Disclaimer:All rights to Inuyasha and its universe or characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 1
The Return of the Mist
Kagome and Inuyasha swept from their contentment and idleness of marital bliss faced towards the Forest of No Return. There was a change. The knee weakening, sickening feeling of the approach of a great yoki making its way towards the village. This aura pungent and palpable unsettled them both as to delay their very movement.
Within it, there was a feeling, even a scent, familiar to Inuyasha. A sweetness underneath that which was putrid. He struggled to remember—agonized, as the scent grew closer and stronger but remained to his mind distant.
Kagome was the first to come to.
"INUYASHA! The village! Let's go! Come on!" Kagome leapt upon his back and grasped at the seam over his shoulders. She held a firm grip on her bow and a finger grazing the fletching of the first arrow it could come into contact with.
Right. Inuyasha bound toward the village. So much time had been lost. This great yoki had found its way at the very center.
From there, the couple could see Miroku scrambling away from Sango and his children, rushing into a state of preparation and Sango urged others to follow her example and remove themselves to their homes.
"Get inside, a great evil has made its way here! Please! Stay safe while it is being handled!" Sango found this new role very difficult. It was easier to overcome a demon than it is to overcome the foolhardiness of human curiosity. The villagers moved glacially indoors, craning their necks out of doorways to see what had gotten their great protectors in such a panic. Seeing, that for the most part they were out of the way, she rejoined her children.
"Kaede-baba, this must be the yoki of a great many youkai, is it not?" Miroku looked toward the priestess who had finally managed to separate herself from Rin in order to observe.
"Aye, it would certainly have to be…but where are they?"
It was true, beyond this great sensation that they all felt, nothing appeared.
"Show yourself demon!" Miroku's staff jerked about as he yelled into the empty alleys.
"However many there are...whatever it is…it's wounded" Kagome observed the other's agreement. It was certainly true, this youkai's aura had all of the tension of a desperate and frightened being—at least art of it. Was it two youkai attacking each other? No. The yoki seemed to be intermingled.
Inuyasha was unusually quiet. He could not figure out this scent. It was on the tip of his tongue, but it was so masked by everything else…all this white noise. Suddenly he erupted, "I don't have all day! Let's get this over with!"
A whimper.
"Please, help me…" This soft plea was found to be from the form a woman. Young, dressed in a simple yukata, and very pregnant and helpless looking. The strain on her face was as such to be pitied in its earnestness. She dropped to her knees, pleading with her eyes. No matter, this was their foe. It radiated off over her.
"This is the village of the hanyou, the son of Inu no Taisho?" Her eyes rested on the fire-rat clad hanyou.
"What's it to you, demon?"
The youkai looked down and touched her belly. "Please let me die now."
It became apparent to them, that most of this nefarious energy was coming from there. That was to be their concern.
A pulse. Suddenly, the demoness writhed in pain and spat dark blood from deep within her.
Everyone was frozen in anticipation. Kagome came down from Inuyasha's back and grabbed an arrow from her quiver…loosely aiming it at the youkai's stomach. This action snapped in Inuyasha a realization. He knew now.
"No Kagome, wait." Gently he rested a clawed hand on her wrist.
"What?"
The demoness gurgled and the veins pushed the elasticity of her skin. "Let me die!" The sounds of her agony pierced the air and sent a tremble through the spines of every villager huddled and clutching each other.
A separate yoki. Sesshomaru. The sky darkened and the great dog shot from the sky in such a glorious eruption of urgency with Jaken clutching at him.
Kaede stepped forward. "Sesshomaru-sama, I assure you, Rin is safe." He did not, however, acknowledge her, but rather looked toward Inuyasha.
"Brother—"
"Yeah, I smell her too"
This stirred such a confusion. "Will you both care to let us in on this?" Miroku's annoyance and confusion saturated the question, only to have the prospect of an answer interrupted by the demoness gagging.
"Stay out of this Monk. All of you."
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the demoness. Gold. Gold began to pour forth from her mouth as she became enveloped in a monstrous cloud of smoke.
"Inuyasha! Do you know what's happening?" Kagome was in a panic and held tightly to the hanyou's arm.
"Sesshomaru is right. This has nothing to do with any of you. Get back."
The villagers could be heard gasping amongst themselves in awe of the glittering spew of coinage erupting from the spiraling column of fire making its way higher into the sky. Convulsing through it all, the specter arched into the trueness of her form. Looking overhead, the group saw the transformation into an enormous golden snake. Coursing through the sky with wobble….the great concern now was that it would crash into the village below.
Inuyasha rushed above to steer the reptile out of the path of the innocent below. All the while a hail of gold rained down, dangerously knocking about; mesmerizing every observer.
"KILL ME, Sons of Inu no Taisho!"
The snake's swollen stomach pulsed violently. Sesshomaru, flanking Inuyasha, called to him.
"Do not act foolishly half-breed"
"I'm not an idiot, Sesshomaru! Let me figure out how to get to her"
"If she is harmed; I will destroy you"
Inuyasha swung tessaiga overhead. He knew Sesshomaru was right, he had to be extremely careful as to not use too much power. He could feel Sesshomaru's gaze creeping into him as he re-sheathed tessaiga.
This youkai was too strong to use his claws alone, but her contents were too important to risk damaging with tessaiga.
