Chapter 11: Wielders of the Shikikami (Final)
'Curse it!' Kagome grimaced and gnashed her teeth. 'I can't move!' Muscles strained, desperate to flick a finger or wiggle a toe. It was no use. Whatever force had hold of her would not be defeated by such paltry efforts.
"Hmph!" scoffed a disdainful voice. "So this is the infamous renegade half-breed, Kagome?"
Jade green irises shot a heated glare in the direction of the speaker. "Let me guess!" the she-panther spat a snide reply. "Another weak, incompetent low-life looking to make a name for themselves by sticking my head on a pole?" A sardonic smile curled the half-demon's lips on seeing her adversary bristle.
The red-head snarled and clenched an angry fist. Turning to her companion, she ordered, "Botan, SHUT…HER…UP!"
"Don't you think I would if I could?" answered a second demoness in a frustrated tone. "Something is blocking me from her thoughts! She may be only half-demon, but there's enough demon in her to keep me out of her mind! Just get on with it, Momiji, and stop antagonizing her! We already missed our opportunity this morning to take her down, and I don't want to lose another!"
"Oh, be quiet, Botan!" the one called Momiji commanded. "Just concentrate on keeping her from getting away! This time, we won't fail!"
Botan huffed and grumbled, "She wouldn't have gotten away this morning if you hadn't been so late."
Though it was muttered lowly, her companion's head whipped around. Her eyes flashed with a dangerous light, and a low, irritated growl left her pert lips. The demoness seemed more prepared to attack her comrade than her prisoner.
While the two demons bickered, Kagome used their inattentiveness to study her foes. The woman with the short-cropped, chestnut hair had to be the same demon the idiot had encountered just before his return to his time. She appeared to be the leader of the duo, since she was the one barking out orders. Having gleaned a full description of the incident from the wretch, the captive feline shifted her focus to the other girl. Save for the dark locks framing her face and falling down her back, Botan was similar to Momiji in looks and build. Even their style of dress was identical, except that the colors were mirror images of one another.
'Momiji ordered her to "keep me from getting away",' Kagome considered, noting the steepled forefingers and thumbs of her captor's hands. 'Which means my body is under Botan's control!' Her gaze roved passed the hand sign to fix on the colorless orbs and fine veins protruding from the corners of the eyes. Things clicked in the half-demon's head. 'She was the one behind the villagers' attack this morning!' the girl's thoughts screamed. 'This Botan was the one pulling their strings!'
The whole thing had been a trap from the start! If Momiji hadn't been waylaid with the moron, she would have joined her ally against the half-demon. While Kagome fended off the onslaughts from the various townspeople, she would have been open to an attack from a second enemy. The maiden could kick herself for not guessing the strategy sooner and taking appropriate precautions. Then, perhaps, she wouldn't be in this mess!
Her observations came to an abrupt close. Momiji seemed to have decided killing her partner was not to her advantage. With a last, fierce glower directed at Botan, the obnoxious wench turned her full attention back to their victim. Drawing in a calming breath and releasing it slowly, the woman's demeanor shifted to that of the cool, collected interrogator.
"Before we send you into the afterlife, you will tell us where you have secreted the priest."
"Priest?" Kagome queried, her tone perplexed.
"Don't play dumb!" Momiji hollered, seeming incensed. "We know you've been cuddling up to the reincarnation of a shrine guardian…"
"Me?" the half-demon roared, indignant. "Cuddle up to that dimwitted ass? I don't think so!"
"Where is he?"
"How should I know? The coward's probably taken off for the village with his tail tucked between his legs…if he knows what's good for him!"
The she-panther raised her voice just a hair at the end, hoping the desired listener would understand and act on the message. At least, she'd been able to get the wretched boy away. Her ears still rang with the idiot's started yelp when he found himself suddenly flung from her back. Out the corner of her eye, the girl had watched his lanky frame, covered by the precious firerat haori, tumble over her shoulders, to careen with the rolling green turf below. Whether he recovered from the fall, Kagome didn't get to see. The next instant, the ground was slipping by beneath her dangling toes, the power binding her drawing her back, away from the brink, only to turn her to confront these two.
Tucked behind his rocky screen, the slight rise in the captive maiden's volume went unnoticed by its intended recipient. Inuyasha allowed a disgruntled rumble to rise in his throat. 'Keh!' he snarled inwardly. 'Coward, huh? Well, wench, you'd better hope this "coward" has something up his sleeve to get your tail out of this jam…or just doesn't decide to leave your insufferable ass here to get killed!' He quickly glanced about him, searching for the bow that tore loose from his grip when he impacted with the hill.
"Dimwitted, hmmm?" Momiji commented, her tone bored. Either she was oblivious to or chose to ignore her prisoner's subtle warning. "This from one of those who broke the sacred jewel."
A delicate hand snaked inside the assassin's vest and drew out a deep blue, leather pouch trailing drawstrings. A nimble forefinger and thumb disappeared inside, only to reappear with a glowing, pink diamond pinched between them. Kagome balked at sight of her shikon fragment that had formerly been in the custody of that annoying pest! The final, conclusive proof—if any were needed—that his story was true.
Botan gave a strangled gasp and whipped her head around to her partner faster than a certain schoolboy could say "scat". "You have a shard of the Shikon no Tama, and you didn't tell me, your own sister?" she recriminated.
"BOTAN!"
Her concentration broken, said demon's hold on their prey was severed. Realizing her mistake, the dark-haired hunter cried, "Oops! Sorry!" Before Kagome could even register that her body was once again her own, her second captor channeled her power into the shikikami donned with the half-demon's hair, and regained control over the panther maiden.
