The night grew dark more quickly today than others. I was walking in a nearly pitch black forest behind a group of people. Their chatter didn't sound anything like that if my friends, so I squinted my eyes to get a better look at them. I don't know how it happened or how I got here, but I was now trailing behind a large group of armour clad warriors. They were all around the same age, mid-thirties and forties, muscular males. Though, there were two of them that didn't seem to fit in as well.
One was a young boy probably in his early teens. His face was held together, however, I could feel the nervous energy radiating off him. Arms held stiffly at his side as he trailed a little too closely behind the other men. Close to the front was a girl. She was beautiful to look at. Long and thick black hair fashioned up into a high ponytail adorned with a fuchsia ribbon bounding the heavy tresses together. Her body was fit but still very feminine. She was the kind of girl you'd see at the gym and be intimidated to run next too on the treadmill. The black skin tight jumpsuit she wore hugged every curve smoothly. Topping it all off, was a red sash tied delicately around her tiny waist. Every inch of her figure was perfect and toned.
I wasn't able to see her face until she turned to speak to one of her group members. Her features were feline in nature. Sharp and pointed like a feral cat, but still very beautiful. Black blunt cut traditional sideburns layered each side of her cheeks and grazed over the smooth pale skin like water. When she turned around to face me I jumped out of vision to hide from her, but it appeared she hadn't even seen me. Once I thought the coast was clear, I caught back up to them to follow behind. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to go where they were going. Something inside was pushing me to do so. When I looked down at my jewel it was glowing a low purple. For what reason I wasn't sure, but I knew I'd probably soon find out.
"Are you ready for this, Sango? The Emperor said this demon could be a hard one to take down", one of the males said. She scoffed back at him with a playful wave of her hand.
"I can take down anything I put my mind too. This mission is no different than any of the other ones. You of all people should know that", she joked with a smile. Punching the man in the shoulder. "You should be asking Kohaku that question, not me. He's been pacing in his room all day just thinking about it."
"Shutup, Sis! No I have not!", the young boy yelled out. "I'm ready I swear! This is my first job, but I know I'll give it my best effort. That all I can do, right?"
One of the men let out a belly laugh and grabbed the teen by his shoulder. "That's right, son. All I can ask you to do is to try your best. We're all here to fight together. You won't ever have to be alone, this is a family and we never leave one of our own behind no matter what. You're sister is just trying to mess with you."
A small chuckle released from the boy's lips but I could tell it was forced. His Father's words of encouragement were not helping him in the least bit. The way he was gripping the small cyth in his hands was a dead giveaway that he was still very apprehensive.
I didn't blame him for his demeanor. There was an overarching intensity in the atmosphere tonight. Like something was brewing in the night air, but I couldn't place what it was. Even I felt my heart beating a little faster with each step we took. The stench of evil was hovering over us as we walked and no matter how far away we got, it still lingered.I trailed behind them until we all came to a stop in front of two large castle gates.
"We are the demon slayers here to rid the Emperor's castle of intruders. May we come in?", the leader of the group said.
The door craned open slowly and we all waited a moment before going in. Even the stern looking men of the pack began to jitter with nerves. They didn't strike me as the wary bunch, but something inside of those castle gates had a menacing presence. Before the doors could close behind them, I slid in and hid behind a water storing bin near the entrance. Peeking my head over the edge, I saw the slayers kneeling in front of the master of the house.
"You have done us well to come to our aid, slayers", the Emperor said. "We have been plagued by nightly visits from a giant spider, which has devoured several of our crew. Are you prepared to fight such a beast? Are you not afraid?"
"I am not, Sir. I have brought our best fighters to aid me in this job. We will be able to take care of your issue with no quarrels", the leader explained.
I saw the young boy shudder at his words slightly. His Father had said he was one of their best fighters, but he seemed too overwhelmed by this to be a pro. The leader was clearly lying to cover up for his son's novice abilities. It was both sweet and anxiety inducing for the boy.
"Oh? Perhaps they are skilled. But I see you brought along a girl and even a young child. How should they fair in such a dangerous situation. I would hate for them to be hurt on my behalf", the master of the house said.
The Emperor's remarks were concerned but his tone was the exact opposite. Everything about him struck me as phony. His long thin lips curled up into a sinister smile when he spoke. The wrinkles around his eyes creased with delight watching the young bow squirm. I couldn't gaze in his direction for long. He almost looked dead, though he sat at his throne like any normal man would. Pale grey skin, withered and frail hands, clothes far too big for his lithe frame and eyes nearly closed from his menacing grin all made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.
