Chronicles of the West

Chapter Forty Three

Hours passed in tense silence. Silvana as far from Ryu as she could get, which struck the others as very odd indeed. Anger and hurt coursed between them like an ever widening ocean. Ryu had tried to make her listen, but her patience was at an end. Thus the silent war was waged. Kurama had known that such a thing was inevitable. Both too proud for their own good and Ryu, so desperate to be noble, to be her shining prince, that he'd been blind to her true needs the issues at hand. He only hoped they'd sort this out soon.

Ryu's face was set in stone as they traveled and he said perhaps a handful of words. He was fit company for the other. Shippo and Daishi were silent as well. Although, they at least remained close to one another. She now rode with him. Aislin was quiet, staring at her two friends who seemed to hurt so badly and all the while Ippiku muttered that it was all Ryu's fault.

Several hours later, they stopped to set up camp. Aislin waited until Daishi and Silvana had gone to bathe before turning her brilliant eyes on Ryu. Dropping her voice to a low whisper she spoke, "What happened?". He grunted at her, not wishing to talk about it to anyone. "You hurt her Ryu, what have you done?" she demanded.

The hanyou's ears drooped sadly, and in a low voice he told her what had occurred. He figured that Aislin would understand what he meant. She listened and she did understand. The feelings from both sides. "Ryu, I love you terribly and I hope that you won't hold this against me, because I am doing it for your own good" she said gently.

Toga's head snapped up as a loud smack echoed through the small camp. Kurama turned to look over his shoulder and was quite shocked by what he saw. Aislin, gentle little Aislin loomed over a thunderstruck Ryu, who now sported a clear red handprint on his cheek.

He growled softly in warning, and Toga was there in a moment. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded to know. Ryu rose to his feet, "That's what I'd like to know" he bit out. Aislin glared up at him and then at Ryu. "You men" she growled, "Think you're so smart, you have everything figured out".

She looked ready to do battle and Toga grabbed her, not sure if he should be worried or angry. He was very turned on however. "What the hell are you babbling about?" Ryu asked her. She growled at him, rather impressive for a human. "She loves you Ryu! More than you understand probably more than you deserve! You keep pushing her away for the sake of your so called honor, and it hurts her" she shot at him.

His eyes widened slightly at her words, he watched her shrug herself from his brother's grip. "She told me. And now I have both sides. Toga is her past you ass, she hoped that you cared about her. How is she supposed to feel Ryu when you sleep beside her and yet you never touch her, hardly kiss her. You claim that it's your honor that keeps you from it, but that isn't how it looks or feels to her. It feels like you hold her past against her and are too cowardly to admit that you have trouble handling it"

Ryu sighed impatiently, "Aislin, you don't know a damn thing. I want her to be more than a bed partner, and I refuse to let anyone say that I want her for power's sake" he jabbed an accusing finger at his sibling, "He's made a mess of her. Yeah you. You've fucked up her way of seeing things. A man has to touch her to want her? That isn't so. I want to wait to show her that I am not like you and that she deserves more than what you ever gave her" he snarled at his brother.

"So you tell me Toga, who's the asshole here? The one who broke her or the one to fix her?". Aislin blinked between the two brothers. Ryu and Toga were matched scowl for scowl. "It's easy to play with them isn't it Toga?" he asked in a heated whisper, "But keeping them, well that just isn't your style is it?".

Kurama saw the look that passed over Aislin's features and intervened. "Enough!". The three combatants looked his way. The silver fox was angry, without a doubt. "Aislin, I am sorry that you have had to see the childishness of these two this night. Would you be so kind as to check on the others. I think Daishi might have drowned Shippo by now".

Aislin knew what he was up to and didn't hold it against him, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear any more. As she walked away Ryu's voice reached her, "Aislin, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry" he said softly. She didn't look at him but nodded as she kept going.

When her footfall had faded Kurama turned angry eyes back to the pups before him. "What the hell is the matter with you? Both of you!" he growled, "These are living creatures not toys for you. Ryu if you love her then do what your heart tells you, if you don't want her powers to bind to you, then don't mark her until you find a way. You and your damn misplaced sense of honor".

He turned on Toga, "That girl is a virgin, though being around you I have no idea how. What are you after Toga? What do you want from her? A lifetime of happiness and love, pups? She's hurting, she's doubting and hurting and you aren't getting any of that. You're damn hopeless! Just like your father" he muttered, stalking away from them.

"We have two upset women in this camp and it's your fault. You'd better fix this, I don’t care how you do it. I think that a little honesty on all sides might help". Having had his say, Kurama stalked off to poke at the fire. With a sigh he recalled the many things Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had done out of that same sense of duty or honor. He hoped that this generation learned a little quicker.

A scream floated over the night air, bringing the three males from their musings. That voice belonged to Aislin.

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They crashed through the underbrush and trees, weapons drawn, hearts pounding at the urgency of that one sound that she'd given. It had not come again. Shippo was bloodied and Daishi was locked in combat with what appeared to be shadows.

There was no scent of a demon in the area. Silvana was wrapped in shadowy tentacles and was struggling to get free. The more she moved the tighter they became. Her powers flared but rather than injure the beast, they seemed to enhance it.

Ryu caught that odd ozone scent and barked at her, "Don't use your powers! It's draining them from you!" She met his eyes for only a moment before the others caught the meaning of his words. A dark male laugh filled the clearing.

