Chapter Nine: The Demon Slayer

The masked general's army was only increasing in size. What had begun as a regional coalition of several lords had now expanded into a vendetta. All across Japan those Lords whom the Band of Seven had humiliated or defeated now sent their forces.

Supply lines had to be arranged, and vast groups of wagons made their way across roads to feed the alliance. Now the masked general needed to track them down so that they could be forced to battle. For now, he kept his forces occupied and growing by having them search the lands of Japan for the Band of Seven. He also posted a bounty on their heads equal to the absurd price they had charged him for destroying a village.

It had been a pretty good day.

Now all he had to do was bring the Band of Seven to battle…


A troop of soldiers made their way through the woods, seeking the Band of Seven. They wore green colors and held katanas drawn in their hands. They glanced this way and that for any sign of their quarry.

'This seems like a false lead to me,' said one. 'what would the Band of Seven be doing all the way out here?'

'We can't take that chance,' said another 'the bounty on them is so high that we'll be rich as a shogun if we bring them in. Look there! The light of a fire! Be silent and let us follow it.'

Guided by the light of a fire, they emerged from the trees into a clearing with a hill in the middle of it. Near the top of the hill was an opening to a cave, and from there they saw the firelight. Making their way up the rise, they rushed into the cave, blades readied.

Nothing lay within, save a forge, and many barrels lying in place with a cord leading out into the open air.

'Well someone was here,' said one 'we must have just missed them. Look around; see if we can find any sign of where they went.'

'Do you hear hissing?' asked another.

Then a spark came into view, as fuse consumed the cord and reached the barrels. Then the world was bathed in smoke and light.


A fire consumed the hilltop as smoke led out of the hiding place. The ground shook beneath the force of the explosion. Renkotsu smiled in satisfaction at a trap well laid. Then, motioning for Ginkotsu to remain where he was, Renkotsu slipped around the side of the hill. He pointed his pistol into the gloom of the cave and noted the charred corpses and the ruins of his forge.

'So,' he said, 'it looks like Onigumo survived after all.' Renkotsu spun his pistol round before sheathing it. 'I'll be sure to pay him back for this at some point.' He made his way back to Ginkotsu. 'Ginkotsu, we should look into this sacred jewel. The only question is whether we should bring it up with Big Brother.' He remained silent for a moment. 'We'll keep this information to ourselves, for now.'

'Right,' said Ginkotsu.

At that moment a vast force of soldiers rushed out of the trees. They were clad in different uniforms from those they had just killed. Renkotsu watched as they moved for them. 'They must have seen the smoke.'

'There they are!' cried the leader. 'Kill them!'

'Ginkotsu,' said Renkotsu in irritation.

The giant sent a flurry of buzz saws through the air, and the samurai scattered. Some that were too slow were cut to pieces. Ginkotsu then unleashed a barrage of shells that obliterated many. Yet Renkotsu could see many figures moving through the smoke, somewhat cautiously. There were too many for them to fight alone.

'Ginkotsu, let's withdraw for now.' said Renkotsu. 'We'll fight these later.'

Fleeing into the forest, the two friends headed for the hills. The samurai chased them for a time. Yet by the time Renkotsu and Ginkotsu reached the hills the enemy formation had fallen apart. Many of the conscripts were refusing to go forward. The samurai had to execute several of those they deemed half men before the rest would obey their orders. By that time the two of them were gone into the hills.

After several more hours, the samurai gave up the chase.


It had been a fairly average day at the castle when suddenly a red and silver blur leaped over the walls. The guards were slashed down by the blur, whose red-eyed form fell upon the gates and pulled the bar off. The doors were then thrown open, and into the courtyard rushed Bankotsu and Jakotsu. The samurai now knew who had come upon them.

'Its Inuyasha of the Band of Seven!' came the cry of fear.

'And what are we, chopped liver?' asked Jakotsu in irritation as she carved a line of soldiers in half.

'Now is not the time.' reflected Bankotsu as he hacked down several more.

The three of them carved a bloody swath through the castle defenders, and none could stop them.

Then they moved into the castle. Samurai barred their path, only to die in moments. Servants fled before them and were allowed to escape as the group made their way to the Lord's chambers. Before the Lord could so much as draw a sword, he was split in two by Bankotsu.

They then set about finding everything of value and fitting it into a series of chests. All the silver and gold was stolen and put into their loot. From there they brought the chests out into the courtyard. From there, they set fire to the castle and let it burn.

Simple, efficient, and deadly.

Inuyasha, Jakotsu, and Bankotsu made their way into the woods. As the flames burned high into the night, they found a secluded clearing to suit their tastes. Marking out a spot with symbols only they knew, they then began to dig a hole. The labor was simple, for the ground was soft and easy to cut. Inuyasha did most of the work. When they had made one about ten feet deep, they set the chests into them. They filled it in and sat down to bask in the afterglow of victory.

'That was fun!' said Jakotsu. 'We should do that more often Bankotsu!'

'Yeah,' said Bankotsu, 'this was even easier than that village!'

