Chapter 80: The Red Tessaiga Breaks the Barrier
As the demon bat swarm continued its path towards the village, we find the rest of our group standing outside Shizu's home, while she and Hachi stand in the doorway, gazing at the monsters. Sango and Besa exclaim,
"The Demon Bats are coming!"
"And they definitely got that murderous look abound...!"
As the bats swoop over the home, Shizu immediately knew where the target of attack would be:
"They're heading for the village..."
By this time, Inuyasha and Coraline had ran down from the cliff-side and were sprinting to everyone else:
"What are you people gawking at?! Let's get going!"
"We need to stop those flying rats, fast!"
Miroku nods before taking off with them:
"Right!"
As he heads off with Inuyasha and Coraline, Freeman turns to Besa and Sango to say,
"We better get ready too. We got a real fight on our hands."
"Mhm." "Right."
We zoom up to the demon bats, and see that Taigokumaru was among them, carrying Shiori in his hand, she holding the crystal ball from before...
As soon as they were close enough, the demon bats began their assault, swooping down and destroying everything within reach:
(Crash, crash...)
The villagers scramble every which way in a panic, unprepared for the attack, before many became fodder for the bloodthirsty demons...Shiori watches the destruction and chaos from above, scared and devastated:
"The village..." Taigokumaru chides to his granddaughter,
"They don't deserve your sympathy. Not after they treated you and your mother so poorly. Don't worry: Just protect the barrier with me, and I will spare your mother's life. Do as I say. Annihilate the village!"
Just as the demon bat army swoops down again:
(Dash)
"Hold it right there!"
(Leap)
"Iron Reaver...!"
(Slash)
Inuyasha arrives on scene and takes down a number of the demon bats with his claws! Landing in a slide across the sand, he shouts up at Taigokumaru,
"Old man: You won't get away with this!"
"Grh, you're becoming quite the nuisance!"
Taigokumaru then directs his army to attack Inuyasha, with one grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. Luckily, he's fast enough to recover...
"Spirit Slash!"
(Slash)
It was then that an ice blue cut flies through the air, taking down another portion of the army!
"We're right behind ya, Inuyasha!"
The rest of the group comes to pitch in, with Miroku knocking down a few bat demons with his staff:
(Whack, whack)
"Hrrah!"
Besa using his sickles to hack them away:
(Slice, slice)
"Rrrah!"
And Freeman whacking a few bat demons into eachother with his hammer:
"Take, this!"
(Wham)
"Agh!"
(Crash)
On the sidelines was Shippo and Hachi, acting as the cheering section:
"Give those demons what for, you guys!"
"Nice moves, Miroku! Nice moves!"
Coraline, Miroku and the twins reach Inuyasha's side, the redhead greeting the dog demon with,
"Hey, stranger."
"Keh, took you long enough. And what was with the hold-up, anyway?"
They turn their gaze to the sky as Inuyasha asks,
"How many of these things are there do ya think?" Coraline replies,
"Alot. That's how many."
"Let me take a shot at 'em!"
Their gazes then turn to Sango, as she flies in on Kilala, slayer gear on, and makes her move with her weapon:
"Hiraikotsu!"
(Toss, spin, tok-tok-tok)
"Yeah, you got 'em, Sango!"
But just as Freeman made that cheer, Taigokumaru flies into Hiraikotsu's path, and uses the power of the barrier to deflect the giant boomerang away:
(Pow)
"Shoot, the barrier...!" Shippo exclaims from atop Miroku's shoulder,
"Yeah, it deflected Sango's Hiraikotsu!"
Sango catches her weapon on the rebound, as the elder bat demon laughed smugly...The demon slayer lands down with the others, as Miroku notes,
"It's not looking good, and with Shiori around, I can't even use my Wind Tunnel on them either."
Taigokumaru asks mockingly,
"What's the matter? Can'tcha make a move?" Inuyasha curses,
"Damn it all: There's gotta be a way to get Shiori out of the old man's grip..."
"Please, think of something!"
"Huh?"
He turns his gaze right, and sees that some of the villagers were still alive, pulling themselves out of the splintered wood and upturned dirt/sand craters:
"All our lives depend on you!"
"The Bat Demons will slay all of us!"
Coraline turns to see them as well, and couldn't help but glare:
"Tch, so some of the cowards are living, huh?"
Inuyasha side-glances her warily at how bitter she sounded, but focuses on the villagers:
"Kuh, no need to ask me for favours: I was gonna finish him off anyway. (Turns to the sky) But first, I gotta get Shiori away from him."
