This is going to be a pretty awesome chapter so get ready! Seriously, stuff's about to get really serious.
Also, I was asked in the reviews about what I meant when Kin mentions the southern Islands as her home. So that you guys can easily just look at a map, Kin is basically from the Okinawa Prefecture. It is the southernmost prefecture of Japan and has hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain for like….hundreds of miles, I think? I'm terrible with geography. I'm not a historian either, and I'm not perfect.
At first I thought of having her just south of Kagoshima, but thought I might even put her further down. This anime takes place during the Sengoku era, but I don't really remember seeing much about what was going on between humans in regards to clan territory and such. So…I hope that answers that question.
If you guys ever have questions and I can answer them without spoiling the story, please do! I will do my best to answer, like I did just now. Just don't ask what Kin's ability is. That's coming later I'm still doing a bit of tweaking and research to fit it in more realistically with the series and culture.
I don't own Inuyasha….there would have been more Sesshomaru in it, most likely.
Inuyasha and the gang had spent days following any and every lead that might bring them to Naraku. Finally, they had found his castle. There was a strong protective barrier surrounding it, blocking them from entering. They would not give up. They had come too far.
Inuyasha raised his sword high, wielding its new awesome power and sent it crashing down. The barrier visibly cracked and Kagome sent out an arrow alongside another Wind Scar from the Tessaiga. Finally, the barrier shattered as a dark miasma filled the air. They chocked, covering their noses as they tried to clear the air around them.
As they passed through the castle gates swarms of demons rushed in to attack. Miroku unleashed his Wind Tunnel, sucking in a great deal of them before being forced to close it as Naraku's poisonous insects filled the sky. Sango let her boomerang fly, cutting down multiple enemies alongside Kagome as the teenager sent arrow after arrow. As they dealt with the demons coming from above the boys stayed preoccupied with the demons on the ground.
Soon all the demons were dead, staining the dirt with their slick blood. Each of the fighters wiped sweat from their brows, taking a small breather before moving forward. A thick fog descended upon them, making it difficult to see. Miroku wanted to clear it with his Wind Tunnel but there was a distant buzzing above them that dissuaded him from doing so. As they reached the courtyard a figure appeared through the thick fog.
Sango was relieved to see that it wasn't her brother but Kagura facing them as she waved her fan. A huge gust of wind blew, clearing the fog as they braced themselves. "I will only ask nicely once. Leave the few jewel shards you have here and flee from this place, or I will have to take them by force." She opened her fan, peering over it with her ruby red eyes. "It's not like you stand a chance against Naraku in your present state."
Inuyasha lifted his sword and the two began to fight instantly. She had predicted his rash behavior however and was already sending him back while her Dance of the Dragon kept the rest of the party away. She continued to use her wind sorcery to keep him at bay, keeping herself out of cutting distance and with enough space to avoid his more devastating maneuvers. She gritted her teeth as his persistence continued and he slowly closed the gap. It soon became obvious to her that Naraku's order for her to keep them from entering the main building of the castle was impossible. She quickly took to the sky, fighting from her own element. She easily deflected Sango's boomerang and dodged Kagome's arrow. Miroku was forced to keep his wind tunnel shut due to the poisonous insects still hovering above them.
Kagura growled, lifting herself even further into the air. She was outnumbered and possibly even out gunned. What was the point of fighting these fools? It wasn't like they could kill Naraku…yet.
"What? Are you running away, coward?!" Inuyasha shouldered his sword, taunting her.
"I like to think of it as a strategic retreat. No point in wasting any more of my time on you lot. Naraku will dispose of you fools in seconds." Though if they somehow managed to defeat him she would be most pleased. Giddy, even. Her 'father' probably already planned on her retreating anyways and had most likely used her as a distraction while he escaped himself. Inuyasha seemed to have fully unlocked the power of his sword as well which was a bit more than she wanted to chew.
She took off, making sure their feline demon didn't try to follow as she made her own escape. She faltered however when she saw something glinting in the distance.
The group scoured the castle in search of Naraku. With the barrier broken it was almost as if the entire illusion was broken. There were no longer lush gardens and bubbling fountains, but rot and decay as many of the buildings were nearly collapsed from neglect. The place was eerily empty, yet Kagome could sense the jewel shards not too far away. He was still there, watching them search from the shadows.
