Hunted By The Wolf

Hunted by the Wolf

Chapter 9: Crux

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Sorry guys, there's more fighting.
What can I say? It's an action story
first and foremost (later it will be
action of a different kind, don't worry.)

I've been thinking since the beginning
how to put this next chapter, and just word
usage is hard for what's about to happen
to our heroes. Gimme some slack, I'm
trying to be original here! :)

I would also really like some constructive
criticism. Tell me if the characters are too
ooc, wouldya? Thanks guys!
..........................................

What was taking him so long? I glanced
down to Kirara worriedly, hoping she could
just stay knocked out for a bit longer until we
got somewhere I could set her ribs, if necessary.
I truly hoped they weren't broken, I'd feel awful.


I shifted against the rock, growing restless. Alright,
so my worry extended to someone other than
Kirara, I admit it. I wanted him to hurry up,
whatever he was doing. We all understood,
but he was pushing it. We'd all had the same
in one form or another happen to us; Naraku
had ruined all of our lives and taken something
(or someone) dear from us.


Inuyasha. I looked the hanyou over quickly. He
was looking bored and ready to fall asleep,
which surprised me quite a bit. In the face of
such unfamiliar surroundings and death, he
usually kept up his guard. He was so
resilient, I thought. He'd had so much taken
away from him, not only by Naraku but by
humans and youkai alike, even his own brother.
As pigheaded and foolish he could be, I
respected him. I smiled softly at
the way he'd sneak looks at Kagome every
few minutes, catching himself and pretending
once more to be bored and irritated. So
predictable.


Houshi. The monk was watching the
far darkness with an intense and suspicious
gaze, hands clasped tightly on the staff. This
worried me to no end. Miroku's spiritual powers
went far beyond any of the rest of ours,
and his ability to sense death was a tragic
gift for such a normally good natured and
fair person. Not that the perv didn't have
his dark moments. He would sulk, and not
so discreetly sometimes, not that I could blame
him. The boy had an expiration date on his
life, something I couldn't attest to myself.


Kagome was nervous too, and this was
definitely not a good sign. Sighing, I bent
slightly to peek into the passageway.
Nothing. These bakas were making me
uneasy with all their fidgeting and paranoia.
What was waiting for us? Was it so foreboding
that they were really willing to wait so long
for Kouga to return? I berated myself for that
thought. Of course they would wait. He was
in his older brother's unknown grave.

He was shocked, to say the least, and I didn't
blame him.


However, we needed to get a move on and he'd
been absent for at the very least twenty minutes,
plenty of time to piss, if that was what he was
doing. I crawled over a foot or two, and bent
my face down slightly.

"Kouga?" I called out, and listened for an answer.
Nothing. Sighing, I looked to the monk.
"Miroku..." He glanced up at me and then returned
to his nervous staring. "Will you go look for him
or hold Kirara while I do?" He nodded, and I
held out Kirara. He shook his head and then climbed
under the opening, peering into my face as
he passed. Things, apparently, were going
to be awkward until we got away from Kouga.


Kagome moved to sit next to me against the
wall, checked up on Kirara under her furs. The
kitten would heal quickly, I hoped, for her sake.
"Sango," she started, replacing the fur. I
looked up at her, brows raised. "Are you alright?"
I nodded to her question with a soft smile. Always
so concerned about others.
"Gods," I breathed, glancing to the opening.
"I hope they hurry. I want Kirara to get taken care
of. What's he doing, anyway?" I sounded more
irritated than I was. I was sorry for his brother,
granted, but Kirara's condition could get better
while his brothers' couldn't. "He's kind of being
a selfish jerk," I muttered. Miko laughed softly,
covering her mouth with her hand.
"You sound like a married couple already,"
she said, pulling back when I shot her a look.
"Kagome!" She was laughing, probably noted
how red my face got. What was she thinking?
I frowned and gazed at Kirara, deep in thought.


