Update (September 2021): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 66: Bane of a Black-Hearted Miko
Night shrouds itself like a gaping cloak over the provinces of Sengoku Japan, a darkness that isn't interrupted by the overwhelming glow of modern lighting. During this era, fire would be the go-to source to avoid walking into solid objects...
Of course, there are other reasons to create a gathering of flames. In the case of one individual sitting in front of a campfire, they were preparing a spell of ultimate misfortune.
They are an old woman with smooth, thick, long gray-white hair, a fair complexion, light denim blue irises, and dressed in the garbs styled for those who follow the path of a priestess. Rather than the traditional white and red, however, their kusode and hakama are a dark purple, the first garment having red tasseled stitching in the sleeves. On her feet are white tabi socks and geta sandals, and for accessories, she wears a long string of light jade green beads around her neck, and on her upper forehead near the beginning of her hairline is a single seashell beading.
Crimson-painted lips move with fluidity as the miko chants a curse written on a scroll, tossing powdered incense into the fire as part of the ritual.
The victim of the spell, a lord of a nearby mansion, writhes with pain on a futon within his main chambers...The priestess then feeds a paper doll to the ravenous flames, triggering the climax of the curse which causes the lord to release a strangled shout of agony, much to the worry of his attendants.
"Oh!"
"Master!"
"Wha-?!"
...His final breath would come around the same time the gray-haired miko douses her fire. Her expression is indifferent, telling any passers that she feels no remorse for taking the lord's life...A sudden sharp gust of wind then breezes by, and Kagura appears behind the woman.
"Would you be Tsubaki, the dark priestess?"
"...If you've come to break the curse, it's too late. The victim has already perished."
"I'm not the least bit interested. It's you I came for."
"Then you must be a demon!"
The woman identified as Tsubaki whirls around to send a charm at the incarnation which transforms into a bird partway. Kagura easily dispatches it with her fan, annoyed by the quick jump to hostility.
"Stop this! (Smirk) You are a troublesome hag indeed. My master has requested me to ask for your assistance."
The miko is obviously suspicious of the request:
"What does a demon want with me?"
"Tell me, do you still bear a grudge against Kikyō?"
That would catch the old priestess's attention:
"...Kikyō, you say?"
Time Skip
"Ugh, dammi', you gotta be kiddin'! How'd me grade in Science drop down to a C+?!"
Moving the hours ahead to early morning and shifting spaces to present day Tokyo, we zoom in on the Higurashi residence, specifically, Coraline's bedroom as the named redhead rolls with the punch of frustration and mild panic after reviewing her latest grade-point averages for her online classes.
She runs a hand through her hair with a near-helpless sigh and leans back in her desk chair.
"I didn' expect the higher grade material t' be th's taxin'...A' least me Math's stayin' study; I can deal with a B-. English, Hist'ry and Japanese are good...Oh! I can start takin' Geography; nice!"
Getting out her seat while flipping her laptop closed, Coraline then grabs a nearby duo-tang and a textbook with a picture of an atom on it.
"Hopefully this next se' of notes I've taken on the road will help bump up Science...This new stuff 'bout DNA Coding and the Chem formulas is drivin' me nuts. I'd rather do more Algebra..."
Still, withou' learning a' least a little about how to read d'ese formulas, I'll have a hard time understanding Carbon Dating.
Hauh, education, thou truly are a cruel capall.
Letting out another breath, the young woman heads out of her room to find the scanner so she could copy her notes into the computer...
"Hey, Cora!"
"Huh?"
She stops at the bottom of the stairs, pivoting her head to the right where the front door sits to meet eyes with all three of her brothers.
"Freeman and Besa are here."
"Oh, (smile) hey guys."
"Hey."
"You ready to head down to see Master Yoshi?"
"I will be in'a sec. I need t' ge' these notes ready for the scanner when I come back."
The twins nod, and their sister makes her way for another room while thinking,
Jugglin' my modern-day education with my obligations in the Sengoku Era isn' easy...
Still, it's totally worth the effort.
