Update (May 2020): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 10: Phantom Showdown - The Thunder Brothers versus Tessaiga
We briefly take a trip from current events and delve into a dreamworld, where a large group of beautiful women dressed in angelic robes all swoon atop clouds as a figure approaches.
"Master Hiten is handsome, but Master Manten is positively dashing~!"
A winged horse comes flying into the area, drawing a carriage holding the reptilian demon and two lovely girls, he now sporting hair similar to his brother...
"Heheheh, just as I expected. Having a full head of hair is all that I needed to make me as popular as my elder brother Hiten."
He tuns a hand through his new locks...only to find several strands have come out.
"Hoh, my tresses!"
...Suddenly, the rest of his hair slowly flies off his head, leaving him as bald as he was before! The ladies are appalled and begin to float away, much to Manten's dismay.
"No, wait! I have special ointments, I can make then grow back, honest!...Oooh no, I'm losing my charisma; I must find some hair!"
If things weren't bad enough, the body of the winged horse then fades into a skeleton, before it and the carriage all fall apart into pieces!
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!"
(Flash)
"Oof!"
The demon wakes when he falls out of bed, revealed to have been experiencing a nightmare...or perhaps, a taunting dream.
Since reaching puberty, my dreams have all ended in the same manner: my hair falls out, dashing my hopes in one crushing blow.
Oh, what I wouldn't give for a full head of silky, smooth hair. It may not deem me Hiten's equal with the fairest, but I'm confident that with some coverage on my cranium, I would attract at least a few lovely maidens...
...
...
Jumping back to the battle at hand, we return to the moment after Inuyasha successfully forces Hiten backwards from their weapon clash, the latter finding the former's defiance almost laughable.
"Huh, you wish to draw out this game, I see. Fine, I shall relish in your prolong suffering."
The half-demon retorts,
"Ha, I've heard similar threats from other poor souls whose memories I keep alive by dancin' on their tombstones!"
"Perhaps in your dreams. Enough delay, time for you to meet your unfortunate DEMISE!"
Hiten charges down once again with Raigekijin, and Inuyasha barely avoids being crushed along with the upturned earth...The thunder demon growls before coming at his opponent again, and the two begin clashing with sword against kama-yari.
"Enjoy your last moments of life! Grrh!"
"Hrrh!"
One touch of this lightning and I'm a goner!
Shippō watches the fight from behind a rock, whispering to himself,
"Good, Hiten's busy. I'm certain Inuyasha can hold him off. Meanwhile, I'll find a way to save Coraline."
Speaking of the other redhead, she watches the battle too, calling down to the fighter she wants to win.
"Inuyasha, you go' this! Hiten doesn' stand a chance!"
Manten meanwhile, laughs and applauds his brother's efforts.
"Give him a send-off that is unrivaled! I shall lend my assistance."
He then prepares to charge his electric attack, which the human beside him would not stand for.
"Not on my watch, cheater!"
Coraline performs a hard shove against the reptilian demon, and he falls off the cloud to sink like a heavy stone to the ground, leaving a huge crater...Unfortunately, with him no longer atop the large puff, it wouldn't stay stabilized for more than a few seconds...before-
(Poof)
"Craaaap!"
The poor redhead begins her descend from the sky, much to Shippō's and Inuyasha's shock, the latter yelling her name before he's forced to block another attack from Hiten.
(Clang)
"Ha, a true warrior never puts a woman before a battle!"
"Hold on, Coraline! I'll come for you just as soon as I finish him off!"
She calls back,
"Great t' know, bu' gravity isn't feelin' friendly with time!...Oof!"
Fortunately, her landing wasn't too bad, considering she bounces off of Manten before actually touching earth.
"Rrgh...well, the fall certainly didn' kill me."
"Not yet, no, but I might."
She jumps to her feet when the reptilian demon's voice sounds.
"Wah! Shouldn' you be dead?!"
"Wench!"
Coraline begins running from Manten, but doesn't get to far before she trips and falls on her front!
"Damn...!"
She goes to get up, but turns around to see her pursuer closing in!
(...Spin)
"Time to use my Fox Magic!"
Luckily, a savior comes to her rescue in the form of Shippō, he sending a toy top through the air to land on Manten's head. The reptilian looks up...and the top grows to ginormous size, drilling the demon into the ground!