"KILL M—"
"Bakusaiga!"
Sesshomaru shoved his brother from out of his way and drew his sword releasing a flurry of energy towards the snake.
"Sesshomaru! You bastard! Do you know what you've done?!"
As the snake disintegrated, even more coins ambled towards the earth causing the villagers to throw away caution and dash from their huts to collect as much of it as they could. They jubilated and exhausted the brothers. The daiyokai took no notice, choosing only to address his half-brother.
"You took too long. This Sesshomaru acted appropriately."
With a fertile silence the looked upwards as the debris tumbled from the sky. The elder brother could be trusted to have more precision and control in most things, but the delicate nature of this task and the corrosiveness of the attack made his earlier protestations to Inuyasha almost laughable.
To their relief they saw an orb of light gliding just above them and as it faded a thick mist made heavy the air around the entire village. Simultaneously the brothers uttered the whisper "Shinokiri."
There was no end of perturbment from all who watched—at least those not preoccupied in the skirmish over the litter of gold pieces flying everywhere.
"Who are you talking about?" Kagome, could not be more puzzled. In fact, she was a bit threatened by the focus the two brothers had on what or whoever was within the epicenter of the mist. As, the brothers began to move toward the eye of the fixture of clouds, from within it burst an inu taiyoukai. Magnificent and soaring the dog's red eyes aflame piercing through swathes of dark grey and black fur. The higher it got the more labored it's breathing until it halted entirely metamorphosing into a female humanoid form.
Seeming to float even as she was falling, masses of dark silk and grey hair billowed omnidirectionally, obscuring her figure. Sesshomaru stepped to catch her.
"Ah, Bakusaiga's attach did not reach her. Very impressive Sesshomaru-sama!" Myoga propelled himself onto the lord's armored shoulder.
"Pfft! Where were you hiding all this time coward?" Inuyasha stuffed the urge to accompany his question with a swift flick to the flea's body.
"Master Inuyasha! There's no need to be so hostile!" The flea jumped to hide in Kagome's hair. She herself was preoccupied by the demoness in Sesshomaru's arms. Pale with expected markings; an abstraction of a flower on her forehead. She looked ghostly in contrast to the dark grey of her hair, similar to that of the fur which lined the shoulders and sleeves of her navy kimono and hakama, which were printed with silver bamboo silhouettes.
Was it Shino Kiri or Shi no Kiri? The latter was far more likely a name of a youkai, perhaps the bamboo is just a pun. Kagome could not help but muse at her, why was she so important?
Shinokiri's amber eyes crept from their lids slowly peering outwards.
"Inuyasha, you've grown so well—the parcel...find the parcel...orange…it must be delivered" Almost completely drained she let her head fall back on the armored chest of the taiyokai holding her, though she made no effort to acknowledge him nor he her.
Inuyasha dashed about looking for this parcel, determined in his task until in his aspect he caught something. Orange and gold silk wrapped neatly around something of a hefty size for a package. It had landed almost neatly on the ground as if it had not just fallen from the sky.
"Kaede…can we look after her in your hut?" Inuyasha did not look to her face for an answer, instead bending down and intently picking up this brightly packaged object.
"Aye, if it is your wish"
Sesshomaru made his way to her hut before much of what Kaede said could exit her lips.
"Uh...alright…I guess I'll Jinenji….he'd know how best to help her." Kagome's voice fluctuated as if it were a question. She paused expectantly in Inuyasha's direction before letting the air escape from her lungs in a great sigh and moving on.
He'll tell me what this is all about in his own time I guess.
As things began to quiet down, Sango got the children and joined Miroku in the small procession to Kaede's hut. "What's happening? Is it safe Miroku?"
"I suppose, otherwise, Inuyasha would've said otherwise by now." The monk shrugged. "She's quite beau—," a fist found its way to Miroku's head and crumpled his body on to a pile for his children to squeal and giggle at. Sango kept going forward. "Hurry up you lecherous monk, we're falling behind!"
Rin ran from Kaede's hut upon seeing her guardian make his way towards it.
"SESSHOMARU-SAMA! MASTER JAKEN! It's so soon since you last visited!"
Kaede approached Rin. "Please prepare somewhere for the demoness to stay Rin, it seems we must nurse her"
"Huh?" It never occurred to Rin to look at what Sesshomaru was holding. "Oh….She's so pretty!"
"Rin! Insolent girl! Do as you are told! Lord Sesshomaru should not be sullied with the task of holding this creature all day!" Jaken leapt up from behind his master, bopping up and down in a typical rage.
"Be quiet Jaken"
"Yes, M'lord"
Making his way inside, Sesshomaru scanned the hut briefly as Rin laid out a place for him to set the demoness down. Both he and Inuyasha were clouded within the moment, not able to say or do much in the thickness of the situation. As he set her down, propping her head up, Inuyasha placed the parcel beside her and took his place kneeling beside his brother, looking at the limp feminine body before them. Kagome soon stumbled in behind everyone with Jinenji, cradling herbs. The hut was now cramped and hot though no one made any motion to relieve themselves and depart for fresh air. Myoga spoke up from Inuyasha's shoulder.
"M'lady you are a bit late. You should've been here about 4 years ago"
A weak smile appeared on the demoness' lips.
"The snake was very stubborn…besides, I gave it some time to be sure."