Chapter 51 Encounter
Life settled back down once the travelers returned to the demon slayer village. As predicted, neither Sango nor Kikyo were thrilled at the addition of the 3 dog mononokes that had trailed the group home. But, neither Miroku nor Inuyasha were threatened with bodily damage. Strangely enough, the three new "dogs" seemed to be extremely intelligent and fit right in with the villagers and quickly earned their trust.
A counsel of the elders gathered on Kikyo's front porch to once again name the newcomers. It was much simpler this time as each dog had very unique characteristics. The male with a strange cow-lick on the top of his head became "Spike." The one female with various spots on her sides became "Spot." Then, there was the smallest one that stood about as tall as a normal dog, who earned the name of "Runt." Each dog seemed to take to their names like they had known them for their whole lives.
As close as the demons in the group could tell (which would be Sesshomaru) the three new additions were roughly the same age as Otome and carried a similar scent. There was even some speculation that they might be littermates of Otome's. It was not unusual to find the three dog demons and Otome rolling and wrestling in the dirt like a pack of energetic puppies. But, at least once a week, the three dog demons would disappear for a day or two; presumably to hunt for their meals. From the carcasses found, it seemed these canines had a preference for lesser demons. This was fine with everyone, and actually helped to make Inuyasha's job as village protector easier.
It was on one such day, where the three dog demons were absent that Inuyasha rested on the roof of Kikyo's hut. There were no threats around. He had already made a sweep of the surrounding fields and woods, and dealt with anything demonic. It was his right to take a small break before heading out to aid the village men in clearing an additional field for winter crops. He closed his eyes, knowing that everything was safe, and Otome was off with Shippo, playing with the village children.
"Unka Inu-wassa! Bad man hurt puppy!" The little toddler called out as she stumbled towards Inuyasha. This was Miroku's youngest daughter who still could not pronounce either the words "uncle" or "Inuyasha." It still made him smile when she tried.
Registering what little Hitomi has said, he hopped down and scooped up the tiny girl. "What do you mean, Hitomi? What happened? Where's puppy?" The tiniest villagers persisted in calling the girl "puppy." Careful of his claws, the half-demon headed to Miroku and Sango's hut to return the child to Sango who was probably frantic.
Big round tears swelled in the wide purple eyes as the baby tried to explain, "Tomi lost. Puppy find Tomi. Tomi wide puppy home. Bad man scawe Tomi. Puppy gwowl. Puppy bite bad man. Bad man huwt puppy wid papers like Daddy." Miroku sprinted over with a sigh of "Thank goodness." when he heard the cries of his youngest, and heard most of the story. He held up a sutra before Hitomi and asked, "Tomi, was the paper like this?" Inuyasha felt a shiver of fear race down his spine as the little girl's head bobbled up and down as she nodded.
Miroku yelled for Sango. Hitomi was immediately handed off to her mother as the two men headed in the direction the child had pointed. As they sprinted, both men thought the same thing. Some holy man had found Otome and the child, and thought the demon was hurting the toddler. Otome had defended the little girl, thinking the Priest was going to attack. There was no telling what damage the girl's body had sustained from a purifying attack, if the Monk had thrown sacred sutras in defense.
Inuyasha could only think back to the time he had faced the horrifyingly strong purifying powers of the holy barrier at Mt. Hakurei. It had been excruciatingly painful and he found himself purified into his human form. Doubt crept into his mind on whether there was enough human inside Otome to keep her from being purified out of existence. It wasn't like on a human night when the demon blood simply was suppressed. Would her human part be enough to sustain life? Or, would she collapse like the empty skin a snake sheds as it molts?
Inuyasha's nose had no trouble back-tracking the path little Hitomi had taken to reach the village. It worried him that he could still not detect Otome's unique scent. Even though the girl bathed more often than any 10 village women, her odor was quite strong and easy to track.
Miroku was using his enhanced speed to keep up with the anxious half-demon, so he almost overshot the clearing where Inuyasha skidded to a halt. It took a moment for the monk to register his friend's movements, and adjust his own trajectory.
Shouting from a male voice drew their eyes. There before them, was a shocking sight. The first thing they noticed was a monk in a straw hat that stood just at the edge of the clearing, screaming at an eerily familiar male who stood between the monk and a small bundle of black and green under a thorn bush. Inuyasha lifted his nose to sniff for this strange man's scent. A smell he swore he would never detect again hit him hard enough to force him to take a staggering step back. The snarl ripped from his lips as he advanced, "Byakuya"
The man turned shocked eyes towards the sudden appearance of the half demon. Recognition flashed in black eyes, then he turned away from the approaching demon to intercept a sutra that the angry monk had thrown towards the thorn bush. Inuyasha almost tripped when he realized that the object under the bush was likely Otome, and a detachment of his arch-enemy had just protected the girl. Reality as we know it had just ended.