"Get away while you can, Coraline!"
"Uh, right!"
She climbs out of the cater, and says to the young fox,
"Thanks, Shippō. That was quite the maneuver."
"Aw, it was nothin'."
Myōga hops onto Shippo's shoulder and says to them both,
"It's far too early for celebration."
"You and your big mouth..."
"Shippō's so-called Fox Magic is all about illusion."
Coraline is surprised to hear such from the flea demon.
"Really? That's an illusion? Looks pretty real to me..."
...But as she looks over towards Manten being held down by the top, the object suddenly begins to shrink.
"And yet it is not. Behold."
The now normal-sized toy rolls off of the reptilian demon's head, and he goes to sit up while muttering angrily,
"That fox tyke will pay for his tricks."
...But that was the least of his problems. Apparently, the place where the illusionary top was drilling was also where his last hair stood, and the pressure from the spin caused it to loosen and drift off.
"...Oh...Oh-Oh no, my beautiful hair! Gone, they're all gone!"
Manten - somehow forgetting the lock of hair that is his braid - lets out a cry of agonized rage, and unleashes a torrent of electricity from his mouth! As he mentally wails over his newly found baldness, Coraline and Shippō barely escape the onslaught of attacks before ducking behind a large rock and dead tree, the ground around them ablaze and singed...
"Guess we've really hit boilin' point, huh?"
"You said it!"
Once the reptilian demon's rage cools a bit, he begins skulking around for the two responsible for his 'disfigurement'.
"I can smell your fear...I'll hunt you down, and use one for my hair potion, and the other for a new pelt!"
He passes their hiding spot, and Coraline says to Shippō in a whisper,
"I hope you have anoth'a plan ready, cause we're definitely up to our necks in trouble now..."
She looks up to watch Manten's movements...and it dawns on her.
"Wait a minute...that arrow...Maybe I can use it again! (Turns to the fox demon) Shippō, I need your help."
...A few minutes pass before the reptilian demon pauses his steps, and sends a shot of electricity where the redheaded duo was hiding.
"Over there!"
(Bzzz-BOOM...)
Once the bright light and most of the smoke clears, he then walks over past the sizzled rubble to where an unconscious Coraline lays...
"There's the little wench."
Manten picks her up by her hair and asks rhetorically,
"Did you honestly think you can allude a Thunder Brother?"
"...Yeah, actually, you slimy mud-skipper!"
"Huh?"
"Funny, I just can't do a thing with my hair today..."
The smirking 'Coraline' suddenly begins wrapping tresses of her dark auburn locks around Manten's wrists, just as the real girl comes rushing over.
"What trickery is this?!"
"I'll be takin' back the arrow, thank you!"
(Yank)
"Ouch!"
Shaking off the pain from the arrow being ripped out of his nose, the reptilian demon then focuses at the fake Coraline, realizing who they really are as their hair shifts a couple shades to a ginger-copper.
"You're that miserable fox!"
"In the flesh and blood, here for my father's revenge!"
The human tells the fox demon,
"Keep 'im righ' there, Shippō! This may be our one shot!"
I just gotta him 'im where the shards are, and he's finished!
"Take, this!"
But the execution time is off by a few seconds, and Manten manages to knock Coraline aside before flails his other arm free from Shippō's hair.
"Damn you, wretch!"
The fox demon pops back to normal, before getting kicked away by the enemy.
"Aaaahhh-gyh!"
"Your turn!"
Manten then puts his hands around Coraline's throat, and begins choking her!
"Hnnhh!...I-Inuyasha, help!"
The half-demon blocks away a few more of Hiten's attacks before shouting the girl's name...
(CRACKLE)
"Gyaaah!"
"Didn't think my advice about women worth heeding?!"
But the distraction would be enough for the humanoid lightning user to force Inuyasha downward with his kama-yari, and the half-dog demon falls to the ground with Tessaiga landing beside him before transforming back...Inuyasha tries to get up despite the new wound in his shoulder, but the blade of Hiten's Raigekijin blocks him from moving an inch further.
"Pathetic. You don't live up to your reputation. Human compassion will prove your undoing, half-breed. What to die first: this cursed wretch or that odd woman he's preoccupied with?"
