Eleven
"Are you sure, pest?" Inuyasha asked for the third time.
The sun was setting behind the trees, the villagers rushing to get into their homes before night fell. The pack was gathered on the outskirts of the village, ready to move out at the smaller hanyou's word.
Toshiro had followed the musty scent left behind by the hyena he'd fought until he and Sango had come to a large cave. The young hanyou and the slayer had ducked behind bushes down wind, far enough away as to not be scented by the dozens of youkai prowling the dark entrance, but close enough for Toshiro to see, to smell. The oblivious hyenas in the clearing surrounding the entrance were splayed about, some watching the trees but most lying around without a care in the world. The mouth of the cave was a large circle cut into the side of a mountain, deep into it a small glow lit like a heart. Faint traces of fear, of tears, could be scented from deep within the cave. The children were in there. They were still alive.
Toshiro growled, pulling himself from the memory to glare up at his mentor. "I know what I smelled."
"Trust him." Kagome said disapprovingly, her bow gripped tightly in her hand.
"He's right, Inuyasha." Sango said. Her foot tapped restlessly, making the sword and mask strapped to her hip clank together slightly. "I saw the cave, I saw the light inside it too. Though I couldn't smell what Toshiro had, I trust he's telling the truth. We should move. Now."
"Keh." Inuyasha snorted, shoving the pup between his shoulder blades, urging him to lead the way into the forest. "It ain't that I don't trust the pest, I just wanted to make sure."
"We're sure." Sango said as they walked. "We ran into trouble on our search and I stupidly left him alone. I went after a sound we'd heard and by the time I got back to Toshiro he was standing beside a pile of hyena ash."
Sounds of disbelief rang through the group, sounds of praise. Inuyasha glanced down at Toshiro and raised a brow to him. "You took out a youkai on your own?"
"Tch." Toshiro flushed beet red, keeping his eyes on the path they walked.
He didn't want to admit to the others that he'd had help. He also didn't want to bring up Sesshomaru being there because then they'd wonder why the seemingly emotionless Lord had helped him, and then they'd start asking how he knew the dai youkai in the first place. They'd seemingly forgotten about their encounter from the day before and the young hanyou intended on keeping it that way . . . At least for now.
Toshiro would tell them who he was eventually, he just wasn't ready yet.
He felt an increasingly familiar presence come to walk at his side and nodded at the kit in acknowledgement. Shippou gave him a small, proud smile, fangs peeking out under his top lip. He bumped his shoulder with Toshiro's softly, like he'd done that morning. The hanyou was glad his panic at the touch didn't rise, just a small discomfort in the back of his mind. Just like with Inuyasha. He wondered why he could tolerate their touch and still not the others'.
He smirked at the boy who'd decided to be his little brother before focusing back on leading the pack to the hyena lair, and his first real fight.
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The younger hanyou turned to his companions when they made it to the hyena's hideout, a smug grin on his face. It was nightfall, and they'd stopped just out of earshot and smelling distance of the enemy that waited for them.
Inuyasha gave Toshiro an irritating ruffle of his hair, the boy's ears flattening against the unexpected show of affection.
"Good job, pup." The larger half youkai said with a smirk before turning to the other adults as they talked about their plan of attack.
Shippou turned to him, his green eyes bright in the darkness.
"You nervous?" He asked on an exhale.
Toshiro didn't make it a habit of lying, he hated to in fact and only did so when he felt he absolutely had no choice. So he didn't force a bravado that he didn't feel into his voice.
"A little."
Shippou smiled, his voice confident. "We'll be fine. This'll be a piece of cake."
The kit reached out a fist to the hanyou, who in turn looked down at it in confusion. With a dramatic sigh and a roll of his eyes Shippou grasped Toshiro around the wrist, closing the other boy's fingers to mimic his own before making his fist tap lightly against the hanyou's.
Shippou laughed at the older boy's bewildered expression.
"It's called a fist bump."
Toshiro stared focused eyes down at his still clenched hand, his ears flicked.
"What's the point of it?"
"It can mean good luck, or good job, or can be a show of affection." The kit rolled his eyes again. "Don't chew it to death, just-"
He bumped his fist against the hanyou's again, and grinned when Toshiro gave him a small smile.
"Oi, pups! Get over here."
Shippou shot Toshiro one last smirk before they made their way over to the waiting adults. They'd made room in their circle for the boys to stand amongst them and Toshiro was suddenly overwhelmed by the sense of belonging he felt. These people who barely knew him always ensured he was involved, whether it be in something as simple as dinner conversation or standing in their huddle, or something as important as saving the lives of captured children. The hanyou grinned to himself, the warm fuzzy feeling in his belly completely out of place with the tense atmosphere surrounding him.
"Pest!" His head snapped to Inuyasha. He got a little irritated with himself for answering to the name. "You listening?"
Toshiro's ears folded back. "No."
Everyone chuckled, except for Inuyasha who blew air loudly out of his nose.
"Get it together, pup. We're moving out. You and the runt stay behind me and Miroku, but in front of Kagome and Sango. You will not engage in battle unless absolutely necessary, and you will listen when we give orders, whether they be to run or to help. Got that?" Inuyasha raised a black brow, daring the smaller hanyou to oppose him.
"Understood."
Inuyasha gave him a fanged smirk. "Good. Let's go."
