Chapter 81: The Plot of the Panther Devas (or Why Cat Karma's a Bitch)
It's a new day in Sengoku Edo, and we find ourselves back in the Valley of Ryukotsusei, where Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken and A-Un have arrived at, specifically, the cliff edge overlooking the mountain face where the dragon demon once laid dormant before his demise by the hands of Inuyasha...
As she sits upon A-Un's back, Rin asks curiously,
"Where are we now?" Jaken answers,
"The place where a giant demon called Ryukotsusei was sealed into a dormant state...Strange, though, that it was completely destroyed like this..."
He turns to Sesshomaru and asks,
"Lord Sesshomaru, do you honestly think this was Inuyasha's doing?"
"It's anyone's guess how he would've accomplished this."
"Indeed. Imagine Inuyasha defeating such a formidable foe. It took everything your father had to seal Ryukotsusei into dormancy..."
Jaken then notices that everyone else was making their way out of the valley without him, and rushes to catch up:
"Gah! Don't leave me behind, Lord Sesshomaru!"
He ignores the imp, deep in his own thoughts...
Time Skip
It's now nighttime, and we move on to a section of forest, where Kōga and his friends were traveling...
Somewhere nearby, two red-eyed figures swiftly dash from branch to branch, causing the wolf demon leader to tense up:
"Hm?"
One of the regular wolves traveling with him senses the figures as well, and as they growl, Ginta asks,
"What's the matter, Kōga?"
"Don't you two smell that stench?" Hakkaku replies,
"I don't smell anything." But then he and Ginta take in a second breath, and find the scent:
"(Sniff, sniff) Wait. It stinks like a bunch of cats."
"Well, they're not from around here."
They then find the source down on the plains, being that of some sort of cat demons rushing to somewhere...After watching from a cliff edge for a few minutes, Ginta wonders aloud,
"Hm, I wonder what they want?" Kōga just shrugs and replies,
"Who cares what they want," before moving to walk away...Hakkaku and Ginta ask,
"Are we leaving?"
"Are you just gonna let them go?" Kōga replies casually,
"Yeah, you got it. We don't need to go lookin' for trouble."
Ginta and Hakkaku look to one another, deciding that their friend/leader was right:
"I guess so..."
"Yeah, they've got nothin' to do with us."
Moving along, our next stop would be a large cave where Ryoakan, the giant wolf-like demon who guards the forest grounds, was sleeping soundly...
That is, until the pack of cat demons from earlier comes running by the cave entrance, the noise stirring him awake:
"Guh!"
He rushes out to watch the group pass, his expression set in panic:
"...What are they doing around here?!"
His question would go unanswered, as the cats run off into the dark horizon...
Time Skip, Goshinboku Village, Kaede's Hut...
"Ugh, she's late!"
"She sure is, and so are the twins."
As the sun streams over the village, we find Inuyasha and Shippo sitting on the roof of Kaede's home, the former becoming restless due to a certain redhead's absence for the past few days...
"She's been gone for three days now!"
Inuyasha then moves to get off the roof, prompting Shippo to ask (yet likely already knowing the answer),
"Where are you going, Inuyasha?"
"Where else? I'm gonna get Coraline back!"
Shippo pauses before his next shout, and smiles as he watched the dog demon disappear over the hill to where the Bone Eater's Well would be lying:
I just hope he remembers the twins too.
After some mad-dashing and jumping, Inuyasha would reach the old well, before hopping in to use the portal...
Present-Day Tokyo, Higurashi Shrine/Residence
At the same time Inuyasha made his way through the well, Sota and Akari would be returning home from shopping and school respectively...
(Ka-chank)
"I'm home, gramps!"
The elder Higurashi looks up from his newspaper, and greets one of the new arrivals:
"Hello, Souta."
Zooming out, we see that Inuyasha had already settled in, he currently holding Buyo in his lap...Souta and Akari would greet him with friendly smiles:
"Inuyasha, you're here!"
"Nice to see you again."
"Where's Coraline?" Souta holds a finger to his chin and answers,
"Uuum, I think she and the twins are still at their martial arts class."
Akari adds,
"They should be returning here in the next bit."
Cutting to the downtown area, we find said teens leaving the doors of the dojo, with Master Yoshi waving them off:
"I shall see you three again soon. Continue to practice."
"Hai, Sensei."
"See you again, Sensei."
"We'll work hard, Sensei, promise."
Come a half-hour later, the three teens were making their way up the shine steps, talking about their latest lesson:
"That was definitely a workout."
"Yeah, and you were totally ownin' it today, Cor: Those flips and jumps you did were awesome!"
"Haha, I dunno about awesome, but I think I've improved since last time. And you guys are definitely getting better: Freeman, you were really close to doing a perfect split-kick, and Besa, you've got the double-Phoenix punch down pat!"