"You can't! That's insane!"
"And besides, the girl is on the demon's side!"
"Hmph. You want me to kill her too, then?"
The villagers reply defensively,
"W-Well, there's not much choice."
"After all, she was the child of a demon..." Coraline was disgusted by their attitudes:
"...And you dare call yourselves human beings? Shiori and Shizu gave up their lives to save you lot, and yet you still treat them like trash! I hope karma pays you all back ten-fold after this is all over!"
Her brothers clap their hands on her shoulders to keep her calm while Shippo was just as angered:
"Talk about being selfish!"
Sango comes over to Miroku and whispers,
"Hey, Miroku: I don't think there's anyone Inuyasha or Coraline despises more than people like this."
"Yes, seeing as both of them have been treated badly by people such as them..."
Inuyasha stares at the survivors for a moment further, before turning to address the other half-demon caught in this mess:
"Did you hear that, Shiori? (Walks closer) What do you want to do? You heard what these people said about you: Going back to the village might not be a good idea. Do you still want to go back?"
Shiori gazes at the dog demon:
That's the man who was with mommy today...
"If you decide that you want to go home, then I'll help you get there!"
Taigokumaru cuts in:
"You'll help her? (Chuckle) You fool: Don't tell me you think you can defeat me, Taigokumaru!"
He then charges up his beam attack from before, and Inuyasha rushes to grab Coraline while warning everyone to,
"Run!"
(Boom)
They all manage to dodge in time, as the beam of sound waves leave a gaping hole in the sand...
"(Laugh) I see you're also half-demon. That undeniable stench is overwhelming!"
Inuyasha retorts sarcastically,
"Oh really? Are you goin' somewhere with this?"
"You're recalling your own situation, and that's why you're feeling sympathy for Shiori."
"She's got nothin' to do with it! I just can't stand rotten old bats like you, is all!"
Shiori wonders to herself in surprise,
He's a half-demon? Then he's just like me!
"Shiori, make up your mind: Do you want to go back to the village or not?"
I do. I want to be with mommy...but...I can't...
"...Hm?"
She then notices Shizu running on scene:
Mommy?
"Shiori..."
"(Soft gasp) Mommy!" Taigokumaru tells Shiori,
"If you don't stay and protect the barrier with me, your mother will die. You understand that, don't you?"
She looks down at the red orb in her hand, her heart caught in conflict:
"...What do I do? I dunno what I should do!" Taigokumaru puts the blame on Inuyasha:
"How dare you confuse the girl!"
He reaches for Tessaiga and calls to the girl again:
"Shiori, look after yourself!"
"Curse you!"
Dodging another sound wave attack, Inuyasha then leaps up and tries to cut down the giant bat demon with his blade, but:
(Pow)
"Gh!"
Tessaiga's power was not great enough to cut through, so he is forced to retreat back onto the ground...Besa curses,
"Damn, that barrier's just too strong for Tessaiga right now..."
Taigokumaru laughs and says to Shiori,
"Fine work, my girl. You know what to do..."
She does not reply, her eyes saying differently...Inuyasha growls as he tries to come up with a plan:
If could get even a tiny part of Taigokumaru's body outside the barrier, I would at least stand a chance.
Doesn't the girl have the power to adjust the size of the barrier?
Before he could think further, a bunch of white rings appear around Taigokumaru, prompting Inuyasha to turn and shout,
"Look out! Everyone out of the way!"
The group rushes from the line of fire, before:
(POW)
(Crash, crash, boom...)
Multiple sound wave beams shoot down and crush numerous parts of the village, as well as kill several more villagers!
...As the sandy dust clears, Coraline looks at the destruction with wide eyes:
"...The village...there's nothing left..."
Thankfully, some lives remained, and one man pleads weakly,
"P-Please, help us..."
Taigokumaru tells his cohorts,
"I have no use for this village. Destroy every one of them!"
Shizu then steps up to try and stop the chaos:
"...Taigokumaru! I beg you to stop!"
Freeman mutters,
"It's Shiori's mother, Shizu! Is she crazy?!"
The woman remained strong and states with a glare directed at the demon bat,
"This village was safe from your attacks when your son, Tsukuyomaru, was alive! That was because he protected us! Your son wanted Shiori and I to live happily! He prevented attacks on our village! Please, I beg you to honour your son's wishes!"
"You want me to honour his wishes?! (Laugh) How ludicrous! (Eyes flash red) Tsukuyomaru was indeed my son, but he was a fool! Falling in love with a mortal, he hastened his demise!"