The red-clad youth says to himself with a silent growl,
I'll deal with this loser afterward. I gotta save Coraline first!
"What do you think, Manten? Should we put these fools out of their misery or make them suffer a little longer?"
"I'm in no rush, Hiten! I'm quite enjoying myself. Hah, what is it about the sight of a woman before death that is so exquisitely irresistible?"
Shippō manages to get up, and when he saw what the reptilian demon was doing, he quickly got angry before leaping onto the latter's arm.
"Rrr, let her go!"
(Punch)
"Aaaaah-urh!"
The fox demon is knocked clean off Manten, and as he holds his bruised cheek, the antagonistic force menacingly laughs out,
"When I'm done, I have a surprise for you! My girth has been expanding of late, and I could use another fox pelt to keep warm at night! It'll be like a family reunion..."
Shippō growls as enraged tears threaten to fall from his pastel green irises.
You, murdering bastard...!
"Should I slay you first, or skin you alive like your father? Perhaps I should sever your toes and use them for a new set of earrings."
Hiten praises his younger brother for the cruel dialogue.
"Very clever, Monten. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you're becoming quite the villain."
"He-huh, he-huh! How kind of you to say so, Hiten!"
With all the traumatic pressures on his heart, Shippō snaps and gives into his anger.
"You won't get away with this!"
He then hops onto Monten's neck and bites down hard...even though the attack doesn't do much but catch the other demon's attention.
"Hmm, trying to hasten your fate?"
He tries to pull Shippō off, but the young boy holds hard with his jaw.
I won't let go; not if it kills me!
"Release me at once, you little pest!"
The fox demon just bites down harder in return, prompting the reptilian to beat his fist against the former's head to try and deter their strength.
"Release me immediately, fox tyke! Remove those baby teeth from me now, or I may have to rethink the order of my victims!"
Nevertheless, Shippō was determined to hold on...
"Monten. Careful you don't soil that precious fox pelt of yours. Wouldn't want it soaked with blood."
"Thanks for the tip, Hiten!"
Inuyasha suddenly spoke up as he regains enough strength to stand up, hearing enough of the cruelty from the Thunder Brothers.
"Hey, I'll be the first to admit, I've dealt my share of bad karma in the past...But I'm innocent compared to you two swine!"
He then reaches to his wound, and soaks his claws before unleashing one of his more brutal physical attacks.
"Blades of Blood!"
Hiten is taken by surprise, but quickly blocks the incoming blades with his kami-yari.
"Finally, this is starting to get interesting!"
Inuyasha takes the opportunity to rush for Tessaiga, then leaps into the air and throws his sword.
"Hah!"
But it 'misses' Hiten, who jeers,
"Nice throw, if you're aiming at the rocks!"
However, Inuyasha lands in a crouch and mutters,
"Did I get him?"
"Huh?"
(STAB)
"UUUHHH!"
It turns out the half-demon was really aiming at Manten, and Tessaiga's blade had landed clean through his torso!...He falls to the ground, releasing Coraline while Shippō fell off his arm...
"Manten! Are you alright?!"
The redheaded female gets up and hurries to pick up the fox demon.
"Shippō...The Tessaiga. I've gotta get i' to Inuyasha!"
"Don't leave my father!"
"Huh?"
Coraline then looks at the fox pelt around Manten's waist.
"Oh yes, your fath'r's fur...But will be able t' carry both...?"
"MONTEN!"
Knowing what Hiten was about to do next, Inuyasha cries out,
"Coraline, get outta there before he kills you!"
She tries to flee with Shippō, the demon sword and the fox fur, but the humanoid brother of the Thunder Brothers sends a lightning attack her way, causing the girl to be sent down a small incline to lower ground and knocked unconscious...Hiten then goes to try and help his mortally wounded brother.
"Manten..."
"Huuuh...Hiten, they're gone. Every last strand of my hair has fallen, and with them my hopes of becoming happy."
"Don't be so foolish, Manten. We can make it grow back!"
Here is where the reptilian demon comes to grip with his appearance in a most melancholy fashion.