The adolescent boy knew he couldn't waste any more time. He'd discovered the bow close by, just to his left and a couple of feet below the soles of his shoes. Being as careful and quiet as he could, the youth lowered himself along the grass toward the weapon. Once within range, he stretched out his left leg and began to fish for the curved bit of wood. Easy. Easy. And…success! Driving his toe into the ground, Inuyasha was able to snag the upper corner, where the string looped onto the bow. He lifted his jean-clad fishing line steadily up towards him, dragging his prize catch with it. Relief filled him that he was on grass, not dirt, so there was no clacking of wood across hard ground to alert heightened demon ears to his location. Once the deadly instrument was close enough, the teen reached down and drew it along his side until he had it in a comfortable grip. Inuyasha pulled himself back to his previous post to take one last look into the glade.
'Oh, hell!'
If he was going to save the crotchety half-demon wench, he was going to have to hurry. Momiji was rapidly closing the distance between herself and the frozen she-panther. There was the hiss of steel being drawn, and the waning sunlight glinted off the naked sword now brandished in the demoness assassin's hand. Kagome's resentful gaze followed the sheen that danced the length of the blade.
"Like it?" the red-head questioned, seeing her helpless victim's glare. A low growl was the only answer she received. Turning the katana, Momiji identified with just a hint of pride, "Crimson Mist. Truly a work of art. It can cut through any material—wood, stone, bone—with complete accuracy and not leave the slightest blemish on the blade."
The mercenary, certain of their ultimate success, allowed a smirk to rule her features. She swung her demonic weapon to the side, preparing to slash it across the captive girl's neck. Feline ears folded into the raven mane, and lips pulled back in a hiss of warning, a warning Kagome knew was pointless. Again, she labored to get one muscle to obey her…but try as she would, it seemed her control ended at her head and neck.
To stall, the half-demon demanded, "How did you know I wasn't still hanging, dead, on that tree?"
"Oh, let's just say a little birdie told us, shall we?" her tormentor replied with a careless air, sending a knowing glance to her sister.
Botan gave a curt nod and hummed a confident, "Mm-hmmm."
The lead hunter looked back, again, to her quarry and explained, "Crows aren't known for keeping secrets. The forests fairly echoed with the raucous complaints of the crow demon's flock. Something about being runoff before their leader could obtain the sacred jewel by a pebble-wielding wench with pointed ears on top of her head. We knew, then, that you had been revived, which meant the bounty on your hide was once again in force. All we had to do was find you and collect."
"You're both stupider than you look," the feline maiden cried, "if you think that usurper will ever make good on the debt! After you've offered my head up on a platter, you two morons will find yourselves dissolved into bubbling pools of bloody ooze!"
"I think that's a possibility that needn't concern us," the red-head countered, too secure in her and her sister's victory to be baited to anger, "seeing as how we have a shikon fragment. If our payment is withheld, we'll simply take what we are owed, and kill all who stand in our way."
Momiji's face sobered. "Enough talk." Firming her grip on Crimson Mist, the woman launched herself at her defiant victim, yelling, "Time to send you to meet your maker!"
A feathered blur sliced across Momiji's vision.
"Momiji!" Botan cried out.
Said demoness barely managed to spring away from the deadly bolt that emitted just a hint of holy power.
"BACK OFF!" a strong, masculine voice commanded.
The bottom dropped out of Kagome's stomach; that grating, arrogant tone could only belong to one person. 'You damned idiot…' Closed eyes and grinding teeth accompanied the mental growl.
Across from her, her antagonist's attention turned to the hill that rose just beyond the half-demon—to the lone figure balanced upon one knee at its crest, partially draped in red fabric. In his hand was a bow already notched with a second arrow, the string pulled back to his ear.
"The first shot was a warning!" the half-breed's would-be rescuer declared. "Let her go, or the second one's going straight through your heart!"
Curved wood creaked under the additional pressure the speaker applied to emphasize his point. On seeing Momiji's deadly intent for Kagome, the modern schoolboy had risen up to huddle behind his stone guardian. A hand glided beneath the firerat to withdraw one of the slender missiles from its quiver, allowing the shaft to caress over his shoulder to keep the pointed head from getting snagged in the material. Setting arrow to string, he gambled on the most opportune moment to dash out and deliver his dangerous cargo. Almost blindly, the teen fired, hoping to nick—if not wound—his target. Of course, he did neither, but he did manage to force the bitch to retreat.
A terrible smile split the red-haired demoness' features. "I was wondering when you'd come out of hiding!"
The comment left Inuyasha a touch befuddled; it almost sounded as if Momiji had expected him to show up.
Kagome managed to twist her head over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the kneeling youth out the corner of her eye. "You moronic nitwit!" she berated. "You should already be halfway to the village! Can't you understand a warning when you hear one?"
"That was a warning?" called the sarcastic taunt. "I thought you were just being your usual, charming self!"
The she-panther released a low snarl. Never mind Momiji getting her claws on him; she may just kill the idiot herself and save the witch the trouble, if and when she got out of this predicament.
Inuyasha continued in an irritated voice, "Besides, you ought to be grateful I didn't go to the village, or you'd already be pushing up daisies, by now!"
Their foe's smirk deepened, and a predatory gleam lit the steady gaze she maintained on the lone archer. "Time to find out whether you're flesh…or spirit!" The hunter launched herself toward her new prey, her sword poised to strike.
"RUN, WRETCH! GET OUT OF THERE!"
A startled yelp left the exposed schoolboy's lips. Even as Kagome finished speaking, Momiji was practically on top of him!
'Shit!' He should have remembered how fast the bitch could move!
The instinct for survival pried open Inuyasha's fingers and released the bowstring. The steel arrowhead closed on its target, but this time, the red-head was ready for it. She adjusted her line of flight just enough so the slim bolt passed harmlessly to her right. Her attacker was about to curse either her sharp eyes or her incredible luck, when he heard a terrified shriek fill the glade just beyond. Quickly looking passed his impending doom, the adolescent saw that his errant projectile was now on a collision course with the half-demon's right cheek! At the last moment, the helpless girl wheeled her head to the left. Steel snapped strands of midnight black that trailed after, but otherwise, Kagome remained unscathed.
