Chapter 86: Sesshomaru & the Abducted Rin
At the same time Rin was taken away by the Wind Sorceress, Kagura, back in the Goshinboku Village, Inuyasha and the others had returned for the night to rest, now sleeping inside Kaede's Hut, bodies laid or propped up against the wood walls of the elder priestess's home...
But the peace would soon be disturbed, when Inuyasha's nose picks up on an unsettling scent:
"Uh!"
His eyes snap awake, and he quickly heads out the wicker door, the quiet echoes of his hurrying feet not escaping Coraline's ears:
"Mm...Hm?"
...Inuyasha?
She moves to get up and follow him, grabbing her own blade along the way, and as she exits the home, she meets with her Will O' Wisp companion who floats down from a nearby oak:
"(Ghostly moan)"
"(Whisper) Hey, Lumos...Which way'd he go?"
Moving to just outside the backwoods of the village south, the deep orange glow of the moon casting ominous shadows from the tips of the leaves and branches, Inuyasha looks into the air, growling in agitation...
"...Something's coming, isn't there?"
"Hm?"
He turns around, and sees Coraline walk over to him, Lumos floating on her left. As she moves to stand on his, she asks with a serious stare cast to the skies,
"What are we up against this time?"
"...Naraku."
The redhead cringes, but nods all the same, while the Will O' Wisp glows in and out red and blue, his own senses up...
And they wouldn't be the only ones aware: Somewhere else in an open grass field, as the tall green blades swayed wildly with the shifting winds, Sesshomaru's sense of smell also picked up on the scent of the diabolical demon.
Hm...The scent of the wind has changed.
It was then Jaken finally reaches the dog demon to report what had happened earlier in the watermelon field:
"(Pant, pant) Lord Sesshomaru! Young Rin has been abducted: Naraku's incarnation, Kagura came out of nowhere and, took off with Rin!"
He stares at the imp with no reply made, but something deep in his gold irises seem to reflect a type of concern at hearing this news...
"...Let me reassure you, Lord Sesshomaru..."
Sesshomaru and Jaken turn around to the sound of Naraku's voice, and see his baboon fur-disguised form fade into view between his Insects of Hell:
"If you heed my request, I shall return Rin in good health."
Jaken's large eyes bulge and he points to the demon with a squawk:
"H-auh! It's Naraku!"
Sesshomaru remains cool and calm, but there was a camouflaged undertone that said he was obviously not pleased to see Naraku again:
"We meet again. So, what do you have up your sleeve this time?"
"Nothing special: I simply want you to kill Inuyasha."
...Another breezes rattles the grass, before Sesshomaru scoffs in a slightly amused air:
"Huh. Why are you going to all this trouble for something so trivial?"
He then sprints forward and uses his claws to decapitate the demon puppet, the head dropping to the ground before disintegrating into clumped soil, along with the rest of the body...
"Gah! What, is that?!...A demon puppet?"
"Does Naraku honestly believe he can threaten me into action by endangering the life of a mere mortal?"
Jaken looks up at Sesshomaru and asks with some surprise,
"Will you turn your back on the girl? Will you forsake her?"
...He does not reply, and merely turns to walk to elsewhere, much to the imp's confusion:
"Wait! Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you going?! (Starts chasing) Where are you heading, my lord?"
...The mutant wasps continue to tail Sesshomaru and Jaken, giving eyes to Kanna's demon mirror, seen by the true Naraku within the walls of his fortress...He smiles, knowing that the dog demon would be nearing:
So, Sesshomaru...you've come.
Coraline's POV
As soon as we rushed back to Kaede's to inform everyone what Inuyasha sensed, we scrambled to get our gear and weapons before heading out to see if we could finally narrow down Naraku's location.
I'm running between my brothers through the forest from the village to elsewhere, while Shippo rode on my shoulder, Sango and Miroku on Kilala, and Inuyasha ran/leaped ahead of us, with Lumos flying around us all.
Freeman calls up to Inuyasha,
"You sure it's Naraku were on the trail of this time?" The latter calls back,
"Yeah! I know his stench! Look out, Naraku: I'll find you this time, and I'll kill you!"
I flash my eyes a glowing ice blue, and pick up faint traces of Naraku's Aura, confirming our directional path:
"Auh! I can sense Naraku with my Aura Sight! It hasn't been this strong before, so his defenses have definitely dropped! Lumos, can you sense him as well?"
My creature partner chirps wildly, emitting the red and blue throb once more, his way of saying 'Yes'. Sango was rather suspicious of this strange turn (as were the rest of us):
"He's gone out his way to hide himself all this time. Why would he show up now?"
