Update (September 2021): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 68: Ceaseless Cycle of 'Normalcy'
Recap:
...The Shikon-no-Tama certainly knows how to attract all kinds from the realm of evil. Demons are often the most perceived primary threat, while humanity follows close behind. Greed can fester in any heart regardless of origins.
Even priests and priestesses, individuals sworn to protect against evil are not safe from temptation should it ring a loud enough echo.
Such seems to be the case for one miko by name of Tsubaki, a woman whose desire for preserving her youth - and perhaps more - led to an assassination attempt on Kikyō's life to steal away the fabled jewel. This would lead her to being cursed by her own dark magic, and as such, Tsubaki turned to demons personal and literal to stabilize what little of her beauty she still had.
Even after fifty years, her grudge against the tragic miko is still susceptible to being sparked by a flame. The source? Naraku.
Once Tsubaki is tracked down by the despicable entity and offered the use of the near-complete jewel, she places a curse on the few gem fragments Inuyasha and company possess, which then enter Coraline and poison her. With the young Croft's life on the brink, she and her allies hurry to track Tsubaki down and defeat her to save the former's life...
Now...
Not long after Tsubaki summons a large tri-tailed kitsune, the monster and its target Inuyasha begin squaring off. The half-demon is slightly handicapped, given that he cannot draw his Tessaiga due to a looming threat that the black-hearted miko will strengthen the power of her curse and kill Coraline. Even so, that doesn't stop him from trying to land a hit or two with his claws while dodging counters from the fox beast...
Unfortunately, after a few more misses, the kitsune finally gets an opening and brings its own claws down on Inuyasha's stomach.
(Slash)
"Aaaaaaagh!"
Blood spills as Miroku cries out his friend's name, but luckily, thanks to his demonic strength, the silverette manages to hold his ground, landing in the grass safely with a hand over his wounded torso...Tsubaki laughs and jeers,
"Now do you understand?! Your measures are all in vain! Surrender and find a new home inside my demon's belly!"
Inuyasha grits his teeth from the new pain, but manages to retort with a grim smirk,
"So what if I can't use the Tessaiga? (Holds out his bloody claws) I only need one arm to take out that repulsive demon!"
"Hold your tongue!"
The kitsune leaps at their target again, but the latter hops backwards and releases his own counterattack.
"Blades of Blood!"
He hits the mark, cutting across the demon's face and right eye, causing it to howl in pain...
Tsubaki grinds her teeth at her smug enemy:
"Don't be so sure of yourself!"
She then squeezes the tainted jewel, forcing out more pressure onto her curse and Coraline lets out a few cries of pain.
"Aaa-hhh! Gyh-a-hh!"
Sango holds her by her shoulders as she, Miroku and Besa regard her with worry.
"Coraline!"
"Sis, hang on!"
Inuyasha glances behind himself in his own concern.
"Coraline! (Glares at Tsubaki) Why you...!"
"Do not forget, Inuyasha: I hold Coraline's life before my very hand."
(...Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump...)
"M-Maybe so, bu', who says, I'm goin' down quietly?"
"Hm?"
She looks over at Coraline, the latter casting a narrowed and slightly haggard expression on her attacker with glowing icy blue irises, her visible blood vessels throbbing similarly as the energy ripples against the obsidian black jewel shards in her neck.
"I'll use, every ounce of m' power, to take you 'nd yur stupid curse down-Agh!"
"Tch..."
Tsubaki sneers at the redhead, before attention is momentarily focused on the kitsune as the wounds on its face heal over! Inuyasha growls to himself,
Damn...what am I gonna do?
On the sidelines, Sango asks her friend,
"Are you alright? Are you in pain, Coraline?"
"A-Auy...bu' pain is the least of m' worries...I-If this curse keeps up, my soul, will invoke last resort, a-and overpower me."
"Overpower you?"
"Mhm...A-And this time, I won', be able to stop it. M' power will explode, and...e-everyone in this vicinity, will likely get hi' by the backlash."
Coraline smiles grimly and adds,
"Bu' hey...if i' does go to hell like tha', just ge' as far away fr'm here as possible, and I'm sure it'll just be me and Tsubaki."
The demon slayer, monk and novice warrior could only stare helplessly at the girl willing to consider sacrificing her safety.
"Coraline..."
Sango looks up at the monk with a serious expression and says,
"Come on, Miroku. We need to help Inuyasha. Coraline won't be able to last for very long."
But the young man with Prussian blue irises argues,
"Hold on...I figure Tsubaki intends to kill Coraline whether Inuyasha wins or loses this battle."