"Come out and fight me, coward!" Inuyasha taunted at his foe as the gang regrouped in the main courtyard. Miroku noticed that the ground here was strangely fertile, flowers blooming with green grass despite the poisonous atmosphere surrounding it. He knelt down and studied the soil before realizing it was growing in a certain pattern to create a symbol. "Why is this here…?"
"Interesting, isn't it monk?" Naraku's venomous voice rang through the thick air. The group stood rigid as they searched for him, creating a circle so that he couldn't strike anyone from behind. "I've been trying to figure that out myself for weeks it seems." He emerged from the darkness, but was not in his demonic form. He was still posing as the human lord Kagewaki.
"Prepare to die!" Inuyasha didn't waste a single moment before he sent out a devastating attack. Naraku nimbly dodged, teleporting in an instant from danger. He stood on top of a pillar, waving his finger as he clicked his tongue.
"Impatient and rash as always, I see." He floated into the air above them, "I will give you credit for finding me and taking down my barrier. I didn't know you had it in you. I'm sorry to say you will fail in your attempt to kill me. Again."
"Shut your face!" The red cladded demon sent out another wave, but once again missed as Naraku dodged. Just as the evil man slowed down Kagome sent an arrow flying. His eyes narrowed as he shifted ever so slightly to the right, glaring at the young woman as the arrow sunk itself into the wall behind him.
"Can't fight your own battles, Inuyasha? Do you think you could ever truly become a powerful demon by relying on the pitiful strength of your human comrades?"
"I said, Shut your face!" Sango sent her boomerang soaring as the rest of the group all attacked at once. They had long ago learned that it would take all their combined strength to kill him, and wasn't going to let him trick them into thinking otherwise. He didn't bother dodging this time, and let the attacks hit their target. He had an unusual expression on his face, as if he was hiding a dark secret. The blows connected, dust and dirt billowing into the air from the impact. It blinded them, forcing them to shield their eyes as they tried to see through the cloud.
"Did we get him?"
"Doubt it. It's damn near impossible to squish a bug…."
"Wow. That actually hurt." A new voice rang through the courtyard. It was soft and gentle, yet there was a sign of irritation laced within. The entire group tensed, confusion crossing their features. They all yelled as a sudden gust of wind nearly knocked them off their feet.
"What on earth-?"
Standing before them while defending Naraku stood a dragon. Its wings were folded in front of it to create a protective shield, its winding body and tail nearly taking up the entire courtyard. A few of the buildings toppled over in the distance as it slammed its feet onto the ground in warning. Golden scales shimmered in the moonlight as bright feathers fell to the ground. The wings moved as it stretched them in the air to clear the rest of the dust cloud. Its neck was long as a mane of feathers grew in a ring around its jawline. More feathers sprouted around its leg joints and wings as they folded back into a more comfortable position. The wings were not only made of feathers, but were a mixture of bird and beast. The tips of its wings had deadly talons, but not nearly as deadly as the fangs protruding from its jaws. The creature let out almost a soothing hum as it looked down at the group; like a giant bird.
"Kin…?" There was a hint of question to his voice as Naraku stood behind her. She twisted her head, peering at him for a moment before smiling.
Who knew dragons could smile?
"I couldn't block the whole jamboree in my human form." Slowly she turned back to the gang. She looked humongous compared to the humans before her, but Kin would never admit that she was the smallest dragon from her home. They seemed pretty surprised by her and she was going to keep it that way. "You saved my life from those fox demons. I shall return the favor tonight. Please leave while I occupy them."
With her back to him Naraku put on a face of gratitude. It was all a façade, yet he was cautious he might lose her if he stayed. He had put too much time to create this false sense of trust between them to reveal his true nature now. "Thank you, Lady Kin." He said, a dark look passing over his face as they tried to lunge for him.
Kin slammed a sharp talon to the ground. Instead of a dragon's claws Kin had the talons of a hawk. They were deadly and could easily tear any of them in half within an instant.
"Damn you!" Inuyasha cursed, but hesitated in striking at Kin. He still remembered Sesshomaru's warning, but why was an ally to his brother siding with Naraku?
It didn't make any sense!
Kin waited until she could no longer feel Naraku's presence. Once he was gone her entire demeanor changed. She no longer stood there as a proud dragon demon, but yawned sleepily as though she had been woken from a nap. There was a sickening crack and reassembly of bones as she slowly began to shrink down to her human form. It was painful for her to make a transformation but her expression was neutral as she finally stood on two feet again. She ran a hand through her hair as she adjusted her kimono, taking her naginata from its home.
