Update (April-May 2020): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 1: The Girl Discovering the Impossible & The Boy Discovering the Elusive
2017, (430-480 yl), Higurashi Shrine/Residence, Tokyo, Japan...
"Shikon-no-Tama? Did I pronounce tha' correctly?"
"Yes, my girl, precisely."
We catch up with that same redhead from earlier now sitting inside the office building with the eldest member of the Higurashi Family as they examine a new product intended for sale.
She looks over the object hanging from between her fingers - namely, a key chain built with a kanji-scripted wooden piece and a small coloured sphere hanging off the bottom end - with a careful eye, though with some light uncertainty tracing the rest of her face. We also notice that she has switched up her outfit from sleepwear to that of casual wear, namely, a pair of light gray sweatpants, white socks and a soft, v-neck style dark green t-shirt.
"Are you sure tha' these key chains will sell well to tourists, Grandfath'r? Forgive me, but the idea just seems rather done to death."
She meets the eyes of her senior, he being an elderly man of about five foot four wearing the traditional Jōe robes used by shinto priests minus the tate-eboshi cap and ceremonial wand, the top part white while the lower garment is indigo blue. His complexion is of a more sandy warm ivory, showing signs of his physical aging through the creases on his face, and has short grey hair tied into a chonmage-like topknot. Finally, for facial hair he occupies what's known as the Fu Manchu moustache and an equally long soul patch.
His café noir irises narrow the slightest in seriousness as he replies to the young lady,
"Quite sure, as this is no ordinary key chain. That crystal you see at the end is a replica of the ancient Shikon-no-Tama."
Hearing the fabled jewel's name again, the girl looks up with interest and curiousity laced in her two-toned blue irises.
"Shikon-no-Tama. That translates to 'Jewel of Four Souls', righ'?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"...Could you explain to me again how the jewel 'as gained such a legendary prowess?"
Grandfather Higurashi becomes thrilled by the teenager's interest, so how could he deny the request?
"Of course. A-hem, the Shikon-no-Tama was a jewel that was rumored to have legend-"
"(Mreow)"
(Jingle, jingle...)
Just then, Buyo - the family's bobtail cat - comes up to the redheaded lass and begins batting at the key chain in her hand, interrupting the explanation...She gives the feline an eyebrow raise of amusement, before focusing back on the man in front of her.
"Sorry, Grandfather. Go on."
He starts again:
"Ahem. As I was saying, the jewel was rumored to have legendary power that would-"
(Jingle, jingle...)
Frustrated but determined to outshine the cat's actions, Grandfather Higurashi tries once more.
"The jewel was rumored to have power that would-"
"Oh! I just remembered something I meant t' ask. Sorry again for interrupting. You and everyone else remember wha' t'morrow is, right?"
The old man sighs, slightly exasperated...but smiles with a laugh nonetheless.
"How could I forget my adopted granddaughter's birthday? Hm, I was planning to wait until tomorrow, but..."
"Really? Thank you so much! Let's see wha' we go' here!"
A few tears of paper later, the teenage girl's early birthday present is revealed.
"This my girl, is an authentic, mummified hand of a kappa which has been around since the late Azuchi-Momoyama period."
She looks at the said appendage with intrigue and mild excitement.
"Wow, to think this kappa hand has surviv'd preservation fo' so many years. Incredible...!"
Though, I can' help but wonder if this is truly authentic or no'...
Her gazing is then swiftly cut short by a pounce and swipe from Buyo!
"Waah! That's an antique!"
"No, Buyo! That's not a cat toy!"
Good grief, that cat's gonna be th' death of these poor artifacts...Hm?
Just then, the girl spots a stick and a piece of twine laying by one of the boxes in the room. She looks at the key chain in her hand...and feels an idea spark.
"Ah-ha!"
Grabbing the items, she quickly gets to work...
"There, Buyo. Play with this."
The stick, twine and key-chain were now made into a makeshift cat toy that attaches to Buyo's collar! With the new distraction catching the bobtail's attention, the kappa hand drops from his mouth as he rushes into a new chase and bat sequence...
