Update (March 2021): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 57: Ravaging Humanity
"Trees...S...Uh-eh, Squirrel...Lily...Y...Yellow!...Your late father's friend certainly lives deep in the forest. U-Uh, yeah..."
Another day has come to the lands of Sengoku Edo, and this time around, we catch up with the small traveling party consisting of Sesshōmaru, Jaken, Rin and A-Un as they walk through a thick forest canopy to find an old acquaintance of the former's father...
And after another ten minutes, the deep male voice of this unnamed individual echoes through the air.
"Welcome...I have awaited your arrival."
The youngest vassal of the dog demon looks up in curiousity.
"A voice from the sky!"
Jaken peers around to try and find the source:
"Uh-eh, I-I don't see anyone..."
The whole group walks in a bit further...before the voice speaks up again.
"I have been expecting you, Sesshōmaru."
"So you say that you knew I was coming, did you...old Bokusenō?"
"You've come to speak with me about the swords, I presume?"
We see that the quartet of souls visiting these woods have stopped in front of a massive Japanese Magnolia of approximately a hundred feet tall, eight feet wide and a circumference of at least twenty-four feet. The bark is a light brown and the leaves a rich green...
But the most striking feature, is the wizened face that suddenly forms in the middle of the trunk!
...
...
At the same time Sesshōmaru sought answers regarding the swords Tessaiga and Tenseiga, the Inuyasha gang found themselves resting in an old hut by the river with a small roof on the side sheltering firewood...Currently, Sango and Miroku were the only ones inside, the latter laying on a straw mat while the former kneels beside him. We notice that the monk is asleep, though definitely not comfortably as his body recovers from the poison of the Saimyōshō he absorbed with his curse power...
The demon slayer gazes at his sweating form, muttering,
"Inuyasha told me what happened...when I went to search for Kohaku..."
(Flash)
"No, Miroku, what're you doing?! You'll get the poison insects!"
"Wind Tunnel!"
(Whooooooossssssshhhhhhhh...)
"Miroku!"
"Rrgh, Inuyasha: go and rescue Sango and Coraline!"
(Flash)
"You bravely fought off the demons, while I, went off to find Kohaku..."
(Flash)
We recall the moment that both siblings had their main weapons disarmed, and Sango hurries to pin Kohaku to the ground, her right hand poised at the ready with her blade.
"Kohaku!"
My brother...My, dear brother...!
"Mph...I'm going to kill you...then myself...It's my only choice. This is the only way to free you from Naraku."
Please...Please free him, free us from this cycle of pain!
"Forgive me, Kohaku...!"
"...Stop, Sango!"
"Grh...GH!"
(Swing, SLAP)
Luckily, Inuyasha comes rushing in and whacks the wakizashi out of her hands...
(Flash)
Sango forms a heavily guilty look over her recent actions...just as Miroku stirs awake.
"Uh...uh..."
"...I'm sorry, Miroku. It was my fault that you had to draw in those poison insects."
"Mm...San-go..."
"What is it?"
"Don't worry. Try not, to look so sad. (Weak smile) There's still hope, for Kohaku..."
"Miroku..."
"Trust me, and keep, smiling."
Sango begins tearing up, but forms a tiny smile all the same.
"Yes, I will. Thank you."
The monk suddenly shuts his eyes, and fearing the worst, the slayer tries to wake him up.
"Miroku...No, say something to me! Please, hang on, Miroku!"
...
...
...
But before she could urge further, Sango freezes up with a blush...a~nd we see Miroku's hand on her rear...
(BONK)
"Aaagh!"
Around three seconds after the lecherous monk lets out that pained yelp, Shippō, Kilala and Besa return with a bamboo container and water bottle filled with fresh drinking water from the river.
"Sango! We brought some water! How is Miroku feeling?"
The cornrow-haired teen winces when he sees the large bump on his fellow male's head, and the seething culprit replies through her teeth to the fox demon,
"I think he's feeling much better."
Besa mutters awkwardly,
"Uhm, so I see..."
Good lord, he makes my brother look more innocent...
