Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha
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Chapter 7
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"I cannot sense any presence." Sesshomaru said, looking in the direction, where the imp settlement was. Jaken stared at him, his face getting paler, as the realization struck him. His round yellow eyes were glistening with anxiety.
"No, it can't be." He whispered to himself, shaking his head, as dark thoughts coursed through his mind.
Sesshomaru took notice of his servant's distress. Without saying a word, he leapt into the air. Jaken squeaked, seeing his master leaving and barely managed to grab the end of the white fur, which the dog demon was carried over his shoulder.
"Rin!" Mai called to the little girl from Ah-Un's back, reaching with her hand towards the child. Rin grabbed it and got pulled up onto the saddle. Once both passengers were on board, the beast let out a roar and jumped after Sesshomaru, following its master.
The flight was brief and soon they reached the imp settlement. Mai slid off the dragon's back and looked around. There were no imps at the gates of the imp town. Sesshomaru made his way through them and entered the settlement. The girl and the rest of his group followed him, keeping a watchful eye at the surroundings. Once inside, it was getting more and more creepy. The imps' castle had been carved in the mountain slope – it was a lot of caves, combined together. The footsteps were echoing throughout the stone halls, each tiniest sound was becoming a loud noise, what made Sesshomaru's group conscious of their movements. Mai was walking carefully and was not liking, what she saw – there was no one here, even though the last time she had been here the underground town was very lively and filled with imps.
"What happened here?" Jaken whispered to himself, when they reached the main hall. The table was still set, looking ready for a usual evening feast, but the food was rotten already. Mai came closer, feeling like a heroine of the "X-Files". Some of the chairs were overturned, indicating, that the imps were standing up from the table in haste. The remnants of the dishes weren't untouched – they looked like they had been half-eaten. The door to the hall was closed, so animals couldn't have been the ones responsible for this. It meant, that the imps vanished in the middle of the meal. The girl felt a shiver go down her spine. It was getting really disturbing. She touched the surface of the table and wiped a thin layer of dust off the table.
"Two weeks." Mai yelped and jumped from surprise, as Sesshomaru suddenly spoke. The demon pointed at the rotten food. "No one was here in two weeks."
Rin crouched and picked up some item.
"Sesshomaru-sama, where do you think they went?" the child asked, examining the item carefully – it was a doll, which probably belonged to one of the imp children.
The demon didn't answer. He was scanning the surroundings. His eyes slid over the tables, the personal belongings, which were laying scattered on the floor in the main hall. Then, something caught his attention and the demon made his way towards the furthest end of the chamber. He looked down at the wall. Mai lifted the hem of her kimono and jogged there too.
"A message!" she gasped, seeing the letters painted on the wall with red ink. The girl wrinkled her forehead, coming to the conclusion, that the ink was most probably the blood of the imp, who left the message. She crouched, so that her eyes would be at the same level as the blurry inscription.
"H.. E… L…" she was deciphering the letters. Her eyes widened. One letter must be missing, but the message was clear.
"Help." Jaken said in a trembling voice. The four of them were standing in silence for long minutes, wondering, what had transpired in this place. What caused the hundreds of imps vanish in the middle of the dinner.
"Sesshomaru," Mai was the first to break the silence. "Can't you track the imps?"
The demon furrowed his brows, apparently sniffing the air.
"The scents have already melted with the air." He responded, meaning "no".
Then the dog demon turned around and left the dining hall, roaming through the other chambers. Mai, Rin and Jaken followed like baby ducklings trotting after their mother, not eager to stay behind.
Everywhere was the same – the items abandoned, as though someone simply left there as they was and went away. However, aside the bloody letters on the wall in the main hall, they found no signs of struggle, which could indicate, that the imps left willingly.
"I won't believe it." Jaken stated firmly, folding his arms on his chest. "Maybe we are not the strongest of the youkai, but we're no cowards either! No one will tell me, that my kin left without putting up a good fight!"
The imp clenched his little fists, anger boiling in him, as he was looking at his empty home, which had been vibrating with life once.
"I don't know how, but they've been kidnapped! We have to find the one, who's behind this!"