Did we seem to have feelings for each other?
I didn't think so. I tried to ignore Kouga's annoying
taunts as best I could, and he was in love with
Kagome, wasn't he? I had better things to
worry about-like Kirara's health.


Now I was angry.


"Kouga!" I yelled again into the hole, this time
allowing my irritation to show through.
"Ow! Are you trying to kill me, woman!" I moved
away in surprise at the disgruntled face's
appearance from the darkness. He'd been
crawling through when I'd yelled. I regained
my senses and sat up, cradling the cat to my
chest.
"Well if you hadn't taken forever then I
wouldn't have had to call for you." I glared at
him until gesturing to the cat I held. His face
softened a bit, though he did growl back.


Miroku appeared a moment later, cool mask
replaced with a frown. He looked a little steamed,
I must admit. Kouga looked to him and he
held his eyes for a moment until he was too
far ahead to do so any longer. Kagome and
I looked at each other. There had been anger
in that look. Oh what the hell did Kouga do now?


Inuyasha clambered up, yawning. "Fuck took
you so long?" he drawled. Kouga glanced up
and held up the bent piece of metal from earlier.
Oh.


We started to move, a stronger wind attracting us
to what could be open air. Being underground
was disconcerting; I couldn't tell if we were moving
up or further into the earth at times. The monk was
moving deliberately fast, the hanyou happy to keep
step with him. Kagome took Kirara from me and
trailed Inuyasha, citing my use in battle for her reasoning.


So that left Kouga and myself. The youkai's face
was conflicted, and he kept glancing down at the
metal he'd tucked into his belt. I hoisted the weight
of the boomerang up and looked ahead, just wanting
to get out of here.
"Are we approaching an exit?" I asked quietly, trying
to sound neutral. I wanted to know what had
passed between him and Miroku. I don't think I've
ever seen Miroku look so openly pissed off before,
other than facing off with Naraku. He snorted,
his hair moving as he shook his head 'no'.


"Are we approaching anything?" I leaned forward
and turned my head towards him, trying to get him
to look at me. I wanted him out of this daze
he'd been in, it wasn't like him. Crinkled my
nose to this thought. I didn't know that. How could
I? Maybe he was just as sullen and haunted
as this underneath that facade of arrogance all
the time. His eyes moved slowly up to meet mine
as we walked, and he shook his head no once more.


I didn't like my questions not answered. I stopped,
hoping to put some distance between us and the
rest. He slowed down, flicking his eyes back to me.
"What happened between you and Miroku?" Finally.
That seemed to break up his daze. The smirk returned,
and I was almost relieved to see the smartass
look once more.
"Oh," he began, putting his arms up behind his head as
he walked towards the group. "I just told him he'd
better stop grabbing yer ass, for his sake," My jaw
dropped. How dare he!?

"Kouga! Who the hell are you to-" He growled
and dropped his head as well as his voice.
"What, do you like it or something?" The taunt
flew past my face like a dagger. He was being
a jerk. I lifted my head and sneered at him.
"Fuck do you care if I do?" I shot back, and
pushed past him to join Kagome. He wouldn't
dare say anything to me in front of her, not if he
wanted to keep all of his fingers.


At least he'd better not.


Minutes passed as we walked, all of us silent.
Kagome snuck glances to my set jaw, and I hoped
she hadn't heard the exchange with the wolf. I
was so angry! How dare he involve himself
in any of my personal relationships with my friends,
much less Miroku and I!? He wasn't anything to
me, so how could he think it would be alright to
assert any possesiveness at all over me? I wasn't
his; he claimed that he loved Kagome, after all.
He'd even refused Ayame, that little wolf demoness
that had wanted him to marry her and become
her tribe's leader. Ach, I remembered that
awful debacle quite clearly; the girl had tried
to kick Kagome's ass on more than one
occasion, and not even for anything she'd done!