"Uh! What do you mean by that?"
"Just as you said: He said he would protect this village...He said, that unless we abide by his wishes, he will abandon his duty as guardian of the barrier, and would leave the tribe! Even his heart was stolen by the mortal! That's why..."
Shizu and Inuyasha clue into what Taigokumaru had done:
"Why, what..."
"That's why, what...Don't tell me, that you killed your own flesh and blood!"
"I did. I took great pleasure in hastening his trip to the Netherworld!"
Shiori gasps, and Shizu faints from shock, as the elder demon bat adds cruelly,
"I had Shiori, so the boy was of no use to me."
Coraline rushes to catch the woman and hold her up:
"Shizu! Shoot...Lumos, I need your aid!"
The Will O' Wisp pops out of Shippo's trick bag, and floats over to assist his partner, while Inuyasha growls in disgust at Taigokumaru:
"Taigokumaru, you don't deserve to live! (Lists up his sword) I can fix that for ya!"
"(Laugh) Try if you dare. As you can see, Shiori can't adjust the size of the barrier. When you slay me, you will also take the girl's life."
"(Growl) Damn you...!" Miroku asks,
"Are you able to do it, Inuyasha?"
Coraline watches as Lumos sends his energies to Shizu while wondering with worry,
There has to be a way to take down Taigokumaru without Shiori getting caught in the middle...
She has difficulties controlling her power, so at present, it looks like there might be no way of doing this without her life being in jeopardy.
"What's the matter, fool? Are you going to kill me or what?"
"Oh shut up, you old bat! I'm tired of playing games!"
"Oh? You mean up until now you've gone easy on me? In that case, I dare you, to use your full power!"
(Pow)
The elder bat demon then sends his sonic wave attack again, which Inuyasha would leap away from before counterattacking:
"Gladly! Backlash Wave!"
(SLASH, Whooooosh...)
There's a hole in the barrier from the old man's attack. My Backlash Wave should go through it and reach him!
Taigokumaru watches as the vortex shoots closer, actually getting nervous from the power:
The Demonic Aura from his attack is twisting in my own, and it's heading straight toward me!
Inuyasha watches his attack move and silently orders,
Now go through and blast his head off!
(BOOM)
The attack connects...but surrounds the barrier rather than go through it...
"The barrier's bending!"
"Did it work?"
...The power settles...and we see that the barrier was still intact, leaving everyone in shock:
"...Even the Bakuryūha wasn't enough...!" Shippo exclaims after Coraline,
"And Taigokumaru wasn't even hurt!"
Inuyasha curses:
"Damn! I was a second too late!" Taigokumaru laughs before saying,
"Fine work, my sweet girl."
...
...
...But Shiori...was feeling anything but, now realizing her true mission:
"Get out."
"Hrh?"
Her body surrounds itself in a fiery Aura, and she turns to send a seething glare at her grandfather before adding fiercely,
"I will avenge...my father's death!"
Her eyes flash white...before:
(Pow)
"Aargh!"
Taigokumaru is thrown out of the barrier!
"How dare you! And you, a mere half-demon!"
I never expected she possessed such great power. Even I was unable to control the barrier as she does!
Said barrier then dissipates...before Shiori starts to fall out of the sky!
"Oh no!" Shizu starts running to her falling daughter:
"Shiori! Shiori!"
Taigokumaru remarks,
"Even though my granddaughter is a mere half-demon, I would never allow the humans to have her!"
He then begins charging his sound wave attack, prompting Coraline to run after Shizu:
"Wait, Shizu, look out!"
"Mommy, no!"
Coraline reaches her and pulls the woman behind her, as she readies her ShatterSoul sword:
I dunno if I'll be able to block or cut, but I'll go down trying!
"Say your prayers, old bat!"
(SLASH)
Inuyasha then jumps in and uses the Bakuryūha once again, cutting through the sound waves:
"Not again!"
(...POW)
"GAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The bat demon would not escape its power this time, and was instantly destroyed by Inuyasha's attack!
"He did it!"
"With the Backlash Wave!"
The twins cheer after Miroku and Shippo,
"Yes!"
"Alright: The sucker's been terminated!"
Inuyasha takes in some fresh air, and then sighs with relief, as Coraline and Shizu smile and mutter,
"Thank god that's over..."
"Yes..."
"Over here, people!"
Gazes then turn to see Hachi, as he brings over Shiori, whom was only tired and thankfully not hurt:
"There."