"You mean..."
"Yes. (Focuses ahead) Our only hope is to find a way is to break Tsubaki's curse. Either we destroy her, or the shikigami, her demon puppet."
Besa looks over at the ghostly serpent with hateful intent.
"Hm...Cora said that she felt fangs bite her ankle when we came out of the well earlier today, but, it felt more like a phantom bite...It must've been that beast!"
"Just as I was thinking...I'm almost certain that's it."
Miroku rises to his feet and requests Sango's aid, to which she replies,
"Count on it," and the other young male says to her,
"Hand Cora to me. I'll keep her safe."
So with that plan made, the monk runs past the giant kitsune, creating a decent enough diversion for the slayer to unleash her weapon.
"Hiraikotsu!"
(Toss, za-za-za-za-za-za...)
The large demon darts its head towards the call, and leaps over to slap the giant boomerang away.
This allows Miroku to run at Tsubaki with no distractions, before throwing some sacred sutras her way.
"Hrah!"
Of course, the woman with demonic power in her veins merely smirks at the attempt.
Ha, exorcism sutras...
She whacks them away with her sleeve:
"They are useless on me!"
Her shikigami raises its head with a snarling hiss, a noise that coupled with its power cause the sutras burn to ash, much to Miroku's shock.
"Uh!"
"Fool! My curse cannot be broken!"
The young man with the rat tail hairstyle is then forced to dodge a side-leap from the kitsune, but then falls backwards from the force of strength.
"Ah! Oh no!"
He's left wide open for another attack...but Inuaysha jumps in and grabs him just in time.
"Miroku!"
They hurry backwards to a safer spot out of the line of offense, and Tsubaki jeers,
"You seem to enjoy pain. Just remember that the longer you resist me, the longer her suffering will be prolonged."
By her, the dark priestess is of course referring to Coraline, the latter having been re-positioned by her brother to lay her head in his lap. The earlier-mentioned throbbing glow has not ceased its ministrations, her breath slowly becoming strained and heavy as a new coat of sweat spreads across her skin.
(Ba-bump...ba-bump, ba-bump...)
D-Damn...I don', know how much, longer I c'n hold back...
"It would be so easy to end...Shall I send Coraline to her very demise this very instant?"
Tsubaki squeezes the jewel once again, sending a new wave of poisonous magic to the struggling redhead, who writhes and lets out a small scream.
Besa tries to urge her to hang on:
"Coraline! Coraline, come on! (Widens eyes) Shit, she's unconscious...Cora! Wake up!"
Coraline's POV
It felt like my skin got pierced with ice picks when Tsubaki squeezed the cursed jewel connected to me. The pain was barely bearable earlier, but now, it was so blinding that I couldn't stay awake. Blackness spots my vision as I feel my consciousness leave me, my brother's call the last thing I hear.
I, hear you, Besa. I'll be back in a moment...Jus' wait for me, bro.
...What happened afterward, was strange beyond words, or at least I'd regard it as such later on.
For the moment itself...it felt like my mind left me, only to return muddled...confused...
"-raline!...C-raline!...Coraline!"
That voice...I', sounds like...
"Coraline, wake up, or you're going to be late for your meeting with the professor at the museum."
I snap my eyes open:
Akari-sama!
I look over, and find myself staring at her from...inside my room?
Wha-Ho-How 'm I here?!
"Come now, Coraline, you're usually up earlier than this."
I hurry into a sitting position and ask anxiously from my bed,
"Where's Sango? And Inuyasha, Miroku, and Besa?! This can't be righ'! How in th' ifreann 'm I back in this era?!"
"Oh my. Sounds like quite the dream."
...Dream?
Akari-sama begins walking from the doorway, stopping for a moment to add with a smile,
"Hurry and come downstairs. Breakfast will be ready for you."
...And she was gone, leaving me to sit on my bed in confusion.
"...Somethin's wrong. Really wrong."
Maybe it's jus'a fluke?...Hasta be a fluke.
After another minute, I get up and change out of my, pajamas(?) into some random day clothes and head downstairs for some answers. Sōta greets me as I enter the kitchen:
"Oh, good morning, Cora."
"Ah, mornin', Sōta, Grandfather."
They nod at me, and as I sit in my seat, the elder of the two notices my troubled look.
"Is something wrong, my dear girl? You look a little rattled."
"Um, well, (looks up) is i' possible one of yeu can tell me when exactly I r'turned home?"
"Hm? Returned home?"