She turned a bitter scowl Inuyasha's way and shouted, "Just whose side are you on, anyway, stupid?"
The stray arrow continued its rogue path onward toward a new mark. Botan's attention was so confined to the shikikami clothed with the single dark filament that she was virtually unaware of the feathered wasp about to deliver its fatal sting. Only when her second sight through the bewitched doll suffused with a slight, ominous pink light did a scream rip itself from her throat. Instantly, the raven-haired assassin broke contact with her tiny toy and threw herself to the side. The bolt sliced the abandoned shikikami in half with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel, and continued through the space previously occupied by the woman's features to imbed itself deeply in the trunk of a tree. Botan's head whipped about from her spot on the ground in time to watch the two halves of her magical familiar float to earth.
"Oh, no!" she cried in horror.
The woman glanced toward her prisoner. With the death of the shikikami, the spell encompassing Kagome was shattered. Immediately, the panther maiden dropped into a crouch on the forest floor. The red-clad mercenary scrambled over to the remains of the demonic doll, and her fingers began a desperate search of the surrounding turf.
"The hair!" her hysterical voice demanded. "Where is the hair?"
Kagome ignored the frantic wench clawing at the swaying blades. Muscles that once again obeyed her will unfurled the half-demon from her crouch. The serpentine tail—held captive for so long the girl's rear started to physically hurt from the immobility—used its newfound freedom to lash the air in a display of the its owner's snakish temper. Hardened green irises that burned with a cold hatred behind a fringe of black bangs lifted to glare at the more imminent threat.
While the arrow had been busy releasing Kagome from the hold of the shikikami, Momiji had drawn level with its sender. "Die!"
Crimson Mist flashed in the dying rays of daylight.
Partway onto his feet, Inuyasha released a yelp and pulled back, away from the silvery arc aimed at his chest. The blade's point slipped to within a hair's breadth of the teenager's shirt and continued on through the giant monolith that had been his shield. Stone moaned its protests at being disturbed from its ageless sleep, as the upper half slid along the slash cut across its girth to go careening down the verdant swell. Its killer smiled with malevolent amusement at sight of the spinning, squealing human that tumbled in its wake, unable to maintain his precarious balance, teetering on one heel. Eventually, his form came to rest in a thicket of brambles at the foot of the hill, near the trees, to the thundering tune of the ancient boulder carving a path of destruction through the forest.
"My, my, it seems our rabbit has gone to ground," his assailant commented, her tone wry. "I guess I'll just have to "smoke" him out." She let loose an unsettling chortle at her own witticism.
Her sister's manic shriek wiped the malicious smirk off her face. Momiji ripped her attention away from her mortal toy to confront a snarling, hissing, freed panther half-demon! Under the lengthening shadows of the trees on the other side of the clearing, Botan was hunched over on her knees, tearing at the ground in earnest.
"What the hell happened, Botan?" yelled the sword-wielding assassin. "Why is she loose?"
"What do you think happened?" the other girl paused in her wild clawing to answer. "That stupid boy with the arrow, that's what! It destroyed my shikikami and almost put a hole in my face!" She turned back to her hunt, adding, "Just keep her busy till I find the hair!"
The red-head growled. Ooooo…if Botan weren't her sister…!
"You shouldn't be wasting your time on that pathetic human wretch," the goal of their mission suddenly intoned. Kagome lifted her left arm so that the sleeve of her yukata could fall to her elbow. She then drew the bared forearm across her visage. In a dark voice that promised death, the she-panther stated, "Not when I'm the one who's going to send you to hell."
As she spoke, her right hand lifted to the limb. Sharp claws ripped five furrows along the exposed skin and soaked in the welling blood. Perplexity contorted the hunter's features. Had the half-breed taken leave of her senses, to mutilate herself like that? Kagome dropped the arm now mapped in scarlet trails and pulled back her hand covered with the matching gore.
"BLADES OF BLOOD!"
Fingers dripping ruby tears were flung forward. Shock lit Momiji's face at the sight of five arcs of red light speeding towards her.
"What?" snarled the startled woman.
There was no mention of this attack by their employer! The client had said the wench's only weapons were her claws, and of course, her demon strength. The person hadn't stated that the bitch's blood could be turned into one, as well! The assassin brought up her cherished sword and cut through the glowing crescents of demonic power. Four fell to the swinging blade, their energy dispelled into glittering crimson motes. The last, however, managed to duck beneath her defenses. A cry more of surprise than of pain left the wielder's lips as the slash of light tore a ragged hole through the left side of her abdomen, just below her ribs. Bewildered hazel eyes lowered to assess the damage, the impact of which was amplified by the tattered edges of her costume rippling about the opening. Because of what she and Botan were, a fountain of blood did not spew from the injury, and she felt not the slightest discomfort. But no target they had so far faced had ever come close to dealing such a wound. To be caught so off guard by loathsome scum like this… Momiji's cherubic features contorted into deep lines and hard planes of fury.
"You!"
"Bitch, I will take you down a piece at a time, if that what it takes!" Kagome asserted coldly. "When I'm finished with you, you're going to wish you'd never even heard of my name!" She sprang upward, the hand painted in her blood drawn back into position, her other folded close to her chest to allow her to easily inflict fresh wounds if she needed to replenish the fluid that covered her fingers.
"Come and try, half-breed!" her foe challenged. "If you think you have the courage!" The mercenary readied herself to meet the oncoming assault.
The panther girl's arm started forward with a cry of "BLADES OF…!"
"AH-HA!"