The elder Higurashi stares at the display for a moment in astonishment, before smiling in amusement at the girl for her quick thinking.
"Gyhahaha, oh Coraline, you seem to have a plan for everything, don't you?"
"Heh, not everything, Grandfather, but I do my best!"
Coraline's POV
Whew, that was close...
Looking down at the safe kappa hand in my grasp for another minute, I then turn eyes to the rest of the room as my mind began wandering.
The replicas, the authenticity, wow. It seems like everything here has a story t' tell...
"Why, these pickles are full of history!"
I look over at Grandfather hours later from across the dining room table during dinner in slight amusement, but with enough seriousness on the subject to satisfy both of our scholarly intellects.
"Perhaps in the eyes of food culture enthusias's, but not necessarily historians or hist'ry in general."
Akari-sama* and Sōta - my kid brother - laugh a bit at my answer, while Grandfather eyes me in a mix of appreciation and playful irritation...As the night rolls in, I think further about this place which has become so dear to my heart.
Higurashi Shrine...This place never ceases t' amaze me.
The stories, including 'The Legend of the Bone Eater's Well', the objects, even the Goshinboku Tree...they all seem t' breathe with mystery and mystic...
Of course, I don' have any deep-rooted connections here, or in Tokyo at all for that matter.
At least...that's what I've come to believe in the few years I've lived here...But I'd soon be proven wrong in my assumption, come tomorrow...My fifteenth birthday, the day where not only my life would change, but others through the events set to motion by forces beyond comprehension.
...
...
The morning starts out normally enough. After eating breakfast and gathering my things, I exit through the back door of the house to walk Sōta to school before heading to the downtown library in search of more references for a research project. Yeah, not the 'most fun' way to spend my birthday, I know, but my friends said they'd meet me there later in the afternoon to treat me to some milkshakes and the arcade.
And no, the project I mentioned is not for school; this is my own solo research. I'm actually not enrolled in any public institution at the moment, instead choosing to self-educate myself through an online program...
Anyway, for today's outfit, I have on a simple white crew-neck tee, my hunter green and cornflower blue checkered flannel shirt, dark-wash jeans and my dark brown hikers, along with my brown leather satchel hanging off my left shoulder.
"I'm headin' out! See you in the evening!"
As I move on to meet Sōta at the top of the stairs, I found myself thinking about the dream I had last night...A familiar one at that.
Fourth time consecutively this week alone.
What does this mean?...What is it tryin' to tell me?
"Buuuyooo..."
My thoughts were interrupted by my younger adoptive brother - full story about my relations will come in time - calling out for someone...in the Bone Eater's Well?
"Sōta?...What's goin' on?"
He turns to me with unease written on his face, holding a dish in one of his hands.
I walk over his way while sternly reminding him,
"You and I both know this well is off-limits withou' Grandfather present."
He turns his gaze back to the well-house while replying,
"I know. It's the cat."
"Buyo?"
Curious, I peer inside the small structure. Not much to look at really other than the sealed well, except for perhaps the strange bone fragments littered around it...
"I don't know where else he could be..."
I kneel down to my sibling's level and reply nonchalantly,
"So what're you waitin' for, Chris'mas? Go down and get 'im."
"But why'do I gotta be the one?"
"Well, aren't you the one lookin' for him? Now come on; hurry up so we can get ya to scho-"
(Scritch, scratch...)
There suddenly came an odd sound of something scraping against wood, the noise coupled with the darkened light of the room being enough to send Sōta darting behind me in fear.
"Ahh, wh-what's that? Something's down there!"
I reply obviously,
"Who else? Buyo. He's probably trackin' a bug or something, that's all."
Sensing that the boy wasn't gonna try to retrieve the frustrating cat anytime soon, I breathe out a sigh before venturing down the stairs towards the sealed well myself...
As I grew closer to the structure, the sound from earlier began again.
(Scritch, scratch...)
