Ch. 98- Kohaku


Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi


"Come on, Inuyasha! Try again!"

"Here I come!"

Inuyasha roared as he raised the Tetsusaiga over his head, charging full speed at Sango, who was wearing her armor while she held her wakizashi. The half-demon swung down, but Sango sidestepped out of the way, swinging her blade at Inuyasha, who gasped before he ducked down to avoid the strike, her sword just managing to snip off a few little ears and barely graze the tip of his right ear. With a growl, he hefted the Tetsusaiga and tried to swing again, but Sango quickly blocked with her sword.

"You're swinging too wide!" she shouted as she shoved the huge blade back, then charged at Inuyasha, who gasped as he jumped back, away from her sideways sword stroke. "If this were a real battle, Inuyasha, you'd be impaled the moment you tried to lift your blade. That's your blind spot."

"Well, the Tetsusaiga's a big sword!" Inuyasha complained.

"That may be true," Sango began, "but even so, large weapons, while powerful, also have its weaknesses. If you miss, the enemy is going to take advantage of that. Don't just swing wildly."

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath.

"Come on, now," Sango said. "Don't take it so harshly. I'm just pointing out a few openings."

"I know that," Inuyasha muttered before he looked down at his sword. "It's just...I'm not used to having this sword. When I'm in battle, I'm more adept at using my claws than anything else."

"And that's fine," Sango said. "Your claws as just as good a weapon as your sword is, and you've already shown me that you're more than capable of using them in a fight...but maybe you should try and use them together."

"Together?" Inuyasha repeated. "How am I supposed to do that when both my hands on my sword?"

"You'll think of something," Sango replied as she walked past him, causing Inuyasha to sigh as he sheathed his sword. Nearby, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, and Kirara sat beneath a tree, watching them from a safe distance.

"Inuyasha sure is taking this seriously, isn't he?" asked Miroku. "He and Sango have been having these little sparring matches every time we get a chance to have a break."

"He wants to be able to become more adept at using the Tetsusaiga," Kagome answered. "I guess I can't blame, especially what happened the other night with all those demons."

"I still can't believe that he took out all those demons in just a single stroke!" Shippo added. "It was amazing!"

"Yes, indeed," Miroku began, "but can he do it, again? That's the question."

Kagome thought back to when Inuyasha used the full power of the Tetsusaiga for the very first time. On the one hand, she was amazed at the display of power...but on the other hand, she was also worried. How did he manage to do something like that if he couldn't do it before? And just as Miroku...would he be able to do it again if such a dire situation occurred, once more?

All she could do was hope that Inuyasha had some mastery over the sword, hopefully before Naraku would make his next move.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Kagome muttered as she looked up and saw Inuyasha and Sango.

"How come you're just spacin' out like that, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"Uh...it's nothing," Kagome answered. "I was just thinking to myself, that's all."

"About what?" Inuyasha asked.

"Don't worry about it," Kagome assured as she stood up. "Anyway, you did pretty good out there, Inuyasha! That was really impressive!"

"You're not just saying that, are you?" Inuyasha inquired as he gave her a questioning look. "Because there's a fine line between flattery and just bald-faced lying."

"Oh, just take the compliment..." Kagome muttered. "Anyway, it's getting late. We should find a place to set up camp for the night and continue on in the morning. Besides, you're probably hungry by now, aren't you, Inuyasha?"

Grrrrrrwwll~! Inuyasha's face turned red as his stomach grumbled, then he groaned indignantly as he folded his arms inside his sleeves while the others laughed.

Sometime later, as night fell, the heroes managed to find a secluded spot in the forest to camp out for the night. Inuyasha sat before the bonfire, devouring his 5th cup of ramen. Miroku also sat with him, having already eaten his meal. He was just waiting for Inuyasha to finish eating.

"Ahh..." Inuyasha sighed as he finally finished his food. "That hit the spot."

"Now that we have a moment," Miroku began, "I think we can discuss the fact that while we did escape from Naraku's trap, unscathed..." He held up his right hand. "There is the matter that I can't use my Wind Tunnel...at least not for a while."

"So, he pretty much succeeded in shutting down your best weapon, didn't he?" Inuyasha asked with a serious expression.

Miroku nodded, a bitter look in his eyes as he stared at his hand. It was a bit of a bittersweet victory at best. Even though Inuyasha and friends managed to stave off Naraku's demon hordes, the fact that Miroku was still rendered powerless for one month only made things difficult for the group.

