Wings of Prophecy

Chapter 11: Fighting For Destiny

Inuyasha barely managed to sweep out of the way of the oncoming attack. Kagome was holding tightly to his neck so as not to fall, and he immediately regretted bringing her along. Using one arm to support her, he busied the other with brandishing Tetsusaiga in the offending male's direction.

"Hmph. It wasn't wise to bring a little girl to battle, half-breed," The male sneered before continuing, "No matter. I will kill her and you and then exterminate every Fae in this cavern..." He chuckled darkly.

"THE HELL YOU WILL!" Inuyasha shouted, his ire rising.

"Oh? And what makes you think you can stop me?" The male questioned, his tone taunting.

"I don't think I can stop you, I know I can," Inuyasha retorted with an audible growl.

The other male snarled before seeming to collect himself. "Very well then... if you believe yourself capable of stopping me, why don't we take this outside? There's no fun fighting in restricted spaces is there?" The male smiled widely.

"Fine by me." Inuyasha replied.

The Inu-hanyou then turned and led the way out of the Nest, all the while glancing back now and then to make sure the other male was following. A whimper from the person in his arms caused him to look down at said figure. It was only then that he noticed Kagome's trembling, and a surge of guilt suddenly swept over him.

Hugging her even tighter to him, he whispered, "It'll be alright Kagome. I'll kick this bastard's ass and have you home before you know it..."

She said nothing in response, but instead clutched him tighter. Wrapping his other arm around her shoulders, the azure sky finally came into view. He changed his path of travel toward a somewhat distant tree ridden cliffside and picked what he deemed a suitable tree, depositing the still shaking female onto its sturdy branches. He just about left without a word when a hand grasping the edge of his sleeve stopped him. Turning back to her once more, he met her eyes. There were many emotions swirling in those sapphire depths, but the most prominent ones were worry and fear. The fear he could understand, but the worry struck him a little deeper. It was worry for him, his wellbeing. It was worry that pleaded for his safe return.

The guilt in his chest swelled up again and this time he moved to hover a little closer. He wrapped her in his arms once more and hugged her for all she was worth, allowing her to return the gesture. "Please come back safe..."

Her words were whispered so softly that he nearly didn't catch them. He nodded against her, before pulling back and looking into her sapphire orbs once more before resigning to his fate. He wanted those eyes to be imprinted on his memory, to be the last thing he thought of if he were to pass in this fight. But as he flew to meet his opponent, he felt Tetsusaiga pulse faintly; reassuring him that it would do its best to make him the victor of this battle. He smirked, promising that he would do his best to ensure that outcome as well, for the sake of his tribe and Kagome.

He found the abomination hovering over the forest not too far from where he'd left Kagome. He stopped to hover at an acceptable distance and glared down his opponent. The other male did the same, before a chilling smirk split his face and a chuckle bubbled forth from him.

"Oh don't look at me like that! Why don't we introduce ourselves so we aren't strangers anymore hm? I do wish to know the name of the one I'm slaughtering..." The male cooed menacingly.

Inuyasha's only reply was a low growl, his lip curling up to reveal sharp fangs. The other male gave an exasperated sigh before planting his palm on his waist.

"I suppose I'll go first then since you seem to be rather unwilling to do so... My name is Vanakhel, Servant to the Demon Dragon Zukoro."

Inuyasha's eyes widened this. Demon dragon? What on earth's this bastard goin' on about? I've never heard of any demon dragon!