Leaving the poor monk to explaining his actions to his peers, we return to Sesshōmaru's group as he and the apparent Bokusenō start their discussion...
"Do you seek information, regarding the Tessaiga, your father's heirloom sword? Or perhaps...?"
Rin softly gasps at the sight of the face on the old magnolia.
"A tree demon!"
"O-O-Oh, Lord Sesshōmaru, what is that?"
He says to Jaken in a simple manner,
"A two-thousand year old magnolia tree."
"I see..."
The plant demon confirms such:
"It is true. The sheaths of the swords, the Tessaiga and the Tenseiga, passed down from Sesshōmaru's father, were carved from my very own boughs."
Jaken is intrigued:
"They were?"
The sheaths for the swords came from this tree!
They hold such strange powers...I can see why after meeting this creature...
Sesshōmaru then inquires Bokusenō about something that's been plaguing his mind for some time.
"Bokusenō, perhaps you can explain the link to me, between Inuyasha and the Tessaiga."
"...Inuyasha? Your younger brother?"
"Inuyasha's blood has changed. The first time was when a demon bit and broke the Tessaiga. The second time, he had let go of Tessaiga while fighting me..."
(Flash)
We return to the moment Inuyasha was thrown back by the power of Tokijin, landing in a kneeling position with his head down...
"I've seen all that I've needed."
Not finding the change he was looking for, Sesshōmaru decides to switch to an all-out offensive attack.
"(Dash) Die!"
"Look out, Inuyasha; he's coming for you!"
All the silverette in red does in response is drop to a kneel, his bangs billowing over his face...
But just as Sesshōmaru comes closer in his charge...
"Uh!"
That scent again!
The winds shift the other direction...and zooming in on Inuyasha's form, we see his eyes were now red with the dark cyan irises, and the jagged African purple stripes were forming on his cheekbones! A feral growl bubbles in his throat, and he grips the ground with his extending claws, teeth bared...
(Flash)
"His scent wasn't that of a half-demon's. It was the smell of a pure demon's like mine and my father."
"His had the same scent? Heh-heh-heh, I have my doubts."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Bokusenō explains:
"Inuyasha is a half-demon, born between a demon and a human. He could never become a full-fledged demon...Sesshōmaru, there is something that you, a pure-blooded demon are capable of accomplishing, but which Inuyasha could never do."
"Go on..."
"It is simple: I speak of protecting oneself."
"Protecting oneself?"
"Yes...In battle, for instance, if you find yourself in a hopeless situation, you are able to remain calm. You never lose control of yourself."
Sesshōmaru lightly scoffs,
"It wouldn't be possible for me to fall into such a desperate situation."
"Heh-heh-heh, no, I don't suppose you would...Inuyasha, is another matter, however: if he's backed into a corner where his very life is in danger, his demon takes control of the body and he transforms, in order to preserve his life."
The full dog demon mentally deduces,
That would explain his transformation...
"Unfortunately for Inuyasha, the pure demon blood of his father is too strong for a half-demon such as himself."
"What will the outcome be?"
"Well...in essence, the demon blood will devour his human soul. He will not be able to recognize himself. He will not be able to differentiate between friend or foe. He will simply kill, and with repeated transformations, Inuyasha will eventually lose his soul. He will become a demon who only knows how to fight and kill, and he will continue to fight until he is destroyed...I sincerely doubt that your father would've wished for such a terrible fate upon his own son. That is why, he bequeathed Inuyasha the sword Tessaiga, to protect his soul."
Sesshōmaru concludes,
The Tessaiga protects him?
So...if he releases the sword...he is doomed.
Inuyasha's POV
It didn't take long after yesterday's shit-show before we found a new temporary shelter to rest our wounds off at, more so the monk than the rest of us. Currently, Coraline and I are sitting together on a large boulder near the river, while Miroku continues to sleep off the poison of those devil insects in the old hut under Sango's care.
Keh, I hope for his sake he doesn't do anything stupid to Sango while he's still recovering from the insect poison...
Shippō, Kilala and Besa had left the river not too long ago after gathering some more water, and Freeman is wandering the bedrock nearby...