"What do you mean? Did you go somewhere?"
...They have th' same look Akari-sama had: totally, clueless.
I'd almost say they're playing dumb, but...
"Come now, surely yeu two of all people know: I've been jumpin' back 'n forth between this era and the Sengoku era for the past couple months now, I have. The ole Bone Eater's Well is the gateway, to a time when Japan had as m'ny demons runnin' amok as there were humans."
Grandfather looks at me with shock:
"Uh! You went into that old well?!"
"Aye, more times I can count, actually!...What about Inuyasha? Don't either of you remember him?"
"Inuyasha?"
"What on earth is that?"
It was my turn to look shocked:
How can they not remember Inuyasha?!
...I wonder...The well...
I jump out of my seat and make my way to the outside.
"Please excuse me; I hafta go check on something!"
I run out the door and head to the old well house, where I would discover...
"No...No, this can' be right!"
I hear footsteps stop by the entrance, and Sōta calls from up the steps,
"Coraline, are you okay? What's wrong, sis?"
I could only stare at the seals and planks boarding up the dusty well, my mind stuck in a frozen panic.
What the hell is going on?!
...
...
Once I shook myself loose of the initial panic and went back inside to finish breakfast, I'd ask Akari-sama about more details regarding this, meeting I had at the city museum, before ultimately heading out the door and down the tall staircase to the streets below...
I found myself wandering a little aimlessly, partly because I had two more hours to kill, and the other part being the shell-shock of how, mundane this morning's been thus far.
...There's no way me exploits in Edo could've been just a dream. Too much has happened.
Is this the priestess's doing?
...Or maybe Bill is screwin' with my head again. Nah, can't be him; this is too tame t' be his work, it'is.
About halfway through my excursion downtown, I run into Besa and Freeman, neither one of them showing any signs of battle wear or knowing anything about Inuyasha and the others from Edo. I avoided asking because my gut told me I'd likely get the same reactions the Higurashis gave me...
"You feelin' okay, Cor?"
"H-Huh?"
I look up from the pavement and see my brothers staring at me with concern.
"You look bothered by something..."
"Umm..."
"Is something nagging you?"
"Like, boy problems?"
I furrow my eyebrows in confusion:
"Boy problems?"
"What? Don't tell me you forgot about him?"
"Yeah, you and Hōjō have been seein' one another for a few weeks now."
That caught me off-guard:
Hōjō?!
"Whoa whoa, who the bloody hell said I was dating Hōjō?! Doesn'e already have a girlfriend, Yumi?"
It was their turn to look taken aback:
"Yumi? Who's she?"
"You sayin' ya caught Hōjō cheating on you?"
"No! I'm saying he's been dating her, and we've never been a thing at'all!"
Neither brother looked convinced...and Freeman puts the back of his hand against my forehead.
"You sure you're okay, sis? Maybe you should reschedule that meeting with the professor."
I just sigh in exasperation, realizing that there's no point in arguing over something this trivial and ridiculous...A while later, I find myself sitting in a waiting room in the museum, pondering over this new scenario while waiting for this professor.
I don't understand...
Have I been tossed into some kind-a, parallel world or...?
"Miss, Coraline Higurashi-Croft?"
I perk up at my name being called by the receptionist:
"Um, yes?"
"Professor Hashimoto will see you now."
"(Slight smile) Thank yeu."
Come another hour, I walk out of the museum and make my way to the park as I go over what was discussed.
That's right, I remember: before I w's pulled into the well, Akari-sama and I were tryin' to schedule a meeting with Professor Hashimoto to start some early Anthropology training...
But we were unsuccessful...ye' here I am, walkin' away with the green-light to begin apprenticin' for my dream career.
I stop to stare at some flowering cherry blossom trees and add,
That is how I envisioned my life to be: study hard and become an Anthropologist...jus' like father.
...But that was...before...
"Coraline!?"
"Hm?"
I turn to the right, and see Hōjō coming up on his bicycle.
"Oh, hey there."
He stops in front of me and pulls out a gift wrapped in light blue paper.
"Here, I got something for you."
Turns out the gift was some bamboo...
"This'll cheer you up, and work wonders on the acupuncture of your soul. One step and you'll be sold."
I look up at him with a smile between sweet and fake:
"Thank yeu."
A' least he remains unchanged...other than not being with Yumi.
Wonder where she is?
I soon cross the streets to head home, my mind still convinced something's wrong.
This all seems too plain...Too, boring to be real...
"I wanna have lots of kids."
