A thick mist hung in the air, muffling the sounds from the village. What little light that did pierce through the fog cast shadows from the trees, like long talons reaching to grab the village and those who dwelt peacefully within it.
"Well if this isn't the start of a horror movie," Kohana muttered under her breath. Ronuku silently agreed with her.
The two of them had been awoken early by Seiko, much to the bushi's chagrin. He hadn't slept well last night: nightmares about Sango kept waking him up, his wife screaming in pain, crying for someone…he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was up, and he was more restless than ever to get going. Knowing that tomorrow would be their last step before they could return set his nerves on end with anticipation; it was a very unwelcome greeting when the old hag came to wake them and he'd only just fallen into a peaceful sleep.
Instead of immediately setting off to take down the barrier, Seiko had insisted that the two of them eat first. Kaida and Naoe joined them, and the four were served by the entire village one of the biggest meals they'd ever seen: Miso soup, pickled mountain roots, eggs and rice, grilled beef…
Jeeze, I bet Inuyasha would kill for a meal like this! He thought. Truth be told, Ronuku actually missed the boisterous hanyou and his large appetite, he even missed Kagome's constant nagging at Inuyasha to share his food instead of hogging it all.
After breakfast, the villagers and Seiko escorted the four of them outside of her hut, before circling around them. The old miko, dressed in the traditional garb, drew out a set of bells and with the village they all began to chant and sing over them. Ronuku thought it was weird, but Kaida said it was some ceremonial blessing or other and told them to be quiet.
Once that was done the villagers formed a line and cheered on the four of them, loudly shouting prayers as they followed Seiko past Tsuneo and Hisae's shrine. The old priestess led them out of the village and into the misty hills beyond.
"Tsuneo-sama and Hisae-sama cast the barrier to protect the village, but the barrier extends a bit beyond the village itself," Seiko explained, not that they needed it. They'd stumbled first hand through the barrier while running from demons in the middle of the woods the day they arrived.
"Why are we travelling this far away from the village then?" Naoe asked.
"The barrier was not erected from within the village," Seiko said, "We must return to the location of its origin; that is the only place from where it can be dismantled."
Kohana scrunched her face and glanced at Ronuku. He shrugged, how was he supposed to know whatever weird rules Seiko made up? As long as they took down the barrier and freed the village; that was all he cared about. The five of them continued on through the mist, but eventually stopped at what appeared to be a crude stone gate.
"We must wait here," Seiko said, pointing her cane at Naoe and Kaida, "The task is not for us to complete."
"Why?" Kaida asked, "Naoe and I are both reincarnations of Tsuneo-sama and Hisae-sama as well."
"Yes, we have just as much duty to rectify this as Ronuku and Kohana," Naoe added.
"Yes, but your pupils have harnessed the power of the sacred siblings while you two have not," Seiko said, "Besides…I believe that the ground before us holds a little more for them than it does you." Her blind eyes seemed to twinkle for a moment.
What's the old broad hiding? Ronuku thought. Kaida was right, this witch was holding something from them, but from the looks of it she wasn't going to share. He looked at Kohana, and she nodded to him having the same thought.
"That's hardly a reason to keep us away," Kaida retorted, putting on her I'm-the-wife-of-a-powerful-samurai-so-I'm-in-charge face.
"Yes, but you wanted your students to grow," Seiko said, "Take care of them now and your goal will be for naught. This is their assessment." The noble lady glared, but her companion put his hand on her shoulder.
"Kaida-sama," Naoe said, "I'm afraid we can't win this one."
"Very well," she relented, before turning to Kohana and Ronuku, "You've trained hard for this. Whatever happens, be careful."
"Right," Kohana nodded, "We will."
"No worries, we'll be back before you know it," Ronuku grinned and turned towards Kohana, "Let's go." The two of them continued on, passing through the gate down an ancient overgrown path. The mist swirled around them, and off in the distance a crow cawed in the trees. They walked on in silence for several minutes, the air slowly becoming thick and oppressive.
"So," Ronuku said breaking the silence, "Any idea how we're supposed to undo this...barrier…?"
