(A/N: Ha, ha! Take that writer's block! Not only did I get rid of that pesky problem, but I managed to write a nice long action packed chapter. I hope you'll like it.)
Disclaimer: Last time I checked I didn't own anything.
Chapter 11: The Battle Begins
What do you mean you've lost the trail?" Sango demanded.
Inuyasha glared at her. "Just what I said. She was here a while ago, but her scent just disappears. Damn it!" He angrily slammed his fist on the ground, sending a deep crack down the plateau. "She couldn't have just disappeared! Where did that bastard take her?"
Kouga was busy sniffing below elsewhere. His nose picked up something curious. "Hey mutt, get over here!"
"Not now, wolf!"
Kouga rolled his eyes. "Get your ass down here! I think I found something!"
Inuyasha was immediately beside him. "What? Where?"
Sighing, Kouga pulled the half-demon to the ground. "Smell here. They backtracked."
Inuyasha sniffed the ground. Kouga was right, the scent was twice as strong here. Onigumo had carried Kagome over here, then turned around and went back the way he came.
"Damn that bastard." He growled. "He's trying to throw us off the trail."
"We better hurry." Said Kohaku. "There's no telling how far out of the way we went."
The group turned around and went back the way they came. Inuyasha was being extra careful to sniff out the place where Onigumo stepped off his original trail.
'Hang in there, Kagome. I'm coming for you. Please be alright.'
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Onigumo growled in annoyance. He had finally found a face that he liked and came back for Kagome only to find yet another distraction. How had they found her?
"You should have just stayed away." Onigumo growled.
Kikyou pulled out the Holy Sword. "You should have stayed away. How dare you lay a finger on my mother!"
"We're going to make you pay!" Toriyasu cried.
Onigumo looked at the little demon and raised an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me. What are you going to do?"
"I would have thought that was obvious." Said Shin. "We're going to kill you and take back Lady Kagome."
Onigumo threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, that's rich! You, kill me? You're father couldn't even touch me, wolf-boy."
Shin grinded his teeth together. "You bastard. We'll make you pay."
Onigumo shrugged. "If you insist." He gave them an evil smile. "Humans first."
In an instant, his arms had turned into spiky tentacles and flown at Ico and Kaori. But the two demon slayers reacted quickly, taking up their weapons and defending themselves.
"You're fast." Onigumo observed. "For humans. I'm impressed. But lets see how good you really are."
"Bring it on!" Kikyou cried.
"No!" Kagome shouted. "You kids stay away from him. I don't want you fighting him."
"But Mother…" Kikyou began.
"I said no." Kagome snapped. She turned to Onigumo. "Onigumo, don't you lay a finger on them, you understand me. Don't you touch them."
Onigumo found this funny. "Sorry, dear, but you're not making the rules around here."
"Mother, you're always taking care of me." Said Kikyou. "Now it's my turn to take care of you."
"Our turn." Kaori corrected.
"You should have died with Naraku." Said Shin. "But we'll make sure to reunite you two."
He charged at Onigumo, who lashed out with one of tentacles. Shin jumped in the air and actually ran up the tentacle and kicked Onigumo in the head. Then Ico went on the attack. He swung his scythe, only to have Onigumo's other tentacle wrap around it. Kaori quickly moved in and sliced through the tentacle with her katana.
"Get out of the way!" Kikyou ordered. "Thousand Arrows!"
She swung the Holy Sword, unleashing her attack. Onigumo jumped high in the air, avoiding the attack. "Impressive, but you're too slow."
"But I'm not!"
Shin was in the air, right behind him. He slashed forward, his claws slicing straight through Onigumo's flesh. He fell to the ground, his bottom half of his torso remaining attached by only a few inches.
"I got him now!" Kaori cried, thinking Onigumo was defeated.
She was wrong. She swung her sword, intending on slicing Onigumo in half, but his hand shot up and grabbed the sword.
"What?" Kaori exclaimed.
Onigumo looked up at her, sneering. The part of his body that had severed reattached and the wound healed. Then his fist collided with the demon slayers gut. Kaori gasped in pain and fell forward, only to have Onigumo kick her back.
