I realized that I got things a bit twisted with the timeline. And I don't want to get you confused. So, let me clear something, the events at the begining of chapter 15 are place two weeks in the future of what happend with Inuyasha at the end of that same chapter, and in chapter 16 and 17. the idea was getting to that point on the story by the beginning of chapter 16, but it didn't happen...instead I wrote another chapter in the middle oops... but promise it's worthy. I think one more (or meybe two) and we will get to Kagome and Sango in the improvised pijama party =)
For now enjoy!
Chapter 17.
She had been trying to be patient and understanding, and kept telling herself that her friend had gone through a lot of things in the past month and she shouldn't add more to the load of emotional stress Kagome was already feeling. So she had put up a smile in her face and buried all of her questions and accusations deep within herself and tried to act like she normally would. It did help a little having Ayame and Rin to remind her that she hadn't been the only kept in the dark, and Miroku in his all too understanding nature had also helped to keep her in line, though she was also mad at him for keeping from her his own suspicions...
All in all, she really felt hurt that Kagome didn't tell her what was going on between them, and even angrier at Inuyasha for acting this way after everything he had put Kagome and the rest of them through with his stupid attitude. I mean, if he was gonna end up giving in to his instincts after all then why had he even pushed her, all of them, away in the first place? She understood his real reasons, all the not waiting to give her friend false expectations on what their relationship would be and the "I can't trust myself with her" part… but hell! Weren't they supposed to be friends? He could have at least talk to her and Miroku, tell them what was really going on so that at least they could help him ease Kagome's suffering all those months!
She did felt a little bad for the way she treated him when she thought he was being serious with Kikyo, but she wouldn't tell him that. still, even with everything that was going on, there was a part of her that was happy for them, the part that wasn't worried sick for her friends' safety… they had found their way back to the other in the end, and things had seemed to be going back to normal for the past weeks, she had almost forgotten that they had drifted apart seeing how he had been spending time with them for real after so long… but then, boom, the bomb of their intended mark exploded and Sango was thrown aback by the news.
It isn't that she didn't want her friends to be together that way, to be honest she couldn't imagine them with anyone else just as she couldn't imagine herself with anyone but Miroku, it was just the way things were supposed to be, she had grown seeing them practically glued to the other that the sole idea of seeing one without the other was hilarious. But then things changed, he was no longer a simple hanyou, he was no longer capable of simply choosing someone he liked. Sango knew that, she knew what would be of her friend of she was not the one. And she didn't like that, she didn't like to think in the possibility that she could die, that he could kill her.
After finding out that afternoon, forcing information out of Ayame and Miroku, she had though everything would be alright, since they were together now, they were mates, and nothing bad had happened to Kagome, she felt relieved knowing that in the end things had worked out well for them. But then she overheard when Toga said they were not officially mated and what the elders of the board council told Kagome about what could happened if she was not the one, and her blood felt cold on her veins, she understood why Inuyasha had tried to keep his distance even more.
Certainly that was not something she got to learn about in her training. She had read some of the stories about the dark period, when youkais started to take humans as mates just for the fun of it, and how many humans died because of that, and how the board put an end to it by making it illegal to mate a human without a formal audience. All the knowledge she had until then seemed so superficial compare to all the gory details the elders told Kagome. It was no wonder that she had gotten out of that room to lock herself in the bathroom crying. Sango felt bad for her, for both of them.
That day she had gone back home to reread all the books and old scrolls she could find about Inuyasha's clan and youkai mating customs, to see if she could find something that help her friends to know for sure whether or not Kagome was Inuyasha's true mate. She spent the whole night going through the many scrolls her clan possessed but it was in vain. Those were outdated information she realized, they didn't even mention anything about the shallow bond in failed matings even less about the intended mark Kagome had. It only served to set her in a new project, though. She had made it her new goal to update all that useless information by herself… and she had the perfect source to do it… she couldn't stop the pang in her chest when she realized what that actually meant. She couldn't do anything to help her friends other than stand by their side and watch. And that made her even more frustrated.
She wanted to be able to help her friend with at less one thing out of the many she had to deal with lately, for there was not much Sango could actually do for her… she couldn't help her with her preparation for the competition for the title of head miko, hadn't been able to help much with the search of her father's murdered (because, yes, Sango had been informed about that as well a few days ago), and now couldn't even help her with her love problems either… what kind of friend she had turned out to be!
As in on queue with her musings her father came knocking her room's door and asked her to get ready for the expedition they were having that day. She had been able to avoid going to most of these expeditions the past months thanks to her studies, because even she had to show up her face at school a decent amount of times to get the credits to graduate. It was her last year, and only because of that her father was going easy on her. But now with Keiichi Higurashi's case all of the high rank slayers had been called to be present on duty, and that included her. She had been a bit surprised to see his father personally going to talk with the school principal to explain her absence at school for the following week. She was supposed to leave school early the day of the Hojo incident, but end up postponing it due to the circumstances, and yesterday she had got away because her father was called to the audience with the rest of the board elders, so she had been able to go too and support her friends. But today she had no way out.