"Inuyasha...I can't help bu' notice that you've, matured in this last while."
"Huh? What's that suppose to mean?"
Coraline smiles reassuringly and replies,
"Nothin' bad...It's just, I mean, yeu spared Kohaku's life rather than endin' it."
I look away from her with a slight blush of embarrassment and say offhandedly,
"Heh. Yeah, well, I did it to get under Naraku's skin. If we can manage to get Kohaku back alive, that'll really tick 'im off."
I hear her laugh slightly and nod,
"True 'nough..."
"And besides, (eyes soften) you're alive. Kohaku spared you."
"Huh?...You were, tha' worried 'bout me?"
I turn to her, seeing her sheepish smile and ask somewhat incredulously,
"You need to ask?"
She looks down in her lap while lightly brushing her right arm where her injury is.
"...I was sort'a worried too, since, it was a quare while before y' found me with Kilala...I almost considered jukin' off after Sango with ShatterSoul."
"Uh...really?"
"Mhm. Though even with me bein' left-handed, my injured righ' arm likely would've slowed me down."
"...Is your arm hurting you? Lemme take a look at it."
I reach out to gently grab her arm as she asks with a small stutter,
"A-Are y' sure? It's only a dull ache..."
"Maybe, but it could get worse unless you take care of it early on."
"(Light smirk) So lectures the self-healin' dog demon..."
"Keh, haha, very funny...Now could you..."
"Hah, auy, alrigh'."
Coraline pulls off her shirt, leaving her in one of those odd sleeveless tops and allowing me to see that the bandage wrapped around her wound was beginning to stain red...
"Hmm..."
"Oh. I guess th' cut reopened a bit."
"Yeah. Doesn' look too bad, but we should re-wrap it in some clean gauze."
"We?"
"Why not? You take care of my injuries all the ti-"
I pause, sensing we had an audience...I turn to see Sango, Freeman and Shippō watching us, and immediately release Coraline's arm, moving to sit up straight and stare into nothing with my arms folded as 'natural' as possible.
Ugh, I hate it when my soft moments are noticed...
"Sorry. I just wanted to thank you both."
We look at Sango in confusion, Coraline asking,
"Thank us? For?"
"(Smile) For the obvious, Coraline and Inuyasha: for staying with me."
She then turns to head back to the hut, Shippō calling from her shoulder,
"Carry on, you guys."
Freeman then grabs something out of his bag, and tosses it over for me to catch.
I look down, and see the item as more gauze...
"Had a feelin' sis might need some in the next bit. There's some rubbing alcohol patches lodged between...See ya two later."
He then walks off in Sango's direction...
As I watch their forms disappear, I wonder aloud,
"Staying with her? Why wouldn't we?"
I then felt Coraline's gaze, and turn to see her smiling at me.
"She hasn' been with in group as long as th' rest of us, not includin' my bros, and given all the trouble that's plagued 'er...I can understand if she's feelin' a bit paranoid of her place."
"Mm...fair enough. Now..."
I unwrap the new gauze, and hand her the alcohol patches for her to open (the plastic casing is annoying as hell).
"Let's check out your arm."
"Righ'..."
Time Skip, No POV
Come another day of rest, everyone in our main travel party is on their way again, eventually reaching a path near the mountains, and small farm plants growing in the available soil.
We see that today, Coraline is wearing a white cropped tank top exposing her midriff, a smoky red/charcoal black/snow white checkered flannel shirt, avocado green cargo pants and her black combat boots, and had her long, dark auburn red hair tied back in a braid. Her brothers meanwhile don similar-styled outfits of tee shirts, dark blue jeans and their monochrome high-tops, but while Freeman wore a forest green tee, Besa opts for black...
Along the way, the three modern-born teens were regaling a tale about something they did a long while back, and by the end, everyone was laughing from the mischief.
"So, this protest against excessive policing you three participated in was originally peaceful, but then you and a bunch of others switched to 'tagging' buildings and creating smoke clouds with these 'cherry bombs'?"
"Haha, yeah. It went sideways real fast, but what can you expect with a bunch of kids from the streets?...Anyway, the whole lot of us got arrested and were held at the station for a night."