"Sister!" Ico cried, running to his twin, who was moaning and gasping for breath.
Onigumo snickered, looking at the sword in his hand, which Kaori had dropped. "Very nice weapon." He said. "I wonder how many demons it has slain."
Ico looked away from his half-conscious sister and glared at Onigumo. "You bastard! I'll make you pay."
He charged at Onigumo, swinging his scythe. The demon calmly stepped aside, dodging the attack before swinging Kaori's sword, cutting right through the scythe. Ico gasped as his weapon spilt in two, leaving him holding only half a pole.
Onigumo chuckled. "Foolish boy."
He could have easily killed Ico just then with a single swipe of the sword, but instead he elbowed him, sending the boy stumbling backwards. He then turned one of his arms into a tentacle and wrapped it around the young demon slayer.
"Let him go!" Kikyou shouted.
Onigumo smirked. "As you wish."
He lifted Ico in the air and threw him. The boy crashed into the wall and collapsed to the ground.
"Ico!" cried Kagome, who had been tending to Kaori. She looked down at the girl, who was laying in a fetal position, clutching her stomach and gasping for air. "Kaori, don't move. I have to get to your brother." Kaori only nodded, in too much pain to speak. Kagome hurried over to Ico. "Ico, are you with me? Show me where it hurts."
In truth, he hurt all over, but the biggest pain was in his left arm. "My arm." He moaned.
Kagome felt his arm, causing Ico gasped in pain, as she searched for any signs of injury. "You'll be ok." She said. "You might have broken it. I'll take a better look at it when we get back."
Onigumo laughed. "Go back?" he repeated. "You still don't get it, my dear. You're not going back; you belong to me."
Kagome glared at him. "You bastard! How could you do this?"
"Humans are weak." He replied, nodding to Ico and Kaori. "There's your proof."
"If memory serves me right, you were human once too." Shin cried.
"Yes." Onigumo replied. "The keyword there is 'were'. No longer. It seems like the bargain I made with those demons paid off. Not only did I gain mobility again, but now I'm more powerful than ever." He glanced at Kagome. "And, of course, I have my woman."
"She's/I'm not you're woman!" everyone shouted.
"Silence! Let's not forget who the superior being here is."
"Well it sure as hell isn't you!" Kikyou cried, unleashing her Thousand Arrows attack.
Onigumo attempted to avoid the storm of spiritual power, but was still caught in some of the crossfire. He growled in annoyance, glaring at Kikyou.
"That was a mistake." He said, his wounds instantly healing. "And your friends will pay for it!"
He lashed out with his tentacles, one heading for Ico, laying in Kagome's arms, the other heading for Kaori. Kagome quickly tapped into her priestess' powers and put up a barrier around her and Ico, shielding them from Onigumo's attack, but Kaori was defenseless.
Or so they thought. Toriyasu hurried over to his friend, and, using a technique his father had taught him, put up a barrier around Kaori and himself.
Onigumo growled in frustration and returned his attention to Kikyou. "No matter. I'll kill them soon enough. First I'll take care of you."
"You leave my daughter alone!" Kagome shouted.
"Hush now." Said Onigumo. "Just enjoy the show. Who should I kill first, the half-breed or that wolf-demon." He looked around. "Where is he anyway?"
"Right here!"
He appeared behind Onigumo again, performing the same attack he used the last time he nearly tore Onigumo in half. But Onigumo jumped aside, dodging the attack.
"Your trick won't work twice." He sneered.
"Damn it." Shin landed beside Kikyou, who held the Holy Sword out in front of her. "Guess it's just you and me."
Kikyou snorted. "Do what you want, but I don't need your help. I can handle this guy all on my own." She said, sounding very much like her father.
Shin rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, sure."
They attacked. Onigumo's arms turned into tentacles, which he used to keep them at bay. Shin fought with tooth and claw, and fist and feet. Kikyou swung the massive sword around, having each of her blows either blocked or dodged.
"Come on, is that all you've got?" Onigumo mocked.
He jumped up in the air, his arms, which were still tentacles, splitting into threes. The six tentacles didn't go after Kikyou or Shin. Instead they buried in the ground, causing Onigumo to hang several feet in the air, making him look like a spider.
"What's he doing now?" Shin growled.
Onigumo snickered. "Look out below." He muttered.
The six tentacles burst up from underground, surrounding Shin and Kikyou and wrapping around the two.
"Damn it!" Kikyou swore, dropping the Holy Sword as she and Shin were bound tightly.
Onigumo lifted the two of them in the air, sneering at them. "You two are such a disappointed." He looked down at the Holy Sword, which had transformed back into a regular sword, and kicked it off the cliff. "Although I didn't expect much out of you, half-breed."
"Bastard!" Kikyou shouted.
Onigumo ignored her. "But you, wolf-demon, I expected more out of you."
Shin growled. "Oh you'll get more out of me."
With a burst of strength, he tore free from the tentacles. Turning in midair, he slashed at the tentacles bounding Kikyou, freeing her. Onigumo retracted his shredded tentacles, turning them back into fully healed arms.
"Not bad. Perhaps you're stronger than I anticipated." He said.
"Damn right." Said Kikyou.
Onigumo raised an eyebrow at her. "I wasn't speaking to you, half-breed. You're useless. And now you don't even have your sword."
"I don't need my sword!" Kikyou shouted. "Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!"
"No, you fool!" cried Shin, as Kikyou charged blindly into battle.
Onigumo smirked. "Pathetic creature!"
He lashed out with his tentacle. Kikyou jumped over it, which was exactly what Onigumo was hoping for. He swung his other hand like he was going to backhand her, but as he swung his arm turned into a tentacle, painfully slamming into Kikyou. She flew backwards several feet and landed flat on her stomach.
"Kikyou!" Kagome shouted, horrified.
"Time to die." Onigumo declared.
His tentacle flew at her, ready to pierce through her heart. He stabbed straight through flesh, but it wasn't Kikyou's. The half-demon looked up when she felt blood drip on her. Shin was standing in front of her with Onigumo's tentacle sticking out of him.
Onigumo snorted, pulling back his tentacle. "Idiot. Risking his life for a friend."
Shin fell to his knees, clutching his wound. Thankfully he was a demon and would heal quickly, but at the moment it left him unable to keep fighting.
"Stupid wolf!" Kikyou cried. "Why'd you do that?"
Shin fought down the pain. "Well you weren't moving."
"I don't need you're help!" Kikyou cried, standing up. "I can take care of myself."
Shin chuckled. "Yeah, I can tell."
Onigumo cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, I have things to do." He said, his eyes, full of lust, landing on Kagome.
Kikyou growled. "The only thing you have to do is die. How dare you hurt my friends."
She charged at him. Onigumo lashed out with his tentacle. Kikyou jumped over it, but the tentacle just reversed directions, wrapping around Kikyou's leg.
"Bastard, let me go!" she shouted.
"As you wish."
Onigumo lifted her up and slammed her down. Once, twice, three times, once more. He released her and Kikyou moaned in pain. She forced herself to look up at the evil demon who was grinning at her.
"I grow tired of this." he said.
He jumped up in the air, coming in for an aerial attack. Kikyou and Shin were unable to defend themselves. Kagome and Toriyasu were several feet away, shielding the wounded Ico and Kaori, who were down for the count.
"Kikyou, Shin!" Kagome shouted.
"Watch out!" Toriyasu cried.
What happened next went by so fast that no one had a chance to register what happened until it was over. A tornado, snaking through the sky, seemed to come down from out of nowhere. The end slammed into Onigumo like a drill going through wood. The evil demon was pushed backwards, away from his prey and crushed into the hard ground. The tornado moved away, the end landing on the ground and began to shrink.
Onigumo forced himself to his feet, his wounds healing. He glared at the shrinking tornado in anger and confusion. "What the hell is this?"
The tornado got smaller until it was about seven feet tall. The wind died down and the dust settled, revealing the demon that had been at the center. She glared at Onigumo in disgust.
"So, you're Onigumo."
(A/N: I'm sure you weren't expecting Linca to show up. That was her in the tornado by the way; Kagura is her mother. So she inherited wind powers. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one is going to be really action packed too. See you then.)