It was five in the morning and her father was giving her ten minutes to get her stuff and be ready to leave. "coming" she answered her father then sighed, finished tying her hair in a high pony tail, and checked her slayer uniform one last time to make sure that everything was in place. "come on Kirara, we need to leave." She called her cat youkai companion, raising her arm for her to leap on it, and went down the stairs. Her mother was there saying goodbye to her father with a small lunch box for her in one hand.
-Make sure you eat it on your way there- she told her. –you will need all of your energy today.
-thanks mom. Are you going to the hearings today as well? – Sango asked, that was the only reason her mother was not coming with them too. Her father as the leader of the Himura clan was supposed to be present on the hearing on the prohibit sutras case, but the matter of Keiichi Higurashi was also pressing and the search couldn't stay on hold more than it already had been, so Toga had asked her father to resume the search immediately and her father, as the good leader he was, had never liked to stay sit behind a desk while his slayers were out, so he had appointed a representative, his younger brother, to take his place at the hearings together with his wife while he worked on looking for the murdered.
- I have to be, who else is gonna keep your father updated on the news if not me?- she said playfully- promise you'll be careful, and listen to your father. Don't leave the group by yourself.– she instructed her.
-promise. – Sango said and hugged her mother goodbye.
-remember, the area you'll sweep today is full of low level youkais. They don't understand nor follow our laws and don't stop themselves from killing humans. If you encounter one of them don't hesitate, aim your weapon and don't think twice, okay?.- She added taking her by the shoulders
-mom, I know what to do, okay? Trust me, I had the best teachers.- she said with a smile knowing that would calm her, after all her parents have been the ones to teach her everything she knew from a very young age.
-I know, but it doesn't hurt to have a reminder. Now go before your father starts calling.- Sango nodded and went out the house. She hopped on her father's jeep and waived to her mother one last time.
They drove a couple of hours in a comfortable silence, until they reach the city's limits where the rest of their party would assemble, and then four hours more to reach their final destination. "Wouldn't have been faster if we just ride kirara to get there?" Sango asked her father when the silence started to bother her.
"Kirara can't take the whole group there" was his father amused answer.
"I mean, we could go ahead and save some time…"she tried again.
"Sango, a lider never leaves his team behind, you should not try to do things on your own just for the purpose of saving time." her father started lecturing her "Remember, we slayers work together as a sole body, that's the key to our success against bigger and stronger opponents, a slayer alone cannot take down an ogre, but ten slayers working together are…"
"Capable of greater things…" Sango interrupted him. "I know. I sorry for being impatience." Her father said nothing but she caught the amused smirk on his face.
Many called him crazy for appointing his daughter as the formal successor of their clan, saying that a woman was not capable of such leadership, and she knew his father was still dealing with the other elders that were trying to change his decision and convinced him that her little brother was the more accurate option. The main reason for her to work her ass off in trainings and on field works was to prove their opinions wrong. She wanted to show herself worthy of her father's trust.
"What exactly are we looking for, dad? Wasn't supposed to be any traces of the youkai that killed Keiichi?" she asked after a while.
"That's true." her father confirmed.
"Then?" she pressed "how are we supposed to find him without any traces?"
"It's true there were no traces left on the place of the accident, that doesn't mean there aren't any leads. If they weren't it would be pointless to keep looking, don't you think?" her father told her clearly amused. She suppress a sigh. She knew her father was messing with her, she had never been known for her patience after all. She tried again
"So there is a lead we are following then…?" She felt stupid for even asking… her father laughed.
"The poison found on Keiichi's body was a special mix of venom from different youkais, we believed that it was specifically designed for him, so that nor even Kaede would be able to treat it on time. It took a while for her and your mother to identify the different components but they finally made it. Whomever custom that poison had its hands in three different types of poisonous spider youkais, the kind of youkais we hadn't seen in about two hundred years." Tetsuo informed his daughter.
"So that's why we are going to the dark forest… to find the poisonous spiders?" Sango supplied.
"Yes, and no. it would be useless to only find them, spiders youkais are not known to be the talkative type. But if we find some we would know we are on track. This is the only place that wasn't searched before. Mainly because no one wants anything to do with this place. So Toga and I were hoping that whomever it is that planned Keiichi's murder is hiding in here in hopes that we wouldn't even think on looking here." He explained.
"I can see what he may think that way…" Sango mumble feeling goose bumps all over her body as a wave of dark energy hit her. The more they got closer to the forest limits the heavier the air became, it was charge with youki and miasma. No ordinary human was able to get this close to the forest, and the high level youkais didn't bother to come either, this was no one's land, an abandoned portion of the country that was lost during the Great unification war almost five hundred years ago.
The only reason Sango and the other slayers could get this far was because of their training, and the antidotes they use to keep the effects of the miasma in check, in addition to their masks that helped them filter the air. But even with all that they were still only humans, and they wouldn't last long, so they search had a limited amount of time and she knew they would had to make the best out of it in the short five hours they could last in this environment to get something out of this search.