Freeman comments after Besa,
"Luckily, us three were among one group who went peacefully and weren't held behind bars, unlike a few who made the stupid move and tried to fight the cops."
They both chime,
"Nice one, Mokoto," and chuckle a bit more. Coraline then says while smiling sheepishly,
"Given wha' the protest w's originally about, tha' a few rookie cops started the bigger figh' in the first place, and tha' the three of us were minors who cooperated on their first offense, we were le' go withou' any problems pretty quick with a couple others."
Freeman smiles nervously and adds,
"Although Shuji had to hide out in mine and Besa's apartment from his fuming parents for a couple days. They were combin' his garage and everywhere else they could think of. Thank kami they didn't know where we lived..."
The redheaded girl turns to retort with a mild glare,
"Tuh, well la-de-da to you boys! Grandfath'r had me cleanin' the entire shrine top-t'-bottom for the next three weeks! On top of that, he appoin'ed Sōta as a 'watchdog' to make sure I wasn' slackin' off. Even at the slightes' sign of stoppin', the little dork would blast me with water from his squirt gun!"
"Hahaha, oh man, that's mean!"
Coraline huffs at the cheeky grins on Freeman and Shippō's faces, while Besa shakes his head in light exasperation...
"It sounds like you three had a knack for trouble back then."
The twin with naturally-cut coarse black hair nods at Sango,
"Mm, just a little. We were all still rather wild two years ago, and slowly adjusting to our new lives in Tokyo...Cora managed to keep most of the craziness from the Higurashi Shrine, though."
Inuyasha looks at said young woman funny.
"Kept it away?"
She smiles a touch bitterly as she explains,
"I may've been a' the shrine for abou' a year...but, durin' tha' time, I was still tryin' to adopt a quieter lifestyle. My mind w's, trapped in survival mode...I found myself travelin' the streets, and even wen' as far as outside Tokyo into a few rural villages...I was searchin' for something I already found: a new place to call home."
"Hm..."
Her smile becomes a bit brighter as she adds,
"But most of tha' tunnel vision's gone now. I can finally see Higurashi Shrine as a, permanent residence...Travelin' with you all down these bealach mór brings back memories, though no' in the harsh way my dreams used to. They have a, sunnier quality to it...Bein' in a group feels more lively than danderin' alone..."
Everyone smiles at Coraline's sentimentality...
"Waugh!"
The group then stops when they hear someone yelp from afar.
Inuyasha looks around for the source:
"What was that?"
Coraline looks behind her and replies,
"I think i' came from tha' way..."
As they all looked behind them, a young boy dressed in a muted green kimono comes running up the path while crying out in desperation. Sango asks him,
"What's wrong?"
"It's my grandpa! Please, you gotta help him!"
Inuyasha immediately dashes over:
"Is it a demon?! Where's the old man? Where did the demon get to?"
Sensing he might need help, Coraline calls upon her Will O' Wisp companion.
"Lumos!"
He pops out of her rucksack pocket and flies in front of Coraline...
"Please go and assist Inuyasha with lookin' for an elder fella."
Lumos 'nods' and flies after the dog demon...We find him a few yeards ahead hopping over a few hill gardens, stopping when he doesn't detect the scent of anything menacing.
"Doesn't smell like there are any demons around here..."
"(Ghostly moan...)"
"Huh?"
Lumos catches up...just as the elder man cries out again.
"Heeeelp!"
The Will O' Wisp follows the shout and flies over to where the man is, circling above his form which was laying upside-down over a fallen basket.
"I'm up here! I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Inuyasha's eyebrow twitches in annoyance, realizing that he read the severity of the situation wrong.
"...You fell?"
Nevertheless, the good part of his conscience urges him to gather the old man and his herb basket, before following the Will O' Wisp back to the others and set down the road again, this time acquiring two temporary travelers...
"Thank you, lad. That's a great help."
Inuyasha grumbles as he carries the elder on his back,
"I thought a demon had attacked, but noooo, you got me worked up over nothin'..."