They smile proudly at one another, and as they close in on the front door to the house, Coraline hms and wonders aloud,
"So given how many days we've been hangin' here in our era, how high do you guys think the odds are that Inuyasha's gonna be in the living room?"
They smirk lightly and reply at the same time,
"Real high."
Inside, Inuyasha was playing with Buyo, teasing the animal by tugging on his tail...
(Ka-chank)
"I'm back!"
"So are we!"
"By popular demand!"
The three teens laugh at Freeman's line, and Inuyasha perks up at hearing their voices:
"Just the people I was waitin' for. Hey, yo!"
Coraline would pop her head into the living room first upon hearing his shout:
"Yo to you too. Um, not that I'm not glad to see you, but how come you're here?"
"What else? I came to get you and your brothers."
She sighs with an exasperated smile and replies softly,
"That's nice, but you didn't have to..."
"Tch, sure I did, otherwise you'd take forever to come back!"
Coraline cocks a brow and replies,
"Oi, cut me some slack, would ya? I was over in your era for longer this time."
The twins pop up on the other side of the doorway and add,
"Besides, we had a bit more to catch up on than usual."
"Yeah, Master Yoshi wasn't exactly lenient this round: My muscles are gonna be barkin' at me for a fortnight."
Inuyasha sighs while moving to a stand before replying,
"Just get your stuff together and we'll go."
Coraline gives him the 'Are you kidding me?' look and says,
"Like, right now? Come on, at least let me shower first: I worked up a powerful sweat from today's training."
Akari's voice then comes in as she asks,
"And why not have dinner before you leave?" Inuyasha replies,
"We can eat when we get back there."
"Are you sure about that? It's steak."
She holds up the package of meat, and Inuyasha's attention was immediately caught:
"Huh? What's steak?"
Coraline lightly smirks and whispers to her brothers,
"Well, seeing as he's distracted, I'm gonna slip into the bathroom and clean up."
"Go ahead, sis."
"Just don't be too long: I'd like to take a quick shower myself."
Small Time Skip, Sengoku Edo
As the sun begins to set, we check in on the rest of the group just outside Kaede's hut by the stream, as Shippo informs Sango and Miroku of where Inuyasha had taken off to...
"So Inuyasha went back to get them?" Shippo nods, and Sango chides,
"It's for the best; we need them to come back, Coraline especially."
The little fox demon sulks a bit as he laments,
"I wish I could go see where Coraline and her brothers live one time..."
"...Master!"
Shippo's head then perks up, when he hears a familiar voice calling, and all three turn to see Hachi peeking out from behind a tree with a nervous expression:
"Please help me, my lord."
"It's the old raccoon dog."
"Hachi. So what are you doing around these parts?"
The tanuki slowly moves from behind the tree trunk and replies to Miroku,
"Well, I...well I had no choice but to hide in human territory. Y-You see, those awful demons from the West are in the neighbourhood!"
Miroku rises to a stand with Sango and says,
"Why don't you just start from the beginning."
"T-The cats!" Sango asks,
"What cats?"
Even Kilala mewed in curiousity...Hachi starts explaining, albeit a bit in a panic:
"Okay okay okay: The cat demons are killing every demon they cross paths with! And they're searching high and low for the jewel shards!"
Miroku just tilts his head, more confused:
"W-What?"
"Oh yeah, and I didn't want to get caught, so I ran all the way here!"
"Who are these demons?"
"I told you, they're cats, and they're not just any old, ordinary cat demons too!"
Shippo asks aloud,
"Am I the only one who's still confused?"
"Let's just get outta here before it's too late!"
...But just as Hachi made that wail, Sango looks up to see someone approaching:
"Miroku, look..."
Coming down the shrine steps, was a young woman with short red hair that stood up, matching-coloured cat pupils, pointed ears, wearing an outfit consisting a yellow gi top, a tan fur pelt and leg warmers, and dark brown leggings with matching arm guards. She also had a tail that matched in colour to that of the fur pelt, and wore a red scarf around her neck and sash as a belt.
"I hear there's a priestess in this village..."
Hachi breaks into a nervous sweat, confirming this cat woman was a part of the trouble that has stirred up recently...She reaches the bottom of the stairs, and points to Kaede's while adding,
"This must be where she lives right here."
Kaede peers through the window with a wary expression, before moving to pull back the wicker door and address the cat demon:
"What business do ye have with me?"
The girl examines the priestess...but then shakes her head furiously:
"No no, you can't be her! She's young, carries a sword, and wears strange, male-like clothes!"
Miroku mutters to himself,
"I wonder if she's talking about Coraline?"
Hachi then pulls on his sleeve to get his attention:
"Please, my lord, please!" Shippo suddenly started panicking too:
"Miroku!"
"Slow down: What's the matter?"