Mai bit her lower lip, seeing her friend so crazy with grief. Sesshomaru glanced at his servant too.
"This Sesshomaru will find them." He declared confidently.
However, the dog demon was not sure, whether he would be able to keep this promise. There were too many questions, but too few answers. One was beyond all doubt though – the happening, which caused hundreds of youkai disappear without a trace was a dangerous one, perhaps more powerful than he had estimated. The words of his spouse troubled him too. Did that mean, that if nothing was done, the race of youkai would be wiped out?
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Back at the village
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"I can't believe, that that bastard Sesshomaru went on a honeymoon!" Inuyasha snorted, as he, Miroku and Kohaku sat on the stairs, leading to the temple. The three males had the rare opportunity to relax, without any tedious tasks to perform. Luckily Kagome decided to visit Sango, which freed Miroku from his wife and the six-month-old twins. He felt accomplished as a husband and father, but every man needs a break from time to time. Having nothing better to do, the three of them gathered to talk, what meant mostly complaining.
Their gazes wandered to the nearest hill, right next to the temple. Much to dismay of the people, who liked peace and silence, a horrible noise was erupting from there. After Jaken's daring escape from the altar, the imps refused to leave home, till the unruly groom returned and married Hotaru at last. The villagers found it amusing at fist and it wasn't too bothersome, but after two weeks everything had changed. Hotaru and the elder imps had decided, that they couldn't live in a camp for any longer and decided to build a more permanent housing. Inuyasha and the villagers protested, but Kagome, Sango and Kaede got enchanted by the sight of poor little imps and the demons had been permitted to stay. They had begun delving their settlements in the hill in the direct neighborhood of the Shrine right away, in the very center of the village. To make the matters worse, they kept partying every evening and were producing booze on a massive scale form everything, they could get their green paws on. Now everyone understood, why Jaken was that desperate to escape.
The three males sighed simultaneously, looking at the imps working. Miroku took a sip of the imp booze.
"How boring." The hanyou yawned, trying to lay down on the stairs comfortably. "Keh! I should go somewhere too."
Kohaku arched his eyebrow, observing the jealous Inuyasha. The boy cleared his throat.
"I've heard, that the people from a village at the seashore have some problems with a demon. I think, it's a sea serpent or something like that. I wanted to check it out after I visit sister. I could need some hel…"
The young demon slayer paused in midsentence, seeing two pairs of eyes, glowing with the desire of an adventure – especially Inuyasha seemed all eager to embark on a quest to slaughter a sea serpent. The hanyou grinned widely and forcefully patted Kohaku on the back. Poor boy gasped and winced, as his lungs nearly got ripped off the spine.
"You can count on me anytime, Kohaku." The half-demon ensured the demon-slayer, a cheerful look on his face, as she showed his sharp fangs in a cheerful smile. "That's what I need. Are you going too, Miroku?"
The monk knitted his eyebrows, visibly troubled. He would like to get his vacation as well, but he had responsibility to uphold. No matter how temping it was, he couldn't leave Sango and his adorable little daughters alone. She shook his head with regret.
"Sorry, but no." Miroku answered, sighing heavily.
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulder and stood up, yanking Kohaku up.
"Let's go!" he exclaimed. His two companions gawked at him, startled, that the decision had been made so quickly.
"You're going to leave Kagome alone?" Miroku made sure, having a hunch, that his friend was on the right way to get himself into some serious trouble with the certain miko. However, such though didn't seem to worry Inuyasha at all. The hanyou nodded with confidence.
"That's right. That's exactly, what I'm going to do." He stated firmly, sending Miroku and Kohaku a challenging look, as though he expected someone to try to make him change his mind. The monk and his young brother-in-law were staring at the half-demon, picturing in their minds Kagome slamming her betrothed into ground over and over again.
"Kagome-sama won't like it." The demon-slayer voiced his doubt in a shy attempt to save Inuyasha from his own stupidity.
"Keh!" the half-demon flipped his worry off. "It'll do her good. When that bastard Sesshomaru left Mai, she ran to him all happy to be his wife, right?"