"Now, I really don't want to have to kill anybody tonight." She twirled her naginata expertly before facing them. The blade began to glow as she spread her unique ability into the weapon.
Inuyasha's Tessaiga swirled with its own power. "My brother made it clear we shouldn't attack you, but you're siding with our enemy! You have a jewel shard!"
"Jewel shard this, dragon fang that, golden feather here." She snarled in response, a sudden anger surging forth. It caught them off guard, "All you people ever want are things that were never yours. You rely on otherworldly powers to solve your problems and try to find the easy way out."
The symbol around their feet lit up. Miroku was the first to realize something was about to happen and tackled Inuyasha to the ground before yelling at the others in warning. Within a moment there was a blinding light as a beam lit up the night sky. The gang covered their eyes as they took cover, fire crackling as the charred dirt singed their noses. The once miniscule vegetation was ash, and Kin seemed to radiate a new strength.
"What the hell was that?" Sango managed to stand, relieved to see that nobody had been harmed. Kin hadn't aimed at them, but had sent a clear message. She stood before them, glaring and angry.
"It wasn't demonic…." Miroku's eyes narrowed as he seemed to recognize this power. Yet he didn't seem to remember from where and was trying to grab the fumbling trail of thought.
Inuyasha buried his sword into the dirt as he used it to lift himself. "You bitch!" he began to surge forward, but was held back by Kagome.
"He's already gone, Inuyasha. We should just move on."
"We need to stop her! She's going to get in the way again!"
Miroku and Sango seemed to be in agreement with Kagome. "We've already lost. We need to regroup, rest, and plan a new course of action."
Inuyasha's face became pained from frustration. He cursed to the sky before pointing a finger to Kin. "If you get in my way one more time, I will kill you. No matter what Sesshomaru says."
"My debt to Kagewaki has been fulfilled." She stated, though took note of Inuyasha's confused expression at the mention of the name. Her wings sprouted from her back as she lifted herself off the ground. "I have no interest in your obsession with these shards." She held up the necklace, seeming to be teasing the idea of handing it to them. "However, I will not give it to you. Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because you never asked me nicely." She gave him a cheeky grin, gaining another slew of cursing insults. She gave them a wave, "I look forward to our next encounter. Maybe one of these days you won't feel the need to attack me."
Kagome slumped to the ground as Kin disappeared into the night sky, groaning. "I don't understand that demoness. One minute she's attacking us, and then the next she's scolding us or putting us to sleep. Why….?" She trailed off, hoping someone could finish for her.
Miroku had a serious air about him. It was a rarity from the lecherous monk, "She used a power I've never seen in a demon before. Did anyone else feel it?"
"The energy from that beam of light?" Sango crossed her arms and tilted her head, "I've fought many demons before but I've never seen anything like that."
"It's not demonic," he pointed to the ground where the symbols were scarred into the earth. "That's from an ancient temple far south from here. I've never seen it besides on paper, but I'm pretty sure it's the same. I thought it was just a legend."
"What is it?"
"It's…not human and it's not demon. I almost want to say it is a spiritual power, but it is slightly different." He sighed, "I honestly don't know completely. I doubt she even knows what it is. It's very old, and apparently not just a legend."
"Some monk you are…." Sango muttered, gaining an overly dramatic response from him.
"That doesn't explain why she protected Naraku." Shippo seemed to appear from nowhere, scrambling to rest on Kagome's shoulder.
"What if she doesn't realize? She called him Kagewaki, and we've all been tricked by him at least once."
"I don't care. This is the second time she's made a fool of us." Inuyasha put away his sword, glaring at the sky. What troubled him most was how she had managed to survive a direct blow from the Tessaiga. It had shattered the barrier, yet barely even scratched her wings? Had she been that powerful the first time they fought?
I told you this would be a fun chapter. KIN'S TRUE FORM! HYBRID BIRD AND DRAGON!
Funny thing is I don't really like birds. Well, we had a pet parrot when I was younger and the thing was freaking evil. EVIL. Kinda ruined my view of birds. I was super sweet to her too, but she basically wanted to kill me half the time.
I like snakes and reptiles though. I think I just like how birds look, and their hunting ability?
Once again please read and review. Sorry if there are any mistakes. Perfectly human, and it's not like I have anybody editing this thing for me.