Mother and daughter immediately began running to one another:
"Shiori!"
"Mommy!"
Shizu embraces her daughter, and softly chides,
"Shiori, I'm so sorry. That must've been so terrible for you..."
But the little girl was just happy to see her mother was okay:
"I missed you..."
As the group watches the heartwarming scene with touched smiles, Inuyasha catches their attention when he says,
"Well, guys, we've done all we can. Let's get goin'."
But then Myoga hops onto his shoulder and shouts,
"What do you mean, what do you mean, what are you talking about?!"
"Myoga, what are you still doin' here?"
The flea hits Inuyasha's shoulder with a paper fan and says sternly,
"Have you forgotten our reason for coming here?! You need to slay the demon that protected the barrier and have Tessaiga suck its blood! So make up your mind: Do you want to make the sword stronger or don't you?!"
Unfortunately, Shizu does not miss a single word, and immediately goes on the defense for her daughter's sake:
"(Gasp) You came here to kill my girl?!" Inuyasha replies a bit reluctantly,
"Yeah, at first...(Smile) But don't worry: I may be half demon, but I'm not evil enough to kill a little girl."
Miroku and Sango add reassuringly,
"Especially when she's so sweet and innocent."
"And a half-demon like him."
Inuyasha then says,
"I'll just have to find some other demon that can put up a stronger barrier and kill them instead."
Myoga comments with mild surprise,
"You've changed, Master Inuyasha: You weren't like this before!"
"What's that suppose to mean?!" Besa chides with a mildly nervous smile,
"He's just complimenting your maturity, Inuyasha."
Coraline just smiles and shakes her head, before turning to flash an assuring look at Shizu, who smiles and nods in return...
"Well, I suppose we'll be on our way."
"Farewell."
"Wait!"
The gang stops at Shiori's call, and her mother says her name in confusion, while she holds out the red crystal sphere:
"...Take this."
She then tells Inuyasha what he must do...
"You want me to break the orb?"
"Mhm. Smash it to pieces. This blood coral crystal is a precious heirloom passed down to each guardian of the Demon Bat Barrier. This is what gives the ability to put up the barrier, and it stores up the power of each generation of guardians, like my grandfather's, and my father's. So I think if you break this, you'll be able to strengthen your sword. That's what you want, isn't it?"
Myoga was ecstatic:
"We couldn't have asked for anything better! Smash the crystal, Master Inuyasha!"
He definitely wasn't complaining:
"Yeah, good idea. The sooner we get rid of that evil thing, the better."
...But just as they come to that decision...suddenly:
(Heartbeat...heartbeat...)
The crystal starts to throb, before slowly expelling fumes of dark-red light! Lumos starts moaning rapidly while his body blinks red and blue, indicating this wasn't good, as Sango exclaims,
"The orb is releasing a Demonic Aura!"
Shizu rushes to take the orb out Shiori's hands:
"Let go of it! Rgh!"
She's then forced to drop the orb herself, when it glows orange and burns her palms!
"Mommy...your hands!"
The orb then releases more energy, creating a small barrier around itself! Coraline groans,
"Oh great: The crystal must have sensed our intentions and is invoking its own protection!"
Inuyasha comments,
"I should'a known it wouldn't be so easy to break...Keh, (Smirk) this is getting amusing."
He then pulls out Tessaiga at the ready, before leaping up to attack:
"But not for me!"
(Clang)
"Rrrgh! Aaah!"
But he's then thrown back by the power of the barrier, and Coraline rushes to see if he was okay:
"...You alright?"
"Yeah, sure."
The barrier then dissipates...before its replaced by the fumes of red energy, and the crystal echoes with a familiar and menacing voice:
"...I would never let you go that easily, Shiori!"
Shiori recognized it instantly:
That's grandfather's voice!
The fumes thicken, and Taigokumaru's spirit reforms within and out, jeering,
"Simply releasing the crystal could not separate your bond with the Demon Bat Tribe, even though your mother is mortal!"
"Taigokumaru!"
"Grandfather!"
"Now I'll kill you this time!"
The specter demon bat then dives down to attack the mother and daughter, while Inuyasha tries to stop him:
"Oh really?!"
(Clang)
"Guh!"
But he's thrown back by Taigokumaru's power!
"Inuyasha!"
"Shiori, join me and all the others in Hell!"
She and Shizu hug eachother tightly, bracing themselves...just as a different barrier appears around their bodies!
"What?!"
(Smash)
"Gaaauh!"