And with his words the pack sprang into action, leaving Toshiro stunned for a moment before he scrambled to keep up.
Miroku yanked his robes from his body, revealing the skin tight black and purple taijia suit underneath. He burst through the trees, startling the hyenas surrounding him. He pulled blessed sutras from his belt, flinging the papers at the enemy youkai nearest him. They yowled in pain, the sutras burning their skin where they stuck. He waved his shakujo in an arc, knocking down two hyenas before smacking the golden weapon down on the head of a third.
Inuyasha swept Tetsusaiga from it's sheath, the mighty fang gleaming in the moonlight. He slashed at the approaching hyenas, cutting them away one by one as they advanced on the pack. Suddenly a group of enemy youkai surrounded Inuyasha. Toshiro watched with wide eyes as his mentor grinned at the menacing enemies, his silver white hair blowing as the wind did. He raised the blade over his head, before swinging the fang in a wide arc, his voice bellowing from him.
"Kongousouha!"
Diamond spears flew from the blade, taking down eight youkai and spraying Inuyasha with blood. Toshiro ducked the diamond shards that had came flying in his direction. When he righted himself he found Inuyasha grinning wider through the carnage that dripped from him.
The two men slowly but surely made their way to the mouth of the cave, from which dozens of hyenas continued to exit, their teeth bared in terrifying snarls, killing intent glowing in their bright eyes. The pack was the eye of a storm, adults spread out but surrounding Toshiro and Shippou, who kicked and clawed away youkai who managed to make it past the protective walls of their older pack members.
Sango was just behind the younger hanyou, throwing and catching her Hiraikotsu expertly, mowing down hyenas with ease. One youkai managed to dodge her massive boomerang and dashed for Shippou, who blasted his fox fire in the face of the enemy, causing the growling beast to fall back, clutching at it's burning face. Sango took its moment of distraction to slice her wakizashi through it cleanly. It howled in pain before it crumpled to the ground and turned to ash and bones.
Kagome was beside her best friend, a strange pink glow engulfing her entire body as she shot off arrow after arrow. Her miko's aura surrounded her arrows, the sacred light searing through the hyena's and not even leaving dust behind. An enemy youkai tried to to lunge for her and she quickly held up the hand not holding her bow. Her face was scrunched in grim concentration, and then a bright beam of pink light went down her arm before shooting out of the palm of her hand and hitting the hyena square in the chest. It looked down in fear at the sacred light that was spreading through it's body, before it yelped and exploded into ash and blood. As Toshiro raked a claw down the face of a growling youkai he noticed that Kagome didn't smile as Inuyasha had when he defeated an enemy; she looked upset, sad even. Even with all that these monsters had done, Toshiro realized as she quickly wiped a tear from her face that she didn't like to take life.
They were almost to the mouth of the cave, and Toshiro was still watching the miko from the corner of his eye. He saw three hyenas surround her and was shot through with anger and protectiveness. How dare these creatures try to hurt her, this miko who belonged to Inuyasha and wept tears for their enemy. She was forcing back two of the youkai, but the third was trying to make it's way behind her, to attack from her blind spot. Toshiro felt heat creep up his spine, his eyes stung. He raised a hand and clawed at the air, flinging an attack at the laughing youkai.
"Sankon tetsusou!"
He smirked when he saw his youki blades sliced through the hyena. It died in a puff. He moved closer to Kagome, leaping to kick an enemy in the face. The hyena stumbled back into one of the youkai's kagome was keeping at bay, and she used the moment to purify them both with a sacred arrow. She smiled over at Toshiro and he beamed back before lunging at another enemy. There were no end to these things!
They were just outside the cave now, the walls wet and corroding, the smell of blood emanating from it so strong that Toshiro had to fight the urge to cover his nose. The pack had fanned out, and it wasn't until he heard a scream that he realized that Shippou was no longer beside him.
He whirled around quick enough to see Shippou dragged into the cave. The adults all turned in shock, but were fending off at least five youkai each and couldn't move to save the kitsune without being killed. He was being held by a massive hyena with one eye and a disgusting grin. It clamped its red stained hand over the kitsune's mouth, using its other arm to pin Shippou to his body. The kitsune had tears in his wide green eyes and a bloody gash above brows.
"Shippou!" Toshiro roared.
Toshiro felt anger shoot through his limbs, no fury. He leapt with a furious cry at the youkai blocking his way to his brother, cutting one's throat and kicking another in the stomach. He ducked and dodged past hyena after hyena, pushing his way through the horde of bodies and racing after the youkai who'd disappeared into the heart of the chasm. A voice stopped him.
"Toshiro!" He turned back to the mouth of the cave. The adults of the pack were fighting with newfound vigour, cutting down youkai in their hurry get inside the cave. It was Inuyasha who had called out to him. He didn't look back as he swung his blade over and over, and his voice was hard and demanding. "Go get our runt back."
Toshiro nodded, his eyes hardening. Two youkai lunged for him and he punched one in the jaw with all his strength and dodged the claws of the other. He dashed down the tunnel toward the light, following the scents of tears and fear and Shippou.
He noticed that he was no longer being followed.
When he came into the large, circular room like structure deep in the cave he realized why.
Sankon tesusou- Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer
Kongousouha- Diamon Spear Blast
Shankujou- Miroku's staff
Hiraikotsu- Sango's boomerang