"...It's no use kidding myself. I'll never have your beautiful hair...You were fortunate enough to inherit father's looks. But fate smote me: it was my unfortunate lot in life to resemble our homely mother, with her receding hairline and decidedly reptilian continence. How I long for the looks of you and father..."
"Beauty isn't about what's on the outside. I wouldn't change anything about you; I love every last bald inch of you!"
"Thank you, even if you don't mean it. Say a prayer for me when I'm gone. Pray that I'm reborn as a fuzzy caterpillar, covered in hair from head to furry toe.
No, brother...Who am I trying to kid? I'd rather be reborn bald again. I'd make that sacrifice, if I could be reborn as your brother. Wouldn't that be nice, Hiten...?"
And with that, Manten's strength leaves him, much to his older brother's dismay.
"Manten, please don't die!"
...Meanwhile, Inuyasha had rushed over to check on the redhead as she arose from unconsciousness.
"Coraline, are you alright?"
"Mmh...I'm fine, bu' I dropped Tessaiga when we were hit by the lightning attack."
The half-demon replies sarcastically,
"No problem, lots more where that came from..."
"I'm so sorry I messed up..."
"Damn right you messed up! You messed up big time! But sword or no sword, you're wrong if I'm gonna let Hiten get the better of me!"
Speaking of the humanoid demon, he feels his blood run cold as his younger brother passes.
"Manten...You, wretches! You slaughtered my brother!"
Tears of anguish run down his cheeks as Hiten whispers to his sibling's corpse,
"My dear Manten...rest assured that we will always be as one, brother."
His eyes then go blood red as he bites into Manten's forehead!
Seeing the act from down below, Coraline mutters with a flash of horror,
"Hiten's a cannibal?!"
"Wait! Things are not always what they appear."
Myōga hops over to her and Inuyasha to explain the truly prudent situation.
"Hiten bit into his brother's head to fuse the sacred jewel shards into his own body. Master, you must be even more careful than before, for now Hiten holds the power of five jewel shards."
As the flea demon moves for Inuyasha's shoulder, the latter then asks with a suspicious tone,
"Gee, ya think? Hey, you wanna try explaining your noticeable absence until now?"
Myōga flinches, and Coraline adds feeling a little spiteful herself,
"Convenient how you vanished jus' when things go' their roughest...?"
"You catch that? That's what we call sarcasm, as in it wasn't convenient when you bailed on us when we needed you most!"
"I didn't bail on you! I had to make an inch that needed scratching!"
"...Look out!"
(Boom)
Inuyasha grabs Coraline and Shippō (with his father's fur) to barely run from an incoming electrical attack! He looks back...and sees an enraged Hiten in front the new crater.
"How dare you strike down my beloved brother...I shall not stop until I return the deed!"
The lightning crashes, highlighting the red flash in the living Thunder Brother's eyes.
His kami-yari is even stronger than before!
He has the power of five jewel shards now, and I have a real fight on my hands...
Knowing that his companions would be the most vulnerable targets, Inuyasha says to the female redhead,
"Coraline, take Shippō and get as far away from here as you're able."
"We can' just leave you!"
"Do it now."
Hearing the seriousness in his tone, the human reluctantly complies.
"...Okay. Be careful."
She takes off for a safe distance, and the half-demon turns back to Hiten as he yells,
"I shall avenge my brother! Prepare to DIE!"
He points his Raigekijin downward, and shoots a great ball of lightning Inuyasha's way!
"Damn, I can't avoid it!"
"My lord, use the sheath of Tessaiga!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Use the sheath and it will stave off the lightning bolt, quickly!"
"You better be right...!"
Inuyasha grabs out the sheath, and holds it out in front of him just as the great ball of energy came at him.
(Crash-BZZZZZT)
"Rrrrh!"
And just as Myōga said, Tessaiga's sheath manages to hold off the lightning bolt!
"What?!"
...Eventually, the energy burns itself out, leaving behind a gaping crater with the half-demon standing on a patch of land not upturned.
"Wow, it really worked..."
"Just as I presumed: the sheath keeps the almighty Tessaiga's power in check, so naturally, it can repel a mere lightning bolt...Whew, glad my hunch was correct on that one."
"You sent me into battle armed with a mere hunch?!"