"Would Kirara be okay?" She couldn't stop herself to ask, afraid that her furry friend could get her hurt in any way by bringing her to such dangerous place. Her father laugh at her question startling the little cat sleeping on her lap.
"She will be, Sango, she is also a youkai, she is the only one I'm not worry about today." Sango continue to pet Kirara's head and sighed. They were at the foot of the forest by then. They had to leave the cars here and continue their search by foot. Once her father stopped the engine she took her clue and started with her own preparations. She took her shot of the preventive antidotes that would help her get through the day, put on her earphone and checked it worked and then went to check her mask's filters once last time before securing it on her face. She was about to open the door when her father took her by the arm and made her turn and look at him.
"You'll also need these this time." He told her showing her a bottle of eye drops
"What are these for?" She asked taking them from him and opening the bottle
"The miasma here is strong, stronger than anything you have faced before. It can also get through the eyes and skin. These would protect your eyes, preventing the miasma from leaving you blind. You have to take three drops in each eye every two hours, make sure you remember that." Her father explained to her, and she felt herself gulped hard. At loss of words she just nodded and went to put the drops as he had instructed, and set the alarm on her watch to remind her of taking her next dose.
They got off the jeep and got together with the rest of the group. They were a total of ten slayers in their search party this time. Her father assigned five teams and give maps to each one with the areas they were supposed to check.
"Okay, you know what to do. Sweep all you can in the zone I've assigned to you, if you find anything out of place you let me know. But, above all, take care of yourselves. Don't be over-confident, this forest hasn't been explored in decades, and we don't know what exactly is awaiting for us inside. I want every one of you to come out alive, understood?" were her father's final instructions.
"Yes chief!" everyone answered in unison. The group started to scatter in their respective directions, leaving her and her father to collect their weapons from their jeep.
"You take Kirara and take a sweep from the air, I will go by foot in this direction." Tetsuo said pointing the path over the map "Don't go ahead, try to keep my peace and fly low. I need a visual from above." her father instructed. She nodded. "If you see movement ahead you let me know, and do not even think of taking anything down on your own like last time, understood?" he instructed again. She suppressed a groan, when was he gonna forget that? it was almost a year ago!
"understood." she limited herself to say. "Kirara!" At her call Kirara showed her true appearance, letting out a roar and shaking her body a little to the sides. Sango accommodated her giant boomerang on her back and hopped on her. –"I'll take the lead then… you sure you wanna go by foot?" she asked after a second thought.
"We'll be able to cover more, on land I get a short range sight, but I can spot every little place, on the air you can keep watch from distant threats. Now let's go. We don't have much time." she nodded again and asked Kirara to part. "Sango, wait" his father stopped right before Kirara took off. He took a deep breath and adopted a stern look in his face, Sango furrowed her brow in concern, her father never put on that face unless it was something of the utmost importance. "I've made sure to teach you all there is to know about being a great slayer, and I'm so proud of calling you my daughter, you are one of the greatest woman slayers our clan has had even in your young age but if there is something you still need to learn is to be patience and stay calm when things seem to be out of your control." She stared at him with a confused look on her face, why was he telling her all that now? He came closer and took her hand and squeezed it "I need you to stay calm today so you can keep your head clear to make the right choices, and I want you to trust yourself in that choices, because if something happens to me, you are the one in charge, you know that, right?"
"I know and I will, dad, but why are you telling me this now? you sound like you are preparing yourself to die" she asked already losing her cool. His father gave her a lopsided grin and kissed the front of her hand.
"As I said before, this is a dangerous forest, honey, we don't know what lies ahead of us. And I want you to be prepared for anything that may come." He added with a smile that didn't quiet reached his eyes. Sango watched suspiciously, something was off… but she couldn't put her finger on it yet. "Now, go. We only have five hours to get some answers for Toga. And we already wasted half of one." He let go of her hand and patted Kirara's head indicating the big cat to start moving. Kirara left out a soft roar and give a couple of steps before taking off. As they gained height she saw her father disappearing under the green of the forest, an uncomfortable feeling setting on her chest. Stay safe, dad. She prayed to herself.
"Okay, girl, we need to keep our eyes open and find those spiders." she told Kirara patting the side of her head. A soft roar was her response. "Good, fly low, and follow dad's scent. Make sure not to lose him, okay?" she continued, the cat youkai did as she was told and stayed close to the tree tops flying slowly.
Another thirty minutes into the search Mako, one of their comrades talked to her father through their earphones asking for help, he and Renzo had encountered a herd of low level youkais, it seemed that it was a big one as they were having trouble taking them down. She offered to go and helped but her father denied her as they were the farthest team from them and gave instructions to Kenta and Haru to go as they were a kilometer away from their location. Tensed minutes were lived among the rest of their party waiting for the four men to report themselves.
"Kenta, report!" her father almost shouted in panic after a while but they got no answer
"Chief, Kirara and I can still get to them and help!" Sango asked again.
"Stay put!" he told her. "Dai, Jiro, what's your location?"
