Chapter 7
The Demon Ninjas
My heart was beating so wildly that I could feel it vibrating my chest. The situation undoubtedly felt dangerous, yet it was Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi who stood ten feet before me, expectantly, carbon copies of my present era friends. Carbon copies, that is, except for traditional feudal era kimonos. I hardly knew what to do or think. Here I was standing next to Akitoki Hojo, an ancestor of the Hojo I know from my own time. Some resemblance exists between the two Hojos, but not like this. And yet, anything was possible. I kept my arrow nocked even though my bow was pointed to the ground, and I saw Akitoki's hand on his dagger.
Thoughts continued to race through my head as I tried to understand the situation as well as my body's response to it. If it was the ancestors of my three closest friends, I couldn't attack them. It struck me for the first time how much I could mess up the present era by continuously coming to the past. It also struck me that it was strange to meet any humans this deep in the woods, especially as we neared an old, abandoned shrine which was suspected to attract dangerous demons. Akitoki glanced at me, probably trying to size up the situation.
Ayume, with her slightly wavy hair and that signature sweet smile which created two small dimples in her cheeks, addressed us first, "Hello, how strange it is to see people in these woods!"
My heart began to slow a bit, feeling a bit of relief as she spoke of my own concern.
Eri, the shortest of the three with hair cut just above her shoulders, spoke next, "Yes, how strange! We hardly ever see people this far from the village! What brings you to these parts?" It struck me that this Eri had the same short hairstyle as the Eri from the present, a hairstyle which was definitely not seen often in the feudal era. Or was it? I was having trouble thinking straight.
Akitoki again looked at me, this time making eye contact with me with a an questioning look on his face, subtly indicating the three women in front of us. I presumed he was wondering if we should answer their question, so I gave a quick nod.
Akitoki spoke up, "We are traveling through on the way to Akita to visit my mother. What brings you out to these woods?" I think he was trying to keep his tone conversational, but it was definitely somewhat tense.
For better or worse, however, tension was lessening as no obvious danger was actually arising. Ayume took a step towards us and said, "We are similarly traveling through. Perhaps we should travel together through this lonely forest?" Eri and Yuka stood slightly behind her, which struck me as strange till I realized I was used to Yuka being more of the leader.
I was trying to think of ways to politely decline that I might get away from these women and the uneasiness I felt, but I could think of nothing. They walked up beside us, as though nothing strange had occurred, and our new party of five wearily began to walk.
Adrenaline kept my ankle from hurting as we began our first steps, but perhaps Yuka had noticed my slight limp because she said, "How tired and worn you both seem! We have just begun the journey ourselves… is there anything we can do to lighten the load?"
"Yes," Eri said, "allow us to carry your backpack and that sword for a short ways till you regain your strength."
At the mention of the sword, an idea struck me. I grabbed towards the blade from Akitoki's back, but he pushed away my hands not understanding what I was trying to do. I looked at him, willing him to understand my plan. I'm not sure he understood, but when I would not relent he gave in hesitantly.
"No, but thank you," I said, trying to sound pleasant and force a small laugh, "This old thing isn't too heavy, is it Akitoki?" I asked, referring to the sheathed blade that was now in my hands. Then I slipped the cloth away from the blade and so the demonic aura could escape.
Ayume laughed along with me, not faltering at the strength of aura which was pouring from the sword. I could tell that Akitoki finally understood my motives, as our eyes connected with mutual understanding. These were not demons; if they were the sword would have made them drunk with the strength of demon aura permeating the air. "It looks pretty heavy to me," Ayume said, smiling kindly.
Eri laughed lightly as well, her short hair brushing her shoulders as they gently shook. As I handed the blade back to Akitoki she said, "Come on, now, it is a pleasure for us to help."
"That's kind of you," Akitoki said, still sounding unsure of his words as he tied the sword on his back, "but this is very precious to me."
We trudged on several more uncomfortable steps until Eri asked, "So, what is your relation to each other? Are you married?"
Forever a teenage girl, it seemed even in the most dangerous situations I was miserably susceptible to a blush. "No," said Akitoki, whose voice seemed to be relaxing at last.
"Promised?" asked Eri.
I hesitated before I said, "No," quite uncomfortably and with little conviction. I regretted it right away, wishing I had sounded more sure, and also wishing I felt more sure. I was sure Akitoki noticed, and hoped he wouldn't make much of it because I myself had no idea how I felt about him. We continued walking, maybe ten steps, and to my own dissatisfaction my thoughts were swimming with images of Inuyasha and Akitoki. I wished I could turn it off.
Ayume giggled affectionately, noticing my dismay, and said to me, "Well, I think you too would make a very cute couple, Kagome."
Kagome. Images of young men and half-demons went out of my mind immediately. I had never told them my name.
"Akitoki!" I shouted in warning as I nocked my arrow and pointed it at them. We both jumped back, putting some distance in between us and the women so that we were facing them. They continued smiling, to my amazement, as though nothing had happened. Then I saw the outline of Eri begin to blink, her body coming in and out of focus.
My eyebrows knit together, as confused as ever, but Akitoki's eyes widened with understanding. "Puppets" he muttered.
It was my turn for my eyes to widen. If those were puppets, then our danger was even greater.
I heard a sinister laugh, almost comically sinister, just as I was spinning around so that my back and Akitoki's would be almost touching. The object of the laughter came from one of four demons who had presently revealed themselves behind us. They were about the size of humans, although their flesh was not of natural colors and they each had their own characteristics that suggested their true demon heritage. Also, where white should have been, their eyes glowed a menacing red. I glanced back at Akitoki and saw the puppets were gone, and so he turned to face the demons as well. These must be the demon ninjas.