The latter's grandson comments with relief,
"Good thing they came along..."
"Thank you very much, lad. I twisted my ankle when I fell over, and now you're even carting me back to my village."
Miroku replies for everyone else with a smile,
"No need to worry, old man, because it's more or less on our way. Isn't that right, Inuyasha?"
The silverette in red only grunts, and the old man replies,
"Well, I'm certainly indebted."
Shippō then chimes from atop Freeman's shoulder,
"Hey, look! The village!"
The latter turns his vision to where former is looking.
"(Smile) Oh yeah; right over this hill."
It's revealed to be a relatively modest-sized populace about the same if slightly bigger in size than the Goshinboku Village, with log huts streaming gentle smoke out from their hearths, flooded irrigated crop fields, and a few trees growing strong and healthy around the area...Once they reach the perimeter, the elderly man is set down beside his grandson so they could walk back together. Coraline says to them with a kind smile,
"Take care, sir, lad."
"Aye."
"Thank you, lady, and thank you, Mister Dog Man."
Inuyasha grumbles through his teeth,
"Dog Man?"
The twins stifle their snickers while their sisrer whispers with a nervous smile,
"Easy, Inuyasha. It's only the lad's innocence; he's no' tryin' to make fun of yeu..."
The young boy then says,
"As thanks, I'm gonna give you my treasure."
He grabs something out of his kimono, and walks up to Inuyasha before tucking the mystery item into the other's hand...
"Bye! Take care!"
As the pair make way into their village, Miroku asks the half-dog demon,
"What did the boy give you?"
Inuyasha holds out the item between his fingertips.
"A molted snakeskin."
Coraline lightly comments,
"Interesting," while the fox demon's reaction is a bit more enthusiastic.
"Wow, Inuyasha! Can I have it if you don't want it, please?"
...Soon, our group is on their way again, turning their direction up another hill.
We see Shippō lightly twirling the snakeskin in his hand with a happy smile.
"Wow, neat!"
Inuyasha mutters,
"...Glad ya like it," while Freeman gets a closer look at the scales.
"Hm...Looks like it may have belonged to a Rat Snake."
The fox demon asks curiously,
"How do you know?"
"Besa and I did alot of exploring in the woods of our old hometown, and snakes were a pretty common reptile we came across."
Said twin smiles and adds,
"The snakes really fascinated Freeman, and he would go down to the library to check out books until he knew almost everything about the local species. Did it again when we came here to Japan."
Sango asks Freeman with mild curiousity,
"So does that mean you know everything about the ones that roam around these lands?"
He laughs modestly and replies,
"Well, not everything, but I know enough that I can tell a poisonous ones from the non-poisonous varieties."
"Ah. That is certainly useful information."
He nods at Miroku, then focuses back on the fox demon.
"If you want, Shippō, I could get a small frame to preserve it next time I head back through the well."
"Really?"
"Mhm...Actually, Besa, (turn) those key-chain fob frames are still being sold at the corner store, right, the ones you can customize with a picture or an item as thin?"
"Yeah, I know what you're talkin' about. Why?"
"Y' think there's one large enough for this bit of snakeskin?"
"...Possible."
Freeman nods and says to Shippō,
"Then it's settled: I'll remember to get a key-chain fob charm to put the snakeskin in, and you can attach it to your trick bag as a decoration."
"Awesome!"
"Just do your best to keep the skin in tact 'till then, okay?"
"Got it."
Coraline smiles in amusement and chides teasingly at her brother,
"Mo dhia, one second you're mentorin' him, and the next you're spoiling him."
"Haha, I can't help it. (Playful smirk) And you're one to talk: did you or did you not bring back more candy?"
"Oi, them's fightin' words, sir!"
The rest of the group laughs at the banter...except for Inuyasha, who was in an odd, brooding mood from the good Samaritan act.
"We don't have time to be saving people."
Coraline turns eyes on him with a raised eyebrow.
"Whoa, hold on there; wha's with the attitude? The fella an' the wee lad were on our way, anyhow, so wha's the harm in helpin' another out?"
Miroku notes,
"Whenever you do a good deed, you become ill-tempered afterward."
