squirm violently. "Let me go!! Let me go!!!"
"Sheesh, put him down already, Inuyasha." Kaijin landed next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He's frightened! We can find out the information on our own."
"Shut the hell up, Cat Breath!" Irritated, Inuyasha released the man, who was staring at Kaijin with large, frightened eyes. "And what the hell is the matter with you??"
The man's face had gone sheet white, and he stumbled back. "Not another one! Why won't you tigers leave our village alone??"
"What??" Frowning, Kaijin took a step forward, but the man simply screamed and ran away. "What the hell was he talking about?"
"We have company, boys."
The two demons turned to Kagome as she bent to pick up a forgotten bow and quiver of arrows from the street. Notching an arrow, she peered through the smoke ahead.
"I can sense someone coming. There's so much jyaki rolling off him, he might as well shout his presence!"
Inuyasha snorted, unsheathing Tetsusaiga. "I don't think he's worried about that. He is burning a village down." A smirk settled onto the dog demon's face. "All the better if he comes to us. Saves us the trouble of looking for him."
A tense moment passed, flames sparking and licking hungrily at the buildings nearby. Growling, Inuyasha started to take a step forward...
BOOM!
Inuyasha was thrown back as the ground in front of him suddenly exploded with fire. Landing unsteadily, he narrowed his eyes as a form dropped down into the smoke.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, lifting his sword.
The demon chuckled. "No one important. Just a nobody out for a night on the town." Laughing heartily, the demon stepped through the smoke towards them. "Thank you for bringing me new toys to play with!"
Kaijin flinched as the demon demon's voice finally registered. "Tsuyosa...how could you?"
Kagome and Inuyasha turned to stare at Kaijin after his whispered comment.
"You know him??" Inuyasha growled. He turned back to the demon, whose form was still partially obscured in the smoke.
The demon laughed gruffly, making Kaijin flinch again. "Well, well, well, what have we here? Lord Kaijin, in the flesh!" Red eyes glinting in the firelight, he stepped into the open. "Long time no see, Master."
As light finally settled on him, the demon bared a feral grin, his black tail twitching eagerly behind him. He towered over the two boys by a good half meter, his broad, fur covered shoulders making the rest of the world seem to shrink around him. Lifting a hand, he let blood-soaked claws slip free of his fingers, chuckling as he deftly licked them clean.
Kagome gasped, staring at him. "H-he's a tiger demon??" She turned to gape at Kaijin. "Is he...related to you?"
Kaijin wore a sick expression. "N-no...he was a childhood playmate from a neighboring clan." Scowling desperately, he pulled his black sword free of its sheath. "How could you do this?? All those lives you've destroyed!!"
"Bah." Tsuyosa waved a hand dismissively. "They're only humans. They're only good for sport as is." As a pair of children ran by, he turned and slashed at them, sending arcs of ki towards the helpless kids.
"No!!" Kaijin dropped his sword and dove, knocking the kids out of the way. Two blades cut viciously into his legs, making him howl in pain.
"You sick son of a bitch! You were going to just slaughter those kids!!" Inuyasha leveled his sword on him. "I'll cut you in two!"
Smirking, Tsuyosa lifted his now clean hand. "Oh? We'll see about that." Eyes narrowing, his smile took on an evil edge. "These humans were boring me anyway."
As he spoke, a spark ignited in his hand and began to spin, joined quickly by several swirling balls of fire. The balls grew, howling as they spun in a glowing circle above the demon's hand. Grinning, he drew back his palm.
"Let's see how you handle this, Dog Boy! Honoo no Bakuhatsu!!"
The balls of fire crashed together in his palm.
FWOOOM!!
Inuyasha barely had time to throw Kagome and himself down as a tremendous blast of fire exploded towards them. A shaky building behind them was blown apart, flaming debris soaring through the air.
Growling, Inuyasha climbed to his feet and clenched his sword, letting the wind scar swirl about the blade.
"Kaze no Kizu!!"
Snarling back, Tsuyosa threw himself to the side and hurled a volley of fireballs at the blast, forcing it to deflect slightly. Inuyasha's attack missed him by a hair, singing the fur on his arm. His smile gone, Tsuyosa placed both hands in front of him and began amassing fire in his palms.