"You smell that? It's the smell of cats!"
Hachi then points at the cat demon and shouts,
"It's the-e-em! The cat demons of the West!" The girl replies,
"Cat demons? (Smirks) Hmph. My friends and I are Panther Demons. Don't lump us together with common cats, (Glare) or you'll make us angry."
The tanuki panics and ducks behind Miroku, who stands on the defense with his staff, while Shippo darts behind Sango as she readies Hiraikotsu. Kaede then asks the panther demon,
"What do ye demons want here?"
"We are after the jewel shards."
The girl then raises her hand, and summons several other panther demons to her side!
"Better hand them over."
Miroku glares at the girl and replies strongly,
"I'm afraid we can't help you there," and Shippo adds,
"Yeah, that's for sure: We don't have 'em!"
"Heh, so where is this, priestess who wields a blade?" Sango retorts,
"Why should we have to tell you that?"
One of the other panther demons flexes out their claws, with the others following, before the girl gave the order:
"Take them!"
They all attack, with Miroku blocking two clawed blows with his staff, Sango swinging and missing with her boomerang, and Hachi trying to run and hide, only to get blocked by two of the demons:
"Gaaaah!"
He tries to go back, but is further blocked, so he decides to escape by jumping into the river:
(Splash...)
And Hachi wasn't the only one having issues: Poor Shippo was also being chased by some of the panther demons.
"Aaaah-Owaaah!"
(Twok)
Kaede then releases an arrow at the panther girl, who leaps into the air to dodge, landing atop the structure to the stairs...She looks around, before deciding to call it a day:
(Finger snap)
"Back to me!"
The others join up top with her, and she adds,
"It looks like we won't find the priestess here, (pulls out a smoke bomb) but we'll be back."
(Drop, POOF)
And just like that, the panther demons were gone...Shippo stops running, and looks up at the gateway wondering,
"Did they run away?" Miroku replies seriously,
"Yeah, but I don't think we've seen the last of them." Sango comments,
"It's a good thing Coraline decided to go home when she did."
"But I'm thinking it may be best if she stayed away for a little bit longer..."
But as Hachi pulled himself out of the water, Shippo reminds everyone,
"She's on her way. Inuyasha went to get her and the twins, remember?"
Present-Day Tokyo, Higurashi Shrine/Residence
While waiting for dinner to be ready, Inuyasha found himself playing with Buyo again, this time holding the cat up by his paws like he could stand up...But at this point, Buyo had gotten weary of the teasing, and decided to retaliate:
(Scratch)
"Ow, that hurt!"
As Inuyasha nursed the new minor wound on his hand, Grandfather Higurashi calls from behind his newspaper,
"That's enough, stop teasing the cat."
"Humph, I was just playing with it."
Besa then walks into the living room, a small towel wrapped around his shoulders to keep his grey t-shirt dry (having just exited the shower after his sister and brother), also wearing a pair of green khakis and white socks, and bends down to gently scratch Buyo's head while lightly smirking at Inuyasha:
"Oh yeah? I think Buyo might tell a different story if he could talk."
"The young man's correct: One should never get on the wrong side of a cat." Inuyasha asks,
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"They say a cat's curse lasts seven generations. A cat's vengeance runs deep."
Inuyasha waves a causal hand and scoffs,
"Keh, as if a cat's curse could do anything to hurt me."
He then goes back to teasing Buyo, now holding him up by the pack paws...Besa sweatdrops and mutters,
"Okay, now we've gone from teasing to just plain cruel..."
It was then Coraline, wearing a white t-shirt, grey sweatpants and socks, pokes her head in from the kitchen, along with Freeman (he wearing the same outfit as Besa):
"Uh! Inuyasha, that's not how you play with a cat!"
The redhead thwacks the back of his head, prompting him to release Buyo:
"Ouch! Hey!"
"Hay is for horses...Speaking of which, dinner's ready."
Tonight's dinner would consist of seasoned steak with a side of vegetables and a bowl of rice, with Inuyasha's being of a somewhat larger portion. As they all ate, Akari asks,
"Why don't you stay and leave tomorrow?" Souta adds,
"Inuyasha, you can crash with me and the guys."
Said dog demon doesn't reply, he too invested in wolfing down the steak with both hands...Coraline shakes her head with an exasperated smile:
Guess that's what happens when you don't grow up with utensils all the time...
She and her brothers nod to the family, silently agreeing for Inuyasha.
Meanwhile, back in Sengoku Edo...
We find ourselves in an abandoned field, where the redhead panther demon girl from before meets with three others:
The first was a woman with long light blue hair and matching eyes, pointed ears, a dark blue cat tail, a dark blue kimono with only the left sleeve, tied with an obi that also holds a katana, and a protector, while her upper right arm had two blue stripes around the limp.