The feline triangles swiveled toward the origin of the happy exclamation. A delighted Botan popped up from her knees, the ecstatic glow to her features bright enough to illuminate the glade filling with twilight. Pinched between her forefinger and thumb was the slightly wavy thread of black hair for which she'd so slavishly searched. Her attention never leaving the recovered treasure, the second sister's right hand delved inside her deep scarlet haori, into an interior pocket sewn into the left breast. From out of it came one of the supply of shikikami she secreted there. Faster than human eyes could follow, the raven-haired assassin had the source of her control wound about the semi-circular head and the stout form suspended before her. Fingers wove rapidly through a series of signs, and within the span of a heartbeat, Botan's power was channeling into the bewitched familiar.
At that precise moment, Kagome screamed her frustration, as her body was wrested from her and froze in mid-air—just as her arm was coming around to complete the attack. "No! Not this again!" the half-demon bemoaned, ready to tear her hair out, if only she could reach it.
"Do it now, Momiji!" her present captor called. "While I have her!"
A chuckle of wicked amusement caused the slightly folded cat ears to prick forward. Sheathing Crimson Mist, the elder sister condemned in a wry tone, "Half-breed, half power…how typical."
"Wwhhyyy yyoouuu…" The complaint ended in an ominous, rumbling growl.
"Upset? I suppose you wanted the jewel to become a full demon."
The red-head's hand patted the spot of her vest beneath which was stored the leather pouch in a teasing manner. The look of superiority that smoothed Momiji's near flawless features made the hapless she-panther want to ram her crimson claws through that rounded face and obliterate the smug smirk that pulled at one corner of the delicate mouth. Such a disparaging countenance had hounded her the whole of her life, cast by those who thought themselves her betters.
The mercenary soothed in mock comfort, "Don't worry. It'll be put to a much better purpose. But first…"
Momiji turned to the forest beyond the hill. Her arms lifted, bringing her hands before her. A knot of dread tied itself within Kagome's stomach. The witch was facing a frightening direction, one along which a certain wretched human boy had disappeared. Her worst suspicions were confirmed when the woman pronounced her sentence.
"That pesky priest down there has to…DIE!"
Nimble fingers wove through a series of signals. Alarm widened jade green eyes when several, flickering flames leaped into existence to circle in front of their summoner, and reflected in orbs drained of all color.
"FLAMING SPARROW!"
The fluttering lights streaked forward with a clamor that sounded like the chirping of a flock of birds.
"INNUUYAASHAAAA!"
"BLADES OF BLOOD!"
Inuyasha's chest deflated in a long-suffering groan. Didn't that wench come in any volume other than ultra loud? Drivers with rap music blaring full blast couldn't outdo the half-demon when she had a bur up her ass! Not to mention it was doing nothing to alleviate the fist currently knocking an incessant tune on his skull. The teenage boy tentatively lifted his cheek pressed against the dirt, only to lower his face onto the ground so his pounding forehead could take advantage of the soothing effects of the cool, welcoming earth. A relieved sigh sent tiny clouds of dust bursting from each side of his mouth.
"Bitch, I will take you down a piece at a time, if that's what it takes! When I'm finished with you, you're going to wish you'd never even heard my name!"
Violet eyes sprang open at the declaration. Memory regarding the present situation flooded back to him, especially when the challenge was answered.
"Come and try, half-breed, if you think you have the courage!"
That's right! He and Kagome were in the middle of a battle against that red-headed witch who stole the shikon fragment from him. And this time, she brought help. There was another demoness with her, one with black hair who'd managed to freeze the panther girl in place by using a strand of her own hair against her and one of those damn paper dolls. The pair were apparently some sort of bounty hunters out for the half-demon's hide, with the red-head wanting to add him in to settle her score against him. How could he have forgotten for even a moment…he must have really had the wind knocked out of him! Not surprising, considering he'd had to virtually turn himself into a pretzel when he'd dodged Momiji's sword in order to avoid crossing the path of-what had to be, at least-a quarter ton of rock crashing to the ground with him. The move probably would have earned the youth a gold medal, if he had been an Olympic gymnast. He'd landed hard on his back, the quiver of arrows rammed into his spine, sending air rushing out of his chest that was only just starting to return to normal. His mind drew a blank after that.
"B LADES OF…!"
The battle cry was abruptly cut off. A moment later, the angry roar of a furious half-demon reverberated off the trees. Inuyasha's face snapped up out of the dirt, skin smudged with a light coating of grime, bits of silicon sparkling on his cheeks and forehead. Crimson filled his vision; the firerat haori was snagged on the top of the bush and hung like a curtain a scant few inches in front of his nose, blocking his view of the outside world and enshrouding the schoolboy in a red-hued twilight. Laughter that might have been pleasant but for the thread of malice infecting it rolled down the hill to the youth's ears. Momiji's voice then began to speak, but it was more muted. The sprawled adolescent only caught 'half-breed', 'power', 'typical', then something about the jewel. Damnit! He needed to know what was going on out there! Inuyasha made to draw the scarlet fabric back…
"Ughh!"
He winced as something sharp dragged along the back of his right hand. The teen glanced down to find three long scratches had been opened by a thick branch perched over his limb, covered in curving thorns! Beads of dark crimson pearled from the shallow cuts. A touch startled, purple orbs turned from the bleeding scrapes to take in his shadowy, perilous refuge. Fat shoots of variegated woodsy brown and a green that must have been stolen from a leprechaun's suit shot up from the ground and branched off into slender creepers that twisted and swirled around each other. Long, slim spines with sweeping, pointed tips studded the tendrils, ensnaring their captive in a prickly, verdant cage.
'Why am I not surprised that I would end up in a sticker bush?' Inuyasha thought with a scowl, dark brows drawing together. The gods had really had it out for him the last few days. Well, he hoped whichever one he'd pissed off was getting his kicks, because he wasn't laughing.
