"You… are going to kill me?" asked Inuyasha as he pulled his arms in from being stretched wide from the binding locks of hair. "That's funny! Because I'm the one who's going to be doing the killing!" With a flourish, he ripped free of his fibrous bonds and swung over to Yura. He slashed out at the oni-woman, but she abandoned her perch.
Yura pulled out a comb and stroked a bundle of hairs. Instantly, further bundles of hair grew out to snag Inuyasha right out of the air. They pulled him harder, more securely binding him. "Witch!" he growled, "You think hair will kill me?"
Yura drew her blade, swinging in for an attack-run. "Hm. I thought it would. Apparently, I was wrong," she remarked, and slashed. Inuyasha managed to jerk himself from the path of the blade. Mostly. A diagonal slash opened up across his chest.
Kagome gasped.
Inuyasha was less concerned. "Heh, nice blade!" he remarked, seemingly oblivious to the wound he'd just received.
"Oh, goody!" Yura giggled, lapping up the blood staining the sword's blade. "I didn't know what I was going to do if this couldn't hurt you." She proudly showcased the blade, as if selling a car. "This is my favorite sword, 'Crimson Mist'. An oni's joy, it severs flesh and bone without harming hair. In other words, I can slice you into mincemeat while you're still held fast!" Yura came rocketing back in to make good on her promise.
Her attack run was arrested, however, when she felt her web being damaged. She glanced around to find a quick succession of arrows whizz by, burning each hair they touched. She looked up to the arrows' source to find that girl from the future standing on the far cliff, drawing another arrow.
"Hit her!" prayed Kagome, and let loose the arrow she'd just drawn.
"YOW!" Inuyasha yelped, scrunching himself up to avoid the arrow zipping beneath him. "Useless wench! Where did your prowess with archery go?!" he snarled at the marionette that couldn't shoot straight.
"I'm sorry!" Kagome replied anxiously. "My shooting's no good without plenty of simulations at small timesteps!"
"Girl, what in Enma's Hell are you talking about?!"
Kagome thought about how to say it. "It means a good shot takes time." Kagome realized. "What happened to my arrow?"
Yura, wearing a delicate frown, coughed politely, pointing.
Kagome spied the arrow sticking out the side of Yura's hairball. It wasn't doing anything except sticking, though. Kagome scratched her head. She put a good, strong phantom-light charge on that thing. "That's odd. It should've gone explodie by now…" *FWASH!!* "Ah, there it goes!"
The arrow detonated with an explosion of satisfying size. It blew out the bottom of the gigantic hairball completely, allowing the contents to spill out. And by 'contents', I mean a great plurality of skulls with the hair still attached. That hair prevented them from scattering about the valley floor — so they just hung there, mandibles open and clattering.
"EWWWWWW!!!!" Kagome screamed as she saw the skulls spill out.
"Oh no! My dears!" Yura cried, somewhat reminiscent of a rich diva worrying over her little precious poodle.
Three of Yura's severed head collection were not skulls, though. They were… fresher. "The heads of the ronin, I presume?" Inuyasha commented.
Yura approached the dog-boy, smiling that smile again. "Yes, and you'll be joining them in a moment," she whispered seductively. Inuyasha just glared at her. Yura took a lock of Inuyasha's hair and twirled it about her finger. "You have such beautiful hair, and so much of it! I can't wait to play with it!"
"HAH! I knew she was after something else!" crowed Kagome.
Inuyasha glared flatly at her. "I'm so happy for you…"
Yura drew her comb out. "Which reminds me," she began, staring at Kagome. "You girl! You'll die first!" Yura swiped her comb, and flaming strands of hair spat out from the tines at Kagome. Instantly, Kagome was swathed in flames. The marionette let out a screech of terror and pain, wrapping herself up in the fire-rat cloak and dropping to the ground. Yura held up her comb smugly. "How do you like my oni's comb, hmm? It'll burn you even to your marrow." Yura huffed in relief. "Ah, much better! A fitting punishment for spoiling my nest!"
Inuyasha watched with morbid fascination as he watched the back of his kimono top collapse in on itself, cloaked in oni-fire. "Not even her bones will remain," Yura said happily, as the offensive creature had surely met her doom. She glanced up at the seething Inuyasha. "Miss her? Poor baby! You'll be joining her soon enough!" she chuckled. She went into motion again, drawing near with sword held high for the kill.
Inuyasha grunted, digging his claws in the bloodied wound he had received from Yura's first strike with that oni-blade. His fingers dripping with blood, he clawed at Yura, roaring, "HIJIN KETS'SOU!!" Streamers of blood pealed off his claws, and came flying toward Yura.
