Ch. 123- A Modern Exorcism


Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Arashi © Me


"Kagome?!" Atsuko asked as she, Sota, and Sanosuke came rushing out of the house, wondering what all the noise was. It was at that moment that they saw this ominous figure, growling as he leered Kagome, who had her back up against the wall of the shrine...and meanwhile, Inuyasha was on the ground, seeming unconscious and pinned by a crushed police cruiser.

"What is going on?!" Sanosuke asked. "Who is that young man?!"

"He's not a man!" Kagome shouted. "He's a demon!"

As soon as she said this, the demon turned and glared at her family, growling as his eyes glowed a dangerous red, causing the three of them to gasp as they began to step back into the house.

"Mom! Grandpa! Sota!" Kagome shouted. "Get back inside!"

The demon growled as he prepared to take a pouncing position, causing Atsuko to gasp as she held her arm out in front of Sota, who whimpered. As for Sanosuke, he held up one of his sutras as he stepped forward.

"Stay back, foul spirit!" he shouted. "You are not welcome here!"

"Grandpa, no!" Kagome cried. "Go back!"

The demon paid no heed to his warning as he took a step closer, but just as he was about to lunge...

"Hey! Jackass!"

"Huh?" the demon muttered as he turned around, only to see Inuyasha lifting the police cruiser over his head as if weighed next to nothing.

"CATCH!" the half-demon roared as he threw the vehicle at the demon, who ended up getting thrown against another wall himself. However, he growled as he pushed the car aside, then charged at Inuyasha, who growled as he tackled into him while Kagome hurried over to her family, dragging her grandfather back inside as she did.

"Mom!" Kagome urged. "Where are my bow and arrows?!"

"Oh!" Atsuko exclaimed as she hurried into the living room, where she picked up Kagome's bow and quiver. "Here you go!"

"Thanks!" Kagome exclaimed as she hurried to join the fight, but then Sanosuke grabbed her by her arm.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he asked. "You're not thinking about going out there, are you?! Not with that demon out there! I won't allow it, Kagome!"

"Grandpa, Inuyasha needs help!" Kagome shouted as she tried to pull her arm out of her grandfather's grasp. "Let go!"

"Absolutely not!" Sanosuke shouted. "I will not let you endanger herself!"

"Dad, stop it!" Atsuko yelled as she pulled her father-in-law away from her daughter. "Let Kagome handle it! I'm sure she knows what she's doing!"

"But Atsuko-" Sanosuke began.

"Grandpa, please!" Kagome pleaded. "You have to trust me!"

Sanosuke stared at his granddaughter, who stared back at him with eyes burning in determination. His eyes went wide, seeing just how serious she was...then he looked Atsuko, who nodded her head while Sota stood behind his mother, looking a bit worried, but nodding his head, as well. Sanosuke then looked back at Kagome...before he sighed before he finally released her arm and backed away.

"All right," he said. "But PLEASE, be careful."

"Thank you, Grandpa," Kagome said as she hugged him...and then she noticed the sutras in his hand, causing her to gasp silently as the proverbial light bulb lit up. "Hey, can I borrow these?"

"Hmm?" Sanosuke hummed as he looked at his sutras. "What for?"

"Trust me!" Kagome said as she grabbed the slips of paper, then hurried outside, where she saw Inuyasha and the demon locked in a stalemate...but at least this time, the demon had his back turned to her.

"Kagome, hurry up with that arrow!" Inuyasha shouted as he found himself getting pushed back.

"Keep him right there, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted as she tied one of the sutras to her arrow, then notched it into the bowstring, which she pulled back as far as she could, aiming it directly at the demon's back.

"What's she doing?" Sota asked as he looked outside with Atsuko and Sanosuke. "Those sutras won't work! ...Will they?"

"Atsuko, are you really sure about this?" Sanosuke questioned.

"Trust her, Dad," Atsuko replied as she watched her daughter, who kept her aim as steady as possible...and then, she loosed the arrow through the air as it left behind a trail of sparkling light.

"INUYASHA, MOVE AWAY!" Kagome shouted, just as the arrow was getting close. Inuyasha gasped before he leaped away as fast as he could while the demon turned around...only for the arrowhead to pierce his forehead. He screamed in agony as he was suddenly hit by some sort of static shock, paralyzing every inch of him. At that moment, something fell out from his forehead: the two jewel shards that he had in his possession.

"No...!" the demon groaned as his muscle mass began to shrink, leaving him about as thin and scrawny as a toothpick. "Not...my...jewel fragments...!" He then sighed as he collapsed to the ground, moaning weakly.

"Hmph!" Inuyasha scoffed as he grabbed the pathetic demon by his scalp and lifted him up. "Not so tough, now, are you?"

"We did it," Kagome said as she picked up the shards.

Meanwhile, Sota was smiling broadly at what he had just seen while Atsuko just smiled in relief...but Sanosuke? He only stood there, silent and serious as he stared at his granddaughter.

"Where'd you get those jewel shards from, buddy?" Inuyasha asked the demon. "Better start talking!"

"As if I'll tell you anything," the demon growled before Inuyasha slammed him to the ground and stamped his foot against his face, causing him to cry out in pain. "All right, all right!"

Inuyasha pulled his foot away, just a little bit. Besides, it's not like the demon could move much with how lanky and pitiful he was.

"I found them somewhere near the eastern lands, 500 years ago," said the demon. "I was lucky to have stumbled on them...I couldn't let that guy get 'em. Not by a longshot!"

"What 'guy'?" Inuyasha asked as he glared at the demon, who gulped.

"He...he was called...Naraku," said the demon. "He's been going around, gathering demons and making them part of his body. There was no way I wanted to be part of that mess, so I took the jewel shards I found and went into hiding!"

"Naraku...!" Inuyasha growled before he drew the Tetsusaiga...and sliced the demon's head off, causing him to let out a gurgled cry before both his head and body disintegrated. "Hey, Kagome! You heard all that, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Kagome said. "Sounds to me that Naraku's still causing trouble in the past...and I actually just had a thought." Her expression turned grim as she looked to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha...what if there are other shards that even Naraku hasn't found? What if there are other demons, hiding out in the modern ages?"

"Then the answer's simple, Kagome," Inuyasha said. "We go back and find the jewel shards that Naraku hasn't found himself, yet."

"But who knows how many more are left?" Kagome asked. "Inuyasha...what if we're in over our heads on this one?"

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at Inuyasha, who grinned at her.

"Don't tell me you're doubting yourself, now," he said. "We'll find those shards, one way or another."

Kagome smiled as she hugged Inuyasha, who chuckled as he held her, and nearby, Atsuko and Sota smiled.

"That was SO cool!" Sota exclaimed.

"That's my Kagome," Atsuko said, proudly.

"Hmm..." Sanosuke hummed with his arms behind his back, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

"Dad?" asked Atsuko.

"...Perhaps I underestimated Kagome, after all," Sanosuke said. "I didn't realize just how capable she was." He then smiled. "Even more so than I ever could be."

Atsuko smiled as she put her hand on her father-in-law's shoulder, then looked toward Inuyasha and Kagome.

"How about you two come inside?" she asked. "It's been a long day and I think you could use some rest and food."

"I'd like some if you don't mind!" Inuyasha replied.

"Yeah, I could eat a little bit, too," Kagome added as they headed into the house to eat and rest when they returned to the Feudal Era.

'I don't know how many shards might have traveled through time from the Feudal Era to my time period,' Kagome thought, 'but I know that I can't rest until we get every last one.'


Yeah, I had trouble deciding how the title should sound, so sorry if it sounds dumb. ^^;

Review, please!