Now that he was fully alert, the youth could feel the needling sting of thorns stabbing through the heavy denim that guarded his legs and hips, and the thick cotton socks protecting his ankles. Locks of his long mane were caught in the bristling mesh above his head, creating a light pull on his scalp and spreading a raven web among the vines. But the sharpest pain was reserved for his left hand and arm. His limb was held aloft, while a tangle of the living barbed wire snaked about his hand up to the wrist. Inuyasha tested the green cables' strength, only to grimace when the spines scored his flesh.
"That pesky priest down there has to…DIE!"
The boy ceased his efforts.
"FLAMING SPARROW!"
Uh-oh! He did not like the sound of that!
His free hand darted out from beneath its bristling blanket to grasp the edge of the firerat drape before him and pull back. Horror stole the air from the boy's lungs, and sent his eyebrows disappearing into straggly black bangs at sight of the fiery sparks shaped like screeching birds sweeping down the hill towards him! A scream Inuyasha did not even attempt to bite back shot from his lips to meld with a crescendo of rusty hinges being pried open and…was that his name being shrieked in the background? The teen didn't let his mind linger long enough to be sure. The next instant, his left arm wrenched itself free of the spiny cuff that shackled it, heedless of the tiny knives that mangled skin into a gruesome montage of blood. He shoved his face once more into the shallow depression made previously by his nose and mouth, and cupped ruby-speckled fingers over his cheeks. The flaming bombardment collided with the thicket, perching on creepers and surrounding the trapped adolescent in a deadly ring of fire. Tendrils green with life shriveled to blackened, warped husks that split and popped from a surge of heat only slightly less intense than if the sun had descended to the spot. The unrelenting furnace conspired to steal the last breath from Inuyasha's lungs. The youth had always known his body would be cremated, someday, but he'd figured he'd be a very old man and already dead before it happened. The helpless boy took a quick, sharp intake of the cooler atmosphere offered by the ground and contained by his palms, his only hope to keep his lungs from being char-broiled inside his chest. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut…and prayed.
Suspended carelessly above the hill, Momiji released a dark chuckle. "Oh, dear," she whimpered with feigned distress, "seems I overdid it. And I was so looking forward to roasted rabbit. Now, I'm afraid there'll be nothing left but ash." The malicious chortle evolved into full-blown evil laughter.
The assassin's sadistic merriment resounded in pointed, feline ears. For several long moments, Kagome couldn't seem to feel. A creeping numbness was slowly traveling along her veins and freezing her already immobile muscles. 'Come on, stupid,' her thoughts began to urge. 'Open that loud mouth of yours that never stops flapping and say something! Anything! Curse the witch to the lowest levels of hell, scream "scat" until your face turns blue—just something to let me know you weren't reduced to a scorched stain.'
The half-demon knew the attack shouldn't bother her. She'd given the thrice-damned wretch the firerat, the best defense against fire there was. But the human was taller than her, so the haori had covered only part of his frame. If any of the flames managed to breech the unique material's protective aura… The proud, dark head bowed, lowering uneven bangs to shade the light green eyes that closed with the implications the longer nothing was heard from the young male.
Her fault. The whole thing was her fault. If the she-panther had just left the fool with his family where he belonged, he would be safe, now. Someone like him—who had obviously never encountered demons before in his life—had no business going into battle against beings like her. And Kagome, herself, had no doubt compounded the problem by lending the boy the haori, giving him a false sense of security, even though its protection would be incomplete. They knew the enemy they hunted had access to a fire-based attack. The proof had been there in the decimated hunting party they'd come across. The half-demon should have snatched the firerat then and there, and made the young man march himself right back to the well and home!
Bitter bile began to make its way up her throat. Refusing to wallow in the sensation—that most certainly was not guilt!—churning her stomach into a frothy tempest, Kagome allowed another realization to throw a bucket of icy water on her moment of self-reproach. That witch just destroyed her only means of finding jewel shards! Without the wretch's powers, the task of restoring the Shikon no Tama was now all but impossible! The panther maiden would have to battle every demon the length and breadth of Japan in order to guarantee she gathered the myriad of scattered fragments. Her cherished dream of using the sacred jewel to turn herself into a full demon couldn't be further away if it were one of the stars in the heavens.
"Yyyooouuu…" The growl that left Kagome's lips was guttural, almost feral.
The low rumble caught the attention of her enemy. "Miss him?" she snickered, a hint of cruel amusement shading her words. "Poor kitty." Her hand seized the hilt of her katana. "Don't worry. You'll be joining him soon enough. After all, pets should never be allowed to outlive their masters!" Crimson Mist leaped from its scabbard, and the red-headed hunter charged toward her prey.
"Don't you wish!" a quiet, dangerous rumble answered.
Her head still lowered, the half-demon drew her strength inwards, funneling the pent-up energy to the very center of her being. The closing assassin swung her arm back, turning the blade's cutting edge to aim for her target's vulnerable neck. Crimson Mist was heaved forward. A sharp snap of the feline head sent the cold glint of unmerciful hate streaking toward the oncoming foe. Kagome's mouth fell open to release a thunderous roar that rent the air. The captive girl propelled her gathered power through her frozen body in a massive pulse.
'GET OUT!'
Botan's hands flew to clutch her head, her scream practically drowned out by the half-breed's strident bellow. Her knees collapsed, depositing her on the forest floor, and she had to slam a hand rapidly on the grass to keep her face from meeting the springy turf. Wide eyes once again their bright cerulean color stared, unseeing, at the green swath below, quivering to the rhythm of her wildly racing heart.
'She…she threw me out!' the demon hunter thought frantically. The girl's chest heaved in a desperate bid to draw air passed the disbelief clogging her throat. Botan's mind reeled, 'How? How could she? She's only a half-breed!' It should have taken a true demon of much greater power to nullify her possession. Maintaining her dominance of the panther bitch's body-contaminated as it was by her human blood—should have presented no difficulty, much less manipulating such a feeble mind.