Inuyasha just 'kuhs' with a frown on his face...before his nose picks up on a disturbing scent.
"Gh!"
Everyone else stops, and the Croft and monk eack ask,
"What is it?"
"Something the matter, Inuyasha?"
"...I smell human blood."
"Ach!"
"What?"
"It smells like alot of people."
His turn of focus is back where they just came from...
Everyone else slowly looks that way...only to see a thick stream of smoke snaking over the next hill!
"There's smoke coming from over there!"
Inuyasha asks aloud,
"Isn't that the village where we left the kid and his grandfather?"
...They must've been attacked!
He wastes no more time and begins dashing down the hill, with everyone else running close behind...Just as they come to the bottom path, they see a small figure coming up slowly in the distance...which is revealed to be the young boy from before, only with an arrow in his right upper arm!
"It's the young lad!"
"Yeah..."
Coraline rushes over to assist the child, who weakly pleads,
"Please, help gramps," before collapsing into her waiting arms.
"I go'chya."
Freeman and Shippō each ask when they reach the pair,
"Are you alright?"
"What happened?"
"Please help him..."
Inuyasha is next to come over, and says to the redhead,
"Coraline, you take care of the kid."
"(Nod) Got it."
Freeman adds,
"I'll hang back too," and Miroku says to Sango,
"Sango, you stay behind with Freeman to help keep Coraline safe, okay?"
"Yes, of course."
Inuyasha calls,
"Let's go, Miroku!"
"Coming!"
"Besa, how 'bout you?"
"I'm with you two!"
With that, the three men take off for the village, with Freeman calling after them,
"Good luck, and be careful, you guys!"
Besa...help Inuyasha and Miroku, but don't get killed, okay?
...
...
Moving down a ways, we see the village the young boy and elderly man belong to is currently under seige from multiple blazes, while the inhabitants were scattering every which way they could to escape the fiends responsible, namely, a group of bandits...
"Aaaah!" "Waaaahhh!"
"Argh!"
Many of the men have already been slaughtered, their bodies melding with the damage and debris...One bandit says to his comrade atop their horses,
"This village suits us well!"
"We'll camp out here until the food runs out."
They then turn to address a small group of frightened females whose lives haven't met a swift and painful end...at least not yet.
"Women, assemble in one place! Don't even try to escape!"
Two of the girls - one wearing a light mahogany kimono and tan headscarf, the other a light blue kimono and hair bun - are the only ones brave enough to watch the bandits move through the ruined village to find any stragglers, while the others hid their tearful faces in their hands...
A few minutes pass, and Inuyasha, Miroku and Besa make it to the burned village, the second noting the large cavalry.
"Look: bandits!"
Besa is appalled by the sight:
"Why those no-good, sons-of...!"
Inuyasha pulls out Tessaiga with a growl.
"You'll pay for this."
He then swings his transformed blade onto the ground, sending a whirlwind of power towards the bandits and spooking the horses.
"W-Whoa!"
"Aargh!" "Aah!"
Inuyasha demands in a low, angry tone,
"I'll take care of you small fry later. Where's your leader?"
Miroku then says,
"Inuyasha...among the bandits..."
"Yeah, I can smell it...There's a demon hiding among them."
...A small chuckle emits from behind the crowd of lesser bandits, and Besa points towards the middle of the antagonist group.
"And there he comes."
Parting away, the human bandits make room for their leader to step in on a white mare. The man had a pale beige complexion, red lips, long black hair tied into a thick ponytail with a small strand hanging over his forehead, dotting black eyes with white pupils, and wore rather fine robes of magenta, lilac purple and black. He was also carrying a very large ono axe over his shoulder...
"Little Man. That sword you brandish is most interesting."
"Kuh, so, you must be the demon. Controlling a bunch of bandits, are you?"
Two of the human bandits comment to themselves over Inuyasha's claim.
"What? You mean our leader is a demon?"
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"
Besa whispers to Miroku,
"It seems these bandits have no idea of their leader's true nature...which surprises me. Can they really be that clueless?"