"Why you little snot! I'll teach you to mess with tigers!!"
"No! Tsuyosa, don't do it!" Patting the frightened children on the head, Kaijin stood and faced his former friend. "What's gotten into you? You never used to be like this!"
Tsuyosa scowled at him. "Yeah, well, times change, Lord Kaijin. Hell, you should know that better than anyone!" A dark smile settled on his face. "After all, normally a deposed king would be destroyed."
Deposed king? Shaking her head, Kagome fitted an arrow to her bow and aimed at the large tiger demon. His attention wasn't completely on Kaijin yet, so she'd have to wait...
Kaijin took a step forward. "You think they didn't try? And where were you then, huh?? When I needed you the most, you vanished!"
Tsuyosa chuckled, placing one fire-laden paw towards Inuyasha and Kagome and the other towards Kaijin.
"My apologies, Lord Kaijin, but as I said, times change. I was no longer required to be your friend."
"Required?" Kaijin's eyes grew wide. "What the hell do you mean, required??"
"Please, Lord Kaijin, let me make up the lost time with you." His eyes narrowed. "I'll see you in Hell!!"
With that, he fired twin blasts at the group. Cursing, Inuyasha snatched Kagome into his arms and dodged, but when he glanced at Kaijin, the tiger hadn't budged.
"Move, you idiot!!" Inuyasha yelled out.
KSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH...
Lifting his sword, Kaijin lowered his head. Black waves of ki streamed out of the blade, hissing as they took to the air. When the fire raced forward, the black wisps stretched out and wrapped furiously around the heat. Within seconds, the blast vanished, its only remnants a couple piles of writhing black and red mist on the ground.
Kaijin was silent for a long moment, his head still bowed. "You want to kill me? First you say that our years of friendship, the only real friendship I've had, were meaningless, and now you try to kill me?"
He lifted his head, his normally green eyes burning a violent red.
"You bastard."
Red sparks jumped from his black blade and raced over him, making his muscles jump and bulge under his skin. Arms trembling, Kaijin leveled his sword on his old friend.
"I'll see you in Hell first!!"
Roaring, Kaijin ran forward, black flames leaping over his sword.
"KURAI METSUBOU!!"
The ground shook and cracked as the black fire exploded from Kaijin's sword, completely enveloping the other tiger demon and hurling him backwards. Violent screams erupted from Tsuyosa's throat as he clawed in vain at the dark fire.
Unnoticed within the black fire, a white seal suddenly jumped into vision on Tsuyosa's chest and burned viciously. Spreading quickly over his body, the spell began to heal the demon's body even as it was burnt.
Slowly, the blast faded, the only sound that of Kaijin's labored breathing and the fire still snacking cheerfully on the village buildings. With each lurch of his shoulders, the red in Kaijin's eyes faded.
"You pompous asshole."
Kaijin froze.
Grunting, Tsuyosa climbed heavily to his feet. The white seal on his chest glowed briefly before fading back into his skin. Rubbing a hand over it, he scowled at Kaijin.
"You don't think I knew about your damn sword? I was sealed against it back when we were still kids, dammit!" He snorted. "Though I'm surprised you were smart enough to not try a fire attack on me."
Stretching slightly, Tsuyosa stepped towards Kaijin. "Against me, that sword is completely useless."
Eye twitching, Kaijin scowled and lifted his sword, but Tsuyosa suddenly raced forward. Kaijin staggered backwards at the sudden movement.
"What the he—urk!" Kaijin was cut off as Tsuyosa's hand flashed out to grip his throat, and Tsuyosa lifted the smaller demon off the ground. Dropping his sword, Kaijin clawed at the other demon's hand, trying to pry it off his throat. Strangled sounds slipped out of his throat as he struggled, legs kicking in the air.
Scowling, Tsuyosa tightened his grip. "You always were useless, Lord Kaijin. Everyone but you could see what was really going on, but not you. You stayed naïve until the very end." He growled, tightening his grip mercilessly. Kaijin's mouth flailed as he tried to pull air into his lungs. "Even during a goddamn civil war, you stayed so freaking optimistic."