Momiji did not spare her distraught sister a glance. Whatever had occurred, Botan would just have to handle it herself. The lead mercenary was too close to gaining the half-breed's head to be distracted now. But just as her sword was about to meet flesh, the panther wench's form began to slip toward the ground. Instead of severing major blood vessels and biting into bone, Crimson Mist skidded across a white-clothed shoulder, slicing open skin and muscle, but far from the fatal stroke that had been the wielder's intent. A low grunt and a slight twist to the feline features indicated the lightning agony that accompanied the growing scarlet stain spreading along the pristine fabric. For a heartbeat of the universe, the two foes hung, suspended, in their deadly tableaux.
Suddenly, the hand attached to the arm sporting the bloody shoulder seized the swordwoman's wrist, claws digging fiercely into the pliant flesh. "I told you," Kagome's voice was thick with a dark brittle enmity, "that human boy was the least of your concerns." With a snarl that flashed ivory fangs, the she-panther plunged her free hand into her attacker's chest!
"MOMIJI!" a strangled voice screeched in utter panic.
The hunter's breath hitched. Shocked eyes gazed incomprehensibly at the arm buried in her sternum. The furious half-demon used the force of her attack to drive her assailant from the sky. The ground shook when Momiji's back collided with it, her vision filled with her target's contorted, maniacal smirk hovering over her.
In the same merciless tone, Kagome finished, "Since I am the one who is going to end your existence."
She ripped her hand out of Momiji's still body. Enclosed in her retreating fist was the leather bag containing the shikon shard, the strings following in its wake. The she-panther flipped away to land on all fours a short distance below the heels of her fallen enemy, the sinuous tail twitching high above her back. Pointed ears and whiskers were drawn back in a display of combative aggression.
From her place on the grass, Botan gazed upon the unmoving form of her sister. A surreal sense of unreality seemed to overtake the surviving mercenary. This couldn't be happening! They'd never failed such a simple assignment! The target had been completely within their power and at their mercy! How had everything gone so terribly wrong in so short a time? The raven-haired hunter didn't bother with a second search for the lost hair. Making a third attempt to capture the wench using her shikikami would be pointless, now that the half-breed had managed to overpower her spell. Alone, Botan wasn't sure she could bring down the feline girl using her own powers. She and Momiji had always been a team, with the dark-headed sister subduing their prey so the red-headed sister could deliver the killing stroke. Now…
The lone assassin was dragged from her musings, as Kagome taunted her motionless sibling, "Now you see that…AHHH!"
The half-demon's speech was cut off by her scream of pain. She reared up and toppled over onto her rear, Crimson Mist spitted through her already wounded shoulder. A new ruby patch appeared to merge with the one soaking the shoulder seam and upper sleeve. To the injured maiden's horrified amazement—and Botan's immense joy—the felled bounty hunter sat up!
Her face wreathed in smiles, the mercenary's counterpart breathed happily, "Momiji."
With little regard for her opponent, the swordswoman climbed calmly to her feet. Once off the ground, a few short strides had her standing in front of her grimacing, panting adversary. Scorn decorated the hunter's features as she fixed a glare on her wounded quarry.
"Why, you mewling half-breed cub," grated the woman's harsh snarl, "trying to roar like an old lion…how dare you show your claws to me!"
Kagome's saucer-sized orbs stared back stupidly, her brain unable to form a retort. Understandable, considering the person berating her had a hole in her torso through which the half-demon could see the terrain on the other side!
'Ho…how is she still alive?'
Her hand went right through the assassin's chest! Her claws should have shredded the witch's heart and lungs! Momiji leaned down to curl her fingers around the hilt of her sword. Kagome cried out again at the searing pain when the red-head reclaimed Crimson Mist by mercilessly tearing it from her flesh. The injured girl's right hand flew to brace the wound to try and stop the scarlet flow. Her enemy's fiery gaze fell to the leather pouch at her feet.
"Hmph," she scoffed, "and to steal my shikon shard, as well." The woman bent over and lifted the bag from the ground by its drawstrings. Straightening, Momiji turned her condescending stare back onto her crumpled target.
The feline maiden's gaze remained unwavering while her thoughts raced, 'She has to have some weakness. Where is it?'
"Now you've truly made me angry," her attacker groused. "It seems some people just don't know when to admit they're beaten!"
A familiar, frightening whistle whined through the waning sunset. An arrow faintly glowing pink with sacred power buried itself in the ground not two feet to the hunter's right. Kagome's disbelieving eyes stared at the deadly calling card. Botan gasped, the aura she had previously encountered an unwelcomed sign.
"What?" Momiji snarled. She whipped about to face the line of trees on the edge of the clearing.
Her action allowed Kagome a clear view of the sender of the projectile. Beneath the twilight shadows of the wood stood the person she never expected to see again. The amount of relief that flooded the half-demon's battered and bloody form was enough to almost cause a sigh to leave her lips.
'He's alive,' her mind whispered, relieved.
The half-demon's enemy was far less ecstatic. "YOU!" the swordwielding hunter growled. "WHAT ARE YOU? WHY WON'T YOU STAY DEAD?"
Cloaked in priceless red firerat, darker rivers sweeping along the shallow gorges between the knuckles of the fist gripping the bow, the archer gave a cold, caustic grin. "Yeah, guess I'm a real bastard that way! I just never knew when to quit!"
In truth, the schoolboy knew he could thank Kagome's haori for the fact he didn't look like a used matchstick. Though the heat of Momiji's attack had felt like being dropped into the heart of a volcano, the firerat had deflected the actual flames to settle around his bushy prison, not unlike the earth's magnetic field shielded the planet from the sun's solar flares. Except for some singed ends of hair, roasted shoe soles, and his left wrist laced with gashes, he emerged from the shriveled, blackened vines relatively unscathed. Inuyasha wished he could say the same for his stock of arrows. Of the six that had been in the quiver on his back, all but one had broken at various points along their lengths from his previous acrobatics. That one he'd just fired as a distraction to divert Momiji's attention away from Kagome. Now, if the mouthy wench would just take the opportunity to finish off the bitch…
"Don't trouble yourself, sister. Leave this one to me!"