They clearly didn't seem very worried about us, because the ninja with green skin and huge arms smacked the demon who was laughing. The demon who was laughing, whose skin was orange but otherwise seemed the most human, did not seem duly concerned. "Oh, relax," the orange demon cooed in a tenor voice, "There are other ways to get ahold of that sword. We couldn't have hoped to find them in a more pathetic state."
My panic was fresh again, and I swallowed my spit as I tried to think of a way out of this. My hands clenched my bow. I was pretty sure fighting was going to be the only way out, and two tired humans against four demons probably wouldn't produce much of a battle. Even if Sango and Miroku were here with us, both extremely skilled in fighting demons, I wasn't sure we could overpower them. Ideally, I would try to detain them with my sacred arrows while Akitoki would go ahead and try to reach the Furae shrine without me. Something told me, however, he wouldn't be up for that plan.
A tall and skinny blue demon, presumably a female, sounded much sterner than the orange demon even as she made light of us, "Look how they are shaking. Hoshiyomi cannot be too displeased. Plus, after all, they are the two that we want."
The gray demon, who looked somewhat like the cross between a boulder and a man, said nothing. The orange demon filled the silence, "Yes, of course you are right. They can't be hard to detain. Hoshiyomi will just have to come get the sword himself."
The green demon bristled with agitation, but said nothing.
"I wonder," said the blue demon after a moment, "if we should separate the girl and bring her to the shrine before he gets here."
The orange demon chuckled in a way that made my hair stand on end and said cheerily in agreement, "Might as well get a move on things."
There was two seconds of silence before Akitoki lunged at the orange demon with his dulled dagger. As though he had been expecting it the whole time, the orange demon easily moved out of the way, and so swiftly that I could barely see how, kicked Akitoki in the head.
I released an arrow towards the orange demon. Like always, it glowed faintly purple with the aura of purity, but the flight of the arrow was not fast enough for his quick reflexes. He laughed somewhat nervously, "I see you have some fight in you yet. Watch where you point that thing, sweetheart." Akitoki was struggling to get up as the green, blue, and gray demons began to circle around me while the orange one watched me as though this was his entertainment for the night. I didn't know which way to turn, and I spun around wildly with my arrow, willing for an idea to get me out of this mess. My heart pounding in my ears, I briefly thought I heard the shouting voice of Inuyasha, as thought my wishing he were here had actually materialized him. Then the orange demon said with a smile, "Don't worry, priestess, we won't kill you yet."
A pain filled the back of my head coming from the direction of where the gray demon had been, and I was vaguely aware of being lifted into the air as I lost consciousness.
O.O.O.O.O
Inuyasha panted and lowered his sword after executing another blow with wind scar, which had, yet again, no effect. As sweat dripped between his brows and his body slowly rose and fell with heavy breathing, he waited for the demon in front of him to make the next move. He tried to figure out the best approach to kill Hoshiyomi, but he had tried his strongest attacks to no avail. He grunted, knowing that if he couldn't think of another approach to attack the demon, he'd better start also thinking of ways to escape, or he might be the one getting killed tonight.
"Why do you even want this sword so badly?" Inuyasha grunted, frustrated.
"I don't have to answer to you," Hoshiyomi answered dully.
"Well, it would be a lot easier for all of us if you'd just give it up!" Inuyasha retorted.
"The blade has no relation to you at all. I think we have clearly seen who is
truly in danger here, half-demon. If you leave me alone, I will spare you and your friends their lives."
Inuyasha knew better than to trust the word of a demon. Plus, he was pissed and he wasn't going to give up that easily. With renewed energy, he sprang up and jumped at Hoshiyomi, Tetsusaiga pointed towards the demon's head. Hoshiyomi glared at him, raising his own blade to block the blow. The blade Hoshiyomi used bore a strong resemblance to the sword Akitoki carried, and Inuyasha was sure this was the other half of the Naginata of Heaven and Earth. He knew, as much as he hated it, that he had to do what it took to keep Hoshiyomi from the other part of that blade.
"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha heard Miroku and Sango's voice, "We cannot find Kagome and Akitoki anywhere!" Their voices carried across the forest, and even with his enhanced hearing he struggled to hear what they were saying. But the meaning was clear.
Inuyasha's face hardened in worry and anger. He yelled and attacked Hoshiyomi again, to little affect.
He could tell Hoshiyomi was growing annoyed with the fight, and he looked at Inuyasha one last time, "You have made the wrong choice" was all he said, and then from the blade he held came a bang and a huge blast of light. Inuyasha staggered, trying to keep himself in the ready position, but he could not hear or see anything. Panic gripped as ten seconds, thirty seconds, a minute passed without being able to see or hear. Suddenly he felt two arms grip him and made out the sound of his name being shouted over the ringing that filled his head. He tried to attack whatever it was, and then realized with relief that it was Miroku.
Ten minutes passed and Inuyasha was beginning to get his senses back. Sango, Shippo, and Kirara were there too, and none of them knew what happed to Hoshiyomi. Fear gripped Inuyasha, and he could tell the others feared the worst as well. They had to find Akitoki and Kagome and somehow purify that blade.
O.O.O.O.O
Well, it's been years but it's always good to finish what I start. Hope you enjoy the new chapter, and feel free to let me know what you think in the review!