As these more mundane activities went on, back in the roughly four hundred and thirty-years past, after agreeing to have an audience with the fiendish Naraku, Tsubaki finds herself on Kagura's giant feather as they travel to the latest locale of the latter's master's castle...
"This Naraku has surrounded himself with an ominous barrier..."
"Now hold on tight, old woman."
We head inside the hidden stronghold, finding Naraku sitting within his main chambers near the window...
He turns his eyes from the outside to the door once his servant and guest arrive.
"Naraku, I found the woman."
"Hm. (Looks at the miko) You've come, Tsubaki...the dark priestess."
Unafraid, the old woman walks closer to the demon and asks,
"What is the meaning of summoning me here?"
"Do you recall battling a priestess named Kikyō half a century ago? You were trying to steal the Shikon-no-Tama..."
"Oh...I'm surprised that you know of that old incident."
"Now, dark priestess: would you consider using your evil powers to assist me?"
A small smirk curves onto Tsubaki's lips as she boldly inquires,
"Naraku, was it? How would assisting you be a benefit to me?"
"You shall have the Shikon-no-Tama."
"Oh?"
...The old priestess's hair suddenly billows, and a strange, ethereal energy crackles around her body...
Her skin becomes smoother and more youthful, and even her voice loses age.
"You have the Shikon-no-Tama? You have it in your possession?"
Kagura is taken aback by the reverse-aging process:
"The old hag transformed herself!"
"Watch your tongue, you wretch, because this is my true form!"
Naraku stares at Tsubaki in thought:
The old woman sold her soul to a demon in order to preserve her youth...
The demon had but minor standing...so now she must seek even more power.
"Show me the Shikon-no-Tama if you truly possess it."
"What is it that you desire from the Shikon-no-Tama, priestess? From what I understand, you would want, eternal youth?"
The evil entity opens his palm to bestow the nearly complete jewel to the gaping Tsubaki, who takes it into her hands before asking with a smile,
"...Naraku. What exactly do you want from me?"
Coraline's POV
It's now about three in the afternoon, and after coming home from my lessons with Master Yoshi, I took a quick shower before redressing and beginning my last of my packing for the next round of adventuring in Edo.
I opted for a more simplistic style of dress, grabbing a plain white t-shirt with cuffed sleeves, dark blue boyfriend-fit jeans and my combat boots, while tying my hair tied back in two braids. Once I'm, 'done up' so to speak, I head for the kitchen to stock up on more food provisions while Sōta watches me from his seat at the dining table...
"Let's see...Here's the cookies Shippō likes...and th' dried meat Inuyasha loves..."
Akari-sama comes over and says to me with a smile,
"Don't just take junk food. Here, have this."
She holds out a lunch box of croquettes and vegetables, and I smile back while replying,
"Thank yeu, Akari-sama. It looks delicious."
She walks back to the fridge and mentions,
"I have lots more too."
She opens the door, and I see quite an abundant amount of lunch boxes.
"Mh! Oh, my...Um, thank yeu again."
Hopef'lly, Besa or Freeman can fit one 'r two in their bags...
Grandfather then comes by with a bottle-shaped package and some amulets.
"Oh, Coraline: don't forget the sacred sake and these charms!"
I smile a touch exasperatingly at his efforts (as this is the fifth time he's done this), before deciding to take half of the amulets he offers.
"Thank you, grandfather. I'll take a few of these, but pass on the wine."
I wonder if these amulets even work, given his track record these days...
Maybe I c'n ask Miroku or Kaede to verify them.
"If you won't take the sake, we will!"
"Hm?"
I turn to see my brothers enter the room with their own rucksacks. Freeman is wearing a black tank top with his leather vest, true blue jeans and gray converse, while Besa chose what I'm assuming is a white tank top under his black v-neck sweater, light blue jeans and black converse.
"Good timing, yeu two. If yu'r up for it, see if you c'n pack another lunch box or two from the fridge."
They nod, and Besa heads to the fridge while Freeman walks over to Grandfather to get the sacred rice wine.
