((Hello Everyone! I ran out of different ways to say hello, heehee. I hope you all are doing well. I am trying to work on the rambly aspect of my writing -trust me, it irritates my teacher a lot- but I promise to be doing better in that aspect soon. Also, to answer WhiteWinterStar's statement. I kinda envisioned Kaede as a curser should she be in a tight spot. I feel as if I may have pushed that too much however and will be dialing it back somewhat. Of course, some of the characters have changed and it is Kagome's job to figure out why. Not to mention I am not spot on with the personalities, I hope this does not become too annoying for any of you. Anyways, here I go!))
Protect Me, Please
By:UnForgottenMemories
Chapter Twenty Five
Everyone Has Their Own Plans
"I just don't know if this is a good idea" Gary admitted, leaning against a wall while watching Sango slowly and quietly lift the wooden blockade they had put up. "I want to help Kohaku too but maybe we should tell, Kagome" The boy explained before recieving a sharp look from the demon slayer that made him go quiet and look away.
"Just a moment ago you were willing to help me, don't back out now" She told him, moving away the large board of wood and throwing it away. "All we have to do is destory that sword, then my brother will be free" Sango stated resolutely though it did not seem to calm the boy's nerves.
The wolf demon was not excited about heading back into battle against the undead, especially when it would just be the two of them. Though he did not trust Bankotsu, the man had saved his ass a few times already and that made him want the other demon around. Sango had said just the two of them however and right now he wasn't willing to push her.
"Kagome has her hands full trying to save Yuka and personally right now I have to put Kohaku ahead of that girl" The demon slayer stated, surprising him somewhat before the boy simply nodded. He could tell that if he didn't go with her she might actually try to do this alone.
The last time they had spotted Kohaku he had been rather close to the Inn, just watching them quietly with his emotionless eyes. It had been two hours since Sango had discovered her brother's fate and now she would wait no longer.
"My spells aren't strong enough to hold a horde of those things back, we should get someone to help us" Gary stated, trying to show some back bone while stepping towards her. He paused when she cast a strong glance at him but stood his ground.
"There must be hundreds of them out there and we will be overwhelmed if we just go running out there, something tells me Kohaku won't give up his new weapon willingly" The wolf demon explained, crossing his arms and trying to return her gaze though after a moment he faltered. Sango was really intimidating.
A quiet moment passed between them before the demon slayer sighed and then opened the door, glancing out at the few undead that were still trying to break through the barrier. The instantly seemed to notice her and began moaning and moving towards where she might come out.
"Who would you ask for help? Kaede and Kagome are busy trying to lure Yuka out into the open" Sango asked, closing the door and then glancing back at him while the boy simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I doubt Kagome would enjoy it if we asked Shippo for aid, his training isn't as experienced as I would like" The demon slayer told her ally while placing the wooden blockade back into place and then turning to walk back down the hallway.
"There is always, Bankotsu, he has helped us out once already" Gary told her, following a few feet behind and being wary of the woman. She was in a very emotional state and he would hate to be injured by her, it was her job to kill demons like him after all.
Sango paused, seeming to actually thinking about it before shaking her head. "I just don't feel as if he can be trusted, or have you forgotten the fact that he wishes us dead?" The demon slayer asked while turning into the room that Kagome and her had been in earlier.
The window in this room was big enough that they could make their exit and perhaps sneak over behind a close building without getting spotted. The undead had begun dropping in number somewhat, a fact that worried her.
They were clearly waiting for their prey to move, pretending to hide while anticipating that the humans might come out of their protective barrier. Her senses told her this and it caused the demon slayer to have to force her emotions back.
"Yet he has already helped us, why didn't he just leave earlier when the undead attack? I think there is more to Bankotsu than he is letting on" Gary told her, watching as she leaned against the window and then only opened it a crack. He knew that if at any moment she thought she could get to her brother that she might just go running off.