Tsuyosa smiled. "You can take that with you to the grave, Master. I'll make sure they carve a rainbow on your tombstone."
"Let him go."
Tsuyosa lifted an eyebrow as a large silver sword suddenly pointed at him. Still holding a weakly struggling Kaijin, Tsuyosa turned towards the stone-faced dog demon.
"You have a problem, mutt face?"
Inuyasha scowled. "Let him go, before I hack your arm off."
Tsuyosa studied the dog demon for a long moment before smiling. "Sure, whatever you say."
With that, he dropped the smaller tiger demon, smiling down as Kaijin coughed and wheezed. Tsuyosa closed his fist, forming a ball of fire around it.
"Just one more thing. A parting gift to you, Lord Kaijin."
His grin turning feral, he drew back his arm...
CRACK!
Kaijin grunted as the demons huge fist plowed into his face. Fire leapt from tiger to tiger, racing over Kaijin's fur as the boy sank heavily to the ground. He didn't move.
"Dammit!!" Inuyasha roughly peeled off his haori and threw it onto the unconscious demon. "Kagome! Try to put those flames out!"
"Ok!!" Running over, she placed her bow on the ground next to him and began slapping the fire under the jacket, slowly smothering the flames.
Growling, Inuyasha turned back to Tsuyosa. "You're going to pay for that."
"Yeah?" Smirking, he opened his palm and let a ball of fire form. "Let's see what you've got."
Kage hesitated outside the village. With all of that fire, finding a shadow to stay in would be difficult, not to mention dangerous.
Frowning, he watched as blasts of fire and ki decimated building after building. What on earth is going on down there? Who are they fighting?
The shadow demon sat down and settled against a tree trunk, staring off into the village. Well, if he tires himself out, all the better. That'll just make my job easier.
Closing his blue eyes, the demon leaned his head back and listened to the sound of the battle.
I have to do my job, after all...
Huffing, Inuyasha dodged another small fireball. Dammit! I have to make him use a larger amount of energy! He watched the bigger demon warily. But how?
Glancing down, he noticed a small cut on his arm. A tiny smirk appeared on his face.
"What the hell. I'll give it a try."
Tsuyosa narrowed his eyes at the dog demon, trying to keep his increasing fatigue from showing. Despite his power, he really didn't have much stamina, and he'd been hurling fireballs for a long time now. His hand shook slightly as he forced yet another ball to form.
"Ready to give up yet, Dog Boy?"
"Heh. I was about to ask you the same question." Inuyasha smirked, noting the faint look of exhaustion that had crossed the other demon's face. "I guess it figures that a big guy like you wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. My attacks are pretty hard to dodge for someone with as much mass to move as you do."
"Shut up!" Scowling, Tsuyosa clenched his fist. Three balls of fire began to spin about his hand. "I can whoop your ass any day!"
Inuyasha laughed derisively. "Sure, big guy, whatever you say. You've been throwing those fireballs at me for how long now?" A wave of satisfaction swept over him at the look of rage that threatened the other demon's face. That's it, dumbass. Get niiiice and mad.
"Hell, you know what? I doubt I even need my sword to beat you!" Grinning with a confidence he didn't entirely feel, Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga and cracked his claws. "I'll bet I can beat a loser like you with my bare hands!!"
"Why you little..." Growling, Tsuyosa increased the size of the fireball on his fist. "I'll teach you to mouth off like that!!"
"Try it, Tubby!!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME??" Furious, the large tiger demon lurched forward. "I'll burn your face off!"
Dropping the smile, Inuyasha leapt forward. "Sankon Tessou!!"
The tiger barely had time to dodge, the attack nicking him on the shoulder. Anger boiling within him, he turned to face the running dog demon.
"Why you—"
"HIJIN KESSOU!!" Using the cut on his arm, Inuyasha fired another volley at Tsuyosa. The demon roared as the blades cut into his chest.
Jumping back, the tiger growled viciously. "That does it, you little punk!!!" Placing both hands together, he forced as much fire as he could before him. Wind began to pick up as the fireball grew, mixing with the escalating growls coming from the tiger's throat. Mind clouded with rage, Tsuyosa looked up at the dog demon.