Miroku was also feeling cautious:
"Yes, that bothers me too..." Freeman offers up a suggestion:
"Maybe he's reaching a new peak of power and is no longer feeling the need to keep up this hide and seek chase!"
Besa adds,
"Either that...or he's finally getting impatient with ending our lives."
I voice my own opinion:
"Whatever the reason, let's all use caution: There's no telling what that bastard could be planning this round!"
I get a collective hm of alertness, and we keep up our pace, determined to not be caught unawares:
Just you wait, Naraku. This time, we'll take you down!
No POV
We turn our eyes to a hillside littered with grave stones and markers of the forgotten deceased, nestled between several young beech trees, and on the tip top, stood a large hut surrounded by glowing orbs of light...
Inside, was the unconscious Rin, her body highlighted by the glow of a single candle...
"...Nnn...nmm."
She blinks awake, and the events from earlier come rushing back:
Oh, now I remember: That Kagura lady took me away.
I was abducted.
She pushes herself up on her knees with her hands, and looks around the hut's interior:
"...Where am I? Huh?"
Rin senses another presence, and turns to the corner left, to see Kohaku, dressed in his simple blue kimono, sitting with his kusarigama laying in front of him, looking out a barred window with an expression of forlorn.
Taking her melon into her hands (which she managed to hang onto during her kidnapping), she asks him,
"...Who are you?"
Kohaku does not reply...An odd silence falls into the room, before Rin puts her melon down, and tries to head out the hut. That was when the young demon slayer finally spoke up:
"No, you can't go outside!"
"I have to get back."
(Slide)
But as soon as she pushes the doors open, Rin would discover that any chances of escape for her were next-to-impossible, due to the number of demons floating and crawling around the area!
One demon, resembling a bony snake with the head of a bird skull and spiked hair, comes down and lets out a snarl, prompting Rin to close the doors with a shudder of fear...She then slowly walks over to the wall on Kohaku's left, and sits down with her arms wrapped around her knees.
"I told you not to go outside. If you do, they'll tear you apart."
"...Who are you? Were you brought here against your will like I was? We could run away together!"
"My job is to guard you."
Rin sighs in disappointment:
"Oh, I see..."
...After another moment of silence, Rin decides to try and make the best of it by trying to get to know her guard:
"Oh, you didn't tell me your name. You can call me Rin if you want. How old are you, and how come you're a guard here? Does that mean you're a demon like the others? Tell me: What do you like to eat? Do you like melons?"
Kohaku was a bit surprised by how calm Rin seemed, but replied dryly,
"Yeah, I guess...You sure talk alot."
It was Rin's turn to be taken aback, and she turns away from Kohaku with a sulky sigh while muttering,
"I know...but I get scared when I'm not talking."
I wonder if Lord Sesshomaru will come to rescue me...
Speaking of, we catch up with the lord dog demon and his vassal imp, as they reach an area of the field with large, jagged boulders plotted around the grounds. Jaken then looks up at Sesshomaru to ask,
"If I may be so bold as to ask, what is your plan to approach this, my lord?"
Sesshomaru does not reply, his trek coming to a stop, as his eyes catch the sight of a gigantic, blurry, transparent force emanating down below the hill...
"Why did you stop? Is something the matter?"
"(Narrows eyes) Naraku's castle is here."
Jaken gasps, and peers around the area up ahead, but not catching the sight of anything remotely relating to a towering fortress:
"...I don't see a castle, my lord."
But Seshomaru waits patient...Suddenly, the air in front of them ripples like water in a river, giving away the location of the barrier!
"Daaaaaaah! T-The barrier has opened up!"
Looking inside, we see the tall stone walls and towers of the demon's castle, and Sesshomaru wastes no time in beginning entry, with Jaken scrambling to follow:
"My lord!"
As soon as they were inside, Sesshomaru and Jaken made their way to the castle courtyard, the grounds carrying a black, misty haze, and the sky overcast with dark clouds, making the entire castle more dark then it already appeared.
Jaken shivers, but keeps his step with his lord:
"W-W-Wait!"
Sesshomaru's attention was on the demon hidden within the doors of the section in front of him, already seeing into what Naraku was doing:
"...You purposely leaked your scent, reveal your castle, so that I would follow you here."
...The torches posted around the courtyard perimeter alight with a hot blue flame, and the voice of the castle owner echoes a counter reply:
"Would you have come otherwise?"
Naraku then fades into view on the front steps, cloaked in his baboon 'guise once again (whether truly or through another demon puppet is anyone's guess...). Jaken cringes back in a gape, and Naraku adds on,
"I must inform you that the mortal girl you seek is not here in my castle. She would never be able to survive in his airless atmosphere of this poisonous miasma. The girl is under my protection outside these castle walls. I assure you she is unharmed...for now."