"That is what he wants you to think, for all we know he might be trying to deliver us to Kigotaka" Sango whispered, shutting the window and then deciding that would be their exit.
The window was big enough that the both of them could get out together, then there was only a twenty foot gap between it and the other building. They could sneak into the other building and then try to surprise Kohaku from behind.
Her brother was still in the same alley he had been in earlier, watching the front entrance blankly as if he was asleep with his eyes opened. It hurt her to see him like this, she simply wished she could have kept him from getting that sword.
There were only three undead between her and the area she wished to get to, taking them out quickly and quietly would be the key to remaining undetected.
"Then open the front entrance and have him jump out there, kill a few of the zombies and lure them there" Gary told her, the idea actually making sense as she looked back and raised an eyebrow. "I don't like the idea but you are right, we can't trust him so we should use him to our advantage" The boy told her while avoiding her gaze.
"Really, I don't want him to get hurt or anything but we need to get to Kohaku before sunrise and this is our best idea" The wolf demon defended what he had said though he could tell she liked the idea of putting the other demon in jeopardy.
"I didn't think you could think up things like that, I thought you liked to avoid others getting hurt" Sango told him, testing the boy for an answer while he finally met her gaze with a strong look in his eyes.
"Personally I don't care what you think of me for suggesting it, I want to save Kohaku and will do it by any means necessary" Gary told her, crossing his arms once more while they remained quiet for a moment.
Sure, they both knew that Kagome would not like the two of them running out there alone. Sure, at any moment their plan could go wrong and then they might end up dead. But one fact was clear.
Neither of them were going to allow Kohaku to die.
"Why do you want to save my brother?" Sango asked suddenly, catching the wolf demon off guard as he visibly faltered and then looked away. "You seem extremely vested in this for some reason" She pointed out while Gary simply brushed that fact aside.
"He has saved my life and I need to repay him, not to mention he is also our ally and we need him" The wolf demon quickly pointed out though he was not quick enough in hiding the small blush that graced his cheeks. That was all Sango needed to see to know why the boy was helping her.
"We are going through this window, their is a building we can get into not far from here" She explained while approaching the boy and then looking down at him. "I will speak to Bankotsu about causing a distraction and I will stress that he should not be harmed in doing so" The demon slayer told him while the boy seemed surprised.
"Wait here" She ordered, moving around him and then quickly walking down the hallway towards where she had last seen the other demon. Hopefully she was making the right decision in bringing Gary with her...
As soon as she was away from him the wolf demon let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding, that was one of the first times he had actually held a conversation with Sango. One thing about her was true... She was scary as hell when she wanted to be.
::P.O.V Change::
"So we will use me as the bait to draw her out" Kaede finished explaining her plan while Kagome and Shippo sat on the bed, both of them raising an eyebrow while the elderly lady simply shrugged. "I know she doesn't like me so there is more of a chance that she might attack" The woman explained.
"Then all we have to do is get the bracelet off of her while she is materialized" Shippo pointed out, smiling that he had gotten something write when Kaede nodded her head in response.
"We needed to also destroy it once we get it off of her, just in case its power still has a hold once it is removed" Kagome informed them, having discovered that just removing it would not be enough.
Earlier when she and Gary had been attacked by Kohaku she had noticed something. During his attack the man had parted with his sword to use his double blades against them, that must have meant that once giving into the jewels they needed to be destroyed to release their hold.
"I can use my powers, it should only take a moment" The priestess pointed out, quickly becoming more confident with her powers as she brought up a hand. A pale blue glow formed in her grasp before she made it vanish.
'If only Inuyasha could see me now, he never thought I could be this strong' She thought before looking up and realizing that Kaede was ready to carry out her plan.
The elderly woman exited the room first, holding her cane close while standing in the large open hallway. The air was cold and she could sense that Yuka was not far from them. The barrier was keeping the girl from actually leaving the Inn.