Miroku and Kohaku exchanged looks, now understanding, what Inuyasha had in mind – it was still the problem of the marriage. Or rather the lack of it.
"Inuyasha, you should rethink that." The monk said firmly, but the hanyou refused to listen to him, sure, that his idea was brilliant. Miroku winced, seeing the dreamy look on Inuyasha's face. He shook his head, as the hanyou was apparently in the middle of his wedding night, playing in his head.
"That's hopeless." Miroku muttered and reached for the booze. With sadness he discovered, that the small bottle was already empty.
"Come on, Kohaku." Inuyasha said to the young demon-slayer and began dragging him out of the village and leaving the monk behind. Miroku waved goodbye and sighed, pitying Inuyasha. Once the hanyou returned, he would be just as screwed as Jaken. Thinking of Jaken and the ugly green youkai, he looked at the empty bottle. It was the last one of the resources and tomorrow Mushin-sama and Hatchi should be popping by. The monk reached to his sleeve and fished out a pouch with money. Then, he directed his footsteps towards the hill near the Shrine.
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Kohaku sighed and Kirara meowed, when the villagers fled to their shacks, once they saw the silver-haired hanyou. Inuyasha's reaction only caused their distress to grow – he furrowed his brows, sending nasty glares at the poor people.
"Inuyasha-sama, maybe stay here and I'll go and talk with the villagers." The boy suggested, but the half-demon was completely logic-prone and ignored Kohaku's words.
"Keh!" he snorted, folding his arms. "Follow me!"
The boy bit his lower lip, feeling, that nothing good would come out of this. Nevertheless he followed the hanyou, who was stomping along the empty dust road in the middle of the human settlement. He locked the biggest house on and turned that way. Inuyasha didn't bother himself by knocking or waiting for the host to invite him in. He simply set his bare foot on the wooden door and gave it an effortless push. The door flew inside and the hanyou confidently stepped on it, inviting himself inside.
Kohaku was on the brink of making a face-palm. Instead of helping people, troubled by youkai, he brought just another threat along in a form of the hanyou.
"Who's the village's leader?!" Inuyasha yelled, eying the group of people, who were cowering from fear in the corner of the room – a middle-aged man and five women. Kohaku peeked inside from behind the hanyou's back and sighed heavily, seeing the owner of the hut, his wife and four adolescent daughters. The poor people were trembling and saying prayers, scared out of their wits of the half-demon, who had just invaded their house. The young demon-slayer decided to take the lead, before Inuyasha managed to make the things worse even more.
"We're sorry for coming in like this." The boy respectfully bowed his head, while rushing past the hanyou and standing between the people and Inuyasha. He evoked the most friendly smile, he could manage. "We mean no harm. We're demon-slayers and we heard, that you have a problem with a sea serpent. We came to help, so don't be afraid."
The village leader sent the pair a distrustful look, clearly doubting Kohaku's words.
"That… thing behind you is a mononoke." The man said quietly, shielding his wife and daughters from Inuyasha's now angered glare.
"Keh! We're wasting our time here!" the hanyou snapped, folding his arms and not stopping glaring at the owner of the house.
Kohaku took a deep, calming breath, pitying himself, that he had to deal with Inuyasha's bad attitude. The boy grabbed the sleeve of the hanyou's fire rat and tugged it, seating himself on the floor and dragging his companion down. The gesture apparently had a positive effect on the man and his family, for he relaxed a bit. At least he wasn't trembling anymore. The village leader stayed still for a while, assessing, whether the two newcomers were really as harmless as they had claimed to be.
"So you want to defeat the sea serpent?" he asked finally, straightening his back and regaining the confidence. Kohaku nodded and the man seated himself closer to the hanyou and the boy. The women took this opportunity to leave the room in a hurry. The village's leader bit his lower lip, studying first Kohaku, then the frowning half-demon. "Four golden coins. It could have been five, but you broke the door."
Inuyasha shrugged, not really bothered. After all, all he wanted was a bit of exercise.
"It will do." Kohaku agreed to the payment. "Now please tell us about this demon."
