Part Two: Osorezan-Mountain of Fear
A clang rang sharply in the air, causing several heads from the small birds in the trees to take flight, alarmed by the sound.
Kikyo thrusted the sword against the Tetsusaiga, causing small sparks to fly in the air from the contact of their weapons. It made a tremor run through the sword, making her arms shake from the force but she kept it firmly in her hand and made a swift uppercut to counter the downward motion Inuyasha made with his.
Another parry from the right made the hanyou dodge, inwardly smirking at how she handled the dead priestess's sword, even though she had no experience it wielding a weapon of this type, the motions were quick and fluid, and simply watching her was like seeing a geisha dance about a stage. Inuyasha raised his sword to block her next attack, pushing her back with his own weight to make her submit.
The miko defiantly eyed him, a cool determination showing in her brown orbs. Of a sudden, she managed to counter attack it by sliding the blade downwards towards his hilt and used as much of her strength to lift it away from his hand, separating him from his weapon. The hanyou quickly caught the hilt before it could return to its normal appearance, and turned to face her, a blur of silver and red then he was right in front of her, the Tetsusaiga knocking the weapon from her grip which had slightly loosened after witnessing that she had been able to make him release his sword.
Cutting deep into the earth, Midoriko's sword plunged inside and Kikyo let out a soft sigh before walking over to retrieve it. Sheathing his own, Inuyasha grunted a little in admiration for her eagerness to master the legendary weapon, but she needed to rest.
"Kikyo, we've been working at this since dawn." The hanyou stated matter-of-factly as he crossed over to where she stood.
Turning to face him, the miko nodded but stood firmly in the spot, gripping the hilt tightly. "I know, but in order to destroy Naraku, we need all the help we can gather; after all, when have you ever seen me take my job lightly Inuyasha?"
Chuckling softly, the half-demon stealthily came up behind her and wrapped his arms her slim waist, and on impulse, she placed a hand on top of his, drawing invisible lazy circles with her finger on his arm. Reaching over, he pulled away the sword from her hand, at first she seemed albeit reluctant but let him do as he wished. Pulling away, Inuyasha placed the sword against the tree, and sat down, Kikyo being dragged down along with him.
Crossing his arms behind his head, the hanyou stretched out one leg and propped the other one up to rest his left arm and so the miko could lean back against some sort of leverage.
"I still sense something," said Kikyo after a moment of comfortable silence.
He had detected a change in her posture just now when she spoke. Putting his senses on alert, Inuyasha did feel an invisible presence, close and far at the same time with a condescending feeling making it all the more dreadful. Suddenly the feeling disappeared, taking its corrosive evil with it and he let out a breath which he had not known he'd been holding from anticipation or anxiety.
Kikyo relaxed visibly in his arms, exhaling and inhaling deep breaths one would take while meditating. That aura had been appearing constantly and seemed to be following their every move; the miko had no doubt that it was Naraku but the reason she pretended to be impervious to an extent was because she was questioning his tactics: why not just kill them where they stand instead of simply observing them?
Devious and cunning; he lives up to his infamous reputation.
Inuyasha grunted then cocked his head. "That fucker sure likes to play hide and seek doesn't he?"
"Yes, but he continues to play even when he's already found the ones he's been searching for."
The hanyou let his thoughts run wildly and savagely, thinking about when the day would come for him to sink his claws into Naraku's neck and watch him writhe in sheer agony while he loomed over him, relishing the smell of his dirty blood the way Naraku had no doubt enjoyed when he cut into his beloved's shoulder.
Noticing the sudden stiffness in her hanyou's back when he had seemed relaxed a moment before, she tilted her head, caressing his face before landing on the golden hued orbs that stared out into the far distance, and she detected the hate, the bloodlust that entered and made Kikyo inwardly cringe.
"I want him dead damn it…" Inuyasha whispered harshly, tightening his already clenched fist till crimson drops welted from the punctured marks.
The priestess calmly took control of the situation, taking his hand and kissing away the red liquid that steeped out. Inuyasha stared as she licked away his blood, skimming over his injured palm and stroking it gingerly with her finger.
"And you said I worried too much," she told him tonelessly, though her eyes did show hints of mirth, tracing the tip of her forefinger along the tip of his claws.
Smiling at the revived priestess whilst she edged a bit lower till her head rested right over his heart, Inuyasha scanned the forest with his ears, searching for a particular sound when he found it coming from his hard left. A mischievous smirk made way to his face, and the hanyou bent his head down to meet her dark gaze.
"I hear water." Inuyasha stated simply. Kikyo's face showed her confusion, recalling that they had been sparring earlier so of course a bath was in order, but he had that little gleam in his eye. Widening her eyes, and the remembering the conversation she had with him a while back at the fortress, the miko gave him a whimsical smile.
"A bath does sound refreshing, my beloved inu," she said as she placed a finger beneath her chin, "I'm guessing you wish to join me,"
"How'd you guess?" Inuyasha questioned her happily.
Shrugging her shoulders, Kikyo rose steadily to her feet and gripped the sword that rested beside the silver haired male.
Glad to see that she was showing a lot more emotion, and that she was less reserved than usual had his heart skipping in delight. It was always his desire to see her with a resplendent smile, and even though the sorrowful ones were lovely, the ones with mirth were much more appealing. And the fact that she only shared it with him made it all the more special.
"Well, let's go," Kikyo coaxed him and walked past him, but in one leap he was at her side.
The taijiya watched the green valleys of the countryside slowly become more barren, cracks forming in the earth and trees began to grow in numerous quantities, mounds of earth rising immaculately from below till high peaks rose in the sky, with a long flowing river reflecting off pale shimmering specks.