"We are almost 20 minutes far from them" Jiro answer. "We are running towards them now, but if I don't think we are gonna make it…" he said with a somber voice. Sango couldn't tear her eyes off the small map on her watch that showed the exact location of all her comrades. She and Kirara would be able to get to the four red dots that hadn't move from their place for the past five minutes in no more than five and her father knew that! why didn't he let her? Their comrades would die if they didn't go to help!
"Go down, Kirara" they landed besides her father. That was still shouting instructions to the rest of their team his eyes fixed on his wrist, just as hers had been seconds ago. "Let's go!" she urged him. "We can't let them die! They need our help, we will get faster than Jiro and Dai on Kirara." Her father looked and cursed, but hopped on Kirara.
"Let's go!" he said and Kirara took off.
"Go west Kirara, find Mako's scent!" she instructed her cat, Kirara was well acquaintance with all the slayers on her clan, and knew all of their scents, so it would not be difficult for her to find him and get them to where their comrades were fighting over their life. While they were flying Tetsuo didn't stopped screaming orders to the rest of their group to reassemble and run to where the group were fighting. It would be a while for Hiroki and Yamato to make it there as they were the closest to where Sango and her father had been before.
Sango had been preparing her mind for whatever it was that they were to encounter once they landed on the spot their comrades were, but nothing could actually prepared her for what she found. She felt her blood go cold on her veins at the view, they were youkais bodies scattered all over the place, the soil soaked in the crimson goo that was their blood, it was obvious that they friends had been able to take them down at the end, as there was not a single one standing. But what had Sango in a panic haze was not that, but the giant spider that was working its way over Mako's seemingly lifeless body, it was working its cobweb around him and rolling him over with its hairy creepy long frontal legs. It was the biggest spider youkai Sango had ever seen, its body was the size of a truck and it almost reached the middle of the big tall trees of the forest, pitch black and it seemed to be covered with velvety hairs, from its head two long and sharp chelicerae were constantly moving and drooling a white slime that was starting to disintegrate the soil at its feet, eight pair of ruby eyes fixed themselves on the newcomers and hissed at them and spat a stream of that white slime their way never letting go of its prey.
"Sango!" Tetsuo screamed snapping her out of her haze, she hadn't realized when he had gotten off Kirara, but he was half way to the spider his weapon raised to strike it, he had been able to dodge the stream just to realize that his daughter was standing on its path. Before she could do or say a thing Kirara move fast on the air and dogged it saving them both. "Focus, Sango!" he yelled at her but he was relieved to see her unharmed. "Free the others!" was his next command before dodging another stream of slime and strike the thing. Just then she was able to see the whole scenery, by the side of the enormous spider were three other balls made with cobwebs hanging from the nest that covered the branches standing in between two tall trees, her eyes grew in terror, their friends!
"Kirara, get them!" she screamed "go behind the trees!" she said when it became clear that a frontal attack was not possible, the spider spitting its slime everywhere and it had positioned itself in from of it nest.
"chief, what's going on?" came the voice of Jiro "did you find them?" he asked his breathing hard and labored for the running they were making.
"we found them" Sango was the one to answer because his father was busy dealing with the monster. "we also found the spiders." She added "they got trapped on its cobweb."
"Shit!" he course "we're almost there. Are they…?" Jiro wanted to ask if they were dead but he couldn't, Haru and Kenta were his best friends, that without saying that Haru was actually his twin brother.
"I don't know yet…"Sango told him, at the moment she was struggling with the cobwebs, she had gotten off Kirara and stood in one of the tick branches of the tree that was the closest to one of the cobweb balls, she had taken her sword and tried to cut it but it had barely made any to no damage, she was preparing her Hiraikoutsu to strike it, while Kirara had gotten down to assist his father. From what she could see the body of the spider was hard, so much that her father giant axe hadn't made a single cut on it when it struck it. He was now trying to cut off its legs and free Mako's body. "I'm trying to free them from the cobweb but the threads are too though, my sword did nothing to them" she huffed with the strength she used to hit the thing with the Hiraikoutsu and it made it lose her balance "ah! Shit!" she coursed, that had been close, if not for the small knife hidden on her sleeve that she managed to bury on the tree trunk she would have fallen. "Hiraikoutsu couldn't cut them either!"
"What kind of spider is it?" Yamato urged her, he was an expert on all kind of youkais. More specifically on their weaknesses and ways to exterminate them. He was like a walking encyclopedia when it came to it. Name a youkai, alive or extinct, he would tell you everything there was to know about it. He needed to know what they were facing exactly so he could give advice on how to defeat it.
"it's like no one I've ever seen" she told him between pants, she was not going to give up, she was gonna free her friends no matter what, so she kept of hitting the thing with her sword " it almost the size of an small truck, pitch black, sixteen red eyes, cover in fur that seem to be as tough as this cobwebs, chief's weapon didn't affect it!" she went on with her report "looks like a giant tarantula to me, but its legs are too long compare to its body and it spits acid, kind of a white slime! Kirara!" she screamed when she saw how another spider appeared out of nowhere and spat a stream of the same white slime their way, her father hadn't seen it as it came from behind. Hearing her voice Kirara had move flying higher and the slime had hit the legs of the first one they were fighting, but it didn't hurt it, only the soil at its feet continue to disintegrate a little more. "It has a friend…!" Sango inform the rest.