"Aheheh, you're such a joker!"
I freeze at the end of the crosswalk, and turn to see some familiar forms in modern clothing.
...Sango?...Miroku?
I rub my eyes with my one hand, and shake my head before walking on.
"No, tha's ridiculous..."
Eventually, I return home as the sun begins setting, feeling low and muddled by these strange turns...
"Grandma! Buy me a Shikon-no-Tama key holder!"
"Sure."
"Shikon-no-Tama, you say?"
That caught my attention:
The Shikon-no-Tama!
I look over to see two familiar figures standing by Grandfather, also wearing modern clothing as they take one of the key-chain fobs.
...Shippō? And...Kaede?
Before I could make any sense out of this, I feel part of my neck spike in pain.
"Aaah! Aaagh!"
Wha', is, this?!
My vision becomes hazy...before fading to black...
"Mm...mm?"
I awake in my bed, feeling better, but lightheaded and even more muddled than before.
...What just happened?
A low mew catches my ears, and I shift over to look down from my bed to see a familiar family cat.
"Hm? Oh, Buyo..."
I smile a bit as I sit up before gently picking him up and placing him in my lap, petting him while saying,
"...Buyo, I think something serious is goin' on. My mind feels...clouded."
I feel him shift in bliss from my scratching fingers as I try to figure out what's wrong.
"It's weird...I feel like I should be headin' somewhere and doing something...but I can't put it to words...And, I can't even remember yesterday, if there was one."
Buyo hops off my lap, and as I watch him leave...I saw a shift of appearance...before it quickly went back to normal.
"Uh!"
What the...That wasn' Buyo...
I run a hand over my face as I say aloud,
"Now 'm worried...My thoughts feel like the inside of a blender: everything's too mixed t' make out the recipe."
One thing I'm certain of though...is th's feeling of duty...But fo' what?
What is i' exactly I'm supposed to be doing?
Time passes, and a routine would form: studying, hanging out with my brothers and sometimes Hōjō (I would say dating, but, something in my gut's telling me otherwise), and of course beginning my apprenticeship at the local museum. Most of the hours spent in the latter activity would be spent learning how to catalogue and helping with the examination of artifacts...
I'm in the backroom of the museum right now, wearing a borrowed lab coat over a plain Maya blue long-sleeve, dark green jeans and my hikers, and currently looking over some old pottery pieces...I pause to write some observations, my right hand absentmindedly rubbing a certain spot on my neck.
...Th's pain is becoming dull...I barely notice it now.
Once I was done for the day, I exit the museum and find myself walking by the fence of Hōjō's school, my mind even more blank than usual. It wasn't as bad as before...or at least I think it wasn't. I can't be certain of anything anymore, for it feels like my mind-no...that my very spirit is disconnecting.
...Who 'm I?...What is my purpose?
...And why, do I feel th's strong rise of nerves, like this is all'a sham?
(Twok, tok)
"Hm?"
My ears pick up on the sound of a familiar old-world weapon, and I stop to look down at the area where the school's archery club meets and does their thing...Something about their uniforms, the bows, the arrows...It's stirring this twinge of familiarity.
Maybe there I can get an answer to th's fogginess down there.
I hurry down just as the instructor makes another call to some other team members.
"Alright. Next up!"
I stare at her form for a minute, narrowing my eyes in thought as I take in her long, jet black hair, chestnut brown irises and her fair complexion, all put together with the outfit inspired by the traditional miko uniform.
Odd...I feel like I know 'er from somewhere...
"Ah. You've finally arrived."
"Hm? O-Oh, sorry...Wait, you were expectin' me?"
The woman doesn't answer my question, and instead asks one of her own.
"Do you want to try?"
"...Me?"
"(Nod) Isn't that why you've come?"
I stare at the offered bow...before nodding and grasping it.
I guess givin' it a go wouldn' hurt.
She guides me to the firing area, and I ready myself to fire an arrow...
"Aim for that target. Take your time."
"Right."
I pull back the drawstring...
"Your line is good."
I nod, staring right at the bullseye:
Aim true...
(Twok, tok)
The arrow does land in the target, but not in the center...I curse quietly, before the woman comments,
"You need more practice. Your concentration is lacking."
Oh if only she knew...
As she turns to walk away, I find myself asking her,
"Have we, me' before? What is your-"
"Who are you?"
"...Pardon?"
"Who are you?"
"Me?...I'm..."
What's wrong with me? I can't even remember my own name...
"Are you...Are you me?"
"You?...I...I don't think so..."