The flea demon quickly defends,
"I-I wouldn't exactly call it just a mere hunch, milord, more like a highly educated guess! Now let's get back to the more prudent matter of escaping with our lives?!"
"No chance. I'm gonna use this baby to defeat that demon!"
Inuyasha charges into the air as Hiten unleashes another ball of lightning, and the former uses Tessaiga's sheath to force his way through!
"If I can blast through the core, I can defeat him!"
...But just as he passes though to the other side...
(STAB)
"Auuuh!"
"Splendid plan, indeed, in theory that is!"
And Inuyasha falls to the ground hard after getting a full hit from the kami-yari in his back! Coraline fearfully cries out her friend's name from her vantage point of the battle, just as Shippō stirs awake.
"Uh...Uh? Father's fur..."
The other redhead hurries over to check on the young fox.
"Shippō...Are you alright?"
"Coraline? What happened to Manten?!"
"Inuyasha took 'im out, but now Hiten is hun'in' for retribution...!"
Indeed, the humanoid demon shows no mercy as he continuously brought the blade of his kama-yari down against Inuyasha, who barely keeps it at bay with Tessaiga's sheath...
"Inuyasha's losin' energy fast..."
"Hiten's hard to match with those flying wheels!"
Seeing said wind-and-fire wheel lookalikes, an idea springs to Coraline.
"...I got i'!"
Inuyasha continues to try and outrun Hiten.
Those extra jewel shards have increased his speed!
Meanwhile, the redheaded human begins looking for an item important to her new plan...
"What are you searchin' for, Coraline?"
"Oh, shoot! I forgot: my bow go' lost in tha' marshland!"
"Coming right up!"
"Huh?"
"Don't ask questions, just let me take care of this!"
Coraline watches Shippō begin to transform...and quickly understands his intention.
He's gonna shape-shift into a bow! Awesome!
(Pop)
The shape, however, was not what the girl was expecting.
"...Uh, this isn't wha' I meant by a bow..."
The fox demon sweatdrops and mutters,
"But I am a bow..."
Back in the air of battle, Hiten attacks with his kama-yari again, and Inuyasha is electrocuted in his left side, knocking him on his back!...At this point, Coraline readies to fire...
"What's taking you so long, Coraline? Hurry up and fire!"
"This is our very las' shot, and my aim with'a bow 'n arrow isn't high-caliber..."
"It will be with me as your guide."
The human is momentarily confused...but then smiles and says,
"Thanks, Shippō. Let's take tha' brute down!"
(...Twok)
As Inuyasha cringes from his wounds and Hiten begins to charge for a final blow...suddenly-
(TOK, crack)
The wind-and-fire wheel on the humanoid lightning user's left foot is shot into pieces! He fumbles a bit, and Coraline cheers from the sidelines,
"Yes! Bulls-eye!"
With his opponent distracted, Inuyasha went in for the attack.
"He's mine!"
He dashes over and grabs the Raigekijin, much to Hiten's annoyance.
"Your competence is annoying!"
As the kama-yari unleashes electricity, Myōga yells from where the others are,
"What is he thinking?! Master Inuyasha is strong, but taking hold of Raigekijin is foolhardy indeed!"
Coraline looks at the flea demon with a deadpan, despite the underlying new danger.
"Wait a minute: weren' you fightin' with Inuyasha?"
"Let go of the kama-yari, milord!"
Inuyasha keeps his hold, and then looks at his sheath while muttering,
"I don't need this thing anymore," before tossing it aside, much to Myōga's further shock.
"Don't let go of the sheath, fool; it's your only chance of triumph!"
"I'll do things my way! Hrrrrah!"
(PUNCH)
"Gyaaah!"
The half-demon sucker-punches Hiten in the face, sending the latter flying back through the air and then driving throughout the ground...
"Not bad for a half-breed, hey Hiten?!"
Coraline comments in surprise,
"Well that's one way t' do it, I guess," followed by Shippō's commenting,
"Whatever works for you, I say."
Myōga was ecstatic over the turnaround.
"KO for Master Inuyasha! He slugged him right in the kisser, downed him in the final round with the old right hook, yeah!"
The female redhead asks him blankly,
"Didn't you call h'm a fool not too long ago?"