Taigokumaru is blocked, and the power of the barrier causes parts of him to break off! Everyone gasps, with the twins shouting,
"Did you see that?!"
"He was blocked!"
As the little girl and mother part, each confused on what just happened...a familiar ghostly hand appears and strokes Shiori's head:
"Shiori..."
"Curse, you, girl!"
Inuyasha watches the bat demon struggle to stay together, and thinks to himself,
The bat's power is getting weaker! Now's my chance!
"Let the little girl go free! Hrrrah!"
(SLICE)
He successfully cuts down on Taigokumaru, and as the demon bat spirit splits and disintegrates to pieces...a crack forms in the crystal sphere...before splitting into two equal pieces!
"Whoooa! The crystal broke!"
...The two pieces then glow transparent, and start to emit a softer red ring, it traveling to Tessaiga's direction...Its wielder mutters calmly,
"Now it's really over...Hm? Wha-?!"
He then becomes awestruck, as his blade begins to glow red in similar fashion with some pink-red sparks!
"My sword! The blade is turning red!"
Coraline and Miroku smile excitedly as they realize,
"Then that means the Tessaiga has absorbed the crystal's energy!"
"Making Inuyasha's sword a great deal stronger!"
...The red glow then dies down, and the Tessaiga reverts back into its dormant form, with Inuyasha sheathing it...Shiori kneels down to pick up one of the crystal pieces in curiousity, before Inuyasha addresses her:
"Shiori."
"(Looks up) Thanks for helping."
"Keh, I'm the one who should be thanking you for saving me. You weakened the old bat's power."
Shiori shakes her head:
"I wasn't the one who did that. (Gazes at the crystal piece) Someone put his arms around us, around me and mommy. He wanted to protect us."
Shizu comes beside her daughter and chides,
"That was Tsukuyomaru...That was your father, Shiori."
Coraline smiles, catching a glimpse of a certain spirit fading into the night sky with her Aura Sight, before saying to Shiori,
"It's only natural that through life and death, your father will continue to hold you and your mother dear...He wanted you to live free and happy."
She then side-glances Inuyasha with some intent, and he gives her a 'What?' expression in return, to which she would just shake her head at...
A few minutes later, the group readies to leave the beach village and the freed half-demon girl and mother...when Lumos suddenly picks up on something:
"(Ghostly moan)"
"Hm? What is it, Lumos?"
The Will O' Wisp floats over to the twin crystal pieces laying in the sand, and circles around the left one with intent, prompting Coraline to move to his proximity for a closer look:
"...What are you trying to tell me? Is there...still something there?"
Lumos makes his body throb in the white-blue glow...and Coraline immediately got the silent message:
Oh! He must want me to use my Aura Sight...Alright.
(Sheen)
Coraline then gasps in surprise, and Besa asks,
"What's wrong, Cor?"
"There's, still a small bit of the barrier energy! It's nothing serious, of course, but...Strange...I would've thought the Tessaiga had absorbed it all. Why is there that little bit left?"
"(Ghostly moan)"
"Huh?"
Lumos then comes by Coraline's thigh, and circles around the area where her combat knife was:
"...What? What about my knife, Lumos?"
He goes back to the crystal piece, and circles it again, causing Coraline hm in thought:
The last bit of the demon bat barrier energy...and my knife...
How do those fit toge-
...Wait...
"...I wonder..."
She then unsheathes her combat knife, and gazes at the blade...before hovering it over the crystal piece...
Nothing happens for a minute or two...until:
(Gleam...)
"Uh!"
Everyone gasps, as the crystal emits a smaller ring of the red light, before the blade of the combat knife begins to glow red with pink-red sparks as well!
...Once it dies down like it did with the Tessaiga, Coraline stands up and turns to everyone while looking at her blade in astonishment:
"...Uuuuh, what just happened?"
No one could find an answer at first, until Freeman snaps his fingers when he remembers,
"Oh, right: I almost forgot that your knife can absorb demon blood too and strengthen itself from the power laced within...Except, there wasn't any blood involved...or was there?"
Coraline replies a bit unsure,
"Hm...That was a blood coral crystal, so, maybe it's a case of freaky technicality...?"
Shippo shrugs his shoulders and says nonchalantly,
"Sounds as good an answer as any." Miroku ponders,
"Still, I can't help but wonder...could Coraline's combat knife now have the power to break strong barriers as well?"
She herself replies,
"It's possible, but I doubt it'll be as strong as Tessaiga is now...(Smile) But, I guess now we have a back-up weapon available for when we do confront Naraku, right?"