"Hm. (Turns away) Watch yourself...or you'll end up killing Inuyasha just as I did."
That name struck something in me:
"Inuyasha?"
(Ba-bump)
"Aaah!"
"...C-raline!"
"Sis!"
Those, voices..I know th'm...Where are they?!
(Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump...)
The pain in the side of my neck becomes all the more intense, and I'm soon on my knees gripping the area...I feel an unnatural gust whip against my skin, and I barely find the strength to open my eyes, only to see that the area has changed into some sort of void dimension!
This...This was never real...I knew it! This w's all'a bunch of bullhonky!
I see the woman whose name escapes me walking away, and struggle to stand up while calling,
"Wait! Please, don' go!"
She does not reply, and I begin running after her, my pain forgotten.
"I said wait! Please, tell me wha's going on!"
She turns to me with a stern expression and says,
"Tell me who you are!"
"(Glare) I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't see how tha's impor'nt right now!"
"This is a world of your making! You have decided who you are. So answer me; tell me who you are!"
...Suddenly, the entire world freezes, and the woman fades from view.
"Huh?...Now what?"
"...Hehahaha, oh wow, you really got yourself in a mess this time, huh, Little Doll?"
...Tha' voice. Again, familiar, bu' no name comes to mind.
I walk a few hesitant steps forward and ask into the void,
"Is, tha' my name? Little Doll?"
"Nope! That's just my personal nickname for ya! Geez, how can ya not remember your name?! The curse of that gray-haired witch can't be that powerful to give you amnesia, can it?"
...Next thing I knew, a being shaped like a yellow triangle pops out in front of me.
"Gah! Who'r you?!"
"Oh-hoh no; you're not starting that game with me like Fushia Arrow was with you, missy! Uuurh, okay, time for some quick therapy!"
Before I could ask him what he meant, he snaps his fingers, and makes a cane of all things appear...before swinging it to hit the top of my head.
(Bonk)
"Ouch!"
...But as it turned out, it actually did more good than hurt.
(Vwooosh)
"Uh-hh!"
I...I remember it all now!
And, my name is...Coraline. Coraline Croft.
"(Looks up) And yu'r Bill Cipher, the demon I made'a pact with!"
"Ding-ding-ding, give the cutie a prize! Glad to see your head's back on straight! Can't have you skippin' out on our deal 'cause of a bit of memory suppression, right~?"
"(Deadpan) Really? Tha' was your motive?"
"Duuuuh! And...maybe I wanted to try doing a good Samaritan act for a change. I can be very unpredictable, as you well know!"
He laughs and adds,
"Not that my interference would matter much. You were actually on the right track all on your own!"
"I was?"
"Mhm! Your soul's more powerful than you give yourself credit for, bu~t nothin' wrong with getting some extra help. Oh, and another thing: what you were planning on doin' before this regarding your Aura Reader powers? Bad idea."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that if you allow yourself to explode your soul energy, you'll end up doing more damage than you think. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd leave a crater as big as that hag's earlier shield!"
"Uh! I...Is m' soul really that potent?...!"
"Mm, yes and no. Depends on how much stress you put on it."
The world suddenly begins fading out:
"Uh!"
"Ulp, looks like you're wakin' up, hun! Oh, word to the wise: if you really wanna get a leg over this curse, don't go into suicide mode! Just stay calm, breathe and dig deep!"
"How's that gonna help?!"
"You'll get it once you're up, trust me! Now get out there, and show everyone you're done with the reincarnation title!"
No POV
Upon the final echo of Bill's encouragement, Coraline's eyes snap awake from the strange alternate world the curse had dragged her into.
"Ga-hh!"
Besa and Sango look down in surprise and concern:
"Coraline!"
"Sis, you okay?!"
But her focus was on the dog demon fighting:
"...In...Inu-yasha."
...That tears it. This ends now.
Focusing on the young man in question, he slides back on the ground before leaping up and clawing at the kitsune, it retaliating with a whack from its tail.
"Gah!"
He slides backwards hard, and the kitsune springs at him just as Coraline suddenly stands up, sword in hand.
"Inuyasha!"
(...Swipe)
A set of ice blue talons fly across the grass and dirt, barely missing the giant fox demon other than a light cut on its right legs, before blasting the side of Tsubaki's hut...!
"Gh! (Focuses up front) Wench! Why are you still able to move?!"
Coraline smirks grimly at the dark priestess and retorts,
"Hah...who knows? Maybe karma's switchin' sides!"