"Try this, you snot faced mutt!! HONOO NO BAKUHATSU!!!"
Inuyasha's eyes widened as the massive fireball came hurtling towards him. Grabbing his sword, he ripped it out of the sheath and immediately formed the Wind Scar. Perfect!
"Try this on for size, asshole!! BAKURYUHAAAA!!"
Tsuyosa's eyes widened as the sword's blast cut through his own and warped it, sending it back towards him in violent tornadoes.
"W-What the hell??"
He cried out as the attacks tore through him. The white seal tried to activate, but a wave of power soon sliced through it. Helpless, Tsuyosa simply lifted his arms and screamed as pain swept through him.
How the hell did he do that??
The waves of energy slowly tapered off, leaving a scorched ground and decimated huts in its wake. The wind from the attack had been powerful enough to smother some of the fire around them, though the buildings had been burnt beyond repair.
Coughing weakly, Tsuyosa lay tattered and bloody on the ground. His eyes closed in pain.
"How...did you...do that?" The tiger demon coughed again, blood dotting his lips.
Inuyasha sheathed his sword and walked over, looking down at the tiger with a cold gaze.
"Simply put, I used your own energy against you. If you hadn't gotten riled up, I couldn't have used that move." He smirked without humor. "But then I'd have kicked your ass some other way."
Tsuyosa narrowed his eyes at him. "Then shut up and just finish me off, mutt. I've outlived my usefulness anyway."
"No, Inuyasha. Don't...kill him...yet."
The two glanced over as Kaijin worked his way to his feet, swiping blood from his face. The noble tiger strode over, ignoring his wounds and Kagome's protests.
Eyes cold, he stared down at the defeated demon.
"Tell me why."
Tsuyosa stared up at him for a long moment before sighing. "Your relatives...they were tired of having your branch rule over the southern lands, so they came to my family. They wanted me to befriend you and take back any information I could gather about your family. If I didn't cooperate, my family would be slaughtered. It was as simple as that."
He chuckled softly. "I hated you for that, Lord Kaijin. For the position I was put in because of you. I cheerfully brought back all information on the heir's weaknesses and your parents' routines. After all, the sooner you were destroyed, the sooner my family would be free from the threats and attacks we suffered every moment you lived. When they learned enough, they attacked." A small smile worked its way onto his face. "As a matter of fact, you were supposed to be dead a long time ago."
Kaijin was silent for a long time.
"Then...why did you help me escape?"
A rough laugh escaped the battered demon. "Damned if I know. Maybe I felt sorry for you or something." He shrugged painfully. "It didn't matter. They swore to hunt you down and kill you anyway."
Another pause. "Why did you attack this village?"
"...It was an order." He closed his eyes. "Word that you're still alive has spread, Lord Kaijin. There's a bounty on your head by now." A shaky sigh escaped his lips, and his voice became weaker. "I was told you were heading this way, so I attacked the village to get your attention. They knew that without your sword, your strength was nothing compared to mine."
He coughed again, and his voice became a whisper.
"I wanted to kill you. I wanted to do it so much."
He took a slow shaky breath. "But I couldn't...do it."
Opening his eyes slightly, he gave his old friend a weak smile. "I guess I didn't hate you so much after all."
With that, he closed his eyes...and stopped breathing.
After a long moment of silence, Kaijin turned his back on the corpse.
"Let's go. There's nothing left for us here."
Kagome and Inuyasha glanced at each other for a long moment before nodding. Silent, the three strode out of the quieted village and headed for the rolling hills beyond.
Inuyasha watched Kaijin as they settled around a fire. Stars blinked in the clear night sky, mimicking the winking embers as they jumped free of the fire. The bones of several fish lay around them, the only remainder of their earlier meal.
Hours had passed since they left the village, and still the tiger had said nothing.
Kagome cleared her throat softly. "Maybe...maybe we should have buried him. I mean, he really was your friend once, right?"
Kaijin didn't answer, his empty gaze fixed on the fire before him.
Kagome sighed. "Kaijin..."