Both men sprinted to the side of the struggling girl. The furious half-demon intercepted another flying sutra in his fist and used the same fist to unleash a punishing blow to the shocked holy-man's nose. In a flurry of grayish-white robes, the priest flew into a tree and crumpled into unconsciousness. Then Inuyasha turned red-tinted eyes towards Byakuya. If the bastard was going to try anything, he was not going to be taken by surprise. Still, why would such an evil being stoop to protect a simple dog demon girl?
Meanwhile, Miroku rolled his billowing sleeves up to reach into the bush despite the brambles. He kept a wary eye towards his friend and enemy. With a few gentle tugs, he freed Otome from the sheltering foliage. What greeted his searching sight was not what he expected. Otome's mop of black hair was a shocking dusty gray. Also, the exposed flesh of her arms and legs was a ghastly white that reminded him of a corpse. The girl looked like she had rolled in the ashes of a dead fire. This was definitely not how she looked on her human nights. She looked like a demon the instant before they dissolved after being purified.
As he surveyed her body he found three sacred sutras plastered to her; one on her back, one tangled in her hair and one stuck to her right calf. His temper flared as he realized that the despicable traveling monk must have plastered these on her after she was already down, because there as no way she would have turned her back on an opponent. Without any thought to his own safety, Miroku swiftly peeled the offending paper off his friend's blistering flesh. The papers imploded as the conflicting holy powers collided; one offensive, and the other defensive.
Inuyasha and a silent Byakuya simply watched as Miroku gently grasped the girl's arm and turned her over as soon as the sutras were removed from her back. The usually curious and open face he expected to see was pinched and strained from obvious pain. There, in the middle of her chest, were three more sutras that had burned through her clothes and blackened the skin beneath. Inuyasha remembered how much that type of power hurt and wished he could somehow take on the pain himself.
The monk moved swiftly; issued a statement of apology and removed these offending papers. One sutra was different. Where the others were purifying sutras, this last one was a spell of sealing. Apparently, the monk had sealed some of her strength to slow her down enough that he could plaster her with the others that would slowly kill her. It made Miroku sick to his stomach to think that traveling monk professed to be a holy man!
Inuyasha looked on helplessly, and wished there was something he could do to help. He asked the angered monk, "She should be fine now, right? I mean, she's not a full demon, so she should be able to survive this." Miroku only shook his head in response. "I don't really know, Inuyasha. I don't know how this will affect her. She's not a normal half-demon. From what I understand, on your human night, your demon blood wanes, but is still present. Only time will tell."
Miroku stood and faced the two posturing males. His concerned face morphed into a hate-filled scowl, "Byakuya, what is the meaning of this? How can you be alive and what is your business with Otome?"
The evil half-demon shook his head and gestured towards the girl, "We don't have time for this! We must get the girl some help. If you won't do it, move aside and let me take her somewhere!" Intentions notwithstanding, the demon should never have made a move towards the injured girl.
Inuyasha shook with the effort to not blindly attack this horror from their past. He had finally learned to ask questions before racing into a situation. Still, he twitched with the desire to smite this man. Oddly enough, it was Miroku who lashed out. The staff glanced off the demon's head and rendered him instantly unconscious.
Inuyasha blinked in surprise at the normally calm monk. Miroku frowned deeply, "Well, that was anticlimactic. So, what do we do with him now? I don't think it would be wise to leave him loose until we know what scheme he's up to."
The half demon snorted and griped, "Fine, you carry Otome and I'll tote the garbage home." Inuyasha just grabbed the enemy and slung him over his shoulder, "I always knew he was a wimp. Always hiding behind illusions and then flying away on his little paper birdy when things got tough. You know we could just kill him and get it over with." But both men silently acknowledged that they would not kill this enemy until they learned how he was still alive and what his appearance meant.
It was a somber pair that carried the seemingly faded human Otome back to the village. Inuyasha studied her carefully for any signs that the trip was hurting her. She was in enough pain, they didn't need to jar her and create more. It disturbed his canine senses that she didn't smell right.
Gone were the cute, black, fuzzy, pointed demon ears. In their place sat two fleshy, round human ears. The deep, navy, demon markings that proudly twined around her neck and upper arms were also conspicuously missing. In their place was pale, unmarked skin. Her skin was a sickly ashen pale color instead of reflecting the usual healthy tan. The deep blue-black luster of her thick mane had faded to a ghastly gray. Lastly, her hands and feet were missing the tiny claws that helped her speed over the ground when she ran. All together, these changes gave the appearance that she was fading away; that she was becoming transparent.
Sango met them outside Kikyo's hut, still carrying Hitomi. The toddler called out "Puppy!" in a sad, pleading voice. The toddler waited for the happy yip that usually responded to her call, but only received silence. Little Hitomi began crying that her "puppy" was badly hurt and begged her Mommy to kiss the boo-boo and make it better.