On the other side of the line, Yamato mind was running mile per hour, searching on his own data base. Scanning through the imaginary pages of the book in his mind. "any other remarkable thing you can see?" he demanded "Sango?" he urged, but she was kind of busy to answer, the spider friend was giving her father trouble so she had send her Hiraikoutsu flying towards it, it hadn't helped as it only bounced on its body with a force that had made the giant boomerang ricochet in the opposite direction and reveal her location to them. Both of the spiders hissed to her sending streams of acid towards them. She was quick and shot the cable that was connected to the harness secured on her hips and legs to the next tree and jumped out of the way.
"Sango, are you okay?" her father shouted when he watched her jump off the tree branch and crash on the trunk of the other.
"Fine" she told him between coughs, the hit caused the air of her lungs to leave her body. She tried to even her breathing and slide off the tree to collect her weapon. "the acid doesn't affect the cobweb!" she shouted to Yamato, she had had hope that maybe the acid that got over the balls would help dissolve them but one look over her shoulder told her that it was to no avail. She ran dodging the spider's legs that were trying to step on her and grabbed the Hiraikoutsu, her father and Kirara were having trouble again, while they tried to get out of the way of the stream of slime that both spiders were spitting one of them had stood up, supporting its body on its four back legs and using the others as arms that got even longer and were trying to take a hold on Kirara. She aimed her weapon at those legs and managed to stop them from grabbing them but it had gotten down on its eight legs again and was making its way in her direction. She caught the Hiraikoutsu again and secured it on her back, and started running to the trees again, she took the small gun like device tied to her harness from her hip and shot it to the nearest branch taking off and climbing on it on time to prevent the attack from the youkai. "it has some kind of oval mark on its stomach" she continued, she had gotten a good look of the low part of its body when it had stoop to attack her father "dark purple color and it seems that it's dented" she added. "I think that must be its weak point, the shell there doesn't seem hard, most like a skin, it stretched when it got on four to attack the Chief"
"Purpureal velvet spider youkai" Yamato mumble. "It's a purpureal velvet spider youkai" he screamed this time sure of his answer.
"I told you the thing is pitch black!" Sango retorted.
"It's not named for its color, Sango!" he answered rolling his eyes "it's a royal kind of spider. They lived alone unless they have mated, if there are two of them then they must be mates!" he continued quoting the information he was reading from his mental book. "They like to attract large herds of worm like youkais to feed, and only feed on humans in its early stages, they buried their eggs on soft soil and hunt for food for their newborns as soon as the eggs hatch."
"What?" Sango screamed, so they were saving their friends to feed their young!?
"Not helping Yamato!" Tetsuo said finally intervening. "Get to how we kill it!" he urged. He had gotten off Kirara and was jumping from one tree to the other dodging the spiders' attacks. He got to one of the highest branches and prepared to launch himself on the back of the one that had Mako's body still on its legs, during the whole fight it hadn't stopped from covering him with its webs.
"Yeah, sorry" Yamato said jumping over a fallen tree on its run "okay, Sango is right, the dented place on its stomach it the key. It's the only place in its body that it's not reinforced with the shield of its hair. You have to pierce it there, but it wouldn't be enough to kill it just to slow it down" he instructed.
"I'm on it" Jiro informed. He and Dai had finally caught up with them. Jiro weapong was an ancient halberd forged with the bones of a dragon, it was part of his family heirloom, and it would be perfect to pierce the spiders belly. Sango jumped off the tree and ran to Dai's side that was a couple of meters behind Jiro serving as a decoy to cover up for him, ready to protect him in case the spider saw him getting below him.
"Be careful with the hairs that cover its body!" Yamato warned "it'll burn the skin if getting in touch, the hair is cover in a fine poisonous powder that can melt down even our armors!" he urged, but it was too late. Sango watched in terror how her father finally made his jump, having found an opening to leap on the spider's back.
"Dad. No!" she screamed. The moment Tetsuo heard the warning he tried to avoid landing on the thing, and span in the air to his left, he managed to dodge landing on its back but brushed against the side of its body on his fall.
"What happened?" Yamato and Hiroki asked at the same time. "We are almost there! Hang on!" Hiroki added "we'll get there in five!"
On his fall, Tetsuo lost his mask and some of the powder that had been shaken off the spider's body got on his mouth and nose, he had managed to close his eyes but the damage was already done. "Kirara" Sango screamed in hopes that her loyal companion would be able to get to her father and soften his fall. Kirara flew in his direction fast, she would have make it on time if not for the spider's leg that had hit her out of course. "No!" Sango screamed again and run dodging the legs and streams of acid the monsters were flying her way, Dai and Jiro hot on her heels. The spiders reposition themselves facing the slayers, by then the one wrapping Mako on its web had already finished and taking the new ball in one leg, that stretched itself four times its initial length, went to place it with the rest sending a stream of slime to it efficiently adhering it with the others. Now with all of his legs free, all of its eyes fixed on them, they retreat a little and glared them a constant hissing coming from their bodies and the streams of slime never stopping from coming out from their apparent mouths.