"Yuka! I demand ye' come out!" Kaede shouted, smacking her cane against the floor while keeping her eyes open for where the girl could possibly appear. She was not going to make it easy for some young girl to strike her down.
Kagome and Shippo stood quietly in the doorway, watching and waiting for any sign of their friend. That was when Kagome suddenly felt a pulse of energy around her, tensing and then looking down the hallway.
Yuka may not had materialized but she could see her standing there, staring at Kaede while clutching what seemed to be an old kitchen knife in her hands. Yuka was giving off an aura of darkness that caused Kagome to shiver.
"I said come out ye' brat, I wanna hit you again!" Kaede shouted, bringing up her staff and then smacking it against the floor harder. She was ready for a fight with the young girl, this was her chance to show how strong she was. Not all old ladies were broken down and Kaede was ready to prove herself.
Kagome sensed the moment that Yuka was ready to attack, watching her friend lean forward before quickly moving down the hallway and bringing up her knife to strike her prey. "Now Shippo!" The priestess shouted, charging out of the doorway with the fox demon.
Kaede took that as her cue to duck, the knife just missing her while she brought up her cane and smacked Yuka's legs out from under her. This sent the young girl flying to the ground in front of Shippo.
The fox demon brought his hands together and then quickly whispered a few words before opening his palms. Smoke suddenly billowed out around Yuka causing the materialized and still human girl to cough and gag while Kagome moved in.
She grabbed her friends wrist, drawing the girl's attention as they stared at each other. "Let her go!" Kagome ordered, her eyes flashing a bright blue while she surged power through her grasp.
The bracelet that Yuka was wearing seemed to almost spark before the latch that was holding it together broke, the jewelry falling to the ground.
"Away with ye' evil spirit!" Kaede shouted, using her cane to smash the amulet into pieces. This action caused Yuka to scream out before suddenly falling to the side.
Everyone just paused for a moment, watching as the dark shadow that had formed around their friend slowly faded away before Shippo piped up in the background.
"Is she dead?" The fox demon asked curiously while Kagome sighed before walking over and looking down at her friend. She was worried but a part of her had learned that you do not try to help someone until you knew that they were no longer possessed.
For a moment she felt her powers flood her suddenly, her eyes turning a shade of pale blue as she looked her friend over. The aura surrounding her now was pure (Though slightly tinted a darker shade due to some sins Kagome doubted she needed to know about) after knowing for sure Yuka was no longer in the spirit's control the priestess moved to her aid.
"She has a few cuts and bruises where the undead must have hurt her but overall she seems fine" Kagome explained to the others, looking her friend over before glancing up at them and giving a tired smile.
It was hard at first but Kagome finally pulled her friend up into a sitting position before dragging her into the room they had come out of. With the help of Shippo and Kaede the three of them lifted her up and placed the girl on the bed.
"I want a chicken wing" Yuka muttered suddenly causing Kaede to raise an eyebrow while she looked down at the girl. Clearly she was going to be okay and was now just resting and trying to regain the energy that had been stolen from her
Kagome simply chuckled before hearing a door down the hallway suddenly opened with a loud crash, instantly reaching for her bow while turning back to Kaede. "Stay with Yuka!" They both ordered Shippo before rushing out the bedroom to see what happened.
"I wasn't much help the first time I stayed with her!" Shippo stated, seeming to want to follow after them before actually pouting and sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Can I have a chicken wing?" Yuka asked, rolling over and causing the boy to scoot away while he rolled his eyes before sighing. "I don't have a chicken wing" He responded simply while trying to listen to what was happening.
::P.O.V Change::
At first it had seemed that Sango was getting nowhere, Bankotsu was finding excuse after excuse to avoid going back outside. According to him, he was tired and needed to rest but Sango simply kept trying to prod him into doing what she wanted.
There was one point that she even brought up that he was not much of a man and after that they both began fighting (Totally unaware that a few hallways over Kagome and Kaede were handling Yuka) before Gary stepped inbetween them.