"Right half breed" came the disembodied voice of Alastair. "I will not fail!". He was nowhere near, the demons knew that much. But this thing, was a dark creation of his and it was powerful. Daishi snarled as a tentacle caught her ankle lifting her high into the air.

Shippo lunged to retrieve his mate but the thing knew his plans and dealt him a vicious backslap that sent him flying through the air. Shippo turned himself and landed in a crouch, blood dripping from the wounds that the thing managed to create.

Shadows, shadows with fangs. Nearly impossible to wound. Kurama lashed out with whip and claws, but as the dark tendrils parted, they easily coalesced in his wake. "Must be a way to hurt it" he muttered, fighting hard against it. Toga snapped at it, but his fangs caught only dark air, his sword did him no good. Even the tentacles that held Silvana and Daishi seemed impervious to attack.

The hissing sounds of the thing and the grunts and growls of the ones fighting it, filled the air. A tentacle shot out and impaled Kurama's thigh, he hacked at it, but to no avail. There was no longer a foreign object imbedded in the muscle, however the bleeding hole remained.

Toga commanded Aislin to get behind him, but when she tried, she was struck across the temple, crumpling to the forest floor. His answering roar shook the leaves in the trees. Ryu managed to dart in and roll over, catching her against his chest as he kept moving.

With no time to consider anything other than the threat at hand, he tossed her towards Toga. He turned his blade on the expanding swirl of darkness. He dropped the ground as the thing curled over him, fangs biting deep, but there…..faintly - he heard it. The dull thud of life.

Working his way free he angled his blade to find that sound and silence it. In a move faster than he'd anticipated, the tentacles had slapped his sword from his grip. It circled in the air before landing far beyond his reach. He turned back to the thing, "That's fine" he said calmly, "I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. I'm gonna beat your ass".

Toga snarled and slashed, trying to find an opening, anything he could use. Kurama was in bad shape, his demon healing had kicked in and sealed the initial wound. The thing they fought seemed to know that too and hadn't hesitated to lash out and land more hits on the wounded youkai.

Toga grunted when his shoulder burned with the pain of his own impalement. The beast lifted him off the ground. Toga growled, the joint of his shoulder too strong and not giving under the painful pressure. Dangling as he was, he struggled to get leverage to wriggled free, knowing he was compounding his wound as he did so.

The thing did the same to Ryu, and as the two brothers eyed each other and tried to get loose, Ryu moved. A horrid popping sound rang through the clearing and Ryu's arm twisted oddly. He grimaced in pain but seemed unconcerned as he forced his joint out of place.

The tentacle slid from his flesh and he landed in a crouch. His eyes were red now, he was angry and his blood seemed to sense that unless it did something to end this battle, he would die. Demon blood didn't like the thought of dying.

Toga watched through slitted eyes as his brother became more youkai that human. Ryu's fangs elongated and his claws grew. His markings stood out in stark contrast to his flesh. Toga grimaced, Ryu was dangerous in this form. Unlike he and Taisha, Ryu never took the canine form, but he grew powerful and in his full demon form, he was poisonous like their father.

Toga had inherited the youkai whip as had all his children, but only Taisha and Ryu had gotten his deadly toxicity. He'd rarely seen Ryu this way. Inuyasha was rumored to be this way, only Inuyasha had become a mindless thing bent on killing and had to depend on the Tetsusaiga to preserve his human soul.

Ryu was not cursed in this way, his intellect remained with him, sharpened even. He knew who he was and what was he was doing at all times. The problem was that Ryu's demon didn't care. It liked to kill to take. Their father had spent hours with his hanyou son when it appeared that Ryu was the only one of his hanyou children at risk of this. He'd trained his son, impressed upon him that discipline over his beast was his only chance. It had worked and Ryu had immense control over himself. Until now it seemed. He'd been close to death before and he'd managed to see it through. Was is because of Silvana?

A feral growl tore his attention from his thoughts and back to his brother. Ryu leapt at the thing, letting the darkness cover him and smirked. It was closer now, that thudding. The thing probably thought he was defeated.

Silvana struggled and whimpered as she saw Ryu vanish into that blackness. He was gone! It just couldn't be! Her fight renewed, her powers flared again and Toga gritted his teeth, "Don't" he ground out and she blinked at him, "But Ryu…". He shook his head and let his shoulder dislocate, sliding to the ground. Blood spattering the earth beneath him. "He's turned Silvana. He's full demon" he told her.

The hissing of the shadowy creature changed perceptibly, less menacing and tinged with pain. A snarl erupted from it's center as the tentacles lashed tightly and then loosened. Like sheer scarves, the tentacles fell away and Silvana hit the ground hard.

Shippo had a hold of Daishi, checking her over for injuries and Kurama was blinking at the tight sphere of darkness that pulsed before them. Another snarl, unearthly in it’s intensity rang out and so did a voice, a deeper gravelly tone that was Ryu. "Never touch my bitch".

There was a high pitched keening sound as his claws shredded the creature from within. It's shining sphere of an animated heart becoming nothing more than a twitching mass of purpled flesh. Ryu stomped on it. His ears flickered, taking in the sounds of those around him. His eyes brilliant red with aqua pupils. "No one move" Toga rasped out.