"Huh, well you've certainly managed to endure my spell. So it would seem that you are Kikyō's reincarnation after all. (Smirk) Although, if you were the real Kikyō, you would've tried and succeeded in shooting me with an arrow, and not that strange sword of yours...meaning you're an imitation...Nay, you're nowhere close to being a copy of Kikyō."
...One would think that these insults would've stirred something ugly in the redhead under fire...but no. Instead, she feels a chuckle bubble in her throat, before bursting into hysterical laughter, causing everyone to look at her funny.
"Coraline?"
"Sis, are you...feelin' okay?"
Tsubaki narrows her eyes at giggly girl, asking,
"What could you possibly find so amusing?"
Coraline calms down and says with a smile that was still slightly hysterical,
"Y'know...I gotta give Naraku points f'r trying. This was actually one of his better schemes!"
She looks up to the sky and shouts,
"And if you're listenin' to this, you arachnid bast'rd, as soon as I behead this bi'ch of a targe, I'm comin' after you next!"
That threat does not sit well with Tsubaki:
"Kh! You, behead me?! How dare you!"
She then flinches a bit when Coraline directs a nasty glare in her direction.
"But I'll put h'm down as'n afterthought for now. My main target is you, i'tis."
The redhead begins striding forward, and rings of icy blue light begin billowing down her blade.
"I must admi'...I never thought I'd have the d'spleasure of meeting a priestess who found a way to completely drown herself in darkness. A' least Kikyō's managing to stay on the shoreline, despite her soul only being half of what it once was."
"Only half?"
"Oh, didn't you know? I'm actu'lly not her true reincarnation. I'm really more of a, security box, currently keepin' the light half of her spiri' safe with me whole one, while she's walking around with her dark half. (Sad frown) It's a damn shame that's how things wen' down after tha' episode with Urasue, bu', a' least she hasn't turned evil, thank god. (Small smile) Kikyō is still her. She's just...confused abou' where'r morals are at present."
Inuyasha could only stare at the redhead in surprise, always finding himself amazed by the girl's defense of his past companion.
Coraline...
"You, on the other hand, Tsubaki, have submerged yerself so deep in th' mire, (smirk) I wouldn't be surprised if yor wounds spout black ink instead of red blood."
"Gh! Wretch!"
"No...No' wretch."
Coraline raises her sword high and proclaims,
"My name is Coraline Croft! I 'm my own person, and not a replacement for someone else! And you can take that t' Hell!"
(Sheen...)
"Claw Spiorad!"
She sends another large, aura-charged talon at Tsubaki...but just like the first round, it barely misses the intended target, instead landing at the foot of the stairs. Splintered wood and sawdust is flung into the air...and watching the spectacle from atop a cliff a distance away, is the wandering priestess herself. She stares down at the redhead harboring a part of her spirit for a short moment longer...before turning to walk away...
"You are a sharp-tongued fool, rushing to your death."
Tsubaki gestures her shikigami forward, and squeezes its head to release more of Coraline's blood from its fangs, the red drops dripping from the fangs onto the jewel. The action intensifies the curse, and the young Croft grasps her throat in a way like she was choking, dropping ShatterSoul as she collapses on her front!
"Coraline!"
"No, Cora!"
"Coraline!"
Lumos flies over and cries out in alarm to try and rouse his partner to move, just as the large kitsune springs her direction...
"CORALIIINE!"
Inuyasha wastes no time and leaps over to snatch up the redhead into his arms, the Will O' Wisp diving away similarly while Besa and Sango run fast with Kilala to dodge the incoming threat...As he nears the ground, the dog demon looks down at the human in his hold with concern.
She won't last for much longer...
Once his feet kiss the grass, he shifts position so he's holding the girl in a sitting position and he's kneeling.
"Coraline...just be strong a bit longer!"
With a weak smile, the redhead chides,
"N-No, prob...Sorry, I couldn', land a hit, on Tsubaki. I, tried..."
"Coraline..."
"I've had enough of you two!"
Tsubaki directs her kitsune minion to attack them once more...but Inuyasha's determination to defend would prevail.
"(Growl) I'll never let you kill her! (...Leap) You better stay out of my way! Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"
(SLASH)
This time, his speed and strength are true, his claws cutting the demon right down its middle from snout to tail!...Of course, that was just the start, the silverette continuing his trajectory towards the dark priestess.
"This is the end, Tsubaki!"
His claws cut down on the ghostly snake she calls her shikigami, and the head of the serpent flies to the grass, wide-open for Miroku to finish off.