The second was also female, another redhead (hers being a shade or two lighter) with waist-length hair and a flower tucked behind each of her pointed ears, green eyes, and wore a short-skirted green/pink kimono with a pink sash tied around the middle in a bow, greens socks and sandals. Unlike the other three, no cat tail is seen on her person...
The third panther demon was a male, heavy built, with spiky dark brown hair and eyes, pointed ears, a thickly-furred brown tail, and wore a metal shoulder-plated green vest with three bangles on each side, dark pants and shoes with a fur pelt and leggings, dark-coloured arm bands, and a gold panther head-shaped circlet.
"...Well?" The first redhead replies to the bluenette,
"I heard that the Shikon-no-Tama shards were kept by a strange priestess, but she wasn't there. And besides, we ran into some trouble."
She turns to the long-haired redhead and asks,
"Could you come along with us?" The bluenette says,
"Go with her, Shunran."
"Mm, alright." The male panther demon asks,
"What are you going to do, sis?" She replies,
"I need to go talk to someone. I'm going to go find him."
"You sure about going alone?"
"I'll be fine. You give Karan a hand."
He looks to the other girls and says with a smile,
"Yes, of course."
They too nod, and the bluenette adds,
"We'll all meet up later at the entrance to the valley, shall we?"
She then gestures the rest of the posse to disperse, before heading off in the opposite direction of the other three...
Time Skip
Come the next day, we find ourselves at the Bone Eater's Well, with Inuyasha hopping out first, followed by the twins (wearing matching outfits of black khakis, green t-shirts and black hightops) who pulls themselves out onto the lip of the structure, before the former reaches down to pull Coraline out (she wearing a grey tank-top, blue jeans with a small rip in her right knee, and her black combat boots):
"Here, Coraline. You okay?"
"Mm, yep, all good."
"Coraline!"
The four teens jump at Shippo's exclaim, and turn to see him sitting on the ground playing with cards, Miroku on his left reading a book lent to him from one of the twins, Sango on the right cleaning her filter mask, Kilala napping on her lap, and Hachi lazing on his side...The monk would be the first to comment on the arrival:
"You know, it's really too bad that you've come back," followed by Sango:
"It's a shame you didn't stay away longer..."
Inuyasha moves up from the ground when he fell backwards and barks,
"What kind-of greeting is that?!"
Coraline and Besa ask more calmly,
"What's going on, you guys?"
"Did, something happen while we were gone?"
"Technically speaking, it's about to start." Inuyasha growls at Miroku's cryptic answer:
"Stop with the mumbo-jumbo!" Shippo replies simply,
"Definitely cats." Hachi snaps awake from his daze and sputters,
"Lots and lots of cats!"
The three modern teens tilt their heads in confusion:
"Cats?"
And Inuyasha just looked majorly perplexed...
Scene Shift: Riverside
While Inuyasha, Coraline and the twins return to this new and oddly-described problem, we zoom in on Rin, as she stomps her feet around in the water to scare some fish towards a certain imp:
"That's the way, Jaken! You can do it!"
As he tries desperately to catch some of the fish with his bare hands, Sesshomaru lays against a tree on the bank, while A-Un rests nearby his left...
"No, to the right! To the left! In front of you! Back!"
"Behind?"
"Now left! Right!"
"Right?"
"On the side!"
"Which side?!"
"No, there!"
"Here?"
Eventually, Jaken succeeds in catching one fish:
"I got one! I caught it with my bare hands! Did you see?!"
"You're so amazing, Jaken! You're the greatest!"
"I am great!"
As the two cheered on the accomplishment, Sesshomaru moves to walk downstream on his own...Further up, we see a foot belonging to the bluenette panther demon from before step onto the water, her touch causing it to freeze over!
After a few more steps, Sesshomaru pauses, as he watches the river gradually turn to solid ice, while the surrounding paths and thin shoreline becomes covered in permafrost...
"If it isn't Tōran."
...She walks out of the chilly fog:
"Its been a long time, Sesshomaru."
"I thought you were dead."
"That's a fine way to greet someone. (Chuckles) This time, I'm gonna settle things once and for all."
Sesshomaru replies coolly,
"We settled things a long time ago, but if you insist, you won't be as lucky as you were fifty years ago."
"You're still as boorish as ever, I see. I agree that things will turn out differently then they did fifty years ago, though...Our master is waiting for you."
"...Master?"
"Yes, the one who leads the Panther Tribe. I realize that your dear father is dead, but our master is going to be resurrected, at long last."
"(Narrows eyes) Resurrected? For what purpose?"
"To attack the lands in the East once again, but more importantly, (Glare) to get revenge, on all your kind."
"I will personally see to it that he never breathes again."
"I'm glad to hear that you've accepted my challenge." Sesshomaru moves to grab Tokijin's handle, but Tōran says,
"Come now, don't be so hasty. We won't battle out here."