I stop, and narrow my eyes suspiciously as I feel something, off.
That noise...i' sounds like it's comin' from, inside the well...
Next thing I knew, I hear a thump before something brushes against my leg, causing me to cry out in surprise.
"Wah!"
I hear Sōta yelp and trip backwards...around the time I look down and see that sneaky cat...
"Oh there you are, Buyo."
I pick him up and hold him securely to my torso as I my little brother scoffs,
"You make fun of me 'cause I'm scared, but then you're all, 'ahhh-yaah'!"
Huffing, I whirl around and counter,
"You may wanna take note of who's down here and who's up there? Honestly, there's nothin' to be afraid of here in the well-house, Sōta. Nothin' but old bones and woodlice..."
...But just as I ready to take my leave, more strange sounds begin resonating from behind me inside the well, mixed with an even louder chorus of the scratching...!
"C-Cora, behind you!"
(...CRASH, WHOOSH)
The sound of wood splitting to pieces rings into the small room, and a strong gust of wind pushes past me, most of it coming from the now unsealed well!
Wh-What the hell...?!
I'm too stunned to move, making me vulnerable to being seized by...semi-solid hands, yanking me backwards into the well! I drop Buyo and barely hear Sōta cry out for me as I make my descent...Though, it doesn't, feel like I'm falling, but almost floating downward...The inside of the well is also strange, no temporal space anywhere...
But that was the least of my worries, for those hands that still have a hold on me are beginning to solidify into full-on arms, attaching to a body slowly regenerating before my very eyes! This body had the upper torso of a woman, and the rest some sort of many-legged insect. The humanoid half has about six arms, the skin porcelain and void of any clothing, very long black hair as dark as her Hikimayu-style eyebrows, and very small black pupils...I suddenly hear the creature speak, her voice chilling despite having this almost seductive quality.
"Aah, alive. O, to be alive one more. Already my strength returns..."
The insect-woman then focuses on me:
"So then, you have it, don't you? The jewel...Give it to me."
The, jewel?...Could, she mean-
Her tongue then slithers out her mouth, and began licking my face!
"H-Hey! What are you doin'? Get OOOFFF!"
I shove her from me...and the next thing I knew...
(Sheen)
A strange, amaranth pink light emits from my hand, forcing the insect-woman back!
I watch as she tumbles into nothingness, her last message being,
"Retched girl. I must have the Shikon-no-Tama!"
...Eventually, I reach the bottom of the well, gently landing on my hands and knees...I pant heavily, trying to make sense of all that transpired.
"Hah, hah, wha', just...happened...?"
More to the point...that power...was definitely no' my own.
It'd take too long right now to explain what I mean, but let's just say my intuition's sharp in ways beyond normal humans...Moving on, I look around at my new surroundings, vaguely noticing some new greenery that I'm not too certain has been hanging here.
"Okay...I definitely fell into the well...or w's I dragged in? That insect-woman...was it real, or some sort'a illusion?"
I look to my left, and see a severed arm of the creature.
"Ah! Alright, no' an illusion!"
Stifling my alarm and the urge to curse in one of my native tongues, I push myself to my feet.
"Either way, I need t' get outta here. Hey, Sōta: get Grandfath'a and tell 'im ta bring a ladda'!"
...I receive no answer, so with that, I switch to plan B and start climbing up the well using the vines on the walls.
"Mph, I guess 'e, must've ran off. Not that I can really blame 'im, but still..."
After a few minutes, I reach the top and pull myself out, greeting the sight of...a woodland area?! Wait, this can't be right...I'm left dumbstruck by the change of scenery, absentmindedly watching as a cabbage butterfly flutters by.
"...Ooooh, this is a problem..."
Beautiful as this landscape is, I was so confused! Where did the shrine go? Where did Tokyo go?!
"Granfather?...Akari-sama! Where are you?!...Sōta!...Buyo?!"
No matter who I shouted for, I'm given the same answer: nature's silence...
As I keep peering around, I finally spot something familiar.
"Ah! The Goshinboku Tree!"