"Claws?!" Yura repeated, dumbfounded as the streamers of blood approached, then she suddenly couldn't feel her hand. She glanced up, seemingly shocked, as the hand flew away, severed just below the wrist. Because her fingers (and the sword's hilt) were wrapped in hair, they didn't fall completely to the ground.
Inuyasha was pleased to find that he was now held only loosely in the bindings of hair. Instead of hanging in a tight wrapping, he was now hanging by a limp tail.
Yura stared at the stump that used to be her right hand. "Heh! Hard to manipulate your hairs without hands, eh?" Inuyasha taunted.
Yura puffed. "Really… is that any way to treat a lady?" she said rhetorically and cheekily, then put the evil comb in her mouth. She drew the strands of her other hand through the comb, and suddenly, her nest came alive. Hairy skulls swarmed Inuyasha.
"Don't waste my time!" growled the dog-boy, shattering skulls like so many clay pigeons. Inuyasha was, however, almost too distracted to notice a slight whistle of wind behind him, but did hear it. He juked, and gurgled as his chest exploded with pain again. The oni-sword, held by the disembodied hand had come in for a strike.
"So close!" tsked Yura, "Another inch and I'd have had your head! Let's try again!" She sent the disembodied hand out again.
"HIJIN KETS'SOU!!" roared Inuyasha again, sending out more streamers of blood. However, this time they only got a few skulls, as Yura and her handy buddy had disappeared.
Then Inuyasha found the oni-sword. It was hard to miss, as it had erupted from his chest in a blast of pain. "Where were you watching!" laughed Yura, as the hanyou was sent flying through the air to crash into the hill-side.
Inuyasha lay prone, his wounds leaking a copious amount of blood. "Cur… Curse you…" he gurgled as he watched Yura make a landing, catching the oni-blade in her remaining hand, while letting the severed hand dangle from her arm. "So half-demons are only half-strength after all," she said, with contempt rich in her voice. "Poor you. You wanted the Shikon jewel to make you a full demon, didn't you?" she asked.
Kneeling beside him, she drew her oni-sword up. "No moving now," she said, as if she was going to nurse his wounds. "If we don't behead you properly, that lovely hair of yours will be stained with blood." She struck.
"Spare me!" Inuyasha growled at the same instant, moving against Yura's instructions. The oni-blade embedded itself in his shoulder, while his clawed hand burst through her chest. Yura wore a surprised look, and Inuyasha pulled back, leaving a messy hole in the oni-woman's chest. "Now do you see, witch?!" he snarled in triumph.
*SHUNK!*
"How very rude!" said Yura disapprovingly. "Grabbing the bosom of a woman you've only just met!" Her demon sword was pinning the striking hand. Inuyasha was too surprise to react to the pain. She had a hole in her chest, and she was still standing! "Stubborn fellow, aren't you?" remarked Yura to the dumbfounded dog-boy.
Where is her weakness?!
"La?!" Yura voiced as she felt something tug on her finger. Her hair web had been disturbed. She looked back at her web, which now consisted of a thick bundle of hair and skulls stretched across the valley. A pink cloak fluttered on it. Locks of long black hair emerged from beneath the cloak, revealing the head of Kagome.
That girl! I thought I burned her to a crisp! thought Yura, at last with true panic. "You, girl!" she shouted.
**BWEEEEN!!**
Kagome turned her head suddenly to fully face Yura. The oni-woman felt a chill run down her spine, and her words died in her throat as the gaze fixed upon her. Kagome's eyes were cloaked in shadow. Only two bright pinpoints of angry red light gleaned out from that darkness where her eyes should've been.
Yura got a fairly good impression of what it was like to stare into an abyss. Right down to the staring back part.
Kagome stood to her full height on the thick bundle that used to be Yura's hairball. Her eyes were no longer cloaked in shadow, but their gaze lost none of its heat.
Yura gave a nervous grin. Those eyes radiated such anger and hate, she couldn't be human! "What's wrong, girl?" she asked, nervous.
Eyes flaming, Kagome held up the little clay bowl she had been keeping on her head. She turned the bowl over, and only the smallest drops dripped out. "Look at this! You made my spill my oden!" she bellowed angrily. "You… cockbiting FUCKTARD!"
Inuyasha's eyes went wide. He had no idea Kagome had such a filthy mouth!
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(Posted Thu, 30 Dec 2004 10:11)
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