"I'll be honest, sir, I dunno how much we'll use this stuff for warding off monsters, but it'll be emptied some way or another, hahaha!"
I smile-glare at him and say,
"You bett'a be responsible with that is all I'll say on the subject. I don' wanna find out what happ'ns when ye, Besa or any of the others get drunk. (Murmur) Well, not in this period of time, a' least..."
He just waves his hand at me dismissively and replies,
"Yeah yeah, fun police, I'll be careful."
Grandfather eyes him in both amusement and suspicion...before ultimately relinquishing the bottle to him.
"I'd listen to her if I were you, young man. This stuff is a bit stronger than the usual sake."
"(Nod) Right."
I turn back to the table and refocus on packing, and I hear Sōta ask me,
"Cora, are you three going already?"
"Aye. We gotta motor before i' gets any later or Inuyasha will give me an earful."
"Inuyasha's waiting?"
"Mhm, along with everyone else."
"I wish I could go to the feudal era too..."
I pause to look my little bother in the eye with a knowing smile and reply,
"I'd rethink that fantasy if I were you. Edo's not a place to have a reckless hooley or gallivant like a foolhardy tourist. (Small frown) And it'd kill me if you go' hurt on me watch."
Akari-sama agrees with my reasoning:
"She's right. You're still so young, Sōta."
He in turn pouts a little but nods all the same...before asking another question.
"Don't you ever get scared, sis?"
"Sometimes...but my fear gives me motivation to be brave. It's something I've been accustomed to, even before all this."
"You mean, before you came here to Japan?"
I look up and nod seriously, and I hear my brothers say,
"Freeman and I have a similar outlook. Because we've lived day-to-day having to be as vigilant as possible, it's become a bit of a sixth sense."
"Yeah. You gotta keep your head up when the going gets tough. Panicking isn't a good fallback tool."
I hum in acknowledgement, before strapping my rucksack closed and move to lift it over my shoulders.
"Ach! Mo dhia, so much weight...!"
Sōta asks me in surprise,
"You sure you can carry all that?!"
...I let out a sigh and set my pack down on the floor before turning to take some things out.
"Looks like I'll nee'ta lighten the load..."
"Lemme guess: overloading on textbooks again?"
I side-glance Freeman and reply,
"Maybe..."
"Alright."
He comes over on my left as I pull out my books, notebook and duo-tang, and he gives it all the once-over.
"Hmm...It's only Science that's taken a bit of dive, right?"
"Yeah...?"
"...Repack that text and its papers, leave everything else. It's not gonna kill ya to hold back on your worksheets for Math, and you're already a savant in English, Japanese and History, so nothin'll change for a while unless you really forget."
I think it all over...before smiling at his reasoning.
"You're right. I'll jus' take Science for now, and next time I'm back, I'll see what's wha' for everything else. Thanks."
"No prob. A less mentally-stressed sister's a happy sister."
...Happy...Hm.
I steal a glance down at my right wrist where the covenant mark lays for my eyes only, my expression indifferent and betraying the conflict in my mind.
...Will I truly be happy once this deal is complete? Will it even matter?
...And more to th' point, will the ones I'm doin' this for be happy?
No POV
As the young Croft and Brownlees continue their preparations for Edo, we return to the Goshinboku Village as the sunset emits a mix of salmon red, golden yellow and dark persimmon over the horizon. We find Inuyasha and Shippō sitting atop the roof of Kaede's home, each one wondering how much longer the trio of modern-born teens would take.
Coraline is late. She said she and her brothers would be back by sundown...
"Coraline is late."
"Hm?"
"Inuyasha, she said she, Freeman and Besa would be back by sundown."
Irritated by the repeat of the obvious, the half-dog demon clonks the full fox demon on the noggin.
Letting out a cry of pain, the newly miffed and confused ginger barks,
"Why me?!"
"Aw, save it!"
Inuyasha then leaps off the roof and heads in the direction of the Bone Eater's Well, much to Shippō's disbelief.
"You creep!"
(Whoosh)
"Hhhh..."