'You know.' said Inuyasha. 'If we keep sacking castles like this, the army sent against us is bound to disband. They can't keep hunting us if they are afraid we'll wipe out their castle. Want to do a hit and run campaign?'

'Nah, it's more fun this way.' reflected Bankotsu.

And then Inuyasha was bashed with a giant boomerang thing. He was slammed against a tree, which broke beneath the force of the weapon.

The boomerang spun through the air to return to the hand of an ordinary looking man. He sat astride a giant saber-toothed cat with two flaming tails. A cat which was also flying.

Inuyasha pulled himself out of the thicket and wiped the blood from his mouth. 'I have no idea who the hell you are!' snapped Inuyasha. 'But your going to regret that-'

'Hiraikotsu!'

The boomerang was thrown again, tearing through trees to slice at him. This time Inuyasha leaped over it, before kicking off a tree to rush his enemy, claws outstretched. However, the cat swerved around him and batted him away with its paw. Inuyasha flew back to hit the ground, and nearly was hit by the boomerang again where he lay. He rolled away and looked to his companions.

'Bankotsu, Jakotsu, a little help here?!' snarled Inuyasha.

'You're doing great!' called Jakotsu, waving at him.

'Get him Inuyasha!' cheered Bankotsu.

'Why you-' Inuyasha ducked under the cat as it rushed him, claws slashing. He rolled away before standing, only to be caught head on by the boomerang. It smashed him against a tree, which broke and fell on top of him. Dust was kicked up as Bankotsu and Jakotsu watched the dust rise.

Inuyasha hauled himself out, dusting himself off. 'Who the hell are you?!' he snarled.

'Silence demon!' said his enemy. 'I am Shako of the demon slayers village! Your days of terrorizing the countryside are over!'

'Shut up!' snapped Inuyasha. 'I wasn't doing anything before you came down here and started attacking me!'

'You just destroyed an entire castle.' said Shako. 'And killed at least a hundred people.'

'Murdering samurai?' said Inuyasha. 'That's a service, not an atrocity. And if you want to make threats how about, you get off that overgrown cat and fight me fairly.'

'Hiraikotsu!'

'Goddamn coward!' snarled Inuyasha as he dodged the shot again.

Bankotsu to one side sighed. 'Well I wasn't going to do this before now, but in the interest of a fair fight I guess I'll have to.' He raised his halberd into the air and spun it. The skies clouded over. Down from the heavens descended a massive array of lightning bolts. They struck the cat, which yowled as it descended smoking into the forest below.

Inuyasha looked at him. 'Why didn't you ever use that before?!'

'It's no fun to kill people with lightning,' said Bankotsu with a shrug, 'and I'm probably never going to use it again.' He paused. 'You want to go after him?'

'Nah,' said Inuyasha, 'I'm not in the mood. Let's just keep moving.'

'You aren't going anywhere, Band of Seven!' cried a voice.

Suddenly soldiers, hundreds of them. They closed in from all sides, their blades and spears readied to slay them. Then Jakotsu struck out with his snake sword, and the first three ranks fell to the ground headless. The next three ranks faltered, backing away as Bankotsu and Inuyasha fell upon them. It was great to have more prey. They hacked and slashed, and carved their way through everything in sight. Blood stained the ground, and broken bodies were everywhere. Finally, their enemies fled in terror, and Inuyasha pursued them into the forests.

One of them fell and stood up as Inuyasha closed in. He backed away into a tree, screaming for mercy, saying that he was an unmarried man who had only been drafted. Tears fell from his eyes as Inuyasha advanced anyway, eyes glazed with red. Suddenly Inuyasha stopped, jolted awake from his bloodlust. His hand gripped the man's throat. He let go and stepped back. 'Get out of here, and tell your friends exactly what happens to people who attack us.'

The man fled in terror, and Inuyasha made his way back to meet with his friends. Bankotsu and Jakotsu met him halfway. 'So you let him go?' asked Bankotsu. 'That seems kind of sloppy. What if he tells someone we're here?'

'We'll be long gone by the time he finds anyone.' said Inuyasha. 'And it will make the samurai think twice about coming after us.'

'I didn't care whether he lived or died,' admitted Jakotsu, before wrapping an arm around Inuyasha. 'I just loved the way you looked at him like a piece of meat to be devoured. So feral and savage.' Pressing his cheek up against Inuyasha's he licked his lips. 'You looked totally sexy.'

'Jakotsu…' began Inuyasha, 'don't ever touch me again.'

'Oh,' said Jakotsu as he separated, 'ever since that day you've been so mean to me, Inuyasha. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were playing hard to get.'

'What day?' asked Bankotsu, quite lost.

'Nothing happened!' snapped Inuyasha. 'Let's keep moving.'

They pressed onwards without further discussion.


That hadn't gone according to plan.

One moment he had been readying himself for another pass. Then lightning had scorched the sky, and everything had gone white. Kirara had careened towards the ground. Now Shako lay on the land where he had fallen. He picked himself up and made his way over to where Kirara lay in a similar plight. 'Kirara, are you alright?' he asked, setting one hand to the giant cats face.

It transformed back into a kittens form and mewled an affirmative.