"How should I know?" Kohana asked.
"Well you know…it's either you or Kagome that comes up with the plan. Mostly Kagome, but she's not here so…"
"It's not like Seiko gave me anything to go off of!" The young mother retorted and folded her arms, "'Go through the creepy gate and take down the barrier somewhere in the spooky mist', seriously, what am I supposed to do with that?"
"Iunno, but I'm sure you'll figure it out," He gave her a thumbs up.
"This is a team effort, remember?" Kohana scowled at him, "You've as much responsibility to come up with a plan as I do." Ronuku shrugged, letting her rant. Planning was her forte, not his. Besides, bickering with Kohana gave him something to focus on other than worry about their friends or how unnerving this creepy-ass forest was.
As the two continued on, the tree-line eventually broke giving way to a clearing with no growth. The background buzzing of insect and animal life had gone deathly silent. The area smelled of must and sulfur, and what little light that had been coming through the mist only seemed to dim.
"Welp," Ronuku said, "That's creepy. Kohana you go first."
"What's the matter, scared?"
"Of course not," Ronuku huffed, "I just want to be ready when the zombies come out once you let them know we're here." Kohana rolled her eyes, but stepped forward anyway and began to walk around the clearing. After a few moments she seemed to notice something on the ground and gestured towards him.
"Ronuku, come look at this!" The bushi approached her and looked down where she pointed. Around the clearing there seemed to be a wide circle burned into the ground.
"Okay, weird circles in the middle of the forest?" Ronuku commented, "I'm only gonna say this once but…X-fiiiiiiileeeees."
"…Ok, I suppose there's that," Kohana struggled to refrain from the eye roll again, "Ooor, this could, you know, have something to do with the barrier that was placed here."
"See? I knew you'd figure it out!"
"I'm still not really sure what to do though."
"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!"
Kohana glared at him. She turned back to the clearing and looked around the circle, gripping her chin as she thought.
"Hmm…burned…," She mumbled, "Well…I do have one idea."
"Shoot."
"Why don't we activate our power and trace the circle?" Kohana suggested, "I mean…it already sorta looks like that was done here."
Ronuku bit back a retort. Her idea didn't really sound like it would accomplish much, but a distant echo in the back of his mind agreed with her. He had the weird sense of déjà vu, like had already done this once before…
"A'right. Let's do it then," He nodded. Kohana stood at one edge of the circle and indicated for him to stand opposite her. Ronuku crossed the circle and faced her. Kohana closed her eyes, willing herself to power up, and he did the same.
Sango…the baby…everyone…He let his mind drift towards his family, feeling the familiar surge of energy that electrified his veins and set his heart on fire with a fierce surge of protectiveness. A moment later the air crackled and the two of them exploded in white light, the white cord igniting between them.
Split the light, Kohana's thoughts echoed across his mind, Bend it to the circle. The first time Ronuku heard her thoughts and sensed Kohana's protective feelings towards Sesshomaru and Futeki, he'd been sufficiently creeped out and refused to practice for the rest of the day. Kohana had no objections, apparently not liking to hear his thoughts inside her head either, but Seiko had informed them that the more they became familiar with using their power the more their minds would learn to work as one. Still not any less creepy now, thankfully their ability to hear each other's minds only existed while they were powered up, and admittedly it did make working together in battle easier. The two had learned to tolerate it, at best, for that reason.
Waving their arms out, the two parted the beam of light. It pulsated and hummed as it bent outwards until it perfectly outlined the burned circle in the ground. A sudden wave of either instinct or memory, neither was sure which, urged them to expand the light. Obliging, the two yelled and the circle of light extended. It shot into the circle in the ground while it raced upwards until it hit the edge of the barrier in the sky, lightning sparking across as it made contact.
All at once the two felt heat, as if the sun itself were bearing down on them, and the world as they saw it began to shift. Everything turned grey and then white, glowing a brilliant gold, and then blue. A spectrum of color engulfed the landscape, and the mist quickly dissolved. The barrier, made visible by the lightning that streaked across it, roared as it was slowly sucked into the tower of light. Beneath them, a vast darkness opened up swallowing the earth into the abyss.