I grit my teeth in anger, probably making a
loud noise. He was careless, causing everyone
else around him as much trouble as possible.
Who the hell would want that in their lives' on a
daily basis? My face softened at the memory
of Kouga taunting Inuyasha. It was
good for comic relief sometimes, even if he
didn't always choose the appropriate moments
to goad the hanyou.

My peripheral vision caught movement. I glanced
over and I felt disbelief stab me in the chest.
Kouga had come up and put his arm over Kagome's
shoulders, smirking into her face as she pulled away,
towards me, obviously uncomfortable.
"So Kagome," he began, pulling her against him.
"When are you gonna leave this chump and come help
me with the pups again?" His eyebrows had jumped at the
word 'pups', and even if she didn't I caught his pervy meaning
quite well. I couldn't BELIEVE the jerk! I let out a small
laugh and quickened my pace out of the line of fire and to
the front of our procession. Let Inuyasha kick his ass.
He deserved it.


And it was about to happen. At Kagome's name slipping
out of Kouga's lips the hanyou whirled and shoved Kouga's
arm off of Kagome. They growled in one another's faces,
and I kept on walking, the houshi, a satisfied look on his
face, trailing to my right. I didn't give a shit one way or the
other who won; I wanted out of this grave and back into
the clean, fresh air where I could get as far away from that
asshole wolf as I could. The nerve...I fisted my hands
at my sides, suddenly realizing that Kirara was still
in Kagome's position, who was trying to keep the
two angry demons at bay from killing each other.
I gasped and ran back the short distance they'd
stopped at, shoving Inuyasha away from Kagome
and I punched Kouga's shoulder, earning a growl.


"Would both of you idiots shut the fuck up, please!?" I
raised my voice indignantly, pulling Kagome out of the
middle of them. "If she wakes up," I gestured to
the slumbering cat, "she'll be in incredible pain,
so keep it down," I seethed between my teeth,
pulling Kagome with me to the houshi. I hated this.
I hated yelling. I hated being so angry that I could..
could...break something...


The two morons slumped behind us, heads down
and tails between their legs. As they should be,
I thought with a nod. The wind had gotten stronger,
and I wanted to find its' source. We came to a high,
narrow hall that led to a lighted cavern. Light! I thought.
It could have been an exit.


We quickened our pace, all of us uncomfortable and
dirty and cold, wanting nothing more than to be
away from each other. The feeling of unease began
as soon as we entered the pathway, realizing just how
narrow the walk was. We, especially the males, had to
turn slightly in order to walk without our shoulders
grazing the rough black stone of the walls. I began
to breathe more erratically, tried to calm the claustrophobia
that welled up at the base of my spine, telling me to run,
run away from this enclosed, suffocating area.


That feeling of unease grew as we neared the light,
and I realized slowly that the light changed subtly every few
seconds. I hung back, Miroku's shoulder bumping mine.
"What is it?" he breathed, not really asking me. He looked
down to me for a second, his face close to mine. "The
spiritual energy coming from that room is ridiculous, that's
not sunlight.." he frowned, nudging me forward. I exhaled and
crept up, stopping Kagome from entering before I did.
The Hiraikotsu was held in front as a shield, and I crept
in, eyes darting around.


No, it was indeed not sunlight.


Terrifying. That was all that I could use to describe this
thing. The light poured out in ghostly pale-green from
a mass of shapes. Writhing, tortured, nearly human shapes
seemingly tried to claw their way away from the light,
which devoured them. White, effervescent shapes
were drawn in as it spun slowly, shimmering almost
brightly in its' seeking of lost souls. And this cavern
certainly had a lot of them. Holes in the rock were
everywhere, leading to wherever they may. Screaming,
a low and primal fear of being eaten was heard beneath
the subconscious. This was disgusting. The rest
of them poured out, awe struck at the sight of this...this..