I start jogging towards it, happy to see one thing in the area that hadn't changed...But when I reach the tree, I'm struck stupid by yet another surprise: tied within some rather ancient-looking roots, was a boy!
And judgin' from the size of d'ose roots, it looks like he's been here fo' quite a while...
"Uh, hello?...Are you alrigh'?...Could you maybe tell me where I am?"
...No response is given. Growing a bit worried for the stranger's condition, I climb up onto the main root to get a closer look at this boy. I notice he has long, silver-white hair, is dressed in a full red kimono, and has no shoes...
"Wooow. He looks more amazin' up close...Hm?"
I then see the arrow lodged into his chest, right where his heart is!
"Uh! Oh no...Does this mean-!...Yet, it doesn', look like he's dead..."
It looks more like, he's frozen in time...
Looking up more, I notice the ears on top of his skull, dog ears at that!
"...No way. Those can't really be-!...Well, only one way to find out..."
I remember to be gentle just incase they were, and raise my index finger to very gently stroke the boy's left ear...
"Hh!...It is real...!"
I repeat the action with the right ear, then rest my hand lightly on his right shoulder as questions stir within my mind.
How? How is this even possibl'? Who is he?
...And more impor'ntly...what happened to him?
"Hey, you; get away from there!"
(Twok, twok, twok)
That's when several arrows are shot at me!
I duck just in time, placing by body where the boy is so the ammo embeds wood and not flesh.
...Phew. That was close...
I turn to see my assailants, they being men dressed in simplistic haori and hakama outfits and carrying self bows and spears. Given the odds, I decide to go on the defense and surrender peacefully.
Small Time Skip, No POV
Unfortunately, her plan doesn't go as smooth as she would've wanted it to. Bound by her wrists and ankles, Coraline now awaits atop of a straw tatami mat next to her satchel for what's to comes next...though not without some annoyance creeping into her being.
"Hey! Nh, was tyin' me up really necessary?"
None of the people were listening to the redhead, for they're too busy trying to make sense of the situation regarding the new stranger.
"Who is this girl?" "Such strange clothing..."
"Is she a foreigner?"
Two men postulate,
"You reckon it's war?"
"Of course it is, and right in the middle of rice planting season too."
Yet two women wonder,
"She could be a kitsune in disguise."
"Nah, them shape-shifting foxes are alot trickier than that..."
As the villagers keep murmuring possibilities, Coraline took the time to observe the people and the area.
Hmm, the men around here all have topkno's, while some of the women have scarves tied on their heads.
Wood'n huts, old farming tools, kimonos of simple quality, some weap'nry, even a shrine house or two...
The style and structure of the area and its resid'nts suggest the time to be Sengoku, or th' Warring States era...
But how...?
"Make way for Lady Kaede!"
Coraline's thoughts are interrupted by a man's call, and an older woman comes through the crowd of wary eyes. She - Lady Kaede - stands about five foot three, dressed in the garments indicating she's a priestess, has tan ivory skin weathered with age, long wheat-grey hair tied back with a ribbon, and chestnut brown irises, though the right one is covered by an eye patch made from an iron tsuba. Over her right shoulder sits a quiver of arrows, the matching bow currently being used almost like a cane as she walks.
There's a serious look abound the elder female's features, telling the younger redhead that the former's not a person to toy with...Suddenly, Lady Kaede passes her bow to a villager standing by, then reaches her hand into a pouch, and proceeds to throw some sort of dust powder at Coraline.
"Demon, begone!"
"Hey, hey! Cut i' out; I'm not a demon! Wha' in the world gave you that idea?"
Kaede stops, then asks with some surprise laced in her voice,
"Are ye not? Then why were ye found in the Forest of Inuyasha?"
The man with the priestess's bow whispers a suggestion.
"She could be a spy from another village..."
"In that case, she would be a fool. Who would invade such a poor village as ours?...Mm?"
Kaede then looks a bit more intently at Coraline, and her chestnut irises widen a fraction when she notices something in the girl's blue that seemed, familiar.