"They are my son and daughter, Sir", the leader explained. "And the finest slayers in my village. See their skills for yourself as they fight like any other seasoned slayer would."
"As you wish. The demon comes around this time every night. I'm sure it can sense you here and should be out any moment", the Master said. As the words left his mouth a loud crack of thunder rang out into the air. My hands flew up to my ears and I felt myself wince in shock.
"My Lord, it appears to be approaching", a guard yelled with wide eyes.
His Master responded with a small chuckle that told me he already knew that before the henchman had said anything. A pit in my stomach told me that something about him still wasn't right. He didn't even appear phazed that a demon was heading straight for them at all.
"Move out!", the leader yelled to the rest of the group.
They split up and covered the perimeter of the open lot. Soon after, a large set of red eyes peaked out of the swirling storm cloud with a second crack of thunder. It had the head of a dragon but the farther it reached out of the clouds, you could see the long hairy legs of a spider. I covered my mouth the muffle a gasp. The demon was huge. Almost as big as the one Sesshomaru had summoned. Finally, I saw the butt of the creature fall from the sky and land right in front of the Emperor's throne. As if it was protectively guarding him instead of trying to cause him harm.
Reeling back on its hind legs, the monster let out a massive wail. While its mouth was open the monster released web like strings from it's throat and launched them at the slayers. They all used their weapons to cut through the substance with ease except for the boy. His arms and legs got caught in the sticky webs before he could pull out his cyth. He was lifted up into the air and he yelled down for help feverishly. The blade of his father's sword cut through the binding and they both landed safely on the ground.
After that one mishap, it took no time for them to take down the demon. Two men cut it's legs off and pinned it to the ground. They called for Sango and she threw her large boomerang-like weapon at it, cutting the monster in half. She handled such a big wooden weapon like it was a small toy. With perfect precision and aim. They all made this mission look so easy. But I couldn't help but think things were going too easily.
"He's down! Off with his head", a group member exclaimed.
"Come now Kohaku and help us finish him off! We can't do it without you", the boy's father said.
Kohaku's face lit up with excitement and he ran to meet up with the rest of them. He appeared genuinely happy to do so and not nervous at all anymore. He rushed to them with wobbly feet before coming to a stop suddenly.
"For such a large demon, it seemed quite easy to bring it down. I'm surprised the guards of the castle were not able to do this themselves", a member remarked while chopping off the horns of the beast.
"It was too easy", Sango said with worry in her voice. "Something about this spider rings false to me. We should keep an eye for any other-", she tried to say before being abruptly cut off.
I heard a thick ripping noise coming from beside the demon. At first, I assumed it was the men cutting it up further, until the screams of the slayers echoed in my direction. Dark red blood splattered the ground as one by one the men were being massacred. A chained weapon was slashing through the air and slicing their heads clean off of their bodies. It was the young boy. He stood in the middle of the carnage soaked in blood with a blank stare.
"Kohaku", Sango stuttered out in shock. "Why would you do this? That was our father and friends you just killed. Why would you do that to them? What has gotten into you", she cried out to her brother.
He was standing a few feet from her. Only the two of them remained. Holding his cyth above his head, the boy sprinted the short distance over to her. His sister begged him to stop and darted out of the way. Sango attempted to dodge his attacks but was overpowered by her younger sibling. He whipped his blade over to her and struck her in the cheek, knocking her protective mask to the ground. Without it, he surely would have impaled her like the others. All of the past timidness has fallen from his small shoulders and he now fought like an aged pro. Slashing at his sister with a cold and unfeeling expression.
Falling to her knees she asked him, "Have you forgotten who I am, Kohaku? It's me Sango. You don't need to do this any further. We can still go home if you stop now!"
However, that didn't stop him. He lashed his cyth over to her again and wrapped it around her arm. When I averted my eyes from the sibling rivalry I noticed the Emperor watching the scene the same smile on his face as before. He seemed amused by this whole spectacle. He lifted his hand up to his mouth to take a sip of his tea when I saw it. A silver string was coming from his back and connecting his to Kohaku. He was controlling the boy like a puppet. That would explain his rash behavior. He couldn't even fight for himself moments ago, and now he was slaying his family and friends with no remorse. Kohaku was being controlled by the man who'd falsey summoned them here for work.
At the same time that I noticed the string in his back, Sango appeared to see the same thing. Releasing herself from his grasp she pulled out a sword at held it in front of herself for protection.