She looks to Inuyasha, who shakes out of his stupor and replies,
"Feh, guess so...What I'd like to know is why your knife got included in this upgrade."
Besa holds his hands up in an 'who knows' gesture and says,
"I think this'll just be one of those mysteries to think about on a later date."
Everyone nods in agreement, and after Coraline sheathes her knife back into its holster, Inuyasha gets everyone going again:
"Heh, come on, let's go." Hachi moans,
"I'm starving..." Shippo chimes,
"Me too!" Miroku asks,
"What are we waitin' for?" Sango calls to Shiori and Shizu,
"Goodbye!"
Coraline smiles as she thinks to herself,
I know that Inuyasha wanted to help Shiori all along, and forgot about making his blade stronger for her sake...
When he did that, Tsukuyomaru was prompt to lend a helping hand...
She glances down to her sheathed knife, and looks to the sky as she added,
And I have a feeling he also had something to do with what happened just now regarding my knife...
A short while later, we find everyone riding the skies on Hachi's gourd form again, with Inuyasha and Coraline sitting beside one another up front, Shippo, Sango and Miroku behind them, and the twins bringing up the rear...
The fox demon was currently watching Inuyasha's body language, and asks aloud curiously,
"I wonder what Inuyasha's thinking about..." Myoga comments from his shoulder,
"Indeed. He is awfully pensive for someone who doesn't spend much time thinking..."
Unfortunately, the flea demon wasn't as quiet with his observation, and Inuyasha turns to glare at the two:
"You were saying?"
Miroku then thinks aloud about Shiori and Shizu:
"Such a shame. I fear that their problems may not be over, Shiori and her mother, I mean."
Inuyasha scoffs a bit and replies,
"Oh don't worry about those two: A good half-demon can't go worryin' about every little hardship."
Miroku takes his staff and lightly pokes Inuyasha's head while chiming,
"Yes indeed, and here we have a fine example of how a half-demon should behave."
Sango jokes,
"Let's hope Shiori doesn't become as warped."
"(Multiple tick-marks) What do ya mean by that?!"
"That's more like the Inuyasha!" He growls at Shippo and asks testily,
"What are ya gabberin' about?"
"It's strange seeing you lost in thought. Growling suits you alot better than thinking."
The twins fight to contain their laughter, as Myoga adds,
"That's one thing he doesn't have much practice in."
Inuyasha shouts in annoyance,
"Shut up, Myoga! I'll kill ya both!"
He then starts chasing after Shippo and Myoga in a circle on Hachi, the last two calling defensively,
"We were worried about, is all!"
"What he said, what he said!"
"Stop making fun of me!"
Hachi calls back with a knowing smile,
"Hey, don't blame me if you fall off!"
Coraline smiles in amusement as she watches the dog demon try to catch the fox and flea demon, while musing,
Inuyasha didn't offer a last word of advice to Shiori...because he thought that silent acknowledgement of strength and perseverance would be best.
I'm more than sure she got the message.
As Inuyasha tries to pry a kicking Shippo off his head, he then notices the soft eyes that Coraline was sending his way, and was a bit concerned:
"(Walks over) Hey, what's the matter, Coraline?"
She shakes her head with a smile, before gently pulling Shippo off his head, and leaning in to peck the dog demon's cheek:
"Just thinkin' about strong hearts."
"H-Huh?"
Inuyasha hops back a bit in surprise, as a light blush comes to dust his cheeks from the gesture...Everyone else watches the moment in shock for a second, before Freeman and Besa start teasing the dog demon and his light red face:
"Aww~, that was so cute..."
"(Smirk) Gettin' a bit hot for ya, Inuyasha?"
He snaps out of his daze, as the twins burst into laughter, and he turns to growl at them in embarrassment:
"What are you two jokers talkin' about?!" They reply between chuckles at the same time,
"Your blush, that's what!"
"I am not!"
"Are so!"
"Am not!"
"So!"
Sango and Shippo start to giggle as well, and Miroku says to Inuyasha teasingly,
"Now now, my friend, no need to get so defensive. Even men can blush from a gesture such as that."
"For the last time, I was not, blushing!"
As that argument went about, Hachi mutters to himself with an exasperated smile,
"I shouldn't have come," while Coraline shyly covers her smiling face, it too occupying a blush:
Oooh boy. That might not have been the right moment to do that...
But I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Besides...
If fate decides we aren't meant to be...I should at least have a few opportunities to kiss that boy while I can.