"You'd be surprised...but this means we must be especially on our guard. There's no telling if he'll continue calling these bandits allies, or if he'll turn on them altogether."
"Gotcha..."
The demon leader then demands,
"Little Man: hand over that sword of yours."
"Huh? What the heck are you babbling about?"
The monk then says aloud,
"Better watch yourself, Inuyasha."
"Keh, as if I'd lose to this cretin."
The bandit commander and the silverette stare at one another eye-to-eye...before the former chuckles and says,
"If you won't hand it over, I'll have no choice but to take it from you."
"Huh, I'd like to see you try. Take it if you can."
Miroku wonders mentally with concern,
Inuyasha still has difficulty wielding his heavy sword...Will he be able to handle himself?
"I'll cut the hide right off your back, (leap) you filthy little demon!"
(Swing, CLANG)
The dog fang katana and steel ono meet in a clash, and both try to up over the other in power...
(CRACK)
The heel of the disguised demon's axe blade breaks off, and he jumps off his horse to avoid anymore impact...
"Look, the chief!"
"He chipped the ono!"
Inuyasha smirks and jeers,
"Serves you right, bandit."
"Heheheh, that's a mighty sharp sword."
Inuyasha lifts his blade over his shoulders while retorting,
"Start makin' funeral plans, genius!"
Just as he charges at the bandit demon again, the latter glances back where the women were.
"...I need a shield."
He then jumps over and snatches up the one with the light mahogany kimono!
Inuyasha instantly deduces the new strategy:
Oh no!
The poor woman is then tossed against the half-dog demon, who just barely stops himself from swinging his sword while the nameless girl bounces roughly against his torso...The bandit demon makes his move, opening his mouth wide and expelling a sparkling wheat yellow spore cloud! Some of it makes contact with Inuyasha's cheek, blistering the skin.
(Sizz)
"Ggh!"
"Heheheh, you've been showered with my poison."
He then cuts his ono across Inuyasha's torso, and the latter retorts,
"That won't stop me!"
He whacks Tessaiga against the ground to send a whirlwind of power towards the bandit demon, but the latter easily leaps away.
"(...Grin) That sword is amazing. I like it more and more all the time."
The demon then expels a torrent of silk from his mouth, which surrounds Inuyasha just as Miroku and Besa finish checking up on the unconscious woman.
"Gh, oh no!"
"Inuyasha!"
They both hurry over to help, and the monk holds out his staff, activating a spell of sorts.
(Sheen...)
They make it in time, and as Miroku spins his staff in a circle above himself, Besa makes a cross motion with his wrists.
"Shield!"
The crystal shard in his bracelet glows, and a rainbow of light begins to emit around the three, mixing with the blue from the monk's staff!...Soon, a massive cocoon of silk with thick yellow bubble patches in several spots would remain, and the Tessaiga remains outside unattended.
"Hehaha, that'll keep them out of my way."
The bandits were in shock:
"I don't believe it!"
"What has he done?!"
The demon laughs again and asks over his shoulder,
"Is something the matter? Are you afraid now that you know I'm a demon?"
"Ah, no chance, chief!"
"W-Who wouldn't want a strong demon for a leader?"
"We'll continue to follow your lead, chief."
He grins and cuts the silk from his mouth...
One bandit steps up to the cocoon and jeers,
"Serves them right."
They kick the silk...which proves to be a bad move when he recoils with a yell of pain, his foot burning from the acidic poisons!
"Hehaha, it's a poison cocoon. With continued exposure, you'd melt away."
The demon looks to the cocoon and adds menacingly,
"The three inside will have totally disintegrated by now, heheheheheh..."
...He then narrows his eyes with a hum when he sees a glowing blue/rainbow outline.
"They haven't disintegrated? Oh, (sneer) so they have created a barrier on the inside..."
Zooming within, we see Miroku with his staff around Inuyasha's torso while he and Besa struggle to maintain the barrier they made with their combined efforts. The monk asks the injured dog demon,
"Inuyasha, can you move at all?"
"Of course I can move. I'll rip this stupid cocoon apart."
But when he leans forward, he recoils in pain.