She spreads her arms, and the ice block river begins to crack and fall apart:
"Come to our castle! Then you can bring all the reinforcements you require!"
(Crack, crash, splash...)
Sesshomaru remains impassive, as the cold atmosphere fades away along with the panther woman, leaving everything as it was before her arrival...
"(Distant) Lord Sesshomaru!"
Rin then comes running up the path with a string of fish in her hand, blissfully unaware of what just transpired:
"Look how many fish Jaken and I just caught!"
Jaken and A-Un weren't far behind her, the former calling,
"Don't leave me behind!"
Rin calls Sesshomaru again, before reaching his side to show him the catch:
"See?"
He ignores her, and addresses his other vassal:
"Jaken."
"(Pant, pant) Yes?"
"The Panther Demon Tribe is back."
"Gaaah! What are they doing here again?!"
Sesshomaru then turns to look down at the young human girl:
"Rin, listen."
"Mhm?"
"You are to wait here with A-Un."
"Alright. I won't move from here."
Sesshomaru then starts his way downstream again, with Jaken following after him as quick as possible:
"Wait, my lord!"
Rin waves them off with a smile:
"Don't forget to come back and get us! We'll be waiting!"
Back to the Bone Eater's Well
"Cat demons, you say?"
Hachi nods at Inuyasha, then says while placing one of his paws against his head,
"You know, I distinctly remember something similar happening like this fifty years ago..."
"Fifty years ago?"
"Yeah: A tribe of cats swarmed in and attacked from the West."
"Are you sure about that? Sounds like one of your tall-tales."
But Miroku thought aloud,
"Wait a minute, Inuyasha...do you think it could've happened while you were sealed to that tree?"
"Huh, I guess, but I wouldn't know about it."
Shippo chimes,
"I've never heard of it either." Inuyasha teases,
"Maybe that's 'cause you're just a brat."
At that insult, Shippo tries and fails to punch Inuyasha, who easily holds him back with his palm:
"Am not! Quit treating me like a kid!"
Coraline smile-glares at the two, before switching to a more serious expression:
"So what exactly happened, anyway?" Hachi replies nervously,
"I escaped before the cat demons could arrive."
Miroku mutters with a deadpanned expression,
"Now it's believable..."
"I had returned after learning they were gone, and sure enough, there wasn't a single cat demon in sight."
Freeman and Besa ask,
"Just like that? Really?"
"What made them decide to leave?"
"Oh deary me, I'm afraid that's all I can remember...!"
"Your story is true."
Hachi jumps from the new voice that answered, and everyone looks around as they add,
"You truly are strangely dressed for a priestess..."
Coraline instantly knew the voice meant her, and she glared in distaste from the label:
"Hey! Who are you calling a priestess?! And where are you?"
Shippo exclaims,
"The cat demons!"
It was then Karan appeared with her brother from the treeline on the right in front of the group, and she says to Shippo,
"Stop calling us cats, you raccoon-dog."
He replies bristly from around the corner of the Well,
"Excuse me! I'm a fox!"
Everyone then moves to a stand on the defense, with Inuyasha asking in a partially-annoyed tone,
"Who are you, and what do you want?"
"It's not you that we're after. (Points at Coraline) We want the priestess with the Shikon-no-Tama shards."
Coraline glares from the repeated title, and her brothers come to stand at her sides protectively:
"Uh, how about we don't do that but say that we did?"
"Plus, Cora's a warrior, not a priestess, so quit assumin' things."
She smiles and nods at them, and sends her own words at the panther demons:
"I dunno what you panthers want with the jewel shards, but I'm not about to hand them out like candy. If you want them so desperately, you'll have to get past myself and my friends."
Karan was a bit taken aback by the remark, but then smirks and replies,
"Huh, finally, someone who recognizes our nature. And if that's your decision, fine then, warrior."
Coraline frowns a bit at the obvious mocking, and Inuyasha moves by her to whisper,
"Don't worry. I won't let them take you or the shards."
She smiles a bit and nods, just as the male panther demon takes notice of Inuyasha's make-up:
"(Scoff) You're a half-demon." He retorts,
"Got a problem with that?" Karan then asks,
"You wouldn't happen to be Inuyasha?"
"Huh?" Inuyasha was a bit confused by her address, and Miroku asks him,
"You know this demon?"
"I've never seen her before."
"You must be him...Sesshomaru's younger brother."
Inuyasha was a bit taken aback, but then smirks grimly and replies,
"Keh, yeah well we're not exactly a close-knit family."
Karan then says to her brother,
"Let me take on Inuyasha. Shūran, you take on the monk and the demon slayer."
"Right. (Growls)"
With that, both panther demons leap into action, as Inuyasha sprints forward:
"Well, bring it on!"