Suddenly, the young demon senses a shift of energy in the air.
"...What was that?"
His attention turns to Sango as she walks by the entrance of the hut.
"Do you sense something too, Shippō?"
"Y-Yes, but I dunno what it is..."
Even so, that didn't stop the trembling in the ginger's tail...Meanwhile, Inuyasha closes in on where the old well sits, but pauses his high-speed jog when he senses something off.
"Huh? (Sniff, sniff) I don't like the smell of that."
He then takes off in another direction...just as Kaede walks back from another part of the forest after collecting some medicinal herbs, only to feel the negative energy the others had sensed.
"Uh!...A demon aura..."
"Lady Kaede."
She turns to see Miroku wander her way, also carrying a wary expression.
"Miroku."
"So, you have sensed it too?"
"Aye...Evil is lurking nearby."
The grass beneath and around the monk and elder priestess shivers with a sudden wind shift...
"It seems to be slithering across the ground."
"What is it?"
"I don't know..."
...The only ones who wouldn't know about the coming danger are Coraline, Freeman, Besa and even Lumos. Zooming in and back to the Bone Eater's Well, the Will-O-Wisp is the first to pop out of the old structure, followed by the rucksacks belonging to the latter humans, who climb up to hang off the edge with matching small breaths of exertion.
"And, there!...Whew, wha' a workout..."
"I know, right?"
"I'm starting to wonder if invisible weights are being tied onto us every time we jump back and forth through this well..."
...Just as the trio push themselves up and swing their legs over the side, the entity responsible for stirring up a new edge in their Edo-born companions enters the area, and slithers through the green blades on a straight course for the redhead. She plants her feet on the ground, and the presence briefly fades into view as a ghostly, silver-white snake which wraps around her right ankle and bites her!
"Ah-h!"
Wha-?!
"What's wrong?"
"You okay?"
Wincing and pulling her injured appendage back, she spits out,
"I-I'm not sure...but I fel' somethin' bite me ankle just now."
The twins widen their eyes, and Coraline asks herself,
But wha' was it? I felt, fangs...
She looks out towards the grass, and her eyes are consumed by an icy blue glow as she uses her quirk to try and zero in on the source.
...Feicim, a trail...But th' source is claggerd by, somethin'.
Inuyasha would then arrive at the well, having dismissed the scent he picked up as a minor passing threat.
"What took you guys so long?"
He then sees the anxious expressions on the teens, and Coraline says to him,
"Inuyasha...I just got bit by something. Mph...I don't know wha' it is, but I know I felt fangs. (Points straight) There's a trail of energy goin' that way."
Fighting down a gasp, the silverette nods seriously before heading off after the source of danger...Once he reaches another clearing nearby, Inuyasha spots a shadow creeping from behind a large rock.
"There it is! (...Leap) Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"
(Slash)
The figure is destroyed with a single swipe of claws...but the half-demon is left baffled by its origins.
"Huh?"
Paper?
As he tries to make some sense out of what just occurred, we head for another part of the forest to find Tsubaki waiting for the ghoulish snake to return. They emerge from a gathering of tall green grass and rises to sit on her arm.
"Fine work. You have the girl's blood, I presume?"
She squeezes the serpent's head, forcing some of Coraline's crimson blood to drip from its fangs...
"Are you finished?"
"(Turn) Yes. Now, take me back to Naraku."
"Bossy witch..."
Nevertheless, Kagura complies with the demand, and the two women fly off back to the hidden castle upon the wind sorceress's feather...Back at the Bone Eater's Well, Coraline and her brothers wait for Inuyasha to return from his chase after the invisible threat. While they wait, Besa kneels down to take a look at his sister's ankle.
"Are you sure you got bit by something? I don't see any puncture marks in your boot."
"I'm cer'n I felt something bite me...but thinkin' now, it also felt kind-a transparent, almos' like a phantom bite."
"...Weird."
Their ears then pick up on the sound of footsteps, and look up to see Inuyasha walking back over to them. Freeman asks,
"Well?"
"There was something strange here. I attacked it, but look."