After the dust clears, Hiten lifts himself up with a grunt and feels the place where Inuyasha had punched him as a spiteful smile forms on his face.
"...I've never been struck in the face before...and I refuse to allow it again!"
His body then begins emitting a light blue glow, his power charging to higher levels than previously!
"Oooh, this isn' good...!"
"He's gonna explode...!"
Hiten rises upright with a newly-lethal appearance, and charges at Inuyasha while shouting,
"I'll see you in hell, you SWINE!"
The half-demon leaps down and grabs his sheath, just barely blocking the blade of Raigekijin!
(...Crick...)
"The sheath's starting to crack!"
As the Tessaiga sheath began bending against the pressure, Hiten jeers,
"I shall relish your demise more than any other, half-breed!"
Inuyasha struggles as Myōga mutters with worry,
"Master Inuyasha is powerful, but if the Tessaiga sheath should shatter...!"
Coraline finishes,
"He'll, lose," then looks over where the dog fang sword sits.
"Tessaiga...I gotta get it to him somehow..."
"Right, I'm on it!"
The fox demon darts off for the blade, much to the girl's protest.
"Shippō, come back! It's too dang'rous!"
Hiten looks over his shoulder, and sees the two redheads heading for the Tessaiga...
He then charges an electrical attack within his mouth, which Inuyasha wouldn't miss.
Oh no! Hiten must've gained his brother's abilities as well as his jewel shards!
"Coraline, run for it!"
"Grrrraah!"
(Bzzzz-FOOM)
But his warning came too late: Coraline and Shippō are hit by the near-cataclysmic electric attack...!
"Coraline...!"
"Huh, wouldn't waste my breath on her."
"Coraline!"
Hiten watches the bodies of the human and fox demon become swallowed up by lightning-triggered fire.
"What a shame, it seems she and that fox child are dead."
The sight of his companions being taken from the world would too much for the half-demon to bear, and he takes his new rage out on the one responsible.
"You'll pay for this...You slaughtered my friends! DAMN YOU!"
Inuyasha knocks his forehead into Hiten's, pushing him back.
"That's right, half-breed!"
I don't understand it! He fights as well as any other demon I've encountered!
"You'll regret the day you ever crossed me, I promise you that!"
"I think the blood's gone to your head ever since you lost your beloved woman. When will you ever learn that no woman is worth risking a battle over?!
A brother's revenge, on the other hand is well worth fighting to the death for! Hhh-ghh!"
Inuyasha blocks the kama-yari again, but Myōga shouts,
"The sheath is about to break!"
Hiten was sure his victory was within his grasp.
He's mine!
(Crick...ba-bump, ba-bump)
"Uh?"
But before things could end in the worst possible way, Tessaiga suddenly comes flying into Inuyasha's hand!
"The sheath has summoned the Tessaiga!"
"TESSAIGA!"
(SLASH, SNAP)
And with a single stroke, the last half of the Thunder Brothers was dead.
I-I was, defeated. Th-This half-demon...he defeated, both of us...
Hiten's split body fades away, leaving behind the five shards of the Shikon-no-Tama to fall to the ground with his destroyed Raigekijin...Inuyasha kneels to the ground, sword in hand and bangs covering his face as the flea demon cautiously approaches him.
"Lord Inuyasha, the, Shikon-no-Tama jewel shards...?"
"I don't care about them...If only I'd taken care of Hiten sooner, I could've saved Coraline and Shippō..."
"Inuyasha..."
"Huh?...Coraline?"
The half-demon turns around to see both redheads surrounded by an ethereal blue flame.
"Inuyasha, you fough' the battle hard and well..."
"And in the end, I was finally able to avenge my father."
Myōga then says,
"Witness: their souls have come to bid you a final farewell before they make their departure to the other side..."
"Huh...?"
The flame then shoots upwards, and Inuyasha rushes over to them, unable to bear the idea of one particular friend leaving so soon.
"Wait, don't leave me!"
He grabs Coraline's wrist, much to her shock...and as the flame briefly takes the shape of a fox, Inuyasha cries out the female's name...only to look down and see the redheaded pair were alive and well!
"Inuyasha...?"
"But...Hey, you're still here...!"
"Of course. Did...did you think we perished?"