Screaming, the two held up, continuing to generate their power, when suddenly there was a loud crack, almost like a cannon's explosion, that echoed across the hills and mountains. The light dissipated as the two were suddenly shot to the ground on opposite sides of the clearing.
Panting, Kohana gripped her head. Beads of sweat trickled down her body, and her limbs felt like they were about to give out. She was used to feeling exhausted after exerting her power, but never this strong. Worse, she and Ronuku had always been able to power down themselves, but pulling down the barrier had been too much…they'd never been forced out of it before…
"Ronuku," She called out, looking up, "Are you oka…." She trailed off and her eyes widened. At the center of the still glowing circle, there stood a giant man-shaped beast. Red lines swirled and dotted his face, and a shock of raven hair cascaded down his back. Red eyes glowed, and deep fangs protruded upwards from his jaw towards a beak shaped nose. His armor, ancient looking even for the feudal era, was covered in spikes and a deadly looking curved blade hung from his belt.
"I'm…back," the creature spoke, voice gravely and low like a cascading boulder, "How did I return…" He glanced around the clearing, but as soon as he saw Ronuku and Kohana struggling to stand his eyes narrowed in rage, "You!" He snarled, "You filthy human insects! I killed you! Why do you still breathe?"
He…wait what? Kohana scrambled to her feet, unsheathing her sword in defensive position, Who the hell is this guy? She was relieved to see Ronuku across the clearing making his way to his feet, though she grew nervous when she saw him tremble.
"Us?" The bushi asked, unsheathing his own weapon, "I think I would've remembered if you'd killed me. Who are you?"
"Who…how dare you play these games!" The beast stomped his foot and roared, "After what you've done, you think you can toy with me?!"
"What we did? We've never seen you before," Kohana answered. The creature's upper lip curled revealing a set of chalky fangs, murder shining in his eyes.
"You whore, you know exactly what you've done. How dare you speak as though you are innocent, Hisae!"
Hisae…! Oh. I suppose that would explain the confusion then, this guy must've fought Tsuneo and Hisae! But where did he come from? Kohana looked at Ronuku, surprised that she was frustrated that they could not communicate mentally at the moment, without this…thing hearing them.
"Sorry," Kohana said, "We're not who you think we are, Tsuneo and Hisae are gone."
"They've been dead for hundreds of years," Ronuku added, "They died putting up the barrier."
"Impossible! I killed them, just as they were the ones who sealed me in there, only they could release me from…" The beast's nostrils flared and he looked more intently at the two humans, "Your scent…it's different. If you are not they, then how did you open the portal?"
"Portal…?," Ronuku looked to Kohana, as if expecting her to have the answer.
"We didn't open a portal," Kohana said, "We just took down the barrier…I think…" The beast growled in frustration.
"Enough of your lies," he said, "If you will not tell me, then I will force it out of you!" He sprung, claws extended to attack, but the second he passed over the still glowing circle, it exploded in light. The white beam rushed up the monster's body and centered on his forehead.
Kohana suddenly screamed in pain, Ronuku echoing her cries as they barely registered the white light shooting into their foreheads.
The world around them became misty again. Their sense of time vanished, as did their bodies, but their consciousness remained, trapped as spectators to the plane before them.
The mist faded slightly, revealing two young villagers sparring in a field, the man with a katana and the woman a naginata. They were fast, their blows deadly, but neither was aiming to hurt the other. In fact, they were laughing, critiquing each other as they battled. They seemed really familiar, when an image of the two statues in the village appeared nearby.
Tsuneo and Hisae.
"These human wretches," the voice of the beast from the portal spoke, "Guardians of that pathetic village, their selfish arrogance was my undoing."
Like clouds rolling in the sky, the image faded and reformed to two separate pictures, one of Tsuneo with a village woman and two children, the other of Hisae and a red-eyed man, similar looking to the beast, but younger.