"Naraku...do me the honour of at least recognizing that I am not here simply to save Rin."
Jaken looks at Sesshomaru in shock, and Naraku replies with an air of amusement,
"Of course. You of all people seem to despise taking orders from others. You will not kill Inuyasha when told to do so, nor did you come to look for the girl. I realize that you, are here to kill me."
"Hmph, (Small smirk) you sound as if you have lured me into a trap. Perhaps later I'll have you explain yourself..."
Sesshomaru raise one of his clawed hands, cracking his knuckles:
"If you should survive the night, that is."
Naraku does not faze from the threat, he smiling darkly to himself:
Heh-heh, Sesshomaru...You will assist me, whether you like it or not.
Coraline's POV
As we continue our rush down the forest path, my brothers and I find ourselves having trouble keeping up the pace with everyone else, and call them to slow down:
"Inuyasha, slow your pace a bit, please!"
"We're losin' ya, dude!"
"Yeah!"
(Pulse)
"Uh!"
Just as Inuyasha and the others stop for us to catch up, he asking a bit urgently,
"What's the hold-up?!"
I felt it...A pulse from the jewel.
"(Looks up) The jewel shards...I'm picking up a wave nearby."
That caught everyone's attention, and Besa asks,
"From which way?"
I turn my gaze to my right, where a small mountain was standing in the distance:
"That way, towards that peak over there."
"So you think the shards are in those mountains over there?"
I nod to Miroku, and Sango asks us all,
"What should we do?" Miroku decides for us:
"We'll go after the jewel shard. (Turns behind him) Inuyasha, you go and try to find Naraku's castle."
"Right. Make sure you get the jewel."
With that, Inuyasha turns to continue his sprint in the direction where Naraku's Aura was radiating, and I call after him,
"Good luck, and be careful, Inuyasha!"
Taking a deep breath to calm my worries for my friend, I turn to my right where Lumos was floating:
"Alright, Lumos: Let's sync up our energies to better track from this point, okay?"
He 'nods', and Shippo hops off my shoulder to Besa's, before I holds my left hand straight out for my Will O' Wisp partner to rest on my fingertips...
(Gleam, throb)
He emits a white-blue glow, and his energy travels up my arm to the rest of my body in waves, my eyes shining as bright...Once the process was over, Lumos moved to rest on my shoulder, while my irises now carried a white-blue ring around the usual stormy blue.
"Alright, everyone...onward and upward!"
"(Collective) Right!"
With that, we all began running in the direction of the jewel shard, with the thought of Naraku tucked away temporarily:
As soon as we find the shard, we'll come runnin' to you, Inuyasha.
In the meantime, just keep true, fight hard, and battle smart!
Inuyasha's POV
As I keep running through the woods in the direction my nose was telling me to go, I couldn't help but wonder,
What's going on? I'm starting to lose Naraku's scent...
Does that mean the barrier's back up around the castle?
I've gotta hurry before I lose him!
I remember back to first time that bastard used his new barrier, and how even my Wind Scar failed to break it...But I shake the thought off, for I now hold a new power in my blade that's gonna trump that shield no problem:
He won't escape this time!
Back inside Naraku's Castle, No POV
As Sesshomaru continues to eye the dark-ridden half-demon with disdain, Naraku laughs and jeers,
"Lord Sesshomaru, I am honoured by your visit...So in return, I shall gladly accept your challenge."
His back then hunches, before red-shelled claws erupt from his back, along with several black-skinned tentacles, ripping apart his robes, and revealing his upper body in full...And yet, that was the only part of him that seemed recognizable: The rest of him waist-down was made of various, grotesque demon parts, ranging from tendrils to centipede demon torsos, and even his arms had become spindly and monstrous!
"Gaaah! Wh-What's he become?!"
As Jaken scrambled behind Sesshomaru in fear, the latter calmly replies,
"Huh. A collection of rejected demons...Is this your true form, Naraku?"
"True form? No...my body is far from being complete."
Naraku then uses one of the crustacean-like claws to try and attack Sesshomaru, but the latter dodges, while Jaken was thrown off-balance by the upturn of dirt:
"Daah!"
Knowing he didn't stand a chance in this fight, the imp quickly ducks behind a nearby wood pillar, while Sesshomaru lands gracefully on the ground with a scoff:
"You'll destroy me for refusing to do as you wish?"
Naraku only stares at the dog demon, while a few feet behind the latter next to a lookout tower, stood Kagura, who was a bit confused as to what her master was up to this time:
I don't understand...What would Naraku gain in Sesshomaru's death?