The silverette holds out a few pieces of a shredded paper charm in his palm.
"What the-"
"Paper?"
"The heck is goin' on?"
...
...
Night soon blankets the land, and we catch up with Tsubaki and Kagura a great distance from the Goshinboku Village as they land in front of the former's hut...
"I can perform this on my own."
"Do as you please."
The wind sorceress vanishes in a whirlwind, leaving the dark priestess alone to walk inside the small home, stopping in front of an altar piece set up for the ritual she's going to perform...Tsubaki takes out the nearly complete Shikon-no-Tama, and places it atop the brown container set in the middle of the altar, sniggering to herself darkly...
As this occurs, everyone in our ragtag group had gathered in Kaede's home to catch eachother up with the details of what they sensed. Even so, the confusion would only increase when Coraline's ankle is examined more closely, showing no signs of a bite mark despite her insistence.
"I'm positive I fel' fangs bite me here, I am!"
"But, there's no bite mark."
Sango confirms Shippō's observation:
"He's right."
"I know there's nothin' physical, but me reactions don't lie."
Lumos comes over and hovers over her exposed ankle...before circling around the area she felt the invisible fangs while emitting quick moans of concern. Besa remarks,
"Well it looks like Lumos is sensing something wrong with your ankle..."
Coraline looks at the Will O' Wisp and asks while she slips her sock and boot back on,
"Was i' anything poisonous?"
He 'shakes' in a no, and the redhead lets out a small sigh of relief.
Inuyasha then speaks on the larger matter at hand:
"There was definitely something strange there."
Kaede says to him,
"Let me look, Inuyasha, at that paper."
"Here."
As he hands over the parchment shreds to Kaede for her to examine just as Shippō asks Coraline in a hopeful manner,
"By the way, Coraline, did you...?"
She smiles and replies,
"Auy, Shippō, I remembered tha' candy you love. (Shuffle...) Here we are."
She hands the fox demon a small box of chocolate wafers for him.
"Yeah! This is the one!"
He immediately opens the box and happily munches on the treats, causing the other redhead to muffle a giggle before pulling something else out for another person in the room.
"And here, Inuyasha. I wasn' able ta get potato chips this time, but I know yeu love this jerky."
"Thanks."
He takes the bag as Coraline brings out a box lunch, the twins doing the same.
"You guys are gonna love this food Akari-sama made."
"Yeah, her cooking's amazing!"
"Mhm."
It was right then Kaede recognizes the origins of the paper charm, and becomes troubled.
"This is...Shikigami."
The young Croft turns to her with a curious expression:
"Shikigami?"
(...Ba-bump)
"Uh!"
What was-Wait...The jewel shards!
Inuyasha and Miroku ask,
"What is it, Coraline?"
"What's the matter?"
Lumos suddenly tenses up, and darts over to the rucksack pouch where Coraline kept the shards, before shifting his colouring to red!
"(Nod) Aye, I felt it too, Lumos."
She reaches over to pull out the bottle of gem pieces...and gasps when she sees,
"T-Th' shards...they've turned black!"
...
Back in Tsubaki's hut, the miko had begun dripping the stolen blood sample onto the surface of the near-complete jewel, an act which causing the viscosity to thicken and the colour to darken similarly to the distant shards.
(...Shatter)
"Ah-hh!"
The tiny bottle in Coraline's palm suddenly breaks into pieces without warning, and the blackened shards fly straight into her neck, the impact of the corrupted power sending her backwards to the floor!
"Coraline!"
"Sis!"
...The shards...they're enterin'...attacking...!
She quickly falls unconscious with another choked gasp, and Inuyasha calls her name again as her Will-O-Wisp partner flies frantically over her form while frantically blinking his warning pattern of red and blue...Back with Tsubaki, she continues to have the Shikigami serpent drip Coraline's blood over the Shikon-no-Tama as she explains the ritual she's performing to her single-member audience, Naraku.
"Jewel shards that enter her flesh, then synchronize with the jewel shard which has been defiled with your evil, and will slowly fester in her body and mind...And then, Naraku, this young woman will be mine to control."