"Inuyasha!"
Besa bends his head down to examine the half-demon's injury.
"Your wound...it's bubbling..."
The bandit demon calls from the outside with a laugh,
"You are wasting your time. You are more or less paralyzed: the poison powder has entered your bloodstream already through the wound in your torso. It will fester slowly."
Inuyasha growls in frustration and anger...
The bandit leader then orders,
"Fetch the sword for me."
"Yes, sir!"
As one human bandit begins pulling the blade out of the ground, Miroku comments,
"He's got your sword!"
The bandit presents Tessaiga to his leader.
"Here you are, chief."
...But when he grasps the hilt...
(Bzzzzt)
"Ah-Argh!"
The sword sends a current of power out, forcing him to let go!
The monk is surprised and relieved:
The sword has rejected him!
Besa lets out a low whistle and mutters,
"That was close," while the bandit looks at his hand before turning to address our trapped heroes.
"Little Man, what is the meaning of this? Why does this sword reject me?"
The dog demon smugly replies,
"Heh, I'll tell you about Tessaiga: it's choosy about its user, and would never allow a low-class demon to come anywhere near it."
"Oh? Then explain why this low-class bandit was capable of wielding the sword."
"Low-class bandit? Come on, chief..."
The bandit demon glances at his subordinate with indifference, while Inuyasha growls...
"I see. Very interesting, Little Man: you're a half-demon."
Inuyasha cringes, and the other demon lets out a laugh.
"How utterly amusing: a half-demon like you had the gull to pick a fight with me, the demon Gatenmaru?"
Coraline's POV
It's been roughly half an hour since the boys left to help the people in the village, and we all decide that it's been too long a delay. So now I'm running with Shippō on my shoulder, while Sango rode Kilala and Freeman jogged beside me with the young boy riding piggyback-style on his back.
"They're taking too long. Something must've happened in the village!"
As we move along, Freeman asks the lad,
"How ya holdin' up, kiddo?"
"I'm worried about my grandpa."
He nods in understanding, and I focus back ahead, my mind on one person in particular.
...Inuyasha...
No POV
Returning to the tension-fueled area and zooming within the poison silk, Miroku notices the wound in the half-dog demon's torso bubbling a little more excessively.
Inuyasha's wound is starting to get worse...
The half-demon curses to himself,
Damn. The bleeding won't stop...Is it because of the poison?
Meanwhile, Besa thinks,
This isn't looking good.
I should've tried healing Inuyasha's wound, but I was more focused on making sure all three of us didn't melt.
The monk then mentally groans,
We're in real trouble. It's all I can do is make this barrier...
I can't make a move on the enemy, and this won't hold out forever, even with the extra strength Besa's providing with his crystal.
Outside the cocoon, the bandit asks Gatenmaru,
"Uh, chief, what should we do with the sword?"
"...Do what you please. I'm not interested in a sword I can't use."
"Thank you. I am most grateful."
The bandit takes Tessaiga into his hands...and a couple feet away, we see that the grandfather of the young boy is still alive!
"Uh...Th-That sword of his. I must get it; I must get it to him."
As he formulates a plan of action, the bandit shows Tessaiga off to his comrades.
"Nice blade!"
"Great-looking sword!"
Meanwhile, Gatenmaru takes a seat on a small pile of logs, and says while looking at his trapped enemies,
"It's only a matter of time before the barrier wears off and the poison cocoon melts them away, so I'll just sit here and enjoy the view."
Inside said cocoon, Inuyasha grimaces from his wound as the poison causes further damage, and Miroku struggles to remain strong with the barrier, as does Besa...Gatenmaru chuckles at their slowly failing efforts, before ordering,
"Bring the women over to me."
The small group of females become more frightened than before, and the silverette feels his temper rise as he watches one bandit grasp one girl in a light blue kimono by her hair and arm. Besa growls in his own anger and calls out,
"Leave them alone, you cowards!"
"...Damn them to hell."
"Huh?"
He looks over...and widens his eyes along with Miroku when they see Inuyasha showing signs of shifting into his demon form...!
Oh, crap...!