The next time they were in battle, Miroku wouldn't be able to use his cursed power.

"I'm guessing he's using this opportunity to form another trap," Miroku mused. "Don't you think, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied. "With Naraku around, we can't even have a moment's rest."

Meanwhile, not too far from the campsite, Shippo peered over the shrubs, watching Inuyasha and Miroku carry on with their conversation.

"They sure are talking seriously about something over there, aren't they?" asked Shippo.

"If that's the case," Kagome said as she began to undress, "then we should take this chance to jump in the hot spring!"

"You're not worried about Inuyasha peeping on us?" asked Sango.

"Inuyasha doesn't really have a mindset for that kind of thing," Kagome answered. "If anything, he might stumble in on us by accident, but he doesn't mean any harm. Miroku's the one we should really worry about."

"Hmm...point taken," Sango nodded while Kagome, now stripped down to her birthday suit, slipped into the hot spring and gave a quiet sigh of pleasant relief.

"Oh, yeah...that's the ticket," she said. "Are you coming in, too, Sango?"

"In a minute," Sango answered as she stripped her clothes and armor off...but the moment she did, her hair fell off to one side and Kagome gasped as she saw it: a large scar, right in the middle of her back.

"Oh, my god...!" Kagome whispered.

"Huh?" Sango muttered before she glanced over her back. "Oh...you saw my scar, huh? I guess it's still there, isn't it?" She soon sat down in the spring while Kagome went up to her.

"Umm...did you get that from a demon?" asked Kagome.

"...No," Sango answered, grimly...the memories of when a possessed Kohaku attacked her, as well as her father and fellow slayers. "I got this scar from my own little brother, Kohaku...right before he died."

Kagome gasped in horror. "No!"

"Yes," Sango answered, sadly as she closed her eyes, the memories still fresh in her mind. "It was at Naraku's castle...he laid a trap for us. Kohaku was possessed by a spider demon...and it made him kill my father and two comrades...and then..." She winced as she saw her brother shot down by the castle guards.

"Kohaku was always so gentle and mild," Sango mused. "He was always somewhat timid and never picked fights with anyone." She sniffed a bit when she recalled her little brother's tearful face as he lay dying. "And...as he was dying...I saw him go back to his usual self for just a moment..."

"Oh, Sango..." Kagome whispered, sadly. "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to bring up bad memories like that. I have a little brother, too, so I know how you feel."

"Thank you, Kagome," Sango said, "and you shouldn't be sorry. After all, each one of us has some story, right?" She then glared behind her. "And besides...some people are no better!" She then tossed a rock into the bushes, where they heard a loud yelp...but as they went to look, they saw it was nothing more than a hapless primate with a large bump on its head.

"A monkey?!" Kagome questioned.

"Oops," Sango muttered, sheepishly.

At that moment, Miroku appeared alongside Inuyasha, the latter covering his eyes with his hands.

"Is everything all right, ladies?" Miroku asked, only to be met with a couple of startled shrieks.

XXX

"Haa..." Miroku sighed pleasantly...despite being covered in bumps and bruises.

"I told you they were fine," Inuyasha groused as he leaned against a tree with his arms behind his head. "But did you listen? No~!"

"At least Kagome and Sango didn't suspect you, Inuyasha," Shippo pointed out.

"Oh, well," Miroku said. "We were treated to quite the pleasant sight, weren't we?"

"Only you would think that something like that was pleasant!" Inuyasha barked. "I had the decency to cover my eyes! I only came along to protect Kagome from you!"

"Call it what you will," Miroku said, "but I'm sure they'll forgive us...eventually."

"Uh...yeah, they don't need to forgive me," Inuyasha grumbled. "It's you that they have a problem with...dumbass."

XXX

The following day, the group was continuing on their travels. As they walked, Kagome, who was walking behind Inuyasha, glanced back and saw that Sango was keeping a considerable distance away from Miroku, who was tailing at the back of the pack. Kagome couldn't help sighing as she wheeled her bike alongside herself while Shippo and Kirara sat in the basket. She couldn't blame Sango for how she was feeling after what happened last night...and the other nights before that.