Said demon appears from the shadows behind the priestess and warns her,
"Tsubaki, don't underestimate this young woman, Coraline."
But she wouldn't waver:
"Don't make me laugh. She didn't even realize she had been placed under a curse. I expected the reincarnation of Kikyō to be much more formidable. Now what shall I do: kill her immediately, or perhaps...?"
The central evil in this whole escapade laughs and suggests,
"Let's make Inuyasha suffer through another nightmare. A nolstagic dream about the woman he loves...killing him."
...
As Naraku and Tsubaki decide on their next despicable course of action, everyone else of our main group will have moved to lean over or kneel by Coraline's semi-conscious body, trying to get her to respond.
"Can you hear me, Coraline?!"
"Say something!"
"Coraline!"
...She does not reply other than by gritting her teeth, and as her brothers hum with worry, Miroku asks the elder miko,
"What is the meaning of this, Lady Kaede?"
"That evil we sensed earlier...Someone was placing a curse on Coraline."
"Someone's cursed her?!"
Kaede replies to Inuyasha,
"I believe a dark priestess is behind this. (Holds up the paper shreds) Coraline was bitten at the well, by the dark priestess's Shikigami."
"Th...Tha', would explains why I c-couldn' sense its pr'sence well."
Heads immediately whip around to stare down at the redhead, who adds weakly,
"Shi-kigami, are made fr'm p-paper, right? Th-They don', emit the s-same kind of, a-aura. Ah-ih!"
She grimaces in pain, and Freeman grabs her hand while gently chiding,
"Don't strain yourself, Cor. Take it easy."
She nods slightly, closing her eyes to try and relax as the half-dog demon inquires the woman of the hut for more information on the perpetrator behind this attack.
"You say a dark priestess is responsible?"
"Aye. Inuyasha, you must certainly know of them. This is a wicked priestess who specializes in curses. It was her dark enchantment that has made the jewel shards black."
Shippō exclaims fearfully,
"And now it looks like they've entered Coraline's flesh!"
Sango adds just as concerned,
"The poison could kill her unless we do something!"
Miroku stands up and says to her,
"Let's go, Sango."
"Hm?"
"(Glare) We'll destroy the dark priestess. It's the only way to break the curse."
Inuyasha cuts in just as determined to eliminate the threat.
"Hang on; I'm going with you."
But then, Coraline mutters the silverette's name in a strain, prompting the monk to suggest,
"It would be best for you to stay with Coraline."
Kaede agrees:
"You're most needed here."
Inuyasha looks down at the redhead's struggling form...before deciding,
"Yes, you're right," and Besa says,
"I'll go with Miroku and Sango instead. (Turn) Freeman, will you stay behind and help out here?"
"Yeah..."
Now that a plan has been devised, Miroku exits the hut and holds out his palm to sense for Tsubaki's dark aura...His eyes snap open a few seconds later.
"I sense evil coming from this direction!"
Sango - clad in her demon slayer gear - flies over on Kilala with Besa - he having his kama strapped to him at the ready - and calls down below,
"Up here! Get on, Miroku!"
The three teens and cat demon take off, with Shippō calling,
"Good luck!"
Inside, Coraline grimaces in a struggle while Inuyasha and Freeman kneel on either side with worried expressions, each male muttering her name.
...Suddenly, Tsubaki's voice starts to echo within the cursed redhead's mind.
Kill him!
W-Wha...?
Kill him!
Kill, w-who?
Kill Inuyasha! Kill Inuyasha!
(Gleam...)
The shards in Coraline's neck glow a dim obsidian, and she mentally calls back in a strain,
Stop...Stop it! Leave, me!
...
Back in Tsubaki's hut, the dark priestess becomes frustrated by her victim's will power.
"Humph! The defiant young wench is resisting."
Naraku informs her again,
"As I told you, this Coraline is the reincarnation of Kikyō the priestess. Taming her will require more than a little effort."
The name of the wandering priestess slides past Tsubaki's lips like bitter tobacco.