Can it, be...?
"Let me have a good look at ye..."
Stepping forward, the elder shrine maiden then grasps the teenager's chin to tilt from side to side.
"Look clever, girl, or be ye a half-wit?"
Coraline feels a wave of indignation on that last comment.
Grrrh! Who is she ta call me a half-wit?
When she's done, Kaede lets go and stands up straight with an expression hinting at slight disbelief.
"It's there...though, I know not why..."
"Hm?"
If Coraline wasn't confused before, she was now.
...
After the villagers and their resident priestess finally deem the girl harmless, she's untied and brought to Lady Kaede's hut. The inside is fairly modest, having a hearth on one side of the room, wooden bars on the single window, a wicker door cover, some clay dishes and various other pottery items (some containing herbs), and the owner's bow and quiver are laying by the entrance...
As Coraline rubs her freed wrists a bit, she's then handed a bowl and chopsticks.
"Stew?"
"Oh, wow; thank you...I didn't even realize my hunger 'til now."
With that, Coraline began to eat, and after a few seconds, Kaede spoke up again.
"Bare us no ill will, child, for though I now see ye mean us no harm, in these trouble times of war, no stranger may be welcomed among us without a deep distrust."
"I understand...So then, this really isn' Tokyo, is it?"
"To-ky-o. Never heard of it. Is that where your people are from?"
"Um, in a sense. Anyway, I really should be findin' a way back..."
The only question is how in the world 'm I gonna do that?
(...CRASH)
Suddenly, the sound of wood being crushed in multiple areas of the village resonates, followed by the bong of an alarm bell! Kaede and Coraline hurry outside to see what the trouble was.
"What's going on?"
"That's wha' I was about t-uh-hh!"
Oh, crap...!
Coraline felt her blood run cold when her eyes meet with a very familiar and unpleasant sight: the same insect-woman that had attacked her in the well!
As the villagers voice danger, said monster rose into the air with a horse clamped within her jaws, hissing before brushing away the village men with her more beastly half, and then releasing the mare with a menacing laugh. The poor quadruped gives out a final strangled cry, before slamming against the dirt dead...
"Oh man. I though' that monster was gone...!"
The insect-woman calls out in a threatening tone,
"Give me the Shikon-no-Tama!"
She then dive-bombs in Kaede and Coraline's direction, forcing both to duck downward to dodge...As they get up, the priestess then asks the redhead,
"It said 'Shikon-no-Tama'...Tell me: are ye it's quarry?!"
"Uh, technically, yes, b-bu' I honestly don't know why! I only know of the Shikon-no-Tama by legend."
The men continue to fire arrows at the creature as it repeats its obsession.
"I must have it! I MUST!"
She then twists and spins her body, swinging it at villagers and the remaining structures...Coraline watches the scene with anger and guilt writhing within her being.
Everyone here is suffering...because of me...
Two men known as the village heads come up to stand protectively in front of Kaede and Coraline with looks of frustration.
"Spears, arrows, nothing works!"
The priestess quickly orders a course of action.
"We must lure it to the Dry Well."
Coraline turns to Kaede in confusion:
"Dry Well, you say?"
"Yes, in the Forest of Inuyasha."
The redhead discerns,
Of course; the well I climbed ou' of...Alright. I can't let this monster destroy the village.
"Tell me, which way is the forest?"
Kaede points it out, and Coraline turns to the east where the trees grew thickest, noticing a strange energy.
That glow. It has t' be it!
"Got it! Where that light is shinin'!"
"Wait!"
Ignoring the priestess' protest, the teenager began sprinting towards the forest, catching the attention of the insect-woman...
"I won' let the village be destroyed!"
Kaede watches as Coraline runs through a ditch and onward with the threat honing in, muttering in surprise,
"How is it she can see, what cannot be seen in the Forest of Inuyasha...?"
"Lady Kaede!"
More men come with horses that weren't spooked off by the great monster, armed and ready for battle. Kaede lifts herself onto one of the mares after retrieving her bow and quiver, before riding off in the direction that Coraline and the insect-woman left for...