(Fwoom)
"Guh!"
He then barely dodges a fireball sent at him by Kuran...She lands back down and says,
"I won't kill you now, but it sure will be a good fight."
She then cloaks her entire body in flames!
"Just try and come after me!" Inuyasha flinches from the heat, but calls back,
"Sure, it's your funeral!"
Meanwhile, Shūran tries to swipe at both Sango and Miroku, but they easily leap out of the way, causing him to stumble and fall on his front...Coraline watches from the side with the twins:
"Looks like they're all doing okay so far."
"We should clear out of the area while we can."
But just as they ready to get out of the clearing:
(Pulse)
"Hm?"
Coraline senses something coming up behind them:
...Another demon!
A breeze flutters by, carrying a strange, sweet fragrance mixed with some flowers...Coraline wasted no time:
"Guys! Flip out!"
The twins nod, not questioning her reasoning, and duck and roll away to the sides, while she back-flipped into the air, and over the third panther demon that had showed herself, Shunran!
"Wha-?!"
She sensed me! But how?!
Coraline lands on one hand, and flips twice more, before standing upright once more...Sango turns to see that Kilala had fainted from the flower shower, but that the three teens were okay:
"Kilala...! Uh, are you three alright?"
"Yeah, we're good!"
"That was close!"
"Nice job with the detection, sis!"
She smiles and nods at Freeman, before turning to address Shunran with a serious glare:
"Who are you, and what did you do to Kilala?"
She was taken aback, and Shūran turns to see what had happened:
"Gh, damn!"
Looks like we'll have to keep going without the illusion...
He smiles, before raising his fist, and activates his power, causing electrical currents to start buzzing from his circlet! He lets out a war-cry, before releasing the light:
(Bzzz-Pow)
Everyone cringes from the flash, and as Coraline stumbles backwards, she feels someone karate-chop her on the back of the head:
(WHACK)
"UH!"
Oh, crap...
...Once the light dies down, Besa and Freeman look up to see,
"Uh, Cora!"
"Where'd she go?!"
Their answer would come in a smug laugh, and they turn to see the three panther demons in a line, with Shūran holding an unconscious Coraline in his arm!
"Heh, she has the Shikon-no-Tama shards alright."
Inuyasha moves to get up, and gasps before crying out Coraline's name in worry. Karan comments,
"That girl seems to mean alot to you, Inuyasha."
He struggles to stand up and calls with a growl,
"Yeah...and you better let her go!"
"You'll have to come to our castle if you want her back...if you can, that is. We'll be waiting for you, Inuyasha."
The three demons then fade away, taking Coraline with them!
"No, stooop!"
But just as Inuyasha starts to make chase, he's blocked by some of the panther demon subordinates:
"Rgh, out of my way!"
He swipes his claws at them, but they just leap back before jumping out of sight altogether, which only adds to Inuyasha's anger:
"Damn it! (Starts running) I'm goin' after them!" Shippo hurries onto his shoulder and says,
"I'm going with you!"
Sango checks up on Kilala, before saying to the others,
"We'd better go too, Miroku, guys."
Miroku asks,
"How's Kilala?"
"She's fine. I'm sure she'll come to in a minute."
Hachi then comes over to the four and bows while saying to Miroku,
"Eh, my lord, I'll be leaving now."
"Ooh no; you're coming with us!"
The tanuki tries to bail, but the twins loop their arms around each of his and start leading him along to where Inuyasha took off to:
"Wrong direction, dude."
"Come on, don't be such a chicken. We'll be right beside you the whole way."
"Mmm...I'm not sure if I find that reassuring..."
We catch up with Inuyasha, as he and Shippo continue speeding through the forest, the former hell-bent on getting his friend back:
"(Pant, pant) Where are they?! Where'd they get to?!"
"Calm down, Inuyasha. This place reeks of the cat's stench."
"Yeah...You're right."
The dog demon pauses, and sniffs around for the panther demons...
"This way."
"Inuyasha!"
He turns around, and sees everyone else rushing to catch up:
"Where's Coraline?"
"Better yet, where are those three creeps that took her?" He calls back,
"I'll find her, don't worry! This way!"
(Dash)
Meanwhile, back at the river...
We find Sesshomaru and Jaken walking steadily along a cliff-face upstream to where the castle of the Panther Demon Tribe would be, the latter feeling rather nervous for his lord's life:
I hope Lord Sesshomaru doesn't intend to take on those demons all alone...
"No, that would be too dangerous, even for someone as strong as my master...!"
He begins making jittery noises of unease, but then stops when he sees someone up ahead:
"Hm? Hey, I know him!"
And kneeling on the ground a few feet in front of Sesshomaru, was Ryoakan!
"Lord Sesshomaru. I, Ryoakan, would be honoured to serve under you again."