"Kikyō...huh."
That, wretch...
(Flash)
Time spirals backwards to the days when Kikyō was still among the living, the date being sometime before the day of bloody tragedy. The miko is viewed within a gathering of sakura trees, with Tsubaki standing nearby, back when her hair was a true black rather than gray...
"Long ago, Kikyō was infatuated with a half-demon, and her powers were thus weakened. It should've been the perfect opportunity to steal the Shikon-no-Tama from its guardian..."
The black-hearted priestess wastes no time in summoning her serpentine shikigami, preparing to send it to attack the seemingly unaware Kikyō...
"But it wasn't to be."
Unfortunately for Tsubaki, the other miko was well-aware of the danger, and swiftly spins around to use her bow to whack away the incoming threat, causing the creature to rebound right back at their mistress!
"That wench! She hurled my curse straight back at me!"
"Aaaaah!"
The soon-to-be-nicknamed dark priestess reels back in agony from the impact, and Kikyō says to her,
"Now leave and I will spare your life."
(Flash)
The present-day Tsubaki adds to herself in anger,
Such a smug countenance! Simply recalling it makes my blood boil!
And as her rage surfaces, we see the scar from the fifty-year long curse - a small patch of snake scale designs - appear over her right eye...
(Ba-bump, ba-bump...)
"Rgh...mrh, nyh..."
Coraline continues to writhe in pain from the curse inflicted on her being as Kaede wipes her forehead with a damp cloth. Freeman tries to busy himself by tending to the fire, while Inuyasha and Shippō sit near the struggling redhead out of worry. That would leave Lumos to rest atop the girl's chest, and he lets out a ghostly moan of concern as he attempts to soothe his partner's pain with his energies...
"Will she be alright? Tell me she's gonna make it!"
(Swing, grasp)
"Huh?"
The half-demon in red nearly thumps the young fox demon's noggin, but would be stopped by the only human male in the room with his own hand. Shippō opens his mouth to question the actions of both teens, but stops himself when he sees the exchange of intent stares between the two young men...
Kaede places the cloth back in the bucket, and stands up while announcing,
"I shall change the water."
...
By this time, the rest of the group had flown for the direction where the source of the curse lays in wait, Miroku his staff and monk's training to sense for Tsubaki. Sensing that he was experiencing a bit of trouble, Besa places his hand with his Seven Light Crystal shard on the monk's shoulder.
"Hm?"
"Keep going. I'll add on with my own power."
(...Sheen)
A small wave of rainbow-hued energy ripples over their bodies, before stopping at the tip of Miroku's shakujō and settling into a minor throbbing...
"You should be able to get a clearer reading of the dark priestess's energy now."
Miroku nods, and shuts his eyes again...before snapping them back open and pointing to the northeast.
"It's over there!"
Sango turns to him and replies,
"Good. Let's hurry!"
Kilala immediately shifts her flight pattern to where the monk is indicating, doubling her speed...
Back in the village the quartet left from, Kaede gathers more water from the river stream outside her home, with Shippō accompanying her...
"Do you think Coraline can be saved?"
"Perhaps...Coraline is likely fighting the curse with all her might."
"Luckily, she's strong-willed."
"Aye..."
Yet the aging miko adds to herself with a stern worry,
The more time it takes to break the curse, however, the weaker she'll become.
"Will it take much longer?"
Tsubaki replies confidently to Naraku from within her hideaway,
"She should stop resisting soon enough."
She then hovers her hand over the jewel and adds as her body glows a mysterious deep ocean blue aura,
"Now then, Naraku: you shall have what you wished for."
...
Returning again to Kaede's place, Inuyasha steps out for some fresh air to help quell his own growing worries...
"Damn it. Haven't Miroku, Sango and Besa found the dark priestess yet?"
Freeman stands up from the fire and replies to the half-demon,
"Well, there's no way of knowing how far away this witch is, so time crunch or not, it'll be a bit at least...All depends on how fast Kilala can fly."