The teenager herself was having a hard time keeping a distance from her pursuer.
I don't know, how long I can keep this up...Could, this be the end?
...NO! It, can't be! It jus' can't!
"Hah, hah, please, someone, I need HEEEEEELLLLLP!"
Coraline's outcry travels with the howl of the insect-woman a great distance, echoing deep into the forest yonder...The sound reaches the Goshinboku Tree where the young man lays tied within the roots...just as he begins vibrating with an unearthly energy.
(Ba-bump...ba-bump...)
One of the boy's clawed hands twitches, then slowly lifts to his face, revealing that the youth is in fact alive!
"I smell it...the blood of the woman who killed me. And it's coming closer...Rrrgh!"
(Sheen...)
Try as he did to move, the male found himself unable to due to the arrow embedded him, it glowing with a pure power...
Getting back to Coraline, she eventually reaches the edge of the forest, the insect-woman still in hot pursuit.
"The jewel...Give me the Shikon-no-Tama!"
"How many times must I say it?! I don', have it!"
The beast then cuts through the ground in a dive, the impact sending Coraline forward to tumble in front of the Goshinboku Tree...As she rises from her fall with a groan, a new voice cuts through the momentary silence.
"Hello, Kikyō. Playing with bugs, now are we?"
Confused, the teen from another era looks up, and felt her eyes widen when she realizes that the young man with silver-white hair was both alive and addressing her!
He...spoke.
She gets up, astonishment tracing her features.
"...So I was right. You really weren' dead at'all..."
"Why're you taking so long to kill it? Just do her like you did me."
...Wait...
The boy's eyes then widen a little as he gets a better look at Coraline.
I don't, remember her having red hair...and blue eyes?
...But still...her scent. It has to be...
"You look pretty dumb there, Kikyō...The Kikyō I know wouldn't waste time."
An annoyed look rises onto the redhead's face, and she answers back,
"Why I outta-! Listen up: whoever this 'Kikyō' is, she's not me! My name is-"
The boy interrupts when he senses the other presence.
"...She's here."
The insect-woman then dives down from the top of the Goshinboku Tree, and Coraline quickly moves backwards to get away...
(Twok, twok)
Suddenly, arrows with rope attached shoot into the insect-woman's torso!
Panning our view along the twine, we see the source to be the villagers who went after the monster.
"Good! Now pull!"
The men are able to force the insect-woman back a little, giving the teenage girl in the flannel shirt a moment to breathe.
"Damn, that was too close..."
That thing...It looks an awful lo' like some of the old depictions of Yōkai, Mononoke or even Yūrei.
...Does this mean the supernat'ral still exists in Japan?
"You're pathetic, Kikyō."
Guh! Grrh, alrigh', first thing's first, I need t' set that guy straight.
"Hey, you! I'm not Kikyo!"
She adds while climbing up the roots to get within close proximity,
"Quit callin' me by a name that's not mine!"
Despite having some suspicion creep into his skull, the boy stubbornly retorts back,
"Well I'm saying you gotta be her! 'Cause if you're not, there's no way that you could smell so-"
...He cuts himself off suddenly, and sniffs the air before saying in a softly surprised voice,
"You're not her..."
That smell...Her blood, only has a faint trace.
The rest...is all foreign.
"I know. My name is Coraline. Cor-a-line."
...Snapping out of his daze, the young man turns away from the girl's eyes with a more subdued and near-disgruntled expression.
"You're right...Kikyō was cuter. Much cuter..."
Coraline raises an eyebrow at his change of attitude.
Yeesh. What's up his corduroys? Moreover...who exactly was he expecting?
"Gah!"
Next thing she knew, the redhead is seized by two sets of the insect-woman's arms, who then proceeds to drag her away! Coraline desperately grabs for something to help keep her in one spot, and winds up grabbing the boy's hair.
"Ah! Let go, dammit! Let goooo!"