"The demon we slayed was not the real spider. It was a decoy all along as I had suspected. You are the real spider! There's a web coming from your back and you're controlling my little brother with it. He would never do anything like this on his own! Let him go now", she screamed over to the Emperor.
"I haven't a clue what you are referring to, Child", he said coyly. "I think she may be just as unhinged as he is. They are related, you know. I seems as though they have all lost their senses. Slay them", he mocked.
With a lazy hand he motioned for his guards to attack. The henchman ran at her with full force, but she plowed through them. Putting the sword away and retrieving her boomerang, she hurled it at the men. They had all fallen to the ground and she swung the weapon back to throw it at the Master of the castle. However, before she could do so Kohaku's cyth plunged into her back. She let out a cry of pain and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Sango, what have I done", Kokaku said, coming to his senses. "How could I have done this to her and Father? I didn't mean it, Sango! I didn't mean to do this!", he sobbed.
"Take aim at the crazed siblings and finish them off. This show is becoming quite tedious to watch and I'm growing rather tired of watching such a dramatic spectacle ", the Emperor demanded at his two remaining guards.
They nodded with compliance and shot their arrows at the boy. The arrows punctured his chest with a bone shattering crack as the young boy fell backwards into the dirt. His sister crawled to his side and laid her head on his bleeding chest. She whispered something to him that I couldn't hear as he sobbed. My heart hurt watching them die together. I got up from my hiding spot to run to them, but the closer I thought I was getting, the farther away they appeared.
"Don't hurt them please!", I begged out to the guards.
They didn't even look in my direction. It was like they didn't see me or hear me at all. I continued to rush over to them to no avail. My legs were moving but I wasn't getting any closer to them. If anything, I was moving further and further away. I saw one of the men raise his arrow to Sango's back and I screamed out one last attempt at getting their attention.
"Listen to me! Please, don't hurt them! Take me instead! Please!", I continued.
"Don't hurt who? What are you blabbering about", Inuyahsa asked.
I shook my head a few times to get my barring straight and noticed I was at the castle anymore. I was still in the forest with the rest of my group.
"Hello? Anybody in there? You just stopped walking and started screaming. What's your deal", he said snapping his clawed fingers in front of my face.
"Are you real or was the castle real", I asked in confusion.
Grabbing his ears, I squeezed them to gage if there was any feeling in my hands. The soft fur of his dog ears graced my fingertips and I knew this was the real world. Letting out a sigh of relief, I released his appendages from my grasp.
"What the hell was that for? And what castle are you talking about", he snapped at me.
"Did you see something at the castle, Kimmy? The one we're supposed to be going to?", Shippo asked me.
"Think so", I responded. I was still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen. My head was spinning no matter how still I stood and my thoughts were being jumbled together like a tossed salad.
"Well, what did you see", Miroku questioned.
"I saw a group of demon slayers at a castle. They were summoned there to fight a demon", I responded.
"Oh, good! I'm glad to hear they are all right. I was beginning to worry they were in trouble up there but if you-", Miyoga started to say. I cut him off with my hand raised in front of him.
"They're all dead. Well, almost all of them. There was a young boy and a girl left, but the vision stopped before I could see them be killed", I said.
I tried to remember the details of what had happened, but the more seconds ticked by, the less I could recall. Like when I wake up from a vivid dream but forget it as soon as my eyes open.
"Can you remember anything else?", Kagome asked.
She came to my side and put her arms around my shoulders. I hadn't realized that I was shaking profusely until her body made contact with mine. Whatever I had seen had shaken me to my core. I was, in a way, a little happy that I couldn't remember what had happened anymore. Because whatever it was left a terrible taste in my mouth.
"No, not really. My memories are fading. All I know if they went to the castle to fight a spider demon and most of them ended up dying. I feel like there was some kind of foul play, but I can't be sure", I said with a sigh. I had done so well before envisioning what occured at the village, but now I was drawing a blank. Maybe it was a fluke afterall.
"Well let's stop guessing what happened and just go up there and find out", Inuyasha blurted out. "If you go up there and see the place, you might remember what happened better. So, pull yourself together."
Inuyasha was right. That didn't stop my arms and legs from being cemented into the ground where I stood. I was genuinely scared of whatever I had seen and what was worse is that I couldn't even recall what it was that I was scared of. There was no telling what we would see when we got up there. I'd hoped it was nothing and my premonition was wrong, but a sneaking suspicion in my gut told me that it wasn't.