The village leader scratched his chin.
"Actually, the sea serpent wasn't bothering us till now. It was always there, in the sea. Since centuries, I think. The people here are all fishermen, so it was rather annoying, that the demon kept eating our fish, but beside that it did no one any harm – it was just swimming in the sea, nothing more. However, a few months ago it changed. The demon became violent. The sea serpent started attacking the people, sinking fishermen's boats, destroying the nets and even damaged a few houses on the shore. The people stopped fishing, no one dares even go near the sea shore. If it continues, the whole village would be ruined." The man told the story.
"You can count on my Tessaiga with that!" Inuyasha stated, putting his clawed hand on the hilt of the sword and standing up. Kohaku followed him and they marched towards the sea, looking for the monster, troubling the villagers.
It turned out, that the search was not necessary, as the infamous sea serpent was on the shore, splashing the water and destroying the abandoned houses.
"It's really aggressive." Kohaku said, reaching for his weapon, crafted by Totosai.
The serpent was an exceptionally huge youkai, its size matching Ryuukotsei or even surpassing it. The bluish scales were glowing in the sun, as the demon was wrecking havoc with his tail, using it like a whip. When he noticed the newcomers, it roared wildly and bared his long teeth, thin and sharp like swords.
"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted, drawing Tessaiga. The rusty sword transformed right away, assuming the usual shape. "A piece of cake."
Before Kohaku even managed to mount Kirara, the hanyou darted forward, charging onto the opponent. The angered sea serpent tried to snatch the tiny opponent in his jaws and crush it, but Inuyasha was too fast and the serpent's size was making him less flexible. The huge demon let out an irritated hiss, unsuccessfully attempting to kill the hanyou, using the whip-like tail.
"MEIDOU ZANGETSUHA!" Inuyasha yelled, as he suddenly found himself in the air at the level of the serpent's eyes. The demon saw multiple black crescents flying his way and after a split second the ground trembled, as the headless body of the serpent crashed onto it. Inuyasha lightly landed on the corpse and jumped off it. The serpent twitched a few times and stilled. The hanyou sheathed Tessaiga, slightly disappointed, that the fight was that short.
"Well done, Inuyasha-sama!" Kohaku shouted to the half-demon. Kirara landed and the boy slipped off her back, examining the enormous headless carcass. He furrowed his brows, thinking about what the village leader said. Something was bothering him.
"It's strange, that a harmless demon went rampage out of sudden." The boy voiced his doubts aloud, coming closer and narrowing his eyes. Inuyasha arched his eyebrow, not really concerned about it, but Kohaku refused to leave without the proper investigation. He leaned over the dead body and began examining it inch after inch, much to the hanyou's annoyance, as his patience was wearing thin. The young demon slayer gasped. "Here!"
Inuyasha approached the boy, wanting to see, what made Kohaku so excited. The kid showed him a little puncture signs in the scales, as though a thick needle went through the skin. The half-demon furrowed his brows.
"Something stung it?" he guessed. Kohaku nodded, pointing at other puncture wounds.
"A lot of them, at that. Those are the signs of Yadori Sanagi, that attached themselves to the sea serpent." The demon-slayer explained. Inuyasha remembered, that one of those parasites glued itself to Shippo once. Kohaku sighed. "But, I suspect, that it was not the presence of Yadori Sanagi, that made the demon aggressive, but the lack of thereof."
"How so?" the hanyou asked.
"Yadori Sanagi live in a symbiosis with their host and release a substance, which makes the demons rather numb and less aggressive. When the parasites vanished, the sea serpent became violent." Kohaku told Inuyasha, what he suspected. The hanyou instinctively clenched his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"The last time something like that happened, it meant, that Naraku was plotting something nasty." The half-demon said seriously, gazing at the waves, washing the sea serpent's carcass. Kohaku looked at his companion warily.
"Inuyasha-sama, do you think, that there is a new enemy around?" the boy asked. Hanyou turned around.
"How would I know?" he answered with a question. "But if nothing was going on, Sesshomaru would be back from his honeymoon already."
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Author Note:
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