"Ow, ow, ow! You let go!"
The villagers watch the scene with disbelief, one of the men remarking,
"Inuyasha has revived!"
Kaede watches just as stunned, if not more so.
How can that be?! The seal should've held forever!
The insect-woman calls out her demand once again in an even harsher and desperate tone than before.
"Give me the Shikon-no-Tama!"
The freshly-identified Inuyasha feels an epiphany rise in his irises.
...The Shikon-no-Tama...!
The insect-woman's face then shifts to look even more monster-like, with huge fangs prodding out of her mouth!...Before it could attack, however...
"GET, BACK!"
Coraline holds her hand out to invoke that weird glow from her palm! The power forces the insect-woman back, and the teenage girl falls to the ground alongside the rest of the antagonist's arms...
She looks at her hand, softly commenting,
"That glow...It happened again, just like in the well..."
Bu' where is this comin' from, and why...why do I feel this familiar ring?
(Sheen...)
"Huh?"
Coraline looks down at herself, feeling a shift in her lower torso...and her eyes widen in shock at seeing her left side - just above her hip - glowing with a strange, amaranth pink orb-shaped energy!
"Wh...What is this?!"
With their target distracted, the insect-woman takes the opportunity to charge across the ground...then lunge to bite into the girl's side before tossing her into the air!
"Aaaagh! Aaah-hh...Hh?"
In amidst her new pain, the young woman manages to spot something pop out of her body alongside her blood.
What...is that? It came, from inside me...
Is that the-No! It can't be!...The Shikon-no-Tama?!
She's cut out of her shock when she whaps against the insect-woman's body, before landing on the ground hard.
"Agh! Nyhh..."
Damn, this hurts...
As she fights to lift herself from the dirt, Inuyasha urgently orders,
"Give me the jewel, quick!"
"W-What?"
"Hurry!"
But before the redhead could do anything, the insect-woman surrounds her and the boy with her body, before constricting them completely against the trunk of the tree!...Lowering her upper torso, the creature then addresses Inuyasha.
"I heard some half-demon spawn was after the Shikon-no-Tama. It's you, isn't it?"
Half-demon?
Coraline looks up at Inuyasha, thinking to herself with a new curiousity despite the situation,
So, he's not human? Guess tha' would explain the ears and claws...
"Half's all I need to kick your scaly hide. Anything more than that would be a waste of my time!"
"...Do you really have th' strength to beat this monster?"
Inuyasha looks down at the redhead confusingly, and she asks again,
"Well? Do you or do you not?"
He refocuses on the insect-woman with a glare as it proceeds to mock him and the girl.
"What can he do, pinned there like that, or you for that matter? You're powerless to stop me!"
It then bends down to the apparent Shikon-no-Tama, adding with a laugh,
"You're helpless, the both of you!"
The creature then lolls out its long tongue to swallow up the jewel, ignoring Inuyasha's angry threat.
"Don't you dare...!"
The villagers feel panic creeping into their skulls.
"It swallowed the jewel!"
"Lady Kaede! What should we do?!"
Before the priestess could suggest anything, the insect-woman's fallen arms glow an ominous red, before floating to re-attach to their body! The scene only becomes more disturbing when the creature bends downward with a shudder, then sheds its skin to reveal a more hideous version of its upper torso, it having a splotchy orchid pink and Chinese violet complexion void of lips and eyebrows, and bright red eyes!
"At last, my power is complete!"
A triumphant howl rings from her fanged mouth, and she proceeds to finish her victims off by strangling them with her body.
"Auh! D-Damn, it's, crushing me...!"
As Coraline struggles, Inuyasha then asks her in a calm tone,
"...Hey. Can you, pull out this arrow?"
Distracted from her squirming, the redhead focuses on said object lodged into the boy's chest.
"Rrrgh, do...do you mean, this one?"
"Yes! Can you pull it out or not?"
Coraline reaches her left hand towards it, answering Inuyasha with some strain in her voice,
"I...I think so. Rrgh...!"