"What happened with your family?" Inuyasha suddenly jumped in. He watched as the tiger's gaze flinched. He needs to talk about it. Hell, I know better than anyone what can happen if you bottle everything up. "You need to tell someone, and besides, I think we deserve to know what the hell was going on back there."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome admonished. Jeez, can't he ease up? "Kaijin's just been through a rough time. If he doesn't want to talk, we shouldn't make him."
"...When I was a child, I saw my family murdered." His quiet voice filled the still night air, his eyes still fixated on the fire. "Another branch of the family wanted power, so they killed my mother and father to get it. They tried to kill me too, but I managed to get away. Of course, that was unacceptable...if they wanted a legitimate claim to the throne, they had to get rid of me."
He shivered slightly, running his hands up his arms. "They sent so many assassins after me. I somehow managed to get away from them, but I was only a child...I kept popping up in different villages, trying to find shelter. When the other tiger demons spurned me, I turned to human villages...which turned out to be even worse." He chuckled dryly. "I learned rather quickly that humans don't take to demons very easily. When I showed up, they sent mikos out to purify me."
Slowly, he peeled his faze away from the fire and smiled weakly at Kagome. "Now you can see why I'm afraid of mikos."
Sighing, he looked back at the fire. "After a while, I learned that the best way to survive was on my own in the woods. If no one who saw me lived to tell the tale, I wouldn't have to worry about being caught." He looked up again, this time with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I think you two are the first people I've actually befriended since the change of power." He smiled slightly.
"Maybe I was just tired of being alone."
Kagome was silent for a long moment. "What about your sword?"
Glancing down, Kaijin wrapped his fingers around its hilt. "Before he died, Father gave it to me. He told me to hide it in the woods a few days before the attack." His eyes lowered. "I guess he knew it was going to happen."
After a long moment of silence, Kaijin turned and looked at the mountains. They appeared to be so close now, after so many hours of traveling.
"Tomorrow, we'll reach the Fox Goddess' shrine." He turned back to face his companions. "Let's get this curse off Inuyasha."
The dog demon smirked. "Like I said before, it's about damn time." He cracked his knuckles. "The Fox has a lot of payback coming."
Kaijin managed a weak smile. "I'm sure she does." Lowering his eyes, he got to his feet.
"I'm...going to take a walk. I'll be back before long."
Kagome watched him start to leave. "Kaijin?"
He stopped, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Yes, Lady Kagome?"
Standing, she walked over to him. She ignored his sputtering protests and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a gentle hug.
"You're not alone anymore. We're your friends now." Squeezing him gently, she released him and stepped back. She smiled up at his shocked expression. "So don't go getting too depressed, ok?"
The tiger blinked, then gave her a bewildered smile. "All right...Lady Kagome." He started to leave again, but he paused briefly.
"And...thanks."
She smiled as he walked away, heading off towards the hills nearby. Walking back to the fire, she sat down beside Inuyasha.
"I think he'll be ok. He's tougher than he looks." She blinked when Inuyasha only grunted in reply. Curious, she looked over at him. "What's the matter with you?"
Frowning, Inuyasha looked away. "It's nothing. Forget about it." He used Kaijin's trick of staring into the fire as he thought. He'd felt impossibly alone, too, before he met Kagome. Even with Kikyo, he had felt a small emptiness inside. She had helped take away the pain of loneliness by accepting his company and providing hers in return, but he never had this easy friendship that he did with Kagome. He never felt that emptiness anymore.
"Ever since I met you..."
Kagome tilted her head slightly in confusion. "What?"
Jumping, Inuyasha blinked. I said that out loud? Shit! "Um, nothing. I didn't say anything."
Kagome lifted an eyebrow, but she decided to let the matter drop. Leaning back on her arms, she looked up at the night sky.
"I think loneliness is the worst thing any person could have to bear. What would be the point of anything, if you have no one to share it with?" She turned to smile softly at Inuyasha. "I guess we're lucky."
Inuyasha stared at her before blushing slightly and looking away.
"Yeah...I guess we are."
I'm lucky to have you...Kagome.
Honoo no bakuhatsu means Blazing Explosion, Kurai Metsubou means dark destruction, and Tsuyosa means strength.
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