"Well done, Inuyasha!"
He slams the base of his staff into the snake head, causing it to vaporize in a cloud of dust.
"...One down."
Inuyasha says sarcastically to the human carrying demonic power,
"Sorry about your serpent, Tsubaki."
"...Hehahaha, you're naïve. Did you honestly think that the curse has been broken?"
"What?!"
"...The spell still holds her, you fool."
Both the half-demon and monk turn to look over where Coraline was, and see her bring held up around her torso and shoulders by Sango and Besa as the obsidian glow of the tainted shards emits once more.
"Rgh. H-Hrgh..."
"Hang in there, sis. We gotcha..."
"Be...sa. San-go..."
The slayer thinks to herself frantically,
She's not recovering, even though the shikigami was destroyed!
(...Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump)
That would be the least of the redhead's problems, however, as her spirit begins to throb anew with a brighter icy blue glow, making it so nearly all her veins were visible!
Ah-h...H-How, much longer, c'n I hold out?
I know, Cipher said releasin' my energy would be bad...bu', I might not, have'a choice...!
Tsubaki jeers over her victim's struggle,
"Whether by the curse or her own soul, Coraline will die...Oh yes, and the rest of you."
Her scar reappears over her right eye...before it glows a piercing light, signalling the release of a large swarm of demons from her pupils! Inuyasha gasps, not having enough time to react as one serpentine beast crashes into his torso and knocks him into the air...But he does recover fast enough to behead it with his claws, landing near Miroku as the monk exclaims,
"She had more demons inside her!"
"Damn that witch to Hell!"
The silverette charges forward to slice apart more of the beasts with his claws, and his human companion joins the battle with his shakujō staff. It wouldn't even be a minute before Sango rushes forward with giant boomerang to help the other two.
"Kilala: stay here and help Besa protect Coraline!...Hiraikotsu!"
(Toss, za-za-za-za-za-za-za-tok-tok-tok-tok-tok-tok...)
While those three took on the main swarm, Besa saw to keeping his sister safe as three stragglers trying to come their way in a sneak attack.
"Rh! No you don't! Hrah!"
He cuts down two with his kama, while the twin-tail pounces and tears apart the third.
"Ah. (Smile) Thanks for the cover, Kilala."
...But just when it looked like our main group was going to triumph over Tsubaki's latest tactic, Miroku senses a shift in the tall grass as he fends off more demons with a spin of his pole-arm.
"Hm?"
He catches Tsubaki's smirk...and realizes,
Shikigami! It couldn't be...!
Getting a closer look at the spot, we watch the body of the ghostly serpent regenerate its head mid-charge! Inuyasha claws down more demons and curses,
"Damn it! These demons were just a diversion!"
Tsubaki confirms,
"Correct, but it's far too late! Shikigami: bite off that woman's head and get the jewel shards from her!"
The demon snake moves faster, and the young man with cornrowed black hair moves in front while crossing his weapons at ready to play the human shield.
"(Shing) Not while I'm breathing, you witch!"
The silverette starts running over their direction:
" Coraline! Besa, no!"
Damn it, I won't make it in time, and he's not strong enough to fend that snake off!
Coraline's POV
At hearing my brother and Inuyasha, I put all my remaining strength into lifting myself off the ground, panting heavily as my body cools a bit from the build-up of energy.
"Hah, hah, hah, I, won' lose, to a papier-mâché serpent!"
I feel my muscles urge me to stand, and as I do...I feel a pulse vibrate from ShatterSoul.
"Hm?"
I look over at the distant spot where my sword's laying, sensing something akin to a ring, like a tiny gong.
Tha's new...Wait...My soul is buildin' up too much energy, and I need to expel it...
Maybe Shattersoul can help me!
The Shikigami leaps my way, and I rush in front of Besa in a burst of adrenaline, much to his surprise.
"Uh! Cora!"
"This monster's mine..."
I swipe up my sword's hilt just as the creature and I come a couple feet within eachother.
(Sheen...)
"Die, Shikigami!...Spurs Cleite!"
I thrust my sword forward, and the serpent lands at the tip...
(POW)
ShatterSoul reacts by taking my excess energy, and transforming it into several dozen dagger-shaped energy blasts as thin as paper, piercing the demon like needles as its shot backwards!
No POV
"Oh no!"
Tsubaki cringes back, but would not escape the path of her thrown shikigami, and is once again struck by her own curse.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"
Everyone else was just as shocked by the redhead's counterattack, Miroku muttering,
"...She threw it back at her!"