Said dog demon continues his trek and replies dryly,
"Not necessary."
"Please, my lord, I beg you to reconsider!" Jaken rushes to catch up:
"Don't leave without me!"
Sesshomaru then stops, before saying to the other demon,
"...Ryoakan."
"(Perks up) Yes?"
"Leave before I lop off your head." Jaken tries to persuade otherwise:
"Perhaps you should consider accepting his assistance. We need help!"
"Not necessary."
"Maybe we can get Inuyasha's aid this time..."
"Jaken."
"Y-Yes?"
"...Only you need accompany me."
Jaken was stunned by his lord's words:
...Lord, Sesshomaru...!
He then breaks into a run to follow step with Sesshomaru, heartfelt tears flying from his eyes:
I shall follow you to the ends of the earth!
But then he pauses, when he contemplates on the negative side of his proclamation:
...If this turns out poorly, I'll have to pay for it with my life!
Inuyasha's POV
My friends and I are now rushing across the plains, with Miroku and Sango riding on Kilala, the twins riding on Hachi, and Shippo on my shoulder, all of us determined on rescuing Coraline...
Suddenly, I spot a familiar twister up ahead:
(Groan) Oh great, not him...
"Hey, isn't that Kōga up ahead?"
I stop, and the twister dissipates to reveal that mangy wolf:
"Hey, mutt: Where's Coraline?"
"Kuh, like it's any of your business!"
Especially since you have like, zero chances with her...(Head shake) Focus, man!
"I've been picking up the foul stench of cats here in this area alot lately. So tell me why Coraline's scent is mixed up with it now!"
I cringe back a bit with Shippo, before retorting,
"What're you gettin' at?"
"I better not find out that Coraline's been kidnapped by cat demons, you mutt!"
I grit my teeth, choosing not to respond, and he barks,
"You, fool! She was captured?! What were you thinking?!"
"Shut up! It wasn't like I handed her over on a platter!" I hear Freeman call down from atop Hachi,
"Yeah, plus those panthers weren't exactly making it easy: If it hadn't been for Cor, we would've been knocked unconscious by some sort of illusion attack! Hell, I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd have started her own cat-fight with the demon if that other one hadn't used a lightning flash to blind us all!"
I turn to look at him in surprise:
"Wait, what? She sensed the illusion coming?"
"More so she sensed the demon coming, but yes! And I dunno if you saw, (Chuckle) but she did some pretty bad-ass back-flips to get away from the female demon!"
...Oh yeah...She looked real flexible doin' that.
"Kōga!"
I snap out of my thoughts when I hear the wolf's buddies calling for him, and he mutters to himself,
"I don't got time for this," before he starts rushing off...
"Kōga, wait!" "Here we go again..."
As those two rush off to catch with the wolf, I grumble to myself,
"Damn that Kōga: Always butting in..." Miroku says to me,
"We can't be too picky about our allies at a time like this." Sango and Shippo add,
"He's right, and besides, while his feelings for her have wavered, Kōga will still stop at nothing for Coraline."
"Yeah, and he sure is strong too."
I grasp Shippo's head and toss him backwards for Miroku to catch while shouting,
"Spare me!" Cooling a bit, I add ruefully,
"I'm not relying on Kōga's help. (Turns to the front) I'm gonna save Coraline on my own!"
Time Skip, Coraline's POV
Well, this is a fine mess...I dunno what feels worse: The rope on my wrists, or this big lumix's hand on my arm.
Somewhere about halfway towards this valley, I aroused from my forced sleep, and tried to escape my captors. I got about as far as kneeing the male (Shūran, I think his name is) in his gut and forcing him to drop me, before turning to run in the opposite direction we came, only to get into a fight with the two girls...
After a couple minutes, it ends with me pinned to the ground, sporting a bruised cheek, partially bloody knuckles, a scratch mark on my arm, and a couple other bruises that my clothes were covering (which by the way, now had a few dirt stains), before my wrists are tied behind my back...
We're now entering the valley, I being lead along by Shūran to prevent me from trying to escape again, while the girls walked on his left, shooting dirty looks at me every few minutes due to the scratches and light bruising they now have thanks to 'yours truly'. I just smirk darkly back at them:
May not have gone as planned, but it was totally worth it.
I focus back to the front, and spot another woman clad in blue (including her hair) up ahead:
Oh great, another panther demon...
The short-haired redhead says to her,
"We got them. We got the shards."
Shūran holds up the bottle with the three shards my friends and I have worked hard to collect and protect. I growl quietly, and the bluenette turns to look at me:
"Who's this strange-looking young girl?" The redhead answers,
"Seems like she's Inuyasha's wench."
I shake off Shūran's arm (much to his surprise) and turn to glare hard at her:
"Watch your tongue, you flea-bitten feline! I have a name: It's Coraline, so use it!"
