I in no way shape, shape, or form own Inuyasha and it's respective characters and settings.
I retain all rights to the OC character Kaikotsu.
I in no way gain profit from the production of this story.
This story is rated Mature for adult language and situations. Possibly some sex scenes later on, not sure yet.
Blue Lily
The earth began to shift as if something was trying to breach the surface. And indeed something, or someone rather, was. With a surge of soil, a pair of fleshless, rotten hands burst forth. As the muscles and skin began to reform, the bright glow of two purple jewel shards faded from sight.
The headless corpse hauled itself from the shallow grave, sinew and flesh regenerating by the moment. Reaching back down into the grave, the corpse lifted out its head by the still regrowing hair. It took some doing, but finally the head was reattached with a sickening snap.
Newly reformed eyes stung under the bright light of a full moon they hadn't seen in untold years. When the eyes finally adjusted to the light, their gaze scanned the surrounding area to try and figure out where it was.
Around the regenerating corpse were the remains of an old campsite. It was hard to tell to an untrained eye, but whoever this person was, they knew this place. But what caught the corpse's full attention was the patch of blue lilies that had grown in a perfect circle around the grave.
A raspy breath left the corpse. And on that breath was a single word- "Jakotsu."
Inuyasha and his fellow adventurers paused as they came across the long abandoned ruins of a small village. Miroku strode over to one of the huts and knelt to examine a chunk of wood that had fallen free. "This village saw battle some time ago," he said. "This board shows signs of weapons damage. A sword by the looks of it."
Sango exited another hut. "There are several skeletons inside. Whoever they were in life, they were definitely cut apart by blades based on the damage to their bones."
As they all stood in the center of town, pondering what could have happened here, someone stumbled from a hut at the far end of the village. He was wearing a tattered kimono and appeared to have a few day's growth of beard on his face.
Spotting the troupe, the stranger began making his way towards them. As he drew closer, the "beard" turned out to be a heavy layer of soil along his lower jaw. He had waist length black hair, save for a shank in the exact middle that was the same shade of blue as a blue lily. His posture and bearing clearly spoke of a warrior's training. The unsettling, though faint, scent of graveyard soil hung over him and eerie silver eyes gazed at them from a surprisingly feminine yet masculine face.
"Inuyasha, he has jewel shards in him," Kagome warned, putting the hanyou on instant alert.
"Are you with the Band of Seven?" Inuyasha asked the stranger, his hand resting on Tessaiga's hilt.
That got the stranger's attention, his pale gaze locking onto the dog demon. "I am," he said in a rumbling voice like distant thunder. Before he could continue however, Inuyasha attacked with his massive blade. Dodging it with surprising ease, the man's hands moved in a flurry of motion.
Inuyasha growled as kunai jabbed into his hands, his right shoulder, grazed one of his ears in a way that even with his healing powers would scar, and a last one lodged lightly in his back, the half demon knelt down as he pulled the blades from his body. "What the hell? Where did all these kunai come from?" he snapped as his yellow gaze remained on his opponent.
As Inuyasha's friends took up defensive postures beside him, the stranger pulled back one of the sleeves of his kimono. What he revealed gave them all pause. Underneath the kimono, this reanimated corpse was wearing a custom designed bodysuit. From what they could see of it, it was covered in pouches and sleeves housing kunai, shuriken, and senbon needles. Rolling his sleeve back down, the stranger rolled his shoulders and glared at them.
"I gave you no cause to assault me, yet the very mention of those with whom I associate gives you just reason to try and kill me demon? That hardly seems fair, even by a demon's standards. My name is Kaikotsu, I am the leader of the Band of Seven. Now tell me why you attacked me," the man demanded.
"You're one of the Band of Seven, one of Naraku's goons. We don't need any more reason than that," Inuyasha growled, hefting Tessaiga once more.
Kaikotsu frowned in confusion. "Naraku? I know no one by this name. The Band of Seven follows only my orders. or at least, they did until my demise," he said, running a hand over his throat.
"Don't lie. Naraku came to your body, put some jewel shards into your corpse, and brought you back to life, telling you to work for him from now on," Inuyasha countered.
But Kaikotsu shook his head. "I have met no one by that name. As for the jewel shards, you can have them." Plucking one of his kunai from his suit, the mercenary dug into his palms, gouging out the shards and tossing them to Inuyasha.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't he be crumbling into dust just now?" Miroku pointed out.
"Miroku's right. When we defeated Mokotsu and removed his shards, he died instantly," Sango pointed out. "This must mean that Kaikotsu, while bearing shards of the Shikon Jewel, was not restored by them."
"Then what could have..." Kagome trailed off as they all looked at the man standing before them.
"I think perhaps, we all have quite a bit of explaining to do," Kaikotsu said.
Jakotsu wandered along aimlessly, lost in his own little world as usual. Currently, the effeminate young man's thoughts were drifting towards his recent encounter with Inuyasha. "Just you wait you sexy demon," he muttered to himself. "Soon I'll get you all to myself."
He was so caught up in his daydreaming, that he almost fell into a large hole in the ground right in his path. Flailing his arms, he managed to correct his balance and looked around. "Hey, don't I know this place? Yeah... Isn't this where..." He trailed off as he looked down into the hole.
Dim as he could be, even Jakotsu could recognize the shape of a grave when he saw one. But more importantly, he recognized the blue lilies around it. "Kai..." he muttered with a tear running down his cheek before turning on his heel and rushing off.
Author's Note: Ah, another Inuyasha story with yet another OC. Just how many of these guys do i have up my sleeve you may be asking. Good damn question. I've lost count.
Anyway, meet Kaikotsu, who claims to be the true leader of the Band of Seven. All I'll say about him is this: he makes Bankotsu look like a pussy-whipped bitch. And as always folks, I look forward to your reviews, especially with an opening chapter like this one.