The dark priestess thinks to herself with scorn,
She threw my curse back at me, just as Kikyō did, just like last time!
Why must I be done in by that young wench?!
She falls on her front, losing her grip on the nearly complete Shikon-no-Tama as it bounces a bit onto the porch...Tsubaki then gasps when she sees the obsidian black energy leaving the orb.
The jewel is being to purify!
A bright glow of amaranth pink light grows and surrounds the jewel, before it's restored to its original colour...but with a faint ice blue outline surrounding it...The same is done for the shards in Coraline's neck, which then shoot out from her neck.
(Ping)
"Uh-h!"
"The shards have come out!"
Besa sighs in relief after Sango's exclaim,
"Thank goodness that's all over..."
As he moves to pick up the shards, Tsubaki mutters in disbelief,
"I-It can't, be...!"
She hurries to snatch up the jewel while sending a seething glare in the group's direction, Coraline in particular.
"Why, you...!"
Still, even she knew she was beat, so rather than attempt a lackluster comeback attack, she calls on her remaining demons to help her escape the area...
"She's getting away!"
Inuyasha retorts to Miroku,
"Not from me! (Unsheathes Tessaiga) I'm not finished with you yet!"
(Swing, slash, CRASH)
He releases the power of the Wind Scar, destroying the hut and Tsubaki's followers.
"NO, NO!"
...Lucky for her, two of the demonic creatures survive and help propel her further into the air, before she fades from the area altogether...Inuyasha sheathes his sword while cursing,
"Damn, she got away."
(...Clang)
He turns to the sound of another sword hitting the ground, and watches Coraline fall to her hands and knees after letting go of ShatterSoul, her stamina near kaput. He quickly rushes over to check up on her:
"Coraline!"
She grimaces a bit, looking up at him with regular cerulean/sky blue irises and a weak smile.
"Hah, hah, Inu...yasha."
...
...
Panning away to Naraku's hidden stronghold, after witnessing all that has happened through Kanna's mirror, Kagura turns to ask her master,
"So is that it? You intend to let her leave, then, with your Shikon-no-Tama?"
"Of course not. I'll soon get it back...and besides..."
"Besides what?"
"(Dark smile) I must give the dark priestess the opportunity to seek her revenge."
The wind sorceress feels a smirk curve onto her lips, knowing full-well that Naraku's intentions always end in his favor and never those he 'assists'.
"How very kind and considerate of you..."
He does not retort, merely staring off in thought with an evil smile...
Twilight soon creeps onto the landscape, and we find ourselves deep withina nameless area of Edo's forests as the two demons from before disintegrate after Tsubaki sets herself atop a large tree root, her anger rising with every sentence conveyed in her mind.
My powers have waned, and thanks to those fools, my demons have all perished...
I was so close to victory...but I can increase my powers immensely, with a Shikon-no-Tama this large...
(...Grip) I'll defeat you next time...I'll get revenge for this humiliation, Inuyasha and Coraline!
...
...
With the dark priestess defeated (for the time being, at least), our main group of traveling heroes and heroines would return to the Goshinboku village safely by evening, with Inuyasha piggybacking an exhausted Coraline, Lumos floating along beside them and the others walking none too far behind...
"Coraline must be so tired..."
Miroku replies to Sango,
"You can't blame her. She was under a spell for so long," and Besa adds,
"Not to mention her Aura Powers were giving her a trial...But, it looked like that new attack did some good besides getting rid of the Shikigami. She got rid of that massive energy build-up before it all caved in on her."
The other two nod, smiling a bit with the novice warrior in just as much relief...Back at Kaede's home, she, Shippō and Freeman sense the sextet's arrival, and they hurry out to the top a knoll to see them before the little fox demon bounds down to greet them happily.
"Inuaysha, Coraline! Over here!"
Freeman smiles amusingly at the young boy's excitement, before calling with a wave,
"Yo, Besa! Good to see ya and the others, bro!"
"(Smiles and waves) Same to you, Freeman!"
Zooming in on the half-demon and his human passenger, the former says to her in a soft voice,
"I'm sorry, Coraline. This only happened because you're with me."
"Heh, 'nd who says I don't like gettin' involved in your messes?"
"Huh?"
The redhead smiles softly and tiredly before explaining,
"It's like yeu said before: yeu aren't leaving...and, neither 'm I. We're joined at the hip, we are."
...Inuyasha found his lips curving upward at the girl on his back with a whisper of her name, and everyone joins together atop the knoll in the evening light, the first star showing its face in the night sky...