Crap! He forgot about that one.
Botan streaked toward the defenseless youth, certain she could easily crush him, adding, "You just finish off the half-breed, so we can end this!"
The more temperamental partner opened her mouth to put her sibling in her place with regards to who gave the orders, but promptly shut it. Her sister was right. It was long passed time to bring this contract to a close. She watched for only a brief moment longer as her counterpart sailed into the air…to pull up before her target. Fingers signed through an intricate pattern to the command, "Water Constrictor!"
Inuyasha flung up a protective arm when a ring of spray exploded from the ground. The streams coalesced into a solid current that bent and began to circle the vulnerable adolescent. With each coil, water closed in on its victim, until the schoolboy found himself engulfed by the flood. He managed to catch a last breath before the rushing torrent folded over his head. Solid earth disappeared beneath his feet, the buoyancy lifting him into the center of the spiraling vessel.
A diabolical leer stretched across Momiji's features at sight of the fluid, serpentine specter that cocooned the vexing priest in its watery embrace. The slight wince and arms frozen at his sides spoke of the mounting pressure being applied to its prey. The human whelp may have been able to ward himself against fire…let's see how immune he was to drowning!
"NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON AN ENEMY!"
The smug hunter screamed with the tearing of claws up her back. "DAMN YOU!"
She whipped around, slashing viciously with her katana, intent on slicing the half-breed clean through, her patience and thrill with the hunt totally spent. The blade met empty space. Kagome had already leaped over the assassin's head and was racing towards the imprisoned schoolboy.
"YOU SHOULD REALLY TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE!" shrieked the red-head, watching the half-demon's retreating form. Slamming Crimson Mist back into its scabbard, the woman's hands flew rapidly through a familiar sequence. "FLAMING SPARROW!"
The flock of screeching firebirds streaked ahead of Kagome to impact with the ground. The panther girl skidded to a halt before the orange tendrils that writhed upward to form a solid wall of flame. She released a contemptuous snarl. If the witch thought this would frighten her…
The irate maiden's gaze flicked above the fire to the liquid trap wrapped around the dimwit. A set of red orbs glowed fiendishly below two pointed protrusions extending back from the now snakish head. The ghostly constrictor opened its watery maul to scream a warning, revealing upper and lower fangs formed of flowing current. Distinct coils of rushing tide held the idiot in a suffocating embrace. One dark, lavender eye returned Kagome's glance, the other practically squinted shut. The tight set to his jaw bore witness to the supreme effort the captive teen was exerting to hold in the sole breath keeping his lungs inflated. The swirling tempest rippled through his clothing and sent the firerat robe billowing above his head. Thick locks of inky black were pulled from the confines of the haori to be whipped through by fingers of chill water. The translucent ropes flexed. The fool in their grasp grimaced with a grunt and began to fold over double.
"Don't you dare die on me, wretch!" the she-panther shouted, ignoring the twinge of desperation in her voice. No sooner had the words left her lips than another squeeze sent a cloud of bubbles spewing from Inuyasha's mouth.
Lifting her right hand to her scored forearm, a familiar voice chimed, "You needn't worry about the priest. You'll be meeting him on the other side!"
The half-demon didn't even bother to turn to face her enemy. The feline leaped straight up, avoiding the sword aimed for her back. Sharp talons plunged into pulsing veins to drink from the dark crimson wells.
"BLADES OF BLOOD!"
"BOTAN!"
Momiji's warning was drowned out by her sister's shocked scream at the bite of the bright scarlet scythes rending tears in clothing and splitting flesh. The long-haired hunter dropped from the sky to the ground, landing on one knee, deep gashes notching both her arms and back. Her powers no longer fueling it, the water constrictor gave a final roar of protest with the fading of crystalline irises to bright blue. The demon specter dissolved into a glittering shower of droplets that rained down on the raging fire. Flames hissed and sputtered in their death throes before accepting their fate and finally going out.
Along with the impromptu storm fell the possessed snake's victim. Clothes plastered to his prostrate form, dark locks tangled into stringy vipers of their own to slither along the grass or create abstract designs on the garish haori, the modern teenager spluttered and coughed from where he had unceremoniously been deposited, trying to hack up the river he'd managed to inhale into his lungs. Kagome dropped on the other side of the previous firewall. A couple of quick strides had her by Inuyasha's side as he pushed himself onto his feet, relying heavily on the bow his fingers had refused to relinquish. Without hesitation, the she-panther gripped the convulsing youth's left arm to help him rise.
"You all right?" she asked, heedless of the concern that seeped into her tone. The male adolescent could only nod his head, his mouth preoccupied with gulping in as much sweet air as his chest could hold.
A low, dark chuckle had the duo glancing to their left. There Momiji stood, her stance radiating confidence. "We have you now," she said, a delighted grin stretched across her features. "Your pathetic attacks have failed. Your only option is surrender."
"It's impossible to defeat us," floated Botan's voice from their right. "We're immortal." Her tone was simple, as if she were merely commenting on the weather. The second hunter had risen from her crouch, sections of torn sleeve swaying with her movements.
Anxious purple irises darted between the sisters. "Damn," Inuyasha muttered. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place… It looked like he and the half-demon girl had their choice of being barbequed alive…or singing with the fishes. Although, something about those two extremes…
Kagome brought up her bloodied claws, preparing to release a fresh wave of ruby knives. "Hmph! Pick up your courage off the ground, would you, stupid?" she murmured under her breath. Twin pairs of pale hands lifted before their antagonists in perfect, measured synchronization. The she-panther whispered with a resigned sigh, "Listen, when they start forming their seals, run! Just take off and don't look back. They're after me, not you. Make for the village and the well. Go home and forget about the Shikon no Tama. Once you're on the other side, seal the well, and pretend none of this ever happened." Her claws approached her scarlet painted limb.