The long-haired redhead gasps, and the short-haired ginger glares back at me before shouting back,
"Who are you calling flea-bitten, you boy-clothed wretch?!"
I snicker at her lame insult:
"Really? That's the best you can come up with? Wow, if that's all you got in terms of name-calling, it's no wonder I was close to kicking your ass a while ago."
She hisses, before trying to take a swipe at me, but I just roll with the attacks backwards and side-to-side:
"Rgh, stop, moving!"
"You stop being a caddy woman." The bluenette then cuts in sternly:
"That's enough, Karan."
We both pause, and turn to her, just as Karan tries to protest:
"But-"
"Karan..."
...She growls, before backing off, and I settle back into a comfortable stand, before I ask the following:
"So what's your deal with Inuyasha, and why do want the jewel shards? Surely you're knowledgeable of the horrible consequences countless others have faced from possessing even one shard of the Shikon-no-Tama..."
She asks back on the first half of my question, ignoring the second:
"Inuyasha? The younger son of the old mutt?"
Old mutt?
...Oh: She must mean Inuyasha's father.
The long-haired girl replies,
"Yeah! He's alive! Isn't that a surprise?" Karan then says,
"She seemed like good bait, so we brought her along." I mutter sarcastically,
"Just bloody fantastic: Once again, I'm bein' used as a beacon signal...(Looks up) Okay, so if your real quarrel's with his father, then tell me why Inuyasha has to be involved."
The long-haired girl turns to me with a menacing smile and replies,
"We're gonna kill him."
...A part of me was worried, but after so many attempts on all our lives, threats like these have become a bit dull. I roll my eyes and mutter,
"Tch, typical."
The demons stare at me a bit weirdly for my nonchalant attitude, but then focus back on their own topic:
"What do you think, Tōran?"
"I don't need bait for Sesshomaru. He'll definitely come."
Sesshomaru too?
I hm and reply,
"You sound quite sure of yourself...Tell me your story: What do panther demons such as yourselves have against Inuyasha's father, he and Sesshomaru? Does it, have something to do with whatever went on fifty years ago?"
She (Tōran) looks at me eye-to-eye in surprise for my interest, but before she could reply:
"...Coraline!"
I look up, and see Kōga and his buddies up above on a cliff edge!
"Kōga! Ginta! Hakkaku!" He calls down in a heroic tone,
"I'm here to save you!"
The other two wave with reassuring smiles, and I couldn't help but smile back:
I may prefer Inuyasha's help, but annoying as Kōga is sometimes, at least he means well...and I definitely prefer his company over a bunch of bristled cats any day...
Speaking of, Karan calls up,
"Hey! You're not invited to this little party, wolf-boy!"
She then readies to unleash some flames, and I cry out,
"Watch it!" before using my body to slam into Karan:
(Fwoom)
"Uh!" "Uah!"
Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to stop the fire, but at least I redirected it from hitting the guys:
That was close...
I feel a hand hoist me up to my feet, before being tossed over someone's shoulder:
Craaaap, here we go again...
No POV
Once the flames die down, there would be no traces of the panther demons or Coraline, infuriating Kōga:
"After them!"
Just as he leaps down to the valley path, several of the panther subordinates jump out to attack him, but he easily kicks them aside:
"Grh! (Kick) Hah!"
The demons then start running off into the valley, with Kōga making chase:
"No you don't!"
...Suddenly, Inuyasha appears, and begins running ahead, much to Kōga's dislike:
"Who asked you for help, mutt?!"
"I'm the one who's gonna do the saving here!"
"Not if I have any say in it! She needs my help, dog-face!"
Eventually, the two reach a gigantic wall of soil that was blocking the path:
"Huh?"
"What's with this wall?"
Inuyasha starts shouting for Coraline:
"Coraliiine!"
As his shout echoes, Kōga starts calling for her too:
"Where are you?!"
"Coraliiine!"
"Say something! Can you hear me?!"
It was then that Ginta and Hakkaku catch up:
"What's wrong, Kōga?"
"Where did the cats get to?"
"We've lost them: They've vanished without a trace!"
Inuyasha was having a tough time tracking the panthers too:
"I can't pick up the scent of the cats or Coraline."
"Yeah. Their scent has completely disappeared...just like with Naraku's barrier."
Inuyasha gasps, realizing what he had to do:
"Barrier, you say?"
He then pulls out Tessaiga, prompting Kōga to ask,
"What are you plannin' to do with that sword?"
...He then looks more intently, and widens his eyes when he sees a strange energy surround the blade:
What's happening to his sword?
Inuyasha focuses on Tessaiga's power...before activating the new ability granted to him by the bat demon's blood coral crystal, much to Kōga's shock:
It's...it's glowing red!
"Hrrrraaaaahhh!"
(SLASH...)