"How is he?" Dai asked over his shoulder, Sango had fallen to her knees besides his father with Dai and Jiro standing in front of her acting as a shield hiding them from the spiders' sight.
"Chief!" she said shaking him a little from his shoulders. "Where is his mask?" she asked looking around for it. Jiro found it laying a few steps away from him, he moved slowly towards it, his eyes never leaving the enemy he had in front and kicked it in her direction. Sango took it. It was broken.
"Status?" Yamato urged, they were a few meters away from them now, and they could see the spiders and their comrades facing each other. They had gotten to them from the side, as they inched closer they slowed down, not wanting to jump in unknown territory, besides right now they also had the element of surprise on their favor. If they played it good they could take them down.
"I think he breathed some of the powder when he fall" Sango told them "he is unconscious, his face is burned" just then his father started to have a seizure, white foam coming from his mouth as he shivered. "What's happening?" she screamed keeping him down with both arms pressing his shoulders. Jiro and Dai turned in time to see their lider shaking body, but none of them were able to assist the panicking woman because the spiders decided to attack them taking advantage of their sudden distraction, instead they charge forward dodging and trying to get under their bellies looking for their weak spot.
"Give him a shot of any antidote you have with you!" Hiroki, the closest they had to a doctor on site, told her as he and Yamato leave his spot to help their friends face the monsters. There went their element of surprise… "He is convulsing for the effects of the poison. Wash his face and mouth, pour some water on his nose if necessary, you have to wash off as much as the powder form his skin as you can. Don't let the powder get on your skin!" He continued giving orders. "See if he had any broken bones!" he finally said. From what he hear he had had a hard fall. He felt kind of better now that they were all together. It had been hard for him to keep running only hearing his companions fight, but he was kind of grateful with the chief that had leave the chanel open to facilitate the communication, allowing them to hear everything that was happening. Now he was fighting side by side with Yamato, using his chains to tie the legs of one of the spiders, seeing if it was possible to make it fall.
Sango stoop up as soon as the seizure stopped, and took the bag that was on Kirara's side, the feline had positioned her body in front of her, adding an extra layer of protection from them with her body in case the humans couldn't stop the monsters. Sango did as Hiroki told her, she poured the water over her father's face and neck. Then poured some more on his mouth taking away the rest of the foam that had form from his saliva during the seizure along with any remaining poison. She open the Velcro of one of the legs of her pants pockets and took out the plastic box that had the emergency shots, removed the cap from the syringe with her teeth and inject the antidote on his neck. Finally she took off her mask and put it on him. "What the hell are you doing?" Dai, the one that was the closest to them, yelled at her when he watched her taking her mask off.
"His is broken. He needs it more than I do now" she said. "Help me get him on Kirara." Dai came to her help and she raised him to a sitting position. Dai bent over showing his back so Sango could accommodated him better. Kirara came closer showing her back and Dai jumped a little so that Sango could take him off and made his sit over Kirara's back with his legs on either side of the giant cat. "Get him as far as the spiders as possible" she told Kirara "wait for my signal" the cat roar in displeasure, she didn't like the idea of let her unprotected. "I'll be okay. Take care of my father" Kirara whimpered a little but took off, avoiding getting hit by one of the streams of acid one of the spiders shot. Dai kept watching her with worried eyes, and she knew the reason, without her mask she wouldn't last long. She took the two left shots out of the box and inject herself on her arm one after the other. "That should make it for now" she told him and went to pick up her weapon. During the time they were taking Tetsuo out of the war zone, Yamato, Jiro, and Hiroki were having the fight of their life time. If one can call avoid getting hit without landing not even one on their one could be considered a fight.
Jiro kept sending long worried glances over the cobweb balls, with every minute that passed he was losing hope to see his brother and friends alive.
"What do we do now, chief?" Dai asked Sango, who tried to not seem surprised to be referred as such.
"Yamato, is there a way to immobilize this things? Even if just a moment?" Sango shouted, and send her Hiraikoutsu flying, running in the direction of the fight taking her sword out, Dai hot on her heels.
"A monk or miko would do us well…"he said in a jokingly tone. "Our venoms wont affected them, our weapons can reached their weak point." He was mumbling more to himself that the others "a sacred arrow, or sutras would be fine…" he kept on
"Yamato! Focus!" she urged him again. "We are running out of time!" more like she was, and their friends on the cobwebs were, if they were not already… no, she couldn't think like that. She had to stay calm, keep her mind clear.
"The only thing strong enough to pierce their bodies are their own legs!" he concluded. "If we break through their armor from above then we could use Jiro halberd, cover the point with a paralyzing ointment and send it through the crack. Not sure if it would hold it long but it might be our only shoot!
"Good. Then" Sango agreed. "Kirara" screamed sure that whenever the cat demon was she was gonna be able to hear her. Sure enough Kirara came flying low and stood beside here a couple of minutes after offering her back to her master.