It was a shame, though. Kagome really thought that Miroku and Sango were hitting it off well, at first...of course, she had to take the monk's perversion into account. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy for them to get along. The one good side about it was that Miroku seemed to stop trying to chase after Kagome so much. Perhaps the monk sensed that she and Inuyasha were something of a couple, now, even though they hadn't really stated it, yet.

Though...Kagome did have to admit that sometimes, Miroku did take everyone's safety into account. Yes, he shouldn't have walked in on them, but perhaps the girls did act a bit hasty on attacking him...but then again, who knows what Miroku could possibly be thinking?

As for Sango...well, she didn't know what to think of Miroku. A part of her actually did want to trust him, despite his ways. She didn't understand why, though. After all, the moment they met, the first thing was flatter with sweet words and then try to ask her to bear his children. Though, she did have to admit...she actually did like hearing those words come from his mouth...even if they were his attempts at flattery.

The truth was...no one ever called such words like "lovely" or "beautiful". It was true that she was quite strong, but nobody else ever seemed to acknowledge that...not even her fellow slayers from the village.

Before Sango could contemplate on things further, Inuyasha suddenly stopped in the middle of the right, which caused Kagome to bump into him from behind, which then caused Sango to bump into Kagome, and finally, Miroku to bump into Sango.

"AH!" Sango yelped as she pushed Miroku back. "What was that for?!"

"Well, you stopped and I tripped!" Miroku answered.

"Yes, but only because Kagome stopped in front of me!" Sango argued.

"Yeah, but only because Inuyasha stopped in front of me!" Kagome cried before she glared at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, why in the world did you..." She trailed off when she noticed the half-demon's stunned expression as his eyes looked forward, and after the others followed his gaze, they gasped in horror as they saw why.

A man, covered in blood, was stumbling toward them.

"AAH!" Shippo screamed before he ducked into the basket.

"H...help...someone...!" the man groaned. "Anyone!"

"Oh, my god!" Kagome cried as she ran up to him, just as the man collapsed on his knees. It looked like whatever attacked him used some sort of blade...or maybe claws. "What happened to you?! Who did this?!"

"It...it was...a boy," the man answered.

"A boy?" Inuyasha repeated.

"There's no way a boy could do something like this," Miroku added.

"He...he had...brown hair," the man said, causing Sango's eyes to go wide, "and freckles..."

"...Brown hair and freckles...?" Sango whispered.

"He also wore some strange armor," the man added, "and...he was holding some sort of weapon. It looked like a kusarigama...and he had the cold, heartless look of a killer in his eyes. He appeared so suddenly...and without warning...he slaughtered every man, woman, and child in the village...!" He then coughed up blood before he finally collapsed on the ground...breathing his last breath.

"...Oh, no...!" Kagome whispered.

"There's no way a boy would do this," Inuyasha said. "It has to be a demon...either way, the way he came from...there's a strong smell of human blood."

"Sango, what do you think?" Miroku asked as he glanced at Sango...only to gasp as he saw the look of horror and disbelief in her eyes. "Sango?"

"What's wrong, Sango?" Shippo asked, worriedly.

"...No..." Sango whispered. "No, no, it can't be...! It just can't be!"

All of a sudden, she took off running in the direction that the bloody man came in, and Kirara jumped out of Kagome's bike basket and scampered after her.

"Sango!" Kagome called.

"Sango, wait!" Miroku cried. "Come back!"

"We gotta go after her!" Inuyasha shouted before they all turned and followed their companion.

XXX

Sango panted as she ran through the village streets...and all around her, she could see the bloodied corpses of the villagers, all of them sporting deep lacerations. As she went deeper toward the heart of the village, the body count began to increase...and Sango began to feel sick to her stomach as she found herself surrounded by the stench of death.

It was then that she heard a scream of agony, prompting her to pick up the pace as she kept running...until finally, she arrived, only to gasp.

There, standing over the body of a dead man...was a young boy, wearing the armor of a demon slayer...and in his hand was a kusarigama, the tip of the blade dripping with blood.

"...No...it can't be...!" Sango whispered, and as if he heard her, the boy stiffened for a moment before he turned to face her. The moment he did...Sango felt her heart drop right into her stomach. Even Kirara, who managed to catch up to her mistress, seemed horrified at the sight before her.

It was Sango's younger brother...Kohaku.


Now...I'm gonna be doing things a little differently, here. You'll see what I mean later.

Review, please!