...That's when it hits her:
(Gasp) Could that be what Naraku's planning?!
Meanwhile, near the Graveyard Hill...
Coraline was riding with Sango on Kilala, while Miroku and the twins ran alongside eachother, Shippo on the monk's shoulder, heading for the area where the redhead was sensing the jewel shards are:
"It shouldn't be too much further now, just at the end of this path." Miroku calls up to her,
"I don't like this, considering we're so close to Naraku's Castle..."
"I was just thinking that myself...Not only that, but...it seems to be just a single shard."
That caught Sango's attention, and Coraline knew why:
If we're that close to the demon's castle...then it must mean that the shard I'm sensing, could be Kohaku's.
Sango keeps her eyes to the thinning treeline ahead of them all, her thoughts lingering on one question:
Is it Kohaku?
Zooming in on the demon-guarded hut atop the grave-littered hillside, Rin decides to break into the watermelon she still had from the field, and even shared it with Kohaku.
"This melon is so sweet."
"Haah...Would you like another piece?"
Kohaku nods at Rin:
"Yes, thank you."
She holds out another slice:
"Here you are...If you like it that much, I can always go steal some more."
As she bites into her own piece, Rin suddenly asks with a sad frown,
"You don't remember anything, Kohaku?" He replies monotonously,
"No, I don't."
"Not even your mother, or your father?"
"(Looks away) I've, forgotten."
"Huh...I've never heard of a person forgetting everything."
He doesn't say it aloud, but Kohaku thinks,
It's not that...It's just that...I'm afraid I might remember something frightening...
"I guess everyone has things that, they don't wanna remember..."
Kohaku looks back at Rin, who stares at her lap with a distant and slightly bitter smile:
"I'm the same. My parents and brothers were attacked by thieves. They tried to get away, but...they were killed...I still have nightmares about, the night it happened. It still scares me..."
She then looks eye-to-eye with the amnesiac demon slayer and asks,
"Am I talking too much? You know, people have always been telling me to be quiet."
"...It's okay. I don't mind if you keep talking. I don't, get to talk much."
Back outside, as the demons curled around the hut, we find Coraline and the others emerging from the cover of the beech trees, prompting the beasts to turn and hiss or growl at their arrival...
Hearing the shift, Kohaku moves to take his kusarigama into his hand, then quickly step over to the candle to blow it out, making the inside of the hut fall into shadow, the moonlight barely casting a muted glow from the paper-lined doors.
"What's the matter?"
"Keep quiet."
Kohaku then sneaks over to the doors, and slides one open a bit, with Rin crawling over to look for herself. Upon seeing Sango, Kohaku's eyes widen a bit in shock:
It's her again!
Her face is the only thing I remember...I can't get her out of my mind.
With the memory of Sango's agonized expression freshly resurfaced, Kohaku grips the side of his head with a wince of pain, his mind pulsing to erase the amnesia...
Back outside, everyone watches in respected silence as Sango's eyes shined with pensiveness, knowing that her brother must be in there:
Kohaku, are you inside? Kohaku...
Naraku's Castle Courtyard
After a few more minutes of intense silence, Sesshomaru reaches to his left side with his right hand, and unsheathes Tokijin. Naraku just scoffs with a smile, before shooting out several fat tentacles at the dog demon, who would bring Tokijin down in a swing, unleashing the sword's Aura and cutting the appendages back effortlessly!
The pieces rain on the ground, before Sesshomaru says to Naraku,
"Naraku...you're such a lowly demon. You will never have the power nor the resources to harm me."
The other just chuckles at the arrogance...before silently calling his fallen tentacles to form back up again, much to Kagura's shock:
"(Gasp)"
The detached tentacle then crawls over and seizes Sesshomaru's leg, causing him to look down at it, giving Naraku the advantage of surprise to send more to attack! Thankfully, Sesshomaru was wise to the tactic, and leaps into the air before using Tokijin to cut away at the appendages again, the pieces showering like a thick, disgusting rain...
"(Lands) Ha. How long to do you intend to keep up this ludicrous farce?"
Naraku does not answer aloud, smirking at his true intent:
(Chuckle) Every time you hack away a piece of me, you're slowly covered by pieces of my flesh...and then...
Kagura sucks back a sharp breath:
I knew it: Naraku is trying to absorb Sesshomaru into his own body!
And looking to the ground, we see that some of the pieces of tentacle, were vibrating like a heart skipping beats...
Meanwhile, just outside the barrier, Inuyasha arrives at the same hill clearing that Sesshomaru and Jaken were standing in a little while ago, and picks up on his half-brother's scent:
"Huh?"