"I'll do it" Dai told her "you aren't wearing a mask, it's too risky for you to be near those hairs"
"They need you down here" she told him and got on Kirara before he could stop her. "Get above it, Kirara!" the cat youkai did as told and went flying on top of one of the spiders. Sango threw her boomerang in hope of catching the other's attention, it turned hissing her way when the weapon hit it and like the previous time ricocheted on its hard body "stay still until it attacks" she whispered and Kirara stood there. Just as they had hoped the giant arachnid raised one of its legs and Sango watched as it morphed on its way up, its end becoming pointed and sharp, when it was a few inches away from hitting them Kirara dodged to the side and the leg crushed on its companion's body, a crack and a pained hiss were hear at the same time and when the leg was pulled out a purple goo coming out from the wound was splashed in every other direction.
"Dodge it" Yamato screamed to them "its blood is also poisonous!" everyone got away from the writhing monster, and Yamato took off from the pocket on his chest a small container where he kept the paralyzing ointment "Jiro!" he urged, caught the halberd with his right, and quickly coated the point with it "Sango!" he screamed as he threw it back her way. She caught it and aimed it to the crack on the spider's body, it hit right on the mark. The spider made a roaring noise and started walking backwards.
"We did it!" Hiroki said.
"Too soon to be happy" Jiro hissed "there is one left". The spider fall on its side, already getting numb from the effects of the ointment, it seemed to be losing its balance and was going to roll on its back as all the legs on her right were bent down and the oversized legs on its left were still stretched. Before it happened Sango asked Kirara to get her closer to it so she could retrieved Jiro's weapon.
"Jiro" she called and sent the halberd flying his way "finish it" she ordered, he caught it and smirked seeing his opening to end the writhing thing. "Clear his way!" she ordered the rest when the second spider charged in his direction. All four attacked the other at once, Hiroki throwing his chains to restrain the frontal legs with Dai's help and stopped it from hitting Jiro. Yamato took his bow and aimed three arrows to the thing's eyes, Sango still on Kirara's back retrieved her Hiraikoutsu and threw it on its back.
They were about to make it, Jiro was a few inches from the weak point on the monster's belly, with a war cry he aimed his halberd and sent it flying sure that it was gonna hit the mark when a sudden wind came out of nowhere and sent it off course landing of the trunk of the nearest tree.
"Well, this is not funny anymore" came a young male voice, the group started watching around but there were not a traces of another person in the place. "You were about to kill one of my favorite pets…" the voiced add. Suddenly the spiders had stopped moving, and a pinkish ball appeared in front of them.
"Reveal yourself" Sango asked landing on the ground in front of her comrades.
"oww, how sweet of you. Acting like a chief, protecting your people" the voiced said mockingly. Sango narrowed her eyes and readied her weapon again. "Don't even think about it, girl, it would only turn back at you. I don't think you can get a hit of your own weapon in your state and survive." He said revealing himself. The pinkish ball cleared and showed a middle height albino boy with black expressionless eyes, and a tall woman that stood behind him, eyes red, smooth creamy skin that contrasted with her deep charcoal hair. soon after he finished talking Sango felt something wet going down her chin, she touched it and saw her fingers, blood, her nose was bleeding, she didn't had much time left now. "How is it that you can still stand?" the boy asked in genuine curiosity "your lungs most be burning with all this miasma"
"Sango?" Hiroki said coming over to see her, his eyes widen when he saw her face, she had a stern look that didn't show any pain, but her skin was pale dark circle already showing around her eyes, her lips looking like sandpaper, and her nose bleeding. She pushed him back, she knew how she must look at the moment, she was aware she had absorbed a lot of miasma on her body. The only reason she was able to stand was the shot she took before.
"But, you used the antidotes" Dai told her "they should work for at least an hour more!" he continued not believing how quick her condition had worsen, she send him an apologetically smile. She had given her father her last antidotes, the ones she took were painkillers, a very strong and effective painkillers if you asked her, she was not able to feel any pain at the moment, and that was the only reason she was able to fight.
"For as long as I live I will never understand humans" the boy said and laughed.
"Who are you people, and what do you want?" Sango asked the boy
"Hum… such a brave woman we have here. Demanding answers from me, when you invaded my home and almost killed my pets. Do you know how difficult is to raised two healthy specimens of those spiders?" he asked, Sango narrowed her eyes, and without a warning threw her weapon at him.
Just as it had happened with Jiro's halberd a sudden wind came and altered the course of the boomerang causing it to land meters away from its intended target. Sango's eyes widen in surprise, when she understood what had happened, the woman smirked and closed her fan over her shoulder, that woman could manipulated the wind!
The boy sighed "humans" he said disgusted. "Kana!" he called and out of nowhere another small albino girl appeared by their side "get my pets" he said, the Kana girl nodded and took a few steps towards them and Sango's group retreat in response, the girl had a mirror on her hands and extended in front of her body, a bright light came from it and in the blink of an eye she and the two monstrous spiders disappear on thin air. "Sorry for the trouble my pets cause you" the boy added a lopsided smirk on his face. "You can take your friends with you, I'll get for their babies other humans myself" he added in a polite voice "that is, if you are able to take them out of their webs" he grinned. "Let's go Kagura." He told motioning the woman to follow him, she let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes to the boys back. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Tell the Great Inu no Taisho that Naraku sends his greetings" the boy added over his shoulders, an evil grin on his face.