"Seeking to have a family of her own like her brother, Hisae took my son as her mate. My boy, the heir to me, the great Outengu, laying with a filthy human! I tried to talk him out of it, but he would not listen! When I learned that she was with child by him, and that my line was to end in a lowly half-breed, I had no choice but to intervene. I went to the village to show him the frailty of these useless creatures."
The image changed again, now showing the Outengu attacking the village, Tsueno's wife and children fleeing from a burning building. Tsuneo battled the demon, his katana matching his opponent's blade stroke for stroke. Suddenly the Outengu knocked Tsuneo's sword away, but before he could deal a killing blow, Hisae appeared and ran him through with her naginata, slicing his backside completely open. Wounded, and seeing Tsuneo return to his feet, the Outengu snarled and fled.
"They defeated me in battle. Me! The Outengu, leader of a demon army of the mountains, second only to the forces of the Inu no Taisho, bested by two lowly mortals! My son, at last seeing reason, confronted Hisae for attacking me, but she claimed that she was defending her brother. Seeing where her loyalties truly were, she broke off from my son, choosing her kin instead. My boy retaliated…"
The image melted to that of Hisae walking through the edge of the forest, when suddenly the Outengu's son stepped out in front of her. The two glared at each other, and after what appeared to be a heated argument, the demon leapt in anger at the girl. Before his attack hit, Tsuneo rushed at him from behind. The Outengu's son never saw the blade that decapitated him and ended his life.
"My own flesh and blood, murdered at the hands of that wretch! I swore vengeance, vowing that I would not rest until I had burned them and their entire village to the ground. I gathered my armies, but these two knew I was coming and prepared for my attack."
Hisae and Tsuneo now knelt in front of an altar at the temple in the center of the village, praying reverently. One at a time, they drew their weapon across their palm and placed their bloodied hands at the altar. A moment later, their eyes glowed white and the bond between them glowed.
"The temple granted them power, every wave of demon I sent after them was slain immediately! I had no choice but to find aide of my own, and located the Shikon no Tama, a powerful jewel that would grant my wish. I pledged myself to the jewel, if only it could grant me the power to destroy them."
The Outengu offered his own blood to the sacred jewel, which now glowed dark with hatred. Hanging the Shikon no Tama by plaque that bore his son's name, he and his army marched towards the village seeking destruction.
"The battle was fierce. The siblings fended off my forces, but they were not able to quell my anger or my thirst for vengeance. Unable to fend me off, they drove me into the woods."
The three, Hisae, Tsuneo and the Outengu were in the grove, the siblings etching a white circle that surrounded the demon and rushed towards the sky. The Outengu screamed in pain, his body beginning to disintegrate, but in one final thrust he managed to swing his claws out and rip open the torsos of Tsuneo and Hisae.
"I killed them! At last! But it was too late for me. The two used what remained of their strength to erect the barrier to protect the village, while I was to be sent to hell. At the last moment however, the jewel called to me, and an opening appeared into a dark abyss. The Shikon no Tama, jewel of four souls, called me away and plunged me into its depths where I have battled demons and the priestess Midoriko ever since...until I was called back!"
The mist vanished and there was a sudden snap. Ronuku yelped as he was suddenly flung away again and crashed into the ground. Grasping his head he looked around to see that he was in the clearing with Kohana again, his own body present and tangible before him.
"What…what the hell…" He had no words to describe what had just happened, only that he was extremely pissed that his mind somehow kept getting toyed with, like a ball being bounced in and out of his own body.
One thing was certain though. This Outengu guy, a demon apparently, hated Tsuneo and Hisae and had it out for them. Seiko's odd behavior from before suddenly came to mind.
That…that hag! Ronuku thought angrily, She knew this guy was waiting for us and didn't say anything!
"Ah, I see now," the Outengu's said from within the circle, bringing their attention to him, "Many years have passed, Tsuneo and Hisae have been reborn." He looked up, eyes flashing in hatred, "Even so, they have not been punished enough for what they did to me. They do not deserve to stand here again." He unsheathed his weapon and roared.
"This time I will end you for good!"