She had said her 'thank yous' and 'good-byes' to Eiko and Heike, both them and the village giving her luck on her journey since her arm healed but not completely and still wore a bandage with several herbs wrapped inside to keep the ache down to a minimum.
Kirara growled of a sudden, and Sango's head shot up as a whoosh from behind caught her by surprise. A swarm of demons came out; each one trying to bite either the slayer or cat and their aura combined grew bountifully.
"Kirara, land!" Sango shouted to her companion, diving head first towards the forest floor, and Sango leapt immediately from her back, grabbing the Hiraikotsu and tossing in the air, slicing the heads off several demons that didn't maneuver out from the line of fire fast enough.
She expertly caught the boomerang in one hand, the other hand swiftly drawing out her blade to chop of the mouth of a demon that snaked its way out from behind the cover of branches. Adept to kill and survive, she had no problem fighting them off, but the odds went against her when another horde showed up.
Kirara bit down and ripped the flesh off an oncoming oni, howling from pain and lashed out to deliver a blow to the neko's side.
"Kirara!" Sango shouted in panic, cutting into another ogre which had jumped into the air to attack her. Throwing the Hiraikotsu, she reached Kirara side, taking up a stance as she watched the boomerang fly in the air, killing every target that came too close.
Her injured arm was starting to tire out, but she held on and ignored the tingling sensations and the jolts of pain; still, there were various numbers, and the slayer made a fluid motion with her katana to counter slash the gut of a demon that was about to sneak on Kirara. A blur of white suddenly came in front of her; yellow flashes blinding her vision like the light being reflected off a sword, bright eyes glinting but were lifeless and immortal as they held her own exotic brown eyes with a stoic mask in place.
"Sesshomaru!" she cried from surprise and disbelief, not from him being there, but as to why he was helping.
The taiyoukai dismissed her, paying his sole attention on the youkai till there was nothing left. Flicking his finger, the blood splashed off and onto a nearby trunk.
"Pathetic," he murmured absently.
The cat bared her fangs, her fur bristling as she watched him carefully. Sauntering over to pet Kirara behind the ears, Sango eyed him for a moment, an uncomfortable lengthy silence hovering over them.
"Arigato," the slayer said suddenly trying to break the tension. "I suppose Kirara and I are in your debt for saving us."
Sesshomaru sniffed haughtily. "You do not owe me any sort of gratitude demon slayer," he told her with bitterness. "Those microscopic insects were merely in my way."
Crossing her arms, the taijiya could not help but glare at him with disdain; of course he wasn't going to say 'you're welcome' or anything, what with him being a taiyoukai and everything considered. She wouldn't usually say anything but he annoyed her to no extent.
"So, if you were only passing through, why didn't you kill me and Kirara?"
The demon slid his usually narrow eyes over to her, and he noticed her stiffen under his scrutiny, her breathing gain a slight change in speed as her heart accelerated. A smile came onto his face, and Sango couldn't help but find that flashing smile more frightening and evil than his scowl and impassive features combined.
"Would you prefer it if I did kill you?" the taiyoukai asked softly, his long strides taking him over to her till he was an arm's length away from her. "For if I did, then you'll never be able to revert your brother to himself."
Widening her eyes at him, her face showed her surprise and seemed to pale from its healthy glow, then becoming quickly replaced with anger.
"Don't bring my brother into this demon!" she spat heatedly, uncertainty taking over her and asking herself how it was that he knew about her brother.
Sesshomaru indifferently raised an eyebrow, then reached out and placed his palm right on the side of her throat, causing the silent cat demon to rumble a growl in her chest and hiss. Sango stood rooted to the spot, her brown eyes never wavering from his, even as he stroked her bare flesh, whispering deadly near her face.
"Remember this human: I do not like my half-blooded sibling, so do not think, even for the slightest moment, that I would not hesitate to end your worthless life merely because you're acquainted with him. After all, I'm not in the least bit fond of humans or half-breeds."
Spinning around on his heel, Sesshomaru began to walk along the forest floor, and it took Sango a minute to realize that he was striding from her now. She wanted to shout at him about the young girl, Rin, but wisely kept that to herself. By the way he had murmured his threatening promise into her ear, and the deadly tone used with it for effect; she knew that he had meant every word.
Turning around to stroke Kirara's long smooth fur, she gestured her to chided her to follow in tow, and the neko leapt onto her mistress's shoulder, both warily watching the regal demon saunter on ahead.
The three then came to a mountain, its tall rocky exterior reaching up from the ground till it touched the blue sky. Moving forward, the young woman studied the surroundings, a few trees still growing around the landscape and the base of the stony cliff. Walking along its side, Sango ran a hand on its rough surface, scanning around for danger at the same time. Finding a long pathway that headed up towards the peak, the slayer spoke to Kirara.
"Let's go," And not even a few seconds went by when the cat demon transformed into her bigger, stronger self. Mounting onto Kirara's back, they took to the air, and glanced behind her shoulder to see Sesshomaru coming with them as well.
"Why are you following?" asked Sango. She couldn't help but question him. They could not possibly be heading in the same direction so she found it most peculiar that he had traveled with them this far.
"None of your business exterminator."
With that said, Sango focused her trained eyes back to the front, both parties elevating higher and higher till they found an entrance in the side, a large scale of rock made out for a landing perch. Landing gracefully, Sesshomaru waited for the woman to dismount and she stood outside the cave, simply looking on.
"Enter."
Sango whirled to face him, his face nonchalant as he slid his skeptical golden hues to observe what she would now do.
Fuming quietly under his frozen stare, she stepped forth and entered the cave, followed silently by both demons; one who was deemed her friend while the other was her enemy.