"oi, Hakudoshi, why are you telling them that?" the Kagura woman seemed to scold him. The boy only smirked to her but didn't answered, and continued his retreat his pinkish ball of energy forming around them again and hiding them from the view of the slayers.
Only when they were out of sight and she wasn't able to feel their evil aura Sango let herself fall on her knees. "Sango! Chief!" the four shouted, Dai and Hiroki, the closest to her, took her by her shoulders supporting her and preventing her to fall on her back. She couldn't feel any pain, but her body was staring to fell numb. If she wanted her and her father to survived they should get out of there fast!
"I'll be fine" she tried to calm them "we have to get them out of those webs. Any ideas how?" she asked looking at Yamato.
"The only thing able to dissolve the webs are the sacred powers of a miko or monk…" he repeated himself "maybe the sword of lord Toga or any of his sons…"
"Think something else" Sango urged "something we can do. We are running out of time. Even if we call for help it would be too late…" she said almost a whisper, her strength leaving her. "wait, I might have something embed with sacred powers" she informed looking at her left wrist, and sighed in relief, there it was, the bracelet that Miroku had given her the day before when she told him she was going on a mission with her father. He said he had made it for her, a charm that would protect her and purify the evil energies that came close to her. "We could use this. It's a gift from Miroku. You can tied it to Jiro's halberd and try to open those things"
"It's a long shot but we can try." Yamato agreed. Taking the bracelet from Sango. She watched as he and Jiro jumped on the tree with the help of their harness, as Kirara had laid down behind Sango and was serving as a pillow for her to rest.
"Go with them, they need all the help to take the others out" she told Dai and Hiroki. The last nodded and ran jumping on the tree as the other two did. But Dai watched her with hard eyes, he was displeased with her decisions. "Go, Kirara can care for me" the young man sighed, and took out from his pants his own plastic box with his set of antidotes and took one, copying Sango's actions with her father, Dai injected it on her neck. Sango would have complain for his rudeness but she didn't feel a thing, instead she just told him "you may need that later"
"I'm not the one dying. I'll be fine I'm the one wearing the mask. Don't move." He ordered her and run to were Tetsuo mask was resting. It was broken on one side but not completely useless. "Here, cover your nose with this. It would at least filter some of the air you are breathing" he said putting the mask over her face and taking her hand so she could keep it in place.
"Thanks. Now go help them so we can leave sooner" he hesitated a little but ended up going to help the others, for what Sango was grateful. Now out of his prying eyes she could stop pretending she wasn't hurting. The moment Yamato had took the bracelet off her hand the miasma in the air had cling to her body like a second skin and she could feel it entering her body through her pores, overpowering the effect of the painkillers. Kirara whimpered behind her, and nuzzled her face, she could smell her sickly scent. "I'm be alright…"she mumble patting the side of her head. "Where's dad? You got him to the car? She asked and Kirara meowed. "Good…" he should be safe there. Out of the woods the miasma wasn't as strong.
Up in the trees the four men were fighting with the cobwebs. The bracelet did work. But it was too weak to do the job in one hit. They had to hit the balls many times, each time a bluish light came from the place where the weapon struck the balls and the threads started to dissolve. They were working as fast as they could. They were able to take Mako and Haru out, they were alive, somehow, they had a pulse but they were barely breathing. Dai and Hiroki took them down and carried them to place them near Sango.
"Fuck" Hiroki cursed "Sango! Can you hear me?" he shouted at her shaking her by the shoulders, hearing him Dai came rushing, Sango was unconscious, the hand that had been pressing the mask to her face laying limp besides her body, fresh blood flowing down her chin and neck soaking her clothes, her breathing was labored and shallow. "How did this happened? Didn't you say you just gave her a shot?" Hiroki demanded
"I did!" Dai screamed. "Why isn't it working?" he continued picking her up, Kirara standing. "She won't last long. Her body is shutting down!"
"Take her out of here" Hiroki shouted again. Dai put Sango on Kirara's back and got on behind her "go! What are you waiting? GO!" he told Kirara, and flying she went. She stopped where she had left Tetsuo and Dai got off her and to get him up, he didn't have much time either.
"Can you fly with all three of us?" he asked him, Kirara roared softly "I guess you can but I would slow you down, right?" she roared again. "Take them. Fly as fast as you can, take them to Yune, she will know what to do" with one last roar Kirara took off again, leaving Dai hoping that it wasn't too late for his chief and his daughter.
Okay, I hope you liked it. We are closer to know who killed Kagome's father! For the person who asked why I use hyphens... well, I dont know... haha. but hey I changed to quotations marks only for you =D I guess it looks better... I'll keep using them.
I would love you to tell me what you think. Until next chapter!