Vortex. It was a vortex eating the wasted lives of boar
and wolf alike. The bones surrounding the floor of the
hungry thing were of both. Tusk and fang protruded from
filthy skulls, clawed skeletal hands and disintegrating hooves
dug into the stone, pulling away from the light. Those
creatures, they'd been alive when this..thing..had tried
to absorb them? I pushed up the hunter's mask, unable
to take the smell of death and decay. Kouga's face
was feral, his hands clawed at his side. This was
an abomination.


Those souls..all of these souls had been eaten by
this thing for so long.. Miroku was aghast at the
thing, as was Kagome.


"We need to..get away," she squeaked, holding
Kirara away from it. "It would be best," Miroku
said quietly, swallowing noticeably. We made
to move around the edges of the room, and halfway
across I saw that Kouga had stayed his ground,
looking as though he would jump into the thing.
"Kouga!" I hissed, gesturing him towards us. He
didn't even look. Moron.


"Eating the souls of MY PEOPLE!?" he thundered, and
drew a claw back, ready to jump into the vortex.
Last time I checked, you cannot destroy a black hole
by jumping into it. To both relief and terrifying
expectation, the thing flashed brightly, flashing in
its' end of dormancy. He'd awakened it, whatever it was.


"FRESSSHSHHHH SOUUUUUULLLSS....." The voice was
that of fear, hunger or death, a veritable sum of pain. I'm
not sure if it could be heard, but the sentiment was definitely
felt in my gut. The thing could not speak, obviously, though
it did have a consciousness, one that the idiot wolf
had woke. The light began to flash and all of those
lost souls began to scream in agony, flying past us
with greater frequency.

Pulled. We were being sucked in, along with those souls.
Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga and dug it into the ground,
pulling both Kagome and Kirara to him. I gasped,
being pulled towards the light. Miroku was struggling
with an unwilling spirit, trying to dislodge his robe
from its' bony grip. The enjoyment radiating off of this thing
was intense, sickening in its' glee. Kouga was just standing,
his upper half leaning towards the thing. Then, it began to
move him.


"Grab a hold of something you idiot!" I screamed, clutching the
houshi's free hand. I kicked the spirit in the skull, my legs
vacuumed into the air. He was moving towards it, apparently
ready to join his ancestors. His brother. Oh Kouga.


He wanted to avenge his brother's soul. Dying, however,
was not the way to do it. "Snap out of it, wolf!" Inuyasha
was yelling at him now, and I was happy to see that he held
Kagome between him and the wall, the opposite side of the
vortex. I, however, was not so lucky. I'd caught Miroku's
cursed hand, and I would not be able to hold on much
longer, the silk glove not the most ideal fabric for
friction. I grit my teeth against the wind, and felt
our hold disintegrate as I barely missed his sealing beads.


Miroku's face was frozen in shock as I flew away
from him, and I screamed. So. I wouldn't die from
being buried. I wouldn't die from a leech at my throat,
or saimyoushou poison, or even falling to the heart
of the earth. This abomination would swallow me body
and soul, leave nothing of Sango the demon hunter.


Would I be remembered for anything?


Maybe. Though I had at least moments more to
do something memorable. The wolf flew between
myself and the vortex, his arm wrapping around my waist
as he pulled me out of it's immediate path. We landed
against the rock wall on the other side, hard, and the breath
was knocked out of me. Kouga's back was to the vortex,
and I saw fang as he stuffed me into a niche roughly.
Scratches. Much better than being absorbed, I assure you.


Kouga stuffed a leg in, holding himself in place as he
turned to watch the thing eat his late brethren as well
as their enemies. This all had happened so fast,
that I didn't have time to realize just how fast it had stepped
up the pace with its' appetite. So many souls were
being swallowed, that it would hopefully run out of
them soon. I wanted to vomit. We could do nothing
but watch and hope it would tire as it swallowed
everything around it. Miroku sobbed, and we
all looked to his disgusted visage. I saw the
hand raise, the beads come off.