Kaede gets off her horse, and calls out to the teen in protest,
"Nay, child! Once the arrow is removed, then Inuyasha will be free to destroy us all!"
Said boy retorts back,
"Don't be stupid, you old hag! At least with me you got a chance, where as that thing's gonna eat you!"
He then looks down at Coraline when he senses her hesitance.
"And what about you? Are you ready to die yet?"
She freezes, thinking on his choice of words.
...No. No, I'm not ready to die! No' now!
I don't know what'll happen after freein' him...but, I've come too far, and have given up so much, tha' I can't lose me life here.
She reaches for the arrow, grasping it while shouting,
"I...re-fuse...t' DIE!"
(...POW, SHEEN)
The object glows a bright amaranth fuchsia with a slight undertone of neon blue, and disintegrates into nothing, leaving Kaede awestruck.
"It's gone!...My sister's spell banished...!"
The shining light briefly spreads over the two bodies, before disappearing as quick as it came...
(Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump...)
The boy's body then pulsates an ominous energy, something Coraline feels against her own skin.
...I sense a great strength returning.
Something powerful must'a restrained him all this time. For wha' reason...another question to add to my growin' list.
"...Inu-yasha?"
He shivers, before breaking out a menacing laugh just as the insect-woman lets out another howl when she too senses a change in the air. She lifts her winding body off of her two victims briefly, then slams it back on them again, seemingly crushing them...
That is, until Inuyasha breaks out with a war cry, cutting the torso into pieces and forcing Coraline to fall to the ground.
"Aaaa-oof! Ouch..."
Well that's one way to get 'er to back off...Hm.
She lifts herself onto her knees while grasping her injured left side, and watches Inuyasha somersault down in a smooth landing. The insect-woman turns his way and hisses with malice,
"Retched child!"
He retorts with a smirk,
"Nasty hag!"
The insect-woman charges with the intent of sinking her fangs into the boy next, and he raises his right arm while crying out,
"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"
His claws slice straight down the middle of the monster, cutting it into pieces and ultimately destroying it!...Coraline looks at Inuyasha in amazement at his quick work of the monster as pieces of her flesh litter the ground like hail.
Incredible...His strength surpasses any normal person.
Then again, I'm no' so sure what normal is...
Unfortunately, the fight wasn't over yet, or so she realizes when pieces of Mistress Centipede's body begin to jitter and twitch.
"Gh! Oh crap, she's tryin' to regenerate!"
Kaede comes over to Coraline and tells the latter what to do.
"Find the glowing flesh, quickly! That's where the jewel will be. It must be removed at once, lest the flesh of Mistress Centipede revives."
"What? Seriously?!"
Seeing no other options, Coraline began scanning the flesh...
"Ah, there: tha' large piece!"
The aging priestess walks over to the indicated locale, and removes the Shikon-no-Tama from the flesh. The second it's taken, the flesh of the monster begins evaporating, leaving nothing except the skeletal remains...
"Huh...Guess that's the end of that."
Coraline's attention then diverts to Kaede...when she presents the Shikon-no-Tama to the former!
"W-What?...But, why?"
"Only ye may possess the Shikon-no-Tama now."
...Ye who so holds the spirit of the dead Kikyō.
Tentatively taking the orb for her left hand to hold, Coraline is nonetheless taken aback by this turn in events.
"But, how?...How could the Shikon-no-Tama h've been inside me? I shouldn't have...well any prior connections to the jewel at'all..."
...Inuyasha then steps forward, crushing some bone with his foot while offering his rather, prejudice insight.
"Exactly. Humans can't use it, so why bother to keep it?...If you hand over the Shikon-no-Tama right now, I won't have to start sharpening my claws on you."
Coraline is stunned by his quick change to threats...Or was it quick at all?
"Wait, what?!"
I don' understand. Does this mean, he isn't a good guy?
...Oh man, whaddo I do now?!
*Note: this is the name I'll be using for Ms. Higurashi, as Coraline does not really acknowledge her as her mother. It'll be explained later on in the story why.