Inuyasha beats his fist on the door frame after a couple seconds of silence and curses,
"Damn! Coraline is suffering, and I'm suppose to just sit here and do nothing?!...Hm?"
He turns around when he feels a hand on his shoulder, the source being his sympathetic friend.
"I know. It's killin' me too that we can't break the curse with a snap of the fingers right now, but raging about it's not gonna help. Cora would want us to stay calm and cool...You get me?"
"...Hauh, yeah, I get it...What I'd like to know is why this dark priestess is even doing this to Coraline."
"Same, (narrows eyes) but I'm thinkin' a certain spider-scarred demon might be responsible in some way."
Just as Inuyasha opens his mouth to continue their conversation...
(Twok)
"Huh?"
(TOK)
A sacred arrow comes flying through the air, landing just an inch or two away from the silverette in the door frame! Both men widen their eyes, and whirl around to see Coraline standing up and holding out the bow, slipping out another arrow to use.
"...Coraline?"
"Sis, what the hell?!"
She only breathes heavily in a strain, and draws back the bowstring and the ammunition, her eyes set in a glare and pupils slowly dilating out...Inuyasha couldn't help but recall the day when 'Kikyō' tried to shoot him down in cold blood fifty years ago, and he asks aloud in disbelief,
"Why, Coraline?!"
Tsubaki's order echos within the girl's head, urging her to kill the dog demon...and with all the will she could muster, she calls out,
"Ge', away...Run, Inuyasha!"
"Uh! Coraline, you're...!"
...
Back in the temporary home of the dark priestess, Tsubaki is a bit taken aback by how well her victim's control is still technically holding out, but masks it with frustrated annoyance.
"Stubborn woman. I have control of her body, but her mind is still resisting me."
Naraku merely laughs and replies,
"This is becoming more entertaining. Tsubaki, if Inuyasha should flee from her, then take the chance to kill Coraline."
...
Zooming away and back in on Coraline, we notice that her hold on the bow and arrow is hesitant and shaky, indicating that her body has indeed lost contact with her mind.
"R...Run! D-Don't...!"
Inuyasha would then realize what's going on.
Coraline is possessed by the dark priestess!
He tries to move out of the line of fire, but the redhead's aim follows his every step.
The silverette and Freeman think to themselves tensely,
What's taking you, Miroku?!
Hurry, Besa!
Besa's POV
We keep our pace in the direction that Miroku's indicates, and he says as we approach a large clearing ahead over the mountainside,
"The demonic aura is getting stronger."
I curse under my breath as Sango urges Kilala onward.
"Hurry, Kilala."
...We soon approach an area that had a ginormous shield of dark energy!
"There it is!"
Kilala keeps going and we try to pass through...but-
(Bzzt)
"Aaaah!"
We get blocked and go tumbling to the ground below!
"Rrgh...Sango, you okay?"
She sits up and nods before asking Miroku similarly.
"Are you alright, Miroku?"
He rises to his feet again, and directs his eyes to the shield.
"What the..."
I focus on it too and wonder to myself,
What now?
Kikyō's POV
I approach the end of the forest, following the trail of unsettling energy.
...I feel it.
I come to the edge of a cliff, and find a large barrier surrounding a clearing below, emitting an aura that felt...familiar.
I have faced this evil once before.
No POV
As the shikigami continues to slither around the jewel fragment on the altar piece, Tsubaki says to Naraku,
"I can kill her with my curse any time you wish."
A chuckle of sick pleasure escapes the demon's lips as he muses,
"What will you do now, Inuyasha? Be slain by Coraline...or will you flee, and by doing so, have Coraline killed?...Hehahaha, suffer, Inuyasha!"
The standoff continues inside Kaede's home, and despite the strain of the curse, the redhead under fire attempts to persuade her friend to leave her.
"G...Go, now, Inuyasha."
He himself is conflicted on what course of action to take:
What do I do?
"Run. D-Don't, risk, y-your life. Save, yurself!"
Inuyasha could only stare intently at the girl, while Freeman curses and thinks,
Damn...What the hell are we gonna do now?