Shippō watches the blue flame fox fly into the sky, a sad but thoughtful look on his face.
F-Father? You must've used Fox Fire to protect us during the battle...
The young fox demon smiles distantly just Myōga then says,
"I-I should clarify; when I said souls, I really mean to say Fox Fire which shot out of the fur of Shippō's Father."
Inuyasha twitches out,
"Yeah, sure; I make that mistake all the time..."
"Y-You're only human, or half-human..."
Coraline then timidly asks with a small blush,
"U-Um, Inuyasha, my wrist...?"
And with a blush on his cheeks, the half-demon swiftly lets the girl go.
"This is all your fault for that sappy, 'You fought the good fight' line! Dah, if you're gonna die, it's not like it matters to me or anything!"
She could only watch with confusion as Inuyasha grumbles incoherently with his back turned...
...
...
The whole lot of them are eventually seen travelling out of Raimei Valley down a dirt path within the sunshine of a more calm atmosphere. Still, even though the danger's passed, Coraline found herself having trouble getting her friend to communicate.
"Come ooon, Inuyasha, your lips are movin', bu' the words aren' translating. How about tellin' me what's got you so upset?"
She's then informed by Myōga,
"I believe that, Master Inuyasha is ashamed that he believed you were dead, and in a moment of grief, he may have revealed more than he bargained for."
The flea demon then ducks into Coraline's backpack when he sees Inuyasha wave a fist at him...
"What are you still tagging along with us for, Shippo?"
Said fox demon calls back from his fellow redhead's shoulder,
"Why do you think? You need me and you know it!"
Coraline tries to keep the peace between the boys.
"Go easy on 'im. He doesn' have a home and he's no' hurting anyone."
"Yeah, I'm a defenseless orphan! How am I supposed to get by in the world?"
Inuyasha begrudgingly calls back,
"Alright, you can stay with us, but only until you can look after yourself!"
Coraline sighs and mutters to herself,
"Boys..."
A' least they're not tryin' to kill eachother...
After a few more minutes, she notices that Shippō was looking rather, despondent.
"...Shippō?"
"Hm?"
"You okay?"
The young fox demon tries to smile reassuringly, but Coraline easily saw into his hidden sorrow.
"I'm fine...Just thinkin' about father. I hope he's in a good place now..."
The other redhead breaks out a sad smile of her own while stroking the boy's head.
"...I understand. I too lost m' father to murd'r, and can no longer reach 'is remains to wish him good tidings in his next life..."
Shippō looks at Coraline with surprise, while Inuyasha's ear twitches in indication that he was listening.
"Really? How come?"
"...His grave site is no' where I'm livin' right now in my era. It's, actually in a hidden place of the village I used t' live in when I was young. If you haven' already guessed, Shippō, I'm no' from Japan originally...I'm from a country called Ireland, which is far, far 'cross the ocean from here..."
The fox demon's eyes widen in wonder, and the girl smiles a bit more at his curiousity...
"Guess that explains what you meant a while back when you said you're not Japanese."
"Hm?"
Coraline looks up to see Inuyasha staring at her with an oddly neutral expression.
"...You remember me saying that?"
He nods, and the girl awes at his memory...
"Coraline?"
"Yes, Shippō?"
He was a bit hesitant, but asks the following:
"What, happened to your father? How was he killed?"
"...Gunshot to the hear'. I saw i' for myself."
Both boys gasp at her answer, and Coraline adds in a offhand but serious tone,
"I was almos' killed that day myself, but I escaped. I soon decided I had to leave Irel'nd, otherwise I probably wouldn' be alive for much longer..."
"What do you mean? What're you not saying, Coraline?"
...Coraline went quiet for a moment, before sighing and saying while looking at Inuyasha,
"Look, like I said before: this is still a bi' painful fo' me t' talk about. Plus, there's still a lot you don' know about me yet, and that part is somewha' dang'rous for me to speak of...Don't get me wrong; I do want t' tell someone about it...I just, don't know who, and how."
"Well, when you are ready to tell the full story, I'll be ready to listen, Coraline, and I'm sure Inuyasha will listen too."
Said half-demon nods firmly, leaving the girl awestruck by them both.
"(...Smile) Thank you, both of you. I promise when I am ready...I'll tell you everything."