'We'd better not risk another frontal assault.' reflected Shako. 'Those mercenaries are dangerous. We'll track them for now, and wait for an opportunity.'

Kirara nodded, and they continued.


The tracks led swiftly along a path Renkotsu and Ginkotsu made their way along a forested trail. They were hoping to avoid any further confrontations with the armies of the Lords. As they lumbered onwards, they quite came across a beautiful priestess clad in red and white. She was walking alongside a brown clothed girl. Over one shoulder was slung a bow, and Renkotsu walked by her, hand going for his pistol as they passed one another.

Suddenly Renkotsu whirled around, his pistol coming out to point at the woman's breast. The girl quickly fled behind her, as the woman held in her hands a drawn bow. For a moment there was absolute silence as the two sides faced each other down.

'You are of the Band of Seven, are you not?' asked the woman.

'I am,' said Renkotsu, 'what business of that is yours?'

'Tell me about the demon Inuyasha.' she stated.

Despite himself, Renkotsu felt like answering honestly. 'Half demon you mean.'

'I was not aware he was a half demon.' she said, eyes narrowing.

'You aren't aware of much then,' replied Renkotsu. 'Inuyasha was part of the Band since well before I joined. From what I can gather he wiped out an entire castle and met up with Bankotsu and Jakotsu. He sometimes questions Bankotsu's orders, but he is completely loyal to us.' There was an odd authority, willing him to be open. A voice in Renkotsu's mind asked him if the rest of the Band were really worth that loyalty.

'Tell me,' said Kikyo, 'how do you justify your actions? All the carnage and destruction you've wreaked upon the land?' Renkotsu could not shake the feeling that something else was asking that question.

'We enjoy it,' replied Renkotsu with a shrug, 'and we aren't doing anything everyone else isn't doing. If the samurai weren't afraid of us, they would be taking our place.'

'Whatever the state of the world,' said Kikyo, 'you remain responsible for your own actions. Remember that.'

Renkotsu scoffed and shoved aside his doubts, sheathing his pistol and turned away. 'Come Ginkotsu; we have other work to do.' They took their leave.

When they were out of sight, Renkotsu looked to Ginkotsu. 'Did you recognize her?' he asked.

'Yes.' said Ginkotsu.

'Good.' said Renkotsu. 'It has been some years since the Priestess Kikyo appeared in my father's court. She was hunting a demon which had become a threat. We'd best speed up our schedule. We do not know when a chance like this will come along again.'

'At that moment they heard voices coming from around the bend. Renkotsu looked up to see the last people he expected to see. Mukotsu and Kyokotsu were making their way towards them in a hurry. Renkotsu moved forward to meet them, rather pleased to meet his friends. 'Mukotsu, Kyokotsu, we weren't expecting to meet you here.'

'We saw a target of opportunity.' said Mukotsu quickly. 'Don't detain us, and we should be able to get this over with and be back with only a moderate delay.'

'Actually,' said Renkotsu. 'I'd like to help you.'

Mukotsu looked up in shock. 'You've never wanted to help before.'

'The woman you are after has something I want,' said Renkotsu, 'once I have that you can do what you like with her. On the condition that you say nothing of this to Bankotsu or the others.'

'Very well, very well,' agreed Mukotsu quickly, 'we'll do as you say. Now let's go after her.'

'Not directly,' said Renkotsu 'a direct assault might kill her and destroy what we are looking for. We'll trail after her and wait for an opportunity. They have to sleep sometime.'

A strategy now came to his mind. And with that strategy came other plans. It was clear now that most of the group were steadily turning against Bankotsu, and why shouldn't they? Bankotsu had led them into this mess in the first place. New leadership should be established to bring the Band of Seven into the next stage of its career. Of course, Renkotsu did not imagine that anyone in the Band of Seven would need to die. He would simply force Bankotsu to step down when the time was right.


Kikyo and Kaede had been on the road for some time now, having stopped only once to gather herbs. As the day wore on, they became tired with travel. Even so, Kaede's sister seemed driven to get as far away from the meeting place as possible. Kaede did not blame her, for there had been recognition in the bald man's eyes. He had chosen to retreat, but something told Kaede that it was not yet over.

'Sister Kikyo,' said Kaede, 'why didn't you slay them? The Band of Seven have killed so many people, after all.'

'They are humans,' said Kikyo, 'my bow was not made for hunting them. Besides, you might have been hurt in the crossfire.'

They pressed on until the skies were high in the sky above. Then Kikyo halted, and Kaede went to gather firewood. Setting dried leaves under it as a starter, they lit a blaze and warmed their hands. They rested their backs against the ground and looked up at the stars together.

Eventually, Kaede fell asleep, taking comfort in the presence of her older sister…


Authors Note:

And that is chapter nine. Here we see the beginnings of Renkotsu's scheming. Meanwhile, Kikyo and Kaede are currently entirely unaware of the threat. The only question is what form it will take. Meanwhile, we have our first showdown with the demon slayer. And Bankotsu proves himself a showoff.

I'm posting this early as a way to celebrate Halloween late in the year. I have something of an excess of completed chapters, and I figure I might as well give you guys a gift. Please review, and thanks for reading.