He would absorb a vortex. I wanted to scream,
to tell him not to absorb those souls, but I could not.
What else could we do? It was our only way out.
The thing and its' half-eaten souls were slowly pulled,
writhing shapes and all, towards Miroku's wind tunnel.
The wolf holding me behind him and in place roared,
realized what was happening. I snaked an arm
around his waist and grabbed a handful of
hair. If he tried to stop Miroku, he would
be sucked in and that was a thought that I could
not bear. His shoulders dropped in defeat, his claws
crushing into the rock that encased us. My heart
cried for him. His brothers' soul. There it went.


My attention, however, was returned to the center of the room.
The light had reflected, the source a tiny mirror. White hair,
white skin, white eyes. Kanna.

The little youkai was shrinking back from the wind tunnel,
her face deadpan as it always was. Naraku!


The baboon pelt appeared and covered Kanna, which
then fell limply to the floor only to be sucked in by
Miroku's hand. We'd all seen her, all knew exactly what
this meant.


Miroku reigned in the wind tunnel and fell to the ground,
barely supporting himself with his hands and knees. His
face was pained, disgusted. Kagome held on to Inuyasha
a moment more, her face buried in his neck. He shook
her gently, and she pulled away, staring at Miroku with
tear stained eyes. He would be sick, it would seem.


I released Kouga, pushing him out of the way. He moved but
didn't move any further, his eyes wide and unreadable at
the sight of the folded monk. This was all horrible.

I put a hand on Kouga's shoulder, hoping to the gods that
he would listen to reason, and he shrugged me off, his upper
lip contorting for a second before he moved quickly in the
direction of a low hole in the wall, promptly jumping
in. My heart was aching, for all of us. We had been right.

Naraku had been hiding something. The souls had fed his
evil for decades, and Kouga's own brother had been absorbed
by Naraku's hungry aberration.


"Come on," he yelled back haggardly. "I smell grass," We
picked ourselves up and moved, I walked next to the houshi,
shoulder to shoulder in my sympathy. Awful. This was just awful.
His guilt would haunt him for months, if not the rest of his life.


This quest was taking its' toll on my family.


"Hurry up," he yelled back, the loss in his voice evident through
anger. We did, wanting nothing more than to leave that
cavern. We broke surface, climbing steeply up in an obviously man
or youkai-made tunnel that had been covered by a boulder. Kouga had crushed
right through it with his fist, back to us when we all exited and breathed
the fresh air deeply. He was seething, shoulders shaking
with fierce emotion. The monk was leaning on his staff
heavily, his face ashen. I was afraid. For both of them. Kagome
had stopped crying, though the tears in her eyes were still
welled obviously.

I tried to break the silence, could not risk Kirara's health any longer.
"Kagome, we need your pack.." I said softly, sighing. Then he
broke. The wolf youkai moved so fast that I barely saw him leave
the spot he'd been standing in. The houshi was up against a tree
by his throat, the wolf youkai in his face, red eyed and fierce.

"You stole my brother's soul!" He rasped out, voice dark and
changed in his current state. The monk didn't even fight back,
his eyes overflowing in pain. I was frozen. The battle in my mind
was becoming a reality. Both of these idiotic men meant something,
I'm not sure what, but something in my life. I couldn't let either die.


So I did what I thought best. I darted up behind the wolf youkai
as quckly and stealthily as I could, and I clocked him upside
the head with Hiraikotsu. Miroku's face stayed unchanged as he slid
to the forest floor, gasping. The wolf fell to the side, though I caught
him before his head hit any rocks.


Kagome and Inuyasha came up to aide me in laying him out.
I unwrapped Kirara and Kagome wrapped her ribs to hind quarters
while I shoved the fur under his head. I felt awful, but what could I have
done? I would have a blood-covered wolf and dead houshi, or deal with
an angry, betrayed wolf and a living, breathing lech when he woke up.


I couldn't win.


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Hope that was long enough.