What's going on? Sesshomaru's scent comes this far, but then it vanishes...
He then pulls his Tessaiga out, when he realizes,
Wait: Maybe this is Naraku's castle!
He then charges forward, entering the liquid-air barrier, and struggles against the forceful power trying to throw him back, but would not be swayed:
A demonic aura and toxic gasses?! This has got to be Naraku's barrier! I'm sure of it!
He uses a good amount of strength to leap into the air, and his Tessaiga blade wraps itself in the pink-red energies from the demon bat blood coral crystal, before dissipating to leave behind a blood-red sword!
"Tessaiga!"
(SLASH)
His Wind Scar cuts a heaping gap into the barrier, revealing the stone-walled fortress to Inuyasha's eyes:
There it is! Naraku's castle!
...Back in the courtyard, Naraku feels a shock pass through his veins, and looks up to see rings of yellow billowing over his transparent barrier!
Who's there?! Someone is breaking through my barrier!
He turns behind him and orders,
"Kagura: After him."
She gasps, sends a glare at her master, but does as he commands, rushing off to the entrance of the castle...Naraku then turns back to Sesshomaru as the latter asks with slight mock,
"An unexpected guest, Naraku? How very unfortunate for him. I assure you, his journey here will be in vain..."
The dog demon raises Tokijin at the ready:
"By the time he arrives...(Swing) you'll be dead!"
He then sends a wave of the sword's aura straight at Naraku, hacking his more demonic half into pieces, blood spilling in tremendous amounts!
...But Naraku wasn't fazed, as he watches more of his flesh scatter around Sesshomaru:
(Laugh) Just a little longer. Soon, you will be absorbed into my body. You will be one with my flesh!
At the same time, Kagura flies out of the castle walls on her feather, before spotting Inuyasha running on foot to the structure:
"(Gasp) Inuyasha!" She then notices the change in his sword:
...The Tessaiga's blade is red!
Kagura lands on the grass in front of Inuyasha, stopping him in his tracks:
"Hm? Kagura."
"So it was you who broke through the barrier, Inuyasha."
"In the flesh, Kagura. Take my advice: Stand back. You're no match for me any longer."
She growls with a seething glare, and Inuyasha demands again,
"Back off and let me pass, or I'll have to kill you!"
She does not move...but then looks behind her and sees that a swarm of the Insects of Hell have come:
Nrh...The Saimyōshō.
"I can't let you pass, because I'm under watch myself."
Kagura swipes out her fan, and Inuyasha forms a look of confusion at her words, while she herself thinks,
I better at least put on a show in fighting him.
She then sends her wind blades at Inuyasha, who uses the Tessaiga to block them with ease! But the dog demon felt no real effort made into the attack:
What's going on? Kagura's wind has no power at all...
"If you're gonna fight me, you better get serious!"
Inuyasha sprints to attack, sword in the air, while Kagura leaps up and sends more wind blades at him. But those were just as easy to cast aside, annoying the dog demon greatly:
"You'll have to do better than that!"
Kagura then jumps back to dodge the rouge blade, and looks up at the Saimyōshō, then back at Inuyasha, while thinking to herself edgily,
I know I'm not serious about fighting him...I'll have to take this up a level.
But before she could carry out such, Kagura feels another presence closing in from the air. She turns around, and sees a horde of demons flying right for the area! She smiles, and takes off one of her feathers, deciding they would pick up her slack:
Perfect. They can take care of him.
With that, Kagura leaves back for the castle, leaving Inuyasha to fight the demon horde:
"Keh, no problem."
A wind vortex surrounds his crimson blade, before he unleashes his attack:
"Try this: Wind Scar!"
(SLASH)
But while a good number of the demons are destroyed, more kept swarming down at Inuyasha...
"You're dead!"
(SLASH)
Inside the courtyard, with the grounds littered in pieces of Naraku's demonic flesh, most of it surrounding Sesshomaru, the half-demon lets out a loud laugh, as his plans come to center.
Up in the air, Kagura watches Inuyasha hack down more of the demons coming to attack him, before feeling a shiver down her spine, and turning back to the castle:
Perhaps I overestimated Sesshomaru...
"Out of my way! Wind Scar!"
(SLASH)
More demons bite the dust, and Inuyasha starts a sprint in the direction of the stoned fortress, yelling at the other demons,
"Step aside! Hrrraaaahhh!"
Kagura looks back at him and concludes,
Sesshomaru may be doomed, but with that sword, Inuyasha could probably defeat Naraku.
She looks back at the shadowed castle...and smiles:
Then I will be free!