"Keh!" The schoolboy scoffed at the suggestion. "And leave you to have all the fun? Besides, in case you hadn't noticed, you're not the only one Momiji would like to turn into a corpse. And since I'm out of arrows, I'm not likely to get very far after they're done taking care of you."
Fire. Water. Water puts out fire. Fire evaporates water.
"You wouldn't get very far even with arrows." Nevertheless, the half-demon prepared to defend the idiot as long as possible.
The youth was no longer listening. Two elements at opposite ends of the spectrum. Like the poles of a magnet. Positive and negative… That's it!
Two sets of nimble fingers punctuated through their series of signs.
"FLAMING SPARROW!"
"WATER CONTRACTOR!"
"SCAT!"
Kagome screeched at the unexpected, forceful pull of the rosary on her neck. Even as her face greeted the ground, the feline maiden's thoughts were encompassed by a cloud of fury. 'WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MORON THINK HE'S DOING?'
Inuyasha allowed himself to follow the cranky she-panther to the grass, Kagome feeling his weight fall over her back. The boy ducked his head, and planted a hand in raven locks to keep the half-demon's face pressed to the blades. A surge of heat and moisture crossed above them. Simultaneous cries of alarm filled the darkening clearing, as each sister watched in horror her destruction approach from her sibling's hands. Fiery songbirds engulfed Botan at the same instant her water snake enveloped Momiji in its ghostly grip. Agonized screams that seemed to sound from the lowest level of hell itself echoed about the glade. The schoolboy and the half-demon lifted their heads, and caught sight of two tiny forms with half-moon heads and stout bodies, glittering white in the dying sunset as they drifted gently to earth. Inuyasha pushed off his companion's head in his mad scramble to reach the familiar dolls. He fell upon them, his fingers pinching heads and torsos. With a violent display, the youth ripped the paper figures in half, his ears ringing with the final, tormented shrieks that accompanied the end of the shikikamis. The teen let his head fall to his chest, relief flooding him, even as he heaved for breath.
"So that's what Momiji and Botan were!" Kagome's tone held comprehension.
Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder to see his taciturn companion approaching him, holding her bloody shoulder where Momiji's sword had found its mark. "You're telling me those two were created from those paper dolls?" he queried, a little muddled.
"This surprises you?" the half-demon commented, slightly amazed by his naiveté. "They were probably given life to become assassins for a dark priest long since dead. No longer under his control, they continued doing the only thing they knew. No wonder my attacks had no affect on them," she muttered, partly to herself. The she-panther grimaced.
"Kagome!" The youth started forward when the girl collapsed to her knees, the hand pressed to her wounded shoulder tightening at the hot lance stabbing her flesh. While a shiver of pain ran through the half-demon, Inuyasha scoffed to cover the sudden worry lodged in the vicinity of his heart. "Idiotic wench. And you talk about me needing protection? You probably wouldn't be bleeding all over the place if you'd been wearing the firerat robe instead of me."
"This is nothing," Kagome insisted, though it was uttered through tightly-clenched jaws. To get the boy's attention off her, she asked, "Where's the shikon jewel?"
The modern teen's head darted about. His searching gaze just managed to catch sight of a small, dark lump sitting in the grass in the lowering light. Climbing to his feet, Inuyasha strode the short distance, bent down, and picked up the pouch, calling as he did so, "Here it is." He pried open the throat and upended the leather sack. A glittering, pink gem tumbled onto his palm. Lifting it between his thumb and forefinger, the youth wondered aloud while he stared at the fragment, "I wonder how long it will take to find the rest of it."
"We should get going, Inuyasha."
The boy turned to regard the half-demon with a touch of amazement etching his face. Kagome was once again on her feet, the red haori that he had allowed to slip to the ground when he went to retrieve the pouch draped haphazardly over her good shoulder. But that wasn't what had him staring. The she-panther noticed the expression that painted the face of her companion.
"What?" she asked in a tone that was only slightly annoyed.
"You actually called me by name," Inuyasha pointed out.
"Your point?" the feline maiden stated flatly, suspicious about where this was going.
"Don't tell me you're going to start being friendlier now?" the male adolescent offered with a smirk.
The question had Kagome squawking and sputtering in helpless indignation, her face flaring a bright red to rival the firerat. "In your dreams! What makes you think I would want such a weak, pathetic wretch for a friend?"
"Oh, I don't know! Maybe the fact you were the one screaming my name at the top of your lungs?" Inuyasha, not to be outdone, fired back.
"When did I do that?"
"When I was nearly roasted alive by Momiji's crappy birds!"
"You couldn't be in enough danger to make me call out your name!"
"SCAT! You're impossible! Is it such a stretch of your high and mighty pride to admit that you might have felt a little concern for me?"
From her place on the ground, the furious schoolboy thought he heard a pitiful whimper sound from the half-demon. "Oh, come on," Inuyasha remarked snidely, not inclined to feel charitable. "Surely, a "weak, pathetic wretch" couldn't hurt the all-powerful half-demon?"
"Drop dead."
Author's Note: And there you go. Finished. I originally wanted to update this chapter over New Year's, but also wanted to review prior chapters to make sure everything was consistent. For example, I noticed in the chapter where the sisters first appeared that I had given Botan a sword, as well. But since I couldn't find an opportunity to have her use it in this chapter, I took it out. I decided to leave her the trapper and Momiji the finisher. Like I said before, I give a lot of credit to those authors who can have multiple stories going at one time.
Reviews are always welcomed. Thank you so much.