"Why don't you and him storm out the front?" The wolf demon asked, his arms crossed while he caught both of their attentions before holding up his hands. "You two are our best fighters next to Kagome who has been pulling out some badass material and I just think it would be more convincing if the both of you went out" He told them, all three of them exchanging glances for a moment.
Sango seemed to be the most unwilling to work with Bankotsu, rathering herself to save Kohaku than Gary. "I am not stupid enough to let you go running off on your own, you might get hurt or worse" She defended while the demon standing beside her nodded his head.
"You need one of us with you or one of those bitches could jump you from behind" Bankotsu agreed before exchanging glares with Sango. "You should have another DEMON beside you, other than someone who kills us" The man pointed out while Sango turned and faced him fully.
"I have never once raised a hand against him and I won't, unless he becomes a threat" Sango stated truthfully while that seemed to get the wolf demon's attention while he gave her a worried look.
"When would I ever pose a threat to you?" The boy asked instantly, Bankotsu smirking and knowing he had just won that fight. The wolf demon was clearly wondering exactly waht threat he could be to them.
"Your powers are dark and must be hard to control, if you were to ever be taken over I might need to handle you" Sango spoke in a softer tone, giving the boy and honest look though he seemed more or less offended.
"So, your saying when it is your brother we must save him but when it comes to me we just kill me?" Gary asked, clearly jumping to a conclusion while Sango quickly shook her head and stepped forward.
"Gary, that is not wh-" She was caught off when Bankotsu cleared his throat and stepped up to the boy. "You see? No matter how good or bad the demon is she only sees that you are a demon" Bankotsu told him, clearly wanting to cause decension between them.
"Shut up! You are twisting my words, demon!" Sango shouted, grabbing her bone weapon before Bankotsu quickly drew his sword. The two of them were ready to fight now regardless of what anyone else thought before Gary simply hung his head for a moment.
He stepped out from inbetween the two of them, catching their attention as he walked over to the door and then glanced over his shoulder. "Frankly, I don't trust anything either of you say" The boy stated simply while reaching to where he had placed his staffer earlier, clutching in his hands and not facing them.
"Your too caught up in yourselves to realize that Kohaku needs us, I won't stay here and sit by while the two of you bitch at each other" Gary told them before hanging his staff over his shoulder.
Bankotsu just seemed bored but it was Sango who seemed to be somewhat affected. Her eyes stayed on the ground for a moment while the wolf demon walked slowly around them, as if to not be in reach of either of them.
"I am going to save Kohaku, my magic can bind him down while I remove that damn sword" Gary spoke calmly, though it was easy to tell he had just had some sort of revelation. He was no longer relaxed but very tense and wary of them.
"Cause a distraction or don't, I am saving him... Even if you two think I can't do it" He explained before quickly walking down the hallway.
For a few minutes Sango and Bankotsu just stood there, staring off after the kid before the demon sighed and turned towards the door. "Fuck you, bitch" He stated simply to Sango before rushing forward, his body crashing through the door and causing a loud explosion that instantly attracted most of the undead's attention.
"F-Fu- What!" Sango shouted, grasping her bone weapon and glaring at him before rushing out into the midst of the undead and instantly begining to swing her weapon.
The two of them despised and hated each other but right now wasn't the time to think about that. Despite what either of them wanted for some reason they just felt the need to give the wolf boy a chance.
::Personal P.O.V::
Gary had been waiting, standing quietly next to the window that Sango had shown him earlier while taking in deep and slow breaths. It was becoming harder to sort out what he really wanted anymore.
During his life the boy had learned that he was dangerous, that people wouldn't accept him. His father had told him stories that implied demons were not to be trusted, that humans could be your allies. But now that he was actually here it was becoming harder to believe such things.
He knew he could trust Kagome and sometimes Kohaku made him fell, well, strange. But two humans were not enough to make him want to trust the whole race. His first incident with Kohaku, what happened after saving Omnicoro and what he had just heard from Sango twisted the boy's mind to where he was hurting on the inside.
A memory from back when he was a child came forth, of when he used to have a human friend. One day they became to rough and he ended up losing focus and letting his masking charm fade. When his ears and fangs had been revealed his friend had cried out, running home and telling his mother that Gary was a monster.
It had been hard after that to convince himself that he was any differently but after living among humans in his own time (and also during certain horrible events that happened in his family) the boy had grown closer to humans while despising demons.
Now, he didn't know where he stood.
However, when he heard the explosion he took that as his cue that atleast one of them had decided to go along with his plan. He cracked open the shutters, being as quiet as he could while he watched the few undead that had been on that side of the Inn quickly move towards Sango and Bankotsu.
Then when he saw his chance Gary threw the shutters open, launching himself out of the building and crossing the gap to the other side before landing with his back against the other structure.
The wolf demon quickly began moving at that point, encountering only two undead that he quickly dispatched before he opened the door to the building and stepped inside. He catiously glanced around for a moment before quickly running over to the other end and glancing out of an open window.
He heard metal scratching against the wall and cringed when he noticed Kohaku walking by, the man dragging his sword along the wall while he walked towards where the battle was taking place. The aura the man was exerting caused the wolf demon to falter before he steeled himself. He had his chance and was not going to miss it.
With one last deep breath Gary launched himself out of the window, actually seeming to surprised his friend who only slowly turned around before he was tackled to the ground. The sword that had been in his hands went flying while the two men struggled for a few moments.
Kohaku was clearly the most skilled of the two and instantly regained his senses, bringing up a fist and punching Gary square in the jaw causing him to gasp. But when he tried to punch the demon again the other man simply caught his fist.
Gary lifted himself into a sitting position, straddling the man beneath him before he brought his hand back and actually bitch slapped Kohaku across the face. The man collapsed back onto the ground and for a moment Gary thought he had the advantage.
Then suddenly he felt Kohaku move and found himself rolling head over heels away from the man, a rough kick being placed in the square of his back making him shout out in pain. The demon slayer was simply too skilled for him.
As Kohaku walked over to retrieve his sword Gary forced himself to stand up, shaking and wincing for a moment before he moved towards the man. "Kohaku!" He shouted, the man faltering and looking back at him while the boy brought up his hands.
His claws glowed black for a moment before he swung his hands outwards, long strands of power flying out from him. The power sent the demon slayer flying off his feet and tumbling back as Gary quickly moved over to the sword.
He picked it up, not thinking before feeling his head instantly begin to spin.
There was a moment where both men seemed to be in pain, Kohaku writhing on the ground as Gary shouted out and fell to his knees. Then they both went quiet.
Suddenly Kohaku took in a deep breath, as if he had been holding it the whole time before he sat up and quickly looked around himself. A few of the undead had began noticing the two men's fight and were now quickly approaching them.
He was tired but he forced himself up, drawing his blade and slicing through the two of them before placing a head on his forehead and groaning. "Ow..." He whispered, wincing before remembering what had happened.
"Gary!" He cried out the boy's name, the wolf demon sitting on his knees before slowly looking up and giving a smile that showed of his fangs. It was an evil smile that reached his now emotionless eyes as he slowly stood and held the sword in his hands.
The evil spirit had found a host with more potential and he wasn't going to let him go as easily.
Chapter End
((Okay, I know that this chapter is not my best. I am still re-reading the story and getting everything set in stone but I promise you guys I know where I am going with it mostly. I hope you like this, the next chapter involves the rising of the sun. I wonder what will happen then? Heehee. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day and please review if you have the time. Thank you all for being with me and I hope this story keeps your interest! ^.^ Also, I had an interesting question for those who do review. I cannot decide between bringing Sesshomaru or Kagura into my story at a later point, which would